There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
The Vigor of Spiritual Life Depends on Mortification Romans 8:13; Colossians 3:5–10
The vigor, and power, and comfort of our spiritual life depends on the mortification of the deeds of the flesh.
JOHN OWEN
Ritzema, E., & Vince, E. (Eds.). (2013). 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
“The Word of God Is Plain in Itself” Acts 1:16; 28:25; Hebrews 4:12
The word of God is plain in itself; if there is any obscurity in one place, the Holy Ghost, who is never contrary to himself, explains it more clearly in other places, so that there can remain no doubt, but unto such as are obstinately ignorant.
JOHN KNOX
Ritzema, E. (2013). 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Reformation. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Each of us is unique, and yet every believer plays a significant role within the body of Christ. So if we’re part of God’s universal church, is it still necessary to join a local church? Hear the answer on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves. (Ezekiel 37:13)
Indeed it must be so: those who receive life from the dead are sure to recognize the hand of the Lord in such a resurrection. This is the greatest and most remarkable of all changes that a man can undergo—to be brought out of the grave of spiritual death and made to rejoice in the light and liberty of spiritual life. None could work this but the living God, the Lord and giver of life.
Ah, me! How well do I remember when I was lying in the valley full of dry bones, as dry as any of them! Blessed was the day when free and sovereign grace sent the man of God to prophesy upon me! Glory be to God for the stirring which that word of faith caused among the dry bones. More blessed still was that heavenly breath from the four winds which made me live! Now know I the quickening Spirit of the ever-living Jehovah, Truly Jehovah is the living God, for He made me live. My new life even in its pinings and sorrowings is clear proof to me that the Lord can kill and make alive. He is the only God. He is all that is great, gracious, and glorious, and my quickened soul adores Him as the great I AM. All glory be unto His sacred name! As long as I live I will praise Him.
“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” Romans 8:14-15
Recently my wife and I bumped into a friend and his son whom we had not seen for a year. In that time, the teenager had grown from boy to young man, from thin and wiry to broad-shouldered and tall — and his voice was lower, too.
In addition to growing up physically, the young man was ever more like his dad — upbeat and positive, brimming with good. The boy seemed a “chip off the old block.”
And he’s adopted.
If you were to see father and son side-by-side, you would probably know it; the boy’s dark hair and eyes stand out in contrast to his dad’s Scandinavian complexion. But they are family.
The Apostle Paul says that when we are led by the Spirit of God, we become His children, His offspring through adoption. We may be in body and He may be in Spirit, but at the core, we are family. We have been freed from spiritual slavery and fear. Within the body of Christ we differ in race and nation, but deep down we’re family, born of God. We call Him “Daddy” (the affectionate meaning of “Abba”).
As a child adopted by God, I need to ask myself if people can tell I’m carrying the family name, if I’m living by the Spirit. John reminds us of the telling sign: “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another” John 13:35.
Can others tell that we belong to God’s family? Do they see us bearing His complexion?
God, thank You for adopting me into Your family. May my life honor Your reputation as a loving and caring Father. Amen.
“And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’” Matthew 18:3
Our sweet granddaughter, “B”, has a lot of enthusiasm for Jesus, and an abundance of love and faith that is pure and beautiful. She is not afraid to love what she loves, and she does so with such joy and passion.
Recently, while looking at my journal and reflecting on what I call “b-isms,” I was reminded of the adorable things she has said and done. When she was three, she would often say, ”I want to have a play date with Jesus.” When our neighbors moved, I said, “Wouldn’t it be great if you could live next door?” She held my cheeks in her little hands and said, “No, Mimi, I don’t want to live next door. I want to live in your house with you.” And, on a warm day in Texas, while out riding bikes, her mom told her they needed to go in. B said, “Mommy, don’t you know heaven is outside?”
Today’s Bible verse reminds us that we must become like little children. We have a lot to learn from children and their marvel. How can our walk with God be more childlike? Do we respond to circumstances with trusting hearts and an eagerness to learn while relying on Christ to sustain us? Are we naturally full of faith while being bold?
C.S. Lewis once said, “Christ wants a child’s heart, but a grown-up’s head.” Simply put, we must love Christ unconditionally while continuously learning about and sharing his love with others.
Jesus, help me to have childlike faith that is passionate and bold. Holy Spirit, draw me closer to you and give me radical love for you and others. Thank you, God, for guiding and teaching me in my walk with you. Amen.
Do you recall something a child said that touched your heart with Truth? Why not share that today with someone else?
