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
Former Trump adviser Stephen Miller and Trump treasury official Monica Crowley react to President Biden’s Oval Office address on Thursday night on ‘The Ingraham Angle.’ #foxnews
Nikki Haley, a Republican presidential candidate, has cautioned against being swayed by Hamas’ recent release of two hostages. She believes that this action by the group is an attempt to gain favor with the United States.
I Don’t Think That Word Means What You Think It Means They’re adding new sports to the Olympics. Some I get. Lacrosse and cricket, for instance are real sports. Football I can see, except it’s flag football. No “dangerous sports”? Squash is a sport, but I don’t think they have a racquetball or handball category, so why squash? Well, they added skateboarding and break dancing for 2024, so I guess “sports” is undergoing a redefinition as well as so many other terms these days.
Crimes Fall Down While the media pummels us almost daily with reports of shootings and riots and other horrors, the FBI reports that violent crime ticked down in 2022 — collectively 1.7%. Homicides dropped by 6% and rape decreased by 5%. Which only makes me wonder just how reliable our news media really is, since they appear to leave us in a constant state of terror about violent crimes and all.) Especially since the media opted to emphasize an increase in car thefts instead. (Oh, wait … what do we call an organization that inflicts terror?
I Wonder What Made Him Say That A Stanford neurobiologist has determined that humans have no free will at all. So serial killers are not responsible for their actions and there is no value in you trying to be a good (or bad) person. Everything, he argues, is determined by forces outside our control. Oddly, the claim is “Free will is a myth, and the sooner we accept that, the more just our society will be.” Just? I suspect that when we adopt this nonsensical view it will save us a lot on law enforcement, prisons, and awards.
Whose Side Are They On? Biden has promised humanitarian aid to Gaza. It can only be to the residents and not to Hamas. If we keep in mind that not all Palestinians are terrorists, this makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is the whole portion of the Middle East for being attacked yelling loudly against Israel’s retaliation (partly over that hospital that apparently was not Israel’s doing) but not willing to provide any aid at all. If they don’t put actions to their words, we know which speaks the loudest.
Not Side A; Side Bee Dozens of protesters were arrested at the White House who were calling for an end to Israel’s response to being attacked (actual story), but Hamas is disappointed that liberals don’t believe they massacred Jews after they went to all the trouble of livestreaming it. Besides, Hamas has clarified that they meant to start the kind of war where they could do what they wanted and no one fights back. Israel simply misunderstood. Dylan Mulvaney, in case you don’t know, is the guy who identifies as a transexual female. Virgin Atlantic awarded him “Woman of the Year” (actual story). In response, the Babylon Bee awarded him “Man of the Year” for achieving things other men only dream about, like taking down Bud Light or the courage to wear designer gowns at the Met Gala. In other news, the Gospel Coalition released the Taylor Swift Study Bible because, “Who better than singer-songwriter and cultural icon Taylor Swift to provide us with rich, accessible Biblical exegesis?” Right? (And I had to laugh at the one about liberals replacing the Star of David on the COEXIST sticker with a Hamas terrorist in a hang glider. Now that was funny right there.)
This article was written by Swedish independent journalist Peter Imanuelsen, also known as PeterSweden. You can follow him at PeterSweden.com.
Do you like to eat real food? Are you tired of all this talk about fake lab grown meat and this push by the elites for you to eat insects?
Maybe Italy is the place for you!
In Italy, they are now looking to BAN the production and promotion of lab-grown meat in the country, which means that people can be much safer in knowing that their steak is actually a real steak.
But it is not only lab-grown meat that they are looking to ban, but also all synthetic foods. Synthetic foods are products that aren’t produced in the soil or natural meat obtained from animals. Rather, they are produced artificially in a laboratory.
”Protecting health”
The bill was introduced already on the 28th of March, with the Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida saying that is is ”the first measure of this nature at an international level aimed at protecting health, our production, our environment and a way of life”.
The Agriculture Minister recently posted this on his Instagram.
”I am more convinced than ever that I must give full consideration to the indications of the municipalities of the entire regions and of the millions of Italian citizens who have explicitly asked us to protect our health and our economy.
