A BIG “SECOND HALF” FOR AMERICA IS COMING
by Bob Kloppel 4/8/2022
WOW! I don’t know as I have ever written anything by beginning with the word ‘WOW’, but it seemed to fit Monday evening, April 4! Things looked bad for the University of Kansas at the halftime of their championship game against the University of North Carolina in the 2022 NCAA Basketball Tournament. In what was nearly definable as a meltdown, favored Kansas (a #1 seed) trailed 40 to 25 to a solid and inspired UNC team (a #8 seed). The score at intermission seemed to be a negative word about the Jayhawks’ chances of winning, as in “questionable”. Kansas, it seemed, had run into a near “perfect storm” of UNC energy, confidence, rebounding, blocked shots, great shooting, and tough defense. How, then, could the team from the Sunflower State have possibly come away with a 72-69 victory? UNC was hot…..the Jayhawks not! There’s something important in the answer to that question for all of us….and it correlates directly with how we must respond to the deteriorating state of things in both our nation and the world in general.
We should be able to identify with the Kansas Jayhawks’ first-half blues! People are feeling increasingly nervous and agitated as they face implosions in every aspect of life, both here and around the globe. There are very serious problems developing everywhere we look. No wonder it is increasingly challenging to maintain a positive state of mind these days. But some saw these troubles coming a while back. The late John Paul Jackson (1950-2015), one of the strongest true prophetic voices of his time, stated even prior to 2010 that the nations (particularly our own) were sailing directly toward what he called “the perfect storm”. It is now obviously upon us!
Every aspect of life worldwide is being shaken to the core. Much has been lost already. But as strong as the winds and waves of this political, economic, cultural, ethical-moral, and spiritual storm are today, we are at present encountering just its periphery, as with the outer bands of a hurricane. What lies ahead is much more intense! Having studied a number of the severe challenges and circumstances involved in this scenario I can honestly say that what I have learned is not for the faint of heart! If I am certain about anything it is that hearing what God is saying in the midst of it all is absolutely essential! He speaks frequently and in many different ways, not only through the Bible.
Just a little over 9 years ago, on November 12 of 2013, thousands of people here in the foothills of the NC portion of the Blue Ridge Mountains witnessed the most spectacular deep red sunset imaginable! It was truly stunning, so much so that it made all the newspapers and had people talking. Afterward I asked God what this amazing, very unusual sunset meant. He directed my attention to the date on which it occurred…..11/12/13. I thought about it for a while and figured that the meaning of each number and its position with respect to the other two numbers formed a message. In Judeo-Christianity 11 represents apostasy (falling away from God), 12 represents God and His Kingdom (which are linked), and 13 is the number associated with chaos. I replaced the numbers with their meanings and the result looked like this: apostasy / God and His Kingdom / chaos.
It was not difficult to get what He was saying. The message 9 years ago was this: “I AM here with My Kingdom, right in the middle of apostasy and chaos.” Extrapolating from that, God and His Kingdom are available right now in the midst of this gigantic mess we are in. He is involved in relationship with us, even though so many of us are not involved with Him. He loves us and wants us to understand that if we call upon Him for help He will show up. He is available in the middle of everything and ready to teach us His Kingdom solutions to our mega problems, personal and collective. Neither He nor His Kingdom can be destroyed or pushed back. His solutions are powerful and sure to succeed. In a land of increasing fear, lack, anger, and depression the understanding of God’s love and desire to help us has the potential to bring in a tsunami of repentance, new levels of relationship with Him, transformed hearts and minds, goodness, miracles, and healings. This will be the meat and potatoes of a Third Great Awakening that radically changes things for the better. Our politicians and economists are not able to handle what we are confronted with alone, but God is available! Bottom line: It is ‘halftime’ and the world, including our own nation, is down 15 against powerful destructive forces. Stretching the championship game analogy, we are in a war that is in essence spiritual, a confrontation against evil and darkness. And it is one in which our side has performed rather poorly so far.
I am aware that life is not a basketball game, but there are certain valid comparisons. One is that in both cases if things are not going well it’s time to correct course. John Wooden was part of the coaching staff of the UCLA Bruins from 1948 to 1975 and served as head coach for 12 years from 1963 until 1975. As head coach, and a great one at that, he explained that his strategy for times when things were not going well was to take his teams back to the basics of playing basketball at the college level. The basics are the foundation for eventual success. Periodically revisiting the fundamentals of the college game became the springboard for getting back on track a number of times and helped UCLA basketball to rise to the best it could be, which was pretty good indeed. In fact, during his 12 years as head coach Wooden led the Bruins to 10 national championships!