Here is a good searching question for a man to ask himself as he reviews his past life: Have I written in the snow? Will my lifework endure the lapse of years and the fret of change? Has there been anything immortal in it that will survive the speedy wreck of all terrestrial things? The boys inscribe their names in capitals in the snow, and in the morning’s thaw the writing disappears; will it be so with my work, or will the characters which I have carved outlast the brazen tablets of history? Have I written in the snow?
CHARLES SPURGEON*
Ritzema, E. (Ed.). (2012). 300 Quotations for Preachers. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
The Way of Christ Is the Only Way Isaiah 30:21; Jeremiah 6:16; John 14:6
This is the way, and there is none other; the right way, the holy way, the perfect way, the way of Christ, the way of the just, the way of the elect that shall be saved. Walk in it, persevere in it, endure in it, live in it, die in it, breathe forth your spirits in it.
THOMAS À KEMPIS*
Ritzema, E., & Brant, R. (Eds.). (2013). 300 quotations for preachers from the Medieval church. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
TODAY’S MEME For more of today’s memes, visit the Memesters Union.
TODAY’S CARTOON For more of today’s cartoons, visit the Cartoons archive.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Biden successfully emboldened our enemies and betrayed our allies in one reckless decision. And he still has the nerve to say he has no regrets.” —Nikki Haley
US exempts Kabul evacuees from COVID tests Amid the chaos and confusion at the airport, the United States said it had taken at least one step to ease requirements for those seeking to leave: COVID-19 tests. Although Afghanistan had been a hotspot for the coronavirus pandemic, the State Department said Thursday that evacuees are not required to get a negative COVID-19 result to travel.
Mainstream Media Finally Gives A Platform To Scientists Speaking Out Against Biden’s Push For Booster Jabs At this point, it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Biden Administration plan to provide COVID-19 booster shots before the FDA even has a chance to sign off isn’t actually based on any actual “science”. And some of the mainstream scientists are starting to speak up about it, opening themselves up to the possibility that their posts might be purged by Big Tech “misinformation” censors.
FBI Shoots Down Dem ‘Conspiracy Theory’ That Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Was Pre-Planned Democratic leaders, including – most notably – Nancy Pelosi refuse to let go of the notion that the Jan. 6 “attack” on the Capitol was a terror attack on par with 9/11 or the Pulse nightclub shootings. Why? Because, they claim, the whole seige was planned and perpetrated by shadowy militia groups like the Oath Keepers, working in concert with Republican lawmakers. the FBI has apparently determined that there’s “scant evidence” to suggest that the events of Jan. 6 resulted from an “organized plot”, according to a scoop published by Reuters.
Media Turns On Biden: “Why Do You Continue To Trust The Taliban Mr. President?” Biden took a few questions from pre-selected reporters and the tension was very evident as they did not offer the normal softball question, focusing explicitly on the fact that Americans and SIVs were unable to get to the airport to which the president claimed no knowledge, only to backtrack when called on that lie.
Israeli Submarines Play Bigger Role as Shadow War With Iran Escalates “We are operating right under the enemy’s feet,” say Israel Navy officials. Few will dispute that the Air Force is the jewel in the Israeli military crown. But there’s another section of the IDF that is playing an increasingly critical role amid shifting geo-political realities and a mounting “shadow war” with Iran, and that is Israel’s submarine fleet.
Tesla is building an AI humanoid robot called Optimus, says Elon Musk The robot, referred to as Optimus by those inside the company, will be 173 centimetres tall and weigh 57 kilograms. Its body will be powered by 40 electromechanical actuators and its face will feature a screen display. Optimus will be able to carry a cargo of up to 20 kilograms, and Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk claims that a working prototype will be ready next year.
Israel lifts restriction on gay men donating blood Until Thursday, men seeking to donate blood in Israel were asked whether they had same-sex relations in the past 12 months, a category that would disqualify them from giving. Now the questionnaire inquires whether a prospective donor has had “high risk sexual relations with a new partner or partners” in the past three months, using gender neutral wording.
Syrian media: Israeli missile strike hits near Damascus The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that an alleged Israeli missile strike hit near Damascus on Thursday night. The media cited a Syrian army source as saying that air defenses intercepted several Israeli missiles. Lebanese media outlets had reported low-flying Israeli jets above Beirut just prior to the attack.
Hurricane “Grace” strengthening on its way toward mainland Mexico Hurricane “Grace” is strengthening on its way toward mainland Mexico. A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the coast of mainland Mexico from north of Cabo Rojo to Barra del Tordo. Landfall is expected within the warning area this evening or tonight, August 21, 2021 — preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to competition.