We are proud of this battle of civilizations, as of all the commitments undertaken by the government. We move forward. Without any step back.” said Fransesco Lollobrigida.
But there is one problem…
If the EU authorizes these fake foods, then Italy will be forced to allow the free movement of these products into the country. So the EU laws would take precedent over the Italian law.
However, Italy hopes to influence the EU.
”We believe that this law is important and that Italy can be the first nation free from this risk, hoping that then Europe will follow us” said the Agriculture Minister.
And this is not the first time that Italy has taken action to protect it’s food supply.
Earlier this year the government announced several decrees to crack down on the use of insects and bugs in Italian cuisine, banning insects from pasta and pizza!
Don’t mess with the Italians and their food. They like to keep their food authentic, they are not having any of the new fake meat and insect agenda.
Do you agree with the right-wing government in Italy on this issue?
What could be the possible side effects for humans to eat fake lab grown meat? We have no idea, just like we have no idea of the long term side effects of the mRNA shots.
Is it really a good idea then to suddenly introduce this into our diet with no testing whatsoever?
And why is this new mystery meat product being pushed on us so hard together with the new diet of insects, it seems very weird to me.
Of course, they are using the excuse of climate change to push this stuff. It’s supposed to better for the planet they say.
Maybe fake meat will be the replacement for all the real meat after they seize the Dutch farms, is that the plan perhaps?
I will not eat the fake meat. I will not eat the bugs. I will not take part in The Great Reset. I will be happy!
Independent journalist Peter Imanuelsen has dedicated years to reporting the things the mainstream media ignores. You can follow him at PeterSweden.com.
“These are birthing pangs…it is quite literally God versus Satan,” V1 Church Pastor Mike Signorelli explains. There’s a “much larger global battle that is happening,” but “when it looks like it’s dark, the light shines even brighter.” CBN’s Gary Lane has the story.
IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner discusses the latest developments as they prepare for the invasion of Gaza, the release of hostages and the goal to destroy Hamas. #foxnews
Did you know that Hamas appears by name in Scripture? It’s right there in the Book of Genesis!
The organization might be relatively young, but the spirit of “Hamas” has been plaguing the world from the start. Photo by Flash90
In this week’s Torah portion “Noah,” the terrorist organization Hamas is mentioned twice, and the translation is actually quite appropriate, perhaps even prophetic.
The sixth chapter of Genesis reads:
Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.” (Genesis 6:11-13)
The words “corrupt” and “evil” in the above translation are the same word in Hebrew, “hamas.” Aren’t these very apt descriptions of the terrorist group that has been attacking God’s people in such a pernicious and sacrilegious manner for decades?
The context of these verses is also interesting because it tells us the reasons for The Flood. “Hamas” is something so terrible that God decided to destroy humanity because of it.
The name of the terrorist group Hamas translated from Arabic means enthusiasm, zeal or fighting spirit, and is also an acronym for Islamic Resistance Movement.
Since we in Israel do not believe in coincidences, this terrorist group has chosen a name that reflects its essence in Hebrew. Furthermore, the Bible warns us with this hint that Hamas is very, very evil. God is so disgusted with Hamas that He destroys the crowning glory of His creation to remove iniquity and corruption from the world.
This is how you have to see today’s Hamas. It is hateful to God and must be eliminated. Rarely has one seen with such clarity the enemy one is dealing with as we sadly did on October 7th in Israel.
This article originally appeared on JoeHoft.com and was republished with permission.
Steve Forbes (Photo by Gage Skidmore)
Steve Forbes joined the Joe Hoft Show Friday on TNTRadio. He offered solutions to save the country economically while labeling the Biden Administration – “competent in their incompetence.”
Conservative icon Steve Forbes was on the Joe Hoft Show on TNTRadio.live today. Like most Americans, Forbes sees the economy failing, inflation at decade highs, the border open, and the world on fire. He offered suggestions for how to get America back on track.
