ON CIRCUIT RIDES, JOHNNY APPLESEED & OUR TRUE MISSION

“He who goes forth bearing seed and weeping [at needing his precious supply of grain for sowing] shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” – PSALM 126:6, AMPC

I have often expressed to the Lord (as if He didn’t already know it) that I am not an evangelist, in the sense of saving souls. No, rather I am much more akin to a “Sower of Seed,” leaving others who come after me to water, and still others to reap. – cf. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

APPLESEED: THE MYTH. So, I have for some time thought of myself as a kind of “Johnny Appleseed” as one who travels from town to town, state to state, dropping Sacred Seed wherever I go. Now listen to a fanciful description of him by ‘The Washington Apple Commission’ in their essay on him, published in 2021 (edited).

“Johnny Appleseed’s real name was JOHN CHAPMAN. He was born in Leominster, Massachusetts in 1774. His dream was to produce so many apples that no one would ever go hungry. Although legend paints a picture of Johnny as a dreamy wanderer, planting apple seeds throughout the countryside, research reveals him to be a careful, organized businessman, who over a period of nearly fifty years, bought and sold tracts of land and developed thousands of productive apple trees …

He always carried a leather bag filled with apple seeds he collected for free from cider mills. Legend says he was constantly planting them in open places in the forests, along the roadways and by the streams. However, research suggests he created numerous nurseries by carefully selecting the perfect planting spot, fencing it in with fallen trees and logs, bushes and vines, ‘sowing the seeds’ and returning at regular intervals to repair the fence, tend the ground and sell the trees. He soon was known as the ‘Apple Seed Man” and later he became known only as ‘Johnny Appleseed.’

Over the years, his frequent visits to the settlements were looked forward to and no cabin door was ever closed to him. To the men and women he was a News Carrier; to the children he was a Friend. He was also very religious and preached to people along the way. His favorite book was his Bible.”

APPESEED: THE REALITY. Just a bit of research leads, however, to instruction for us all in this day of False Doctrines and Fanciful Legends. Here is what the JSTOR data base revealed in their special article on Chapman by library scientist, MATTHEW WILLS, published on October 22, 2016 (edited).

“Born in Massachusetts in 1774, Chapman planted his first orchard on the Pennsylvania frontier in 1790s. For most of the first half of the 19th century, he tramped around Ohio and Indiana, where his unconventional ways gave birth to plenty of tall tales …

[A respected Obit however] described Chapman as ‘well known through this region by his eccentricity and singular garb.’ That included a ‘coarse coffee sack’ with a hole for his neck and the waists of four pairs of pants ‘shingled’ ’round him. Chapman was a footloose nurseryman and promoter of both apples and the teachings of the Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg. In fact, the very first notice of Chapman was English, from an 1817 report by the Manchester Swedenborgian Society on proselytizing efforts in America. As it happened, Chapman was a star evangelist for the Church of the New Jerusalem. ‘Johnny Appleseed’ Mythology ignores the cultish Swedenborgism and the eccentricity of dress, wandering, and homelessness, along with the expanding frontier’s displacement and destruction of Native American communities [for which he was apparently a disciple].”

In modern day understanding, Johnny Appleseed would have been considered full on insane.

THE CIRCUIT RIDER. But I love that First Story, since it strikes at the heart of what I do, and recently just did again in my nearly 5,000-mile trek through: Mason City, Nebraska, Pleasant Hill, Iowa; the Dakotas; Great Falls, Montana; Coeur D’Alene, Idaho; Kent, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Reno, Nevada; Stockton, California; and [ahem], Bicknell, Utah.

But the Second Story reminds us that we can only believe, as true followers of Jesus, that which agrees with Biblical Integrity and Historical Reality. For the American Order is now rife with what Paul warned Timothy about.

“But the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons … But have nothing to do with irreverent folklore and silly myths. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness [keeping yourself spiritually fit].” – 1 TIMOTHY 4:1, 7, AMP

Forewarned is to be Forearmed, as the saying goes. So must it be with us, beloved, in these Days of Deception.

WHAT I FOUND. In the best Spirit of de Toqueville and others, here is where America seems to live in these 11 States, that for me represent 11 SPIRITUAL ZONES in this clearly non-scientific sampling of American Values and Opinion.

The Results are sobering.

• ANXIETY. No surprise here. Pretty much everyone is nervous or even fearful about the state of the Nation, the instability of world events, the economy, our politics, Covid, the seeming absence of values, and where we all seem to be headed. To a man or woman: Some sort of ‘Catastrophe.’ I even heard more than one, whether saved or not, use the term “End Times.”

• CONFUSION. Most groups, except for one, did not claim to have an answer. On top of the jitters about everything, there seemed to be no collective sense of just what we or the President of anyone for that matter should do about the mess we are in. “Unprecedented” kept passing through my mind as I listened and reflected – even the weather events were “crazy,” according to several, but we have no discernible explanation for any of it.

• DESPERATION. Now this was the most concerning to me, since it means that the American citizen is more and more willing to give ground on some of their long-held beliefs in order to achieve some sort of stability and certainty in this highly volatile and unpredictable world of ours. This presents the American Order with enormous peril, since our Christian Foundations are the only thing that indeed secures the Nation.

