April 6, 2024
Jesus disciples storm wind waves
Published by Emily Tomko at April 6, 2024
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Slammed by contrary winds

We all did what the Lord sent us out to do. We got on board the ship - our individual calling - because Jesus told us to.But here we are on the sea, and the storm is bigger than us. The wind is contrary - in opposition to us. And we're battered.And in the midst of the wind-lashing and skin-soaking tumult that threatens to sink us, a steady pelting of solemn rebukes issues forth from well-meaning fellow Christians for boarding the ship in the first place. There are other pursuits Christ sanctions. Why step into the vessel that draws the tempest of controversy?
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March 28, 2024
praying in tongues, praying in the Spirit, Holy Spirit prayer, travail
Published by Emily Tomko at March 28, 2024
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How praying in the Spirit changed a tense situation

Please pray!" came the quick whisper through the phone. "Pray in the Spirit, would you? And I'll be praying here." A friend of mine is staff for a political representative. I was just wrapping up morning devotions with my children when she called to tell me that the meet-and-greet the rep was hosting had been overwhelmed by constituents from the opposing party, and that they'd come loaded for bear.
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March 19, 2024
spiritual gifts, pastoral, prophetic, Christian nationalism, church controversy current events
Published by Emily Tomko at March 19, 2024
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Can your gifting impair your vision? Why some pastors won’t talk about current events

One major stream of gifting in the Body of Christ (the prophetic/intercessors) sees the absolute chaos of our nation as a result of what God is doing in this hour: disciplining the Church for her prayerlessness, compromise, and disengagement from the world and culture in the guise of keeping to the exclusiveness of preaching the Gospel. The other major stream of gifting (the pastoral/teaching) sees the passion in Christians to engage the culture through being salt and light in the political and governmental gates of influence as Christian nationalism and political idolatry. How do we reconcile this?
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March 2, 2024
Published by Emily Tomko at March 2, 2024
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A homework assignment on Climate Change

The following is a homework assignment I gave the youth and young adults. I invite anyone to research this as a way to come to your own conclusions about this cultural hot topic: What does the Bible say about climate change? Where is land pollution mentioned in the Bible and what causes it?    Is there a spiritual component to Climate Change? What are the spiritual powers (i.e. Ephesians 5) behind Climate Change? (hint: research Gaia) Which countries are the worst offenders when it comes to pollution? Are they part of the International Climate summit? Does the UN highlight and apply pressure on these countries accordingly? Who or what entities does climate change benefit? (Qui Bono?) Who is funding climate research? (sequere pecuniam) In which decade was global cooling the fear? What is weather manipulation and is it affecting climate change? Which state(s) can you apply for a permit to modify the weather? Where is all of the climate activism ultimately leading? In light of that, what might be the end goal of climate change proponents?
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February 19, 2024
foundations destroyed, what shall righteous do
Published by Emily Tomko at February 19, 2024
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“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

Few may argue the West's destructive course, but what does the final outworking of a disintegrated culture look like? Can even widespread revival pull a culture back from the precipice? As a Christian, I see the world simultaneously through two lenses. The one is observing the horrors of life in post-modern America, with its fearful velocity in recent years of lawlessness - infanticide, polygamy, pedophilia, trafficking, misogyny, suicide, crime, institutional corruption, and child mutilation; at the same time, I'm scrutinizing these trends against the backdrop of history, from ancient to present, and the fate of parallel civilizations. The other lens sees the influence of the praying church on history, from Peter's supernatural deliverance from Herod's imprisonment, all the way up to the fall of the Soviet Union and pivotal World War Two victories such as Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain. The latter lens keeps me from despair. The former begs the question, "At what cost will we see Divine Liberation?"
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February 15, 2024
Industrial Revolution, prophecy, prophetic word
Published by Emily Tomko at February 15, 2024
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“Pull the plug”

Juxtaposed against today, Hawthorne's Celestial Railroad is a mirror held up to culture, and how much more might we see ourselves the pampered passengers rather than the scorned pilgrims - particularly in the face of the exponentially increasing power of technology and Artificial Intelligence to distract, dissuade, and dismember us from our Creator and that which is most important in life. There's a phrase in my spirit these last several months that I've been praying aloud to the Lord. "Pull the plug."
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February 10, 2024
Published by Emily Tomko at February 10, 2024
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The frightening truth about failing to pray

"Inattention to prayer actually gives place to the devil to advance his cause and evil." -Todd Smith, Unless We Pray An incident happened a couple years ago of which I only grasped its implications this week. It was July 2021. I had gone to a Wednesday night prayer meeting. There were only a few of us gathered, although our pastor was often reminding us as a congregation not to fall into "vacation mode" and lose spiritual focus, just because it was summer.
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June 11, 2023
Pharisees, Lawlessness, Trial of Jesus
Published by Emily Tomko at June 11, 2023
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Was legalism really the sin of the Pharisees? 

In my previous post, I listed 23 characteristics of the Pharisees spelled out in the Gospels. Their true nature, collectively, was manipulative, vicious, authoritarian, and outright murderous. Jesus called them “children of [their] father, the devil.” For this reason, we should exercise caution before labeling fellow believers who disagree with our position, “Pharisees.” For while there are preachers and teachers with whom we would disagree, even strongly on particulars
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