Forbes started off the second segment of the show (at the 15:44 mark in the audio included below) responding to whether the Biden gang is incompetent or trying to destroy America:
I’d say they’re competent in their incompetence of how you see the world. They still believe in their hearts that this is ultimately Mr. Rogers neighborhood, that everyone can come to an agreement. They don’t recognize for example with Iran … it is unappeasable, especially with the United States. They can’t grasp that Vladimir Putin wants to recreate the Soviet empire and the bottom line is that China, Russia, North Korea and Iran and other bad actors see the US as a country in decline…
…The rest of the world wants us to be active. You see that in the Philippines…
…So the danger is we have an administration that is wrecking our economy, that is weak overseas, and so the question is can we make it through the next year, year- and-a-half and get a new regime here at home, just like we did with Ronald Reagan in the early 80’s and unleash our strength and make for a safer world, a more prosperous world starting here at home.
There’s no reason the economy can’t be booming. [Regulations are holding us back and taxes and anti-growth initiatives].
Forbes says we have to get the Fed to stop raising rates which is hurting the economy. We also have to get rid of the excess regulations. He says the overseas policies should be to rebuild our military the way Ronald Reagan did it in the 1980s.
When it was proposed that we have a Happy Meal index, Forbes laughed and agreed.
You hit on a good point, normal people. When Biden says the economy is getting better and inflation is coming down, all that means is the rate of price increases is declining. It doesn’t mean we’re going back to where we were when he took office. Everything is costing more…The administration is waging war against everything that makes life good…Anything that works they want to make unworkable.
Forbes went on to describe non-monetary and monetary inflation. Reagan then came in with tax cuts and deregulation. Unlike then we are now getting “the worst of both worlds”.
Americans are falling behind on their auto loans at the highest rate in nearly three decades.
With interest rate hikes making newer loans more expensive, millions of car owners are struggling to afford their payments. It’s a clear indication of distress at a time when the economy is sending mixed signals, particularly about the health of consumer spending.
For many Americans, the Republican dysfunction that has ground business in the U.S. House to a halt as two wars rage abroad and a budget crisis looms at home is feeding into a longer-term pessimism about the country’s core institutions.
President Joe Biden is running for a second term based on his accomplishments since stepping into office, but voters of all political stripes say there is still much left to be desired.
President Joe Biden announces new actions to protect consumers from hidden junk fees in the Rose Garden of the White House on Oct. 11, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Among the top concerns for voters about President Biden returning for a second term are his health, his ability to work in a polarized Congress, and whether or not he can handle mounting foreign policy crises.
“He’s getting us into a lot of wars, there was that mess when he pulled out of Afghanistan, and now we’re sending billions to Ukraine while I can’t even keep up with my electricity bill,” Andrew Kinnison, an independent from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, told The Epoch Times. “Now we’re getting involved in the Middle East, he’s writing too many blank checks.”
There is also the concern about the Hunter Biden scandal.
“Biden is on a witch hunt against Trump; meanwhile, he’s involved in his own drug addict sons dealings in Ukraine,” Johnathan Ripley, a Republican from Annapolis, Maryland, told The Epoch Times. “I think he should be impeached.”
An average of recent polling by Real Clear Politics on Biden’s job approval rating shows nearly 55 percent disapprove of his handling of a variety of issues, including immigration, the economy, foreign policy, and the direction of the country.
The Epoch Times interviewed the voters above from different parties about their views on President Biden’s work on several of those issues.
Foreign Policy
In just two years, President Biden has presided over a variety of foreign policy transformations for the United States. The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan under his watch in 2021 ended in disaster when 13 U.S. troops and about 170 Afghans died in a suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport, though it did finally end a 20-year war.
The Biden administration also led a significant pushback against Russia after it invaded Ukraine, having to date sent more than $75 billion in assistance to the invaded country, including humanitarian, financial, and military support, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research institute.
He has also renewed alliances on global efforts on climate policy and other issues, such as how to contain China. And now the White House has become embroiled in a war in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas, with plans to potentially send 2,000 U.S. troops overseas.
“It’s sort of like Chinese water torture, drip, drip, drip; there’s always a new crisis Biden is putting us into overseas,” Mr. Kinnison said. “It seemed under Trump things were a lot calmer and we weren’t putting our nose in other people’s business.”