At half time of this year’s championship game Kansas coach Bill Self took his team back to what was at that moment the most fundamental principle of the basics. He knew that if both teams played as they had during the first half Kansas would suffer a memorable loss, perhaps even a total blowout. His players were feeling doubts that the first half had laid upon them. And so there was neither an angry lecture nor an inspiring speech. Instead, Coach Self told his team the truth, namely that what they were facing would be very difficult…..BUT THAT HE KNEW THEY COULD DO IT. He reminded them that they were indeed good enough to pull it off! As they took the floor for the second half Coach Self must have been hoping and praying that his team would rise to the occasion…..and they did! They were fierce during the second half, outplaying and outscoring UNC 47 to 29. They also applied maximum defensive pressure at the end to secure a three point victory. Remember – this was a very strong UNC team, but Kansas turned things around through being reminded of their true identity as a force capable of overcoming very unfavorable odds.
Thinking of our own nation, perhaps we need to return to the basics and fundamentals too. It would be good for us to sincerely revisit and gain greater understanding of the things that made the United States great in the first place, starting with the vision of a new kind of nation with a new foundation. And what was that foundation? It was multifaceted and included understanding the sacredness of human life, knowing the God-given rights of every man, acknowledging the Ten Commandments, and endorsing the Declaration of Independence. But then there is also the unique Constitution of the United States of America, the Bill of Rights, the constitutions of the states, and our many plans of local government. Speaking of national foundations, we should also get serious again about studying the history of our nation, states, and local communities! Then we would find that when things are falling apart, it is ultimately not the fault of the system we created, but of the weaknesses of human nature that have twisted things. It is not so much that systems fail, but that WE fail. How? It’s old fashioned, but how about this. There are seven deadly sins that can and do destroy society through our behavior: greed, laziness, pride, envy, lust, gluttony, and unrelenting anger (unforgiveness). On the other hand there are seven heavenly virtues that build society up: faith (first in God), hope, charity (kindness, helping others), fortitude, justice, temperance (self control), and prudence (acting carefully and wisely).
With respect to the basketball championship analogy, the fact is that if our nation continues “playing” the same way we have during our recent history, the wrenching dysfunction we are experiencing now might sometime in the future be thought of as “the good old days”. Something must occur to reset our march toward the best we can be. The same is true of all the nations, but especially for us. We are the one the world looked to see what life could be like in ‘one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all’. Despite our flaws, some of them serious, there was a steadily advancing goodness that warranted emulating our society. Of late, though, we are looking more like Babylon – even worse in a number of respects. But we are now approaching an historic fork in the road. One way will be a newer road that looks easy to travel and features an attractive sign that falsely but alluringly indicates that it is the right road to travel for “major positive change”. There is no “second half” on that road, but it will be declared to be unnecessary by its builders, who will say everything has been taken care of. The other way will have a sign that clearly and honestly says that the road ahead is rough and difficult in spots because it is under reconstruction, but also that it leads to a “second half” for America, an opportunity to “recover all”. Pray for a spirit of discernment to be released at this fork in the road!
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HERE IS WHAT THE LORD SAID as I pondered these things. Note: All parentheses are my clarifications of meanings.
“I AM the Alpha (beginning) and the Omega (ending). It is always right and good to put Me first. Position yourselves to hear Me (individually and corporately). Give your time and attention to the things I am saying. Earnestly seek My voice and you will hear Me. I AM the ultimate “coach” (life coach). In following my plan you will always receive encouragement (i.e., be filled with courage), the strategies I have for the times, and both the power and resources to go forth and overcome”.
“My people (His Church) are vavs between heaven and earth (“vav” is a Hebrew letter shaped like a connecting pin). You must now call down the heavenly to the earth realm and connect the two, proclaiming ‘on earth as it is in heaven’. Declare that Jesus is your paradigm. Ask Him to transform millions upon millions of hearts and minds. Lead others to Him, especially the lost and those who need to get beyond merely being religious. Call down the characteristics of the Garden (Eden) – abundance, peace, beauty, joy, purpose, and love. Call these over and into your families, places of work, entertainment, schools, government, media, and the churches. Since I am Alpha and Omega I say that the story of man on earth is not over! The present moment is much like a halftime. The score is not favorable, but the nations have not heard the final buzzer, as some believe.”
“All of this means that you must shift now, becoming a people who follow Me closely, teaching others to do the same. Doing so will make strong the movement that is about to be birthed, the one that some are calling ‘The Third Great Awakening’. It is a game changer! The world will see My miracles of repentance, healing, forgiveness, provision, love, and joy! Be sure to put aside all pettiness and rejection of things you don’t understand. Be open to the new that I am bringing. Increase time spent in prayer and intercession. Never doubt that I love you ALL! You can do this (turn things around), but not on your own. The question is this: Do you have the faith and personal will TO FOLLOW ME IN ALL MATTERS? Doing so will release My Spirit into all situations and circumstances and bring beautiful changes. Follow Me, Follow Me, Follow Me.”
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Note: I found it interesting that Kansas came back to win specifically by 3 points, 72 – 69. Three is the number of the Holy Trinity…Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Given the condition of the world today and worldwide viewership of the game, I am not surprised God is quietly using the number 3 in calling attention to His approval of the faith, courage, and fortitude of Kansas in the second half of the championship game. That’s a message for all of us!
Bob Kloppel
kloppels3@yahoo.com