Severe floods hit Gävle after two months’ worth of rain overnight, Sweden Record-breaking rain hit the Swedish city of Gävle in Gästrikland Region on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 17 and 18, 2021, leaving hundreds of homes and vehicles flooded and prompting authorities to close schools and issue stay-at-home warnings.
Coronavirus cases spike in highly vaccinated Israel but drop in unvaccinated Palestine The Middle Eastern states of Israel and Palestine show contrasting figures in both vaccination rates and case counts amid the ongoing pandemic. Israel recently saw a massive spike in Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases despite three-fifths of its population being vaccinated. Meanwhile, Palestine saw its COVID-19 cases drop even though more than 90 percent of its population remains unvaccinated.
UW Medicine DENIES life-saving heart transplant to patient because he won’t take heart-damaging COVID vaccines After a year and half of refusing efficacious treatment to COVID patients, the University of Washington Medical Center refuses to perform life-saving operations if the patient is not vaccinated with COVID spike proteins. UW Medicine is currently denying a 64-year-old patient a life-saving heart transplant because he won’t take the experimental vaccine protocol. He has been waiting for this transplant for the past two and half years.
US Troops Carried Out Operation to Rescue 169 Americans in Kabul American troops left the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, this week and rescued 169 Americans, officials said Friday. The operation took place on Wednesday or Thursday, President Joe Biden said while answering questions at the White House.
Joe Biden: Wanted for Dereliction of Duty, Treason and Election Fraud! Who Will Carry Out the Rule of Law? I recently texted a present Federal LEO who has been in country as a contractor and a service man. I told him, I was receiving information from known sources that AMERICAN contractors trapped behind enemy lines, were using their Sat phones to beg for help and rescue and that these pleas were being ignored by the Biden administration. I asked this well-informed person and he said he was aware of the situation. He responded with a one-word answer “Yes”!
Biden assures everyone that ‘no one’s being killed’ in AfghanistanPosted: 21 Aug 2021 07:01 AM PDTOPINION (ETH) – President Biden in an interview with ABC that aired Thursday said “no one’s being killed” in Afghanistan despite reports of at least seven deaths amid the chaos at Kabul’s airport and of Taliban beating people on their way to the airport, as he defended his handling of the American withdrawal from the country.According to Fox News, Biden further told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that intelligence did not indicate the Afghan government would quickly collapse – despite reports that’s exactly what the intelligence said.Continue reading Biden assures everyone that ‘no one’s being killed’ in Afghanistan at End Time Headlines.
GAME CHANGER: Full FDA approval of PFIZER as early as Monday…Will others follow?Posted: 20 Aug 2021 06:22 PM PDT(ETH) – The Food and Drug Administration is on track to approve Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for adults as soon as next week, three people with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO.The long-anticipated announcement would make Pfizer’s Covid-19 shot the first to receive full licensure from the federal government, a milestone in the nation’s year-and-a-half pandemic battle. It would also come as the Biden administration grapples with a resurgence of infections fueled by the Delta variant — a worsening situation that has prompted a redoubling of efforts to vaccinate the roughly 85 million Americans who have yet to get a shot.Continue reading GAME CHANGER: Full FDA approval of PFIZER as early as Monday…Will others follow? at End Time Headlines.
What’s happening now is going to change everything!Posted: 20 Aug 2021 03:20 PM PDT(OPINION) Michael Snyder – It may take a long time, but the truth comes out eventually. New information that the CDC has just released is going to radically change how Americans view this pandemic.Up until now, most people had assumed that the vaccines would give them permanent immunity and that they would be able to go back to their normal lives as a result. But now the CDC is telling the public exactly what I was telling my readers a year ago. Continue reading What’s happening now is going to change everything! at End Time Headlines.
Here on The End Time I spent the last week writing and podcasting about discernment. I did my best to show what discernment is; both the gift some possess and the training up in that we all should do. I showed how discernment operates in the church, and gave some examples of people who do discernment well. Discernment is biblical wisdom applied in order to test what is good and hold onto it.
Sherlock Holmes and John Watson: let’s take a look at the facts
Here is Dr. William Lane Craig giving a long-form argument for the historical event of the resurrection of Jesus, and taking questions from the audience.
The speaker introduction goes for 6 minutes, then Dr. Craig speaks for 35 minutes, then it’s a period of questions and answers with the audience. The total length is 93 minutes, so quite a long period of Q&A. The questions in the Q&A period are quite good.