Even some Democrats have been critical of President Biden’s interventionist actions.
“Except for what’s going on in Israel, I would have liked to see more focus on domestic spending,” Joanne Bailey, a Democrat from Springfield, Virginia, told The Epoch Times. “I understand the importance of fighting Russia; the billions we’re spending on Ukraine could be used—have you ever been to Baltimore?”
Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have tried to lay blame on the Biden administration for the war between Israel and Hamas, particularly citing the release of nearly $6 billion in frozen assets to Iran, a supporter of Hamas on Sept. 11. Administration officials insist that money has not been spent.
Immigration
During President Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, he promised to undo such immigration policies under the Trump administration, such as family separation and efforts to end the DACA program that enables children brought to the United States by illegal immigrants to gain work authorization.
But recently, President Biden has taken a decidedly right turn on the immigration issue.
On Oct. 4, the Department of Homeland Security waived environmental and other reviews to construct new portions of a border wall in South Texas, despite President Biden pledging during his 2020 campaign that he would build “not another foot” of wall. And U.S. officials said they would resume deportations to Venezuela not long after the administration increased protected status for thousands of people from the country.
Between Jan. 20, 2021, and March 31, 2023, there were more than 5 million illegal alien encounters at the southern border. Over 2.4 million of these encounters had no confirmed departure from the United States, indicating a significant issue with deportation procedures. During the same period, the DHS released at least 2.1 million illlegal immigrants into the United States. Of these, only 5,993 illegal aliens were placed in removal proceedings before an immigration judge and subsequently removed from the countr, a mere 6 percent of those released.
“I never thought I would agree with Biden on anything, but when he said he would start expanding Trump’s wall along the [U.S.-Mexico] border, I thought that was the best thing he’s done in his presidency so far,” Mr. Ripley said.
But that same move enraged some Democrat voters.
“I didn’t vote to reelect Trump in 2020 and I really wish he didn’t do that,” Ms. Bailey said. “Then he’s actually increased deportations, I think we’re moving in the wrong direction.”
Upon taking office, President Biden paused border wall construction and canceled the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico ” program, but kept expelling many people under Title 42 until this past May.
Economy
While inflation remains a problem across the country, the president is campaigning for a second term claiming that “Bidenomics” is working.
“Our economy has added more than 13 million jobs—including nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs—and we’ve unleashed a manufacturing and clean energy boom. There were more than 10 million applications for new small businesses filed in 2021 and 2022—the strongest two years on record,” the White House said in a statement released in June 2023.
But some Americans argue their lives have not seen a noticeable improvement.
“There has been no difference between what I made when Trump was in office and what I am making now, the only difference is that the price of gas is higher and so is the price of food,” said Mr. Ripley, a Republican.
According to a Forbes report, the price of gas at one point nearly doubled under the Biden administration from the Trump administration.
“I think what [Biden] is doing to build more clean energy jobs is great,” said Ms. Bailey, a Democrat. “But I still don’t have as much money as I used to when I leave the grocery store.”
The White House maintains its “Inflation Reduction Act” has been working, claiming that it’s created over 170,000 jobs.
“Maybe there are more jobs out there now, but they’re low-paying jobs,” said Mr. Kinnison.
Racial Divides
President Biden campaigned in 2020 on easing racial divisions in the United States and even earned the endorsement of the Black Lives Matter movement, which later took credit for his victory, stating: “Once again, Black people—especially Black women—have saved the United States.”
But after taking office, during his first State of the Union address, the president became at odds with activist groups like BLM when he called on Congress to “fund the police.”
“Let’s not abandon our streets. Or choose between safety and equal justice,” President Biden said. “We should all agree: The answer is not to defund the police. The answer is to fund the police. Fund them with resources and training they need to protect our communities.”
“I don’t think that’s something Bernie would have done,” Ms. Bailey said. “When I voted for Biden I thought he was on board with fighting police violence, it was disappointing to hear him say that during his first SOTU.”
But some in the middle say they were reassured by his words.