• ENTER DONALD TRUMP. I saw not a scintilla of evidence of the people naming Jesus Christ or Joe Biden or anything or anyone else for that matter, as possible salve for our national sickness. No, only one name appeared in the mouths or on the sides of barns or on signs for “Trump 2024” as the only possible way toward a Renewed American Vision and subsequent Greatness. And 100-foot high flagpoles with American flags as big as a house signaling “Nationalism!” as loudly as I have ever heard or seen it. America has pretty much ‘Bought the Lie,’ beloved, or as we old timers used to say it: “Lock, stock and barrel.”

THE EXPLANATION. A Canadian political scientist recently warned about all this in a riveting article titled, “Prepare for Right-Wing U.S. Dictatorship Before 2030,” reported by ‘Newsweek’ journalist, DARAGH ROCHE, published appropriately enough on News Years Day, January 1, 2022. Do listen carefully.

“A Canadian political scientist has urged his country’s government to prepare for the possibility of the United States becoming a right-wing dictatorship before 2030. In an op-ed published in ‘The Globe and Mail’ on Friday, THOMAS HOMER-DIXON, an executive director of the Cascade Institute at Royal Roads University in British Columbia, warned his country had to prepare for the worst-case scenario. ‘By 2025, American Democracy could collapse, causing extreme domestic political instability, including widespread civil violence,’ Homer-Dixon wrote.

‘In 2014, the suggestion that Donald Trump would become president would also have struck nearly everyone as absurd. But today we live in a world where the absurd regularly becomes real and the horrible commonplace.’ The scholar added: ‘The [U.S.] is becoming increasingly ungovernable, and some experts believe it could descend into civil war.’ Last month, three retired U.S. Army generals warned of the possibility of civil war if the 2024 presidential election results are not accepted by sections of the military.”

Am I trying to scare you? Absolutely! Into waking up. Into a commonsense recognition of the Reality of our Last Days World. Into reading your Bibles again. Into the realization that your pastor may not be feeding you the right spiritual food. Indeed – Into saving your lives, beloved.

THE REMNANT. Now here’s the beautiful part, recorded in the Scriptures for such a time as this: “So too then, at the present time there has come to be a remnant [a small believing minority] according to God’s gracious choice” (ROMANS 11:5, AMP). Note however, that by the teaching of the Canon from Creation to the Consummation, the Remnant has always been “a small believing minority.”

If you are wondering if you are currently a member of God’s Remnant Church, JOSEPH MATTERA, writing for ‘Charisma Magazine’ on January 22, 2016 – before Trump had completely seduced the Church and its various communication centers, defines 9 CHARACTERISTICS of that special, faithful Church. I adapt this from  his work.

1. They become more entrenched in the Word of God as they see the nation and world depart from the Canon.

• They will become more and more vilified in society, and eventually hated and seen as a threat.

• The will believe in and preach countercultural biblical messages, adding to their marginalization by their new enemies (in the Church!).

• They will produce the most committed and courageous Christians, who will make disciples of others.

• They will experience a greater presence and power of God than their non-Remnant counterparts.

• They will become more visible as the Establishment Church becomes more and more decadent.

• They will become more excluded and separated from Mainstream Evangelical churches and denominations.

• The Remnant Church will eventually redefine what it means to be a Christian, as currently conceived by the contemporary churches in the nation.

• The Remnant Church will ENDURE while the Compromising Church will fade and fall away to Perdition.

SOME PRACTICAL STUFF. As I end this longer than Commentary on CR II, I though of a few things we can learn from this last outing.

• PRAYER. The strategic planning and execution of 24/7 prayer by a small group of you (won’t mention names in case I forget someone) was a stunning addition to our overall effort. There were only two glitches – both my fault. One, I ate some food on one occasion that left me a bit weak for a short time. Two, I chose “the scenic route” on the way home without much prayer and paid the price.

• COST. While this is not a fund raiser, the increased costs of virtually everything, especially gasoline (was paying nearly $7 a gallon California) has doubled the price of doing the Rides. We need to “measure that cost” before launching on any more of them – such as the last one of the year to the Midwest and New England by year’s end.

• UNITY. While I didn’t realize this as a huge benefit, just visiting and reading about each other each day helps weld us together as a part of God’s Remnant, a truly family of believers, built on the twin pillars of Love and Truth. We are going to need each other more than ever in the Days to Come, and those shall be our Foundation Stones, fueled and inspired by the Holy Spirit’s fire. – cf. John 17:17-21; 8:31-32; Acts 1:8, 2:3; Ephesians 4:15

CODA. I love what the 18^th century English Baptist pastor JOHN GILL has written about our sacred charge, and I end with that. He beautifully explains much of our heart.

“Christ’s faithful ministers, which is called ‘a sowing of spiritual things;’ which should be done plentifully and constantly, and with the same sort of Seed or Doctrine, and which requires art and skill; and is often performed weeping or with tears, because of their own insufficiency, through fear of success, and through want of it; and because of the badness of the ground, the hardness of men’s hearts they have to do with …

[Who] shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him; the Seed he has been to and fro in sowing springs up under a Divine blessing; and, beyond his expectation and fears, produces a large and plentiful crop; which he reaps, and returns home, not with his arms full of sheaves only, but with his cart laden with them: So a faithful minister, sooner or later, is blessed with converts, who will be his joy and crown of rejoicing Another Day.” –‘ An Exposition of the Old and New Testament,’ 9 vols., 1746-1763; edited

I love you all and I love this Mission. Without hesitation, I continue to tell you: ‘Best job I ever had!’ 

Ever your servant, DK – the one who rides The Circuit

GRAPHIC: Lovingly provided by our intrepid brother, MR. WILLIAM BLOOD

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