Introduction:
Many people who are willing to accept God’s existence are not willing to accept the God of Christianity
Christians need to be ready to show that Jesus rose from the dead as a historical event
Private faith is fine for individuals, but when dealing with the public you have to have evidence
When making the case, you cannot assume that your audience accepts the Bible…
Sky’s Stuart Ramsay says the situation at Kabul’s airport is “utterly horrendous” as thousands of people continue to crowd in an attempt to flee Afghanistan, adding there is an “almost continuous” plea for medics as people are crushed in the chaos.
While Afghan nationals rally across parts of the country showing resistance to the Taliban, questions are still being asked, as to how the terror group was able to simply sweep the Afghan army aside. RT debates the issue!
Trump’s overarching theme was a conditions-based withdrawal from Afghanistan, Kash Patel says.
The Biden administration ignored or jettisoned carefully designed plans to withdraw from Afghanistan, with the result being chaos and bedlam, a former national security official to President Donald Trump said.
“I don’t even know that anyone could have made this awful scenario up,” former National Security Council Senior Director Kash Patel told Just the News. “It’s literally worse than you could possibly conjure.”
Patel, who handled the Pentagon transition to Biden’s team as chief of staff to Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, made his remarks while appearing Thursday on the John Solomon Reports podcast.
The Biden team has failed to prepare for evacuating American citizens and Afghans who helped the U.S. government, Patel said, and has allowed other important issues to founder.
“There’s no plan to secure our weaponry or machinery, we’re just giving it over to terrorists,” Patel said. “And there’s no plan to secure a Kabul International Airport so that at least flights can get in and out.”
Careful plans, though, already were laid out by the Trump administration, and were offered to Team Biden, Patel said.
The overarching theme was a conditions-based withdrawal, whereby the U.S. military would leave Afghanistan in increments if the Taliban met clear conditions, according to Patel. Among other things, the Taliban were required to reject and repudiate Al Qaeda, and would have to negotiate in good faith. The U.S. would also maintain a special operations contingent in place, and would retain the capacity to launch air strikes under specific circumstances.
The Trump plan included retaining control of Bagram Air Base until all Americans were withdrawn from Afghanistan. A large, sprawling site, Bagram has multiple airfields and other facilities that safely can handle significant amounts of traffic and also host a large population.
Handing control of Bagram to Afghanistan set up the sequence of events that saw the Taliban seize the facility, Patel said.
“We would not have ever relinquished control of Bagram Airfield, because that is our command and control node for the entire region,” Patel said. “And that’s where we would fly in and out securely.”
Bagram also was home to a prison where the U.S. held accused terrorists who were set to be prosecuted. Among them were alleged senior Al Qaeda operatives. The Taliban released thousands of prisoners who were considered to be a high threat to the West.
The U.S. never planned simply to release those prisoners.
“We were working with allies and partners to prosecute them either in America or prosecute them in their home countries of origin as we successfully did under President Trump,” Patel said. The prosecutions take time, he said. “We had a plan in place and we were doing it. Releasing terrorists is never an option. It was never an option under President Trump,” Patel said.
The overall arrangement under Trump included a robust air presence, with armed and unarmed aircraft and drones to collect intelligence or launch air strikes. That plan, too, appears to have been jettisoned, the former security official said.
In a war zone, the U.S. always is ready to enact pre-established procedures to evacuate Americans, their local allies, and their families. The situation in Kabul, particularly at the airport, where humanitarian crises were on full display, stems from a lack of proper planning, Patel said.
“The only way you are surprised by this sort of situation is if you don’t plan for it, if you don’t prepare for it,” he said.
“We lost not one American casualty under President Trump’s conditions based withdrawal. Look at the chaos and death that is occurring now under Biden’s [so-called] plan for Afghanistan.”
People on the ground inside Kabul and the airport told Just the News on Thursday that the situation continues to be both chaotic and dangerous.
The number of cancers among Ground Zero responders and others who lived, worked or went to school near the World Trade Center has risen to 23,710, health officials say.
Former Navy SEAL Robert O’Neill, who has been credited as the person who killed Osama Bin Laden in a 2011 raid, blasted how President Joe Biden is handling the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and called for him to be impeached. O’Neill believes the withdrawal has been such a disaster that he demanded the resignation of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.
During a Fox News interview, O’Neill obliterated Biden for his foreign policy decisions in Afghanistan, especially in the country’s capital of Kabul.