“We [thought] that he was going to be another Democratic radical,” Mr. Kinnison said. “But it turns out he’s not too far left on social issues.”
Happy Saturday. Let’s check in on the media this past week.
Fair and balanced: As leading news outlets spread Hamas disinformation about an explosion at a Gaza hospital, Israel and its defenders got the facts out on social media. Many of those same outlets subsequently warned readers that social media is the source of dangerous “disinformation” about the Israel-Hamas war.
Bill Maher lambastes elite colleges for their “indoctrination into a stew of bad ideas” and the suppression of free speech.
In a blistering commentary on his HBO show “Real Time,” comedian and political commentator Bill Maher minced no words as he took aim at what he sees as the sorry state of higher education in America, particularly elite colleges.
Maher, an Ivy League graduate himself, argues that American college campuses, especially those deemed “elite,” have devolved into “a combination of a daycare center and a North Korean reeducation camp” where freedom of speech is stifled and the marketplace of ideas is suppressed.
“As an Ivy League graduate who knows the value of a liberal education, I have one piece of advice for the youth of America don’t go to college. And if you absolutely have to go, don’t go to an elite college, because, as recent events have shown, it just makes you stupid,” said Maher.
Bill Maher’s comments followed a barrage of criticisms aimed at the quality and character of education at elite American colleges. He lamented that these institutions, rather than being elite, should simply be branded as expensive—places where they “produce detestable graduates who are arrogant and lack real convictions,” leftist Maher referring to conservative alumni.
One of the most salient points in Maher’s critique was his objection to the naive support for Hamas terrorists and a one-sided blaming of Israel by some student groups, notably at Harvard. Maher cited an instance where 34 student groups at Harvard signed a letter holding Israel solely accountable for recent conflicts, calling it an “apartheid regime,” an assertion Maher rebuts as an uninformed viewpoint.
“They don’t know much of anything, actually,” Maher commented, “but it doesn’t deter them from having an opinion. They’ve convinced themselves Israel is the most repressive regime in history because they have no knowledge of history or even a desire to know it.”
Maher believes the problem here is more than mere youthful indiscretion or ignorance. Instead, he suggested that it’s symptomatic of a more significant issue: colleges, particularly elite ones, have failed to instill critical thinking and encourage a nuanced view of the world.
“I actually believe them that they didn’t read the letter closely. I think they scanned it, said it was blaming Israel, and went back to surfing TikTok. Because college life today is a day spa combined with a North Korean re-education camp. It’s a daycare center with a meal plan, except the toddlers can fire the adults. The fact that college presidents, who usually love to speak out about anything, couldn’t find their voice to condemn the worst attacks since the Holocaust,” he said.
“There’s a lot about who really controls colleges and why. If ignorance is a disease, Harvard Yard is the Wuhan wet market,” he added.
Maher is also concerned with what he sees as the erosion of free speech on campuses, evidenced by guest speakers being chased away and even some of the foundational texts of Western liberalism being disregarded.
The situation has become so dire that the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a First Amendment watchdog group, ranks Harvard last in commitment to free speech and inquiry.
“To the older folks, I say, college today is not the college you remember. And to the younger people, I say, don’t. Don’t do it. You don’t need four years in a lifetime of crippling debt to learn to hate America when you can just watch five minutes of Selling Sunset,” Maher said.
God has a plan for your days and an endgame for your life. Though things may seem chaotic, there is an order and design for all that is going on. Find out how to walk toward the destination God has in store for you in today’s episode of Real Life TV.
The law is a vital component in God’s work in saving His people. It is the law that convicts both unbelievers and believers alike of sin. Unbelievers learn what sin is through the law. The law is not sin. Apart from the law, sin lies dead. Paul says that before he knew the law he was once alive apart from it. However, after he learned what it was to covet and that that was sin, then he found that sin very much alive within himself. Sin deceived him and brought him to condemnation because he was now guilty before the law for covetousness. The law is good and holy so it was not what caused Paul to be spiritually dead. No, sin did that. It was the law that revealed it. This brings conviction.