“We were pretty good for the past four and a half years at impeaching a president for no reason,” O’Neill said, referring to the impeachment of former President Donald Trump. “If anything deserves an impeachment, it’s right now, because we don’t do this. We don’t ask the enemy for permission. We go in there. We crush them. We win every single time, and then we leave with our people.”
O’Neill was particularly peeved that Biden or the military generals haven’t ordered U.S. forces to enter the city of Kabul to extract Americans.
“Look, I don’t want to be in charge, but if I was, oh, I want to get the Americans? Cool. Give me nine guys,” O’Neill said on Friday’s cable TV appearance. “I’m going to walk through the streets and I’m going to kill everyone I see and I’m gonna grab the Americans. It is not difficult. But we have these people who are in charge that are a disgrace. I’m amazed that there hasn’t been at least 30 generals and admirals that haven’t resigned or been fired today.”
“Every veteran, Marine, Airman, and Navy SEAL, Coast Guardsmen, everyone I’ve talked to today, all they tell me is they feel gross,” O’Neill continued. “And that’s how you should feel, you should feel gross. We don’t ask the Taliban permission. You know what we do? We kick their ass. That’s it.”
“I’m very, very angry because over 400 combat missions in so many different fields of combat, I have never once lost a fight,” the ex-SEAL said. “My team has never lost a fight. I don’t know any Marine who’s lost a fight, and that includes the Taliban,” he continued. “When we meet them face to face, we crush them.”
“It’s infuriating that I have to talk to my combat veteran friends that fought for so many years, and they’re wondering why, why do we fight? For these people that just hid there until we elected people in suits that can’t do anything,” O’Neill stated. “And then they surrender? Are you kidding me? This president surrendered to the Taliban. Does it get any more embarrassing? Should I not be embarrassed as an American right now, wondering what I fought for?”
O’Neill noted that “we have people that can handle” the Afghanistan withdrawal, but bashed current politicians, “Democrats and Republicans,” who all they do is “talk, talk, talk” to get re-elected.
Robert O’Neill: Joe Biden needs to be impeached for what he has done in Afghanistan. https://t.co/pkv95RLSv2— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) 1629509205.0
Earlier this week, O’Neill slammed Biden as a “disaster,” and asked if “anyone in the media gonna hold this administration responsible?”
Of the Afghanistan evacuation, O’Neill commented, “This is the worst loss in American history. Our most popular president has vanished. Prove me wrong.”
The former Navy SEAL asked, “Have any of our generals and admirals resigned out of disgrace yet?” He also called for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley to resign. O’Neill tweeted, “There are Afghans falling to their deaths off of our retreating aircraft. Has @thejointstaff resigned yet?”
He mentioned on Twitter that “Brits, French and German troops are getting their people out.” He asked the European nations to “please grab some of our folks” in Kabul because “the United States doesn’t have the stones” to rescue them.
The U.S. has confined its evacuation plans to only Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport. There have been mixed messages about why the U.S. military doesn’t venture into Kabul. Biden claims Americans have safe access to the airport, but the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan warned Americans not to travel to the Kabul airport because there were security concerns.
This week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. does not have “the capability to go out and collect large numbers of people.”
Shortly after the US embassy sent out the warning to Americans, the Associated Press received word of a potential ISIS threat against Americans.
The US military is being forced to develop new ways to safely get Americans to Kabul airport.
The UK, France and Germany knew they had to move quickly to extract their countrymen so they sent special forces to rescue their citizens trapped outside of Kabul airport a few days ago.
Meanwhile, Dementia Joe told the US military to stand down and rely on the Taliban for safe passage to the airport.
Now tens of thousands of Americans who are stuck behind enemy lines are dealing with a potential ISIS threat.
Potential Islamic State threats against Americans in Afghanistan are forcing the U.S. military to develop new ways to get evacuees to the airport in Kabul, a senior U.S. official said Saturday, adding a new complication to the already chaotic efforts to get people out of the country after its swift fall to the Taliban.
The official said that small groups of Americans and possibly other civilians will be given specific instructions on what to do, including movement to transit points where they can be gathered up by the military. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.
Less than 24 hours ago, Joe Biden said there was no threat to Americans who were trying to get to the airport.
On Friday bumbling Joe Biden lied to the American public saying, “We have no indication that they haven’t been able to get in Kabul through the airport. We made an agreement with the Taliban. So far they’ve allowed them to go through.”
Each of us is unique, and yet every believer plays a significant role within the body of Christ. So if we’re part of God’s universal church, is it still necessary to join a local church? Hear the answer on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
Truth2Freedom's Blog 