14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Romans 6:14-15 (LSB)
Most of the formative years of my Christian walk were spent in one church from February 1987 through February 2000. During that time we had three pastors. I was in some form of teaching for most of that time. One of the things that always came up when we studied the Old Testament was Romans 6:14-15. It was as if someone always had to make sure that we were not being legalistic. They cast the law as far from them and our church as the East is from the West. Is that how we are to treat God’s Law?
In Romans 6:14-15 we learn that Christians are not under law, but, instead, are under grace. What does this really mean? Does it mean that it is wrong to preach God’s Law under all circumstances?
1 Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is master over a person as long as he lives? 2 For the married woman has been bound by law to her husband while he is living, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. 3 So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. 4 So, my brothers, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were constrained, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. Romans 7:1-6 (LSB)
Paul wrote this section of Romans to Jews for they ‘know the law.’ He states that the law is binding on a person only as long as he or she lives. Paul uses the example of a married woman. She is legally bound to her husband only as long as he lives. However, if the husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. On the other hand, if her husband is alive then she would be judged an adulteress if she lives with another man. She may remarry if her husband dies. What has this to do with the relationship of the law with Christians? Paul used this as an analogy to show that when a person becomes a Christian, he or she actually dies and is resurrected or reborn. They have died to the law through the body of Christ. Now instead of being bound to the law, they are bound to their Saviour. Before this first resurrection each of us were living in the flesh and controlled by our sinful passions, which, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. However, this resurrection unto life has released us from the law because we have died to that which held us captive. In other words, the law can no longer condemn a believer.
7 What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! Rather, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law. For I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” 8 But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, worked out in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the Law sin is dead. 9 Now I was once alive apart from the Law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died; 10 and this commandment, which was to lead to life, was found to lead to death for me. 11 For sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by working out my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. Romans 7:7-13 (LSB)
Does the fact that the law no longer condemns believers mean that we should treat it as worthless or unimportant? I have received some rebuke from some for teaching from the Old Testament to Christians. Are they right to say that I am teaching from the irrelevant ‘Old Covenant?’ Paul very clearly teaches us here that the law is a vital component in God’s work in saving His people. It is the law that convicts both unbelievers and believers alike of sin. Unbelievers learn what sin is through the law. The law is not sin. Apart from the law, sin lies dead. Paul says that before he knew the law he was once alive apart from it. However, after he learned what it was to covet and that that was sin, then he found that sin very much alive within himself. Sin deceived him and brought him to condemnation because he was now guilty before the law for covetousness. The law is good and holy so it was not what caused Paul to be spiritually dead. No, sin did that. It was the law that revealed it. This brings conviction.
5 Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note! Search her squares to see if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth, that I may pardon her. 2 Though they say, “As the LORD lives,” yet they swear falsely. 3 O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent. 4 Then I said, “These are only the poor; they have no sense; for they do not know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God. 5 I will go to the great and will speak to them, for they know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.” But they all alike had broken the yoke; they had burst the bonds. 6 Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great. 7 “How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me and have sworn by those who are no gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of whores. 8 They were well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor’s wife. 9 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD; and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this? 10 “Go up through her vine rows and destroy, but make not a full end; strip away her branches, for they are not the LORD’s. 11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly treacherous to me, declares the LORD. 12 They have spoken falsely of the LORD and have said, ‘He will do nothing; no disaster will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine. 13 The prophets will become wind; the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them!’”
The Lord Proclaims Judgment
14 Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts: “Because you have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them. 15 Behold, I am bringing against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, declares the LORD. It is an enduring nation; it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say. 16 Their quiver is like an open tomb; they are all mighty warriors. 17 They shall eat up your harvest and your food; they shall eat up your sons and your daughters; they shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; your fortified cities in which you trust they shall beat down with the sword.”
18 “But even in those days, declares the LORD, I will not make a full end of you. 19 And when your people say, ‘Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’”
20 Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah: 21 “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not. 22 Do you not fear me? declares the LORD. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it. 23 But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away. 24 They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.’ 25 Your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have kept good from you. 26 For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait.1 They set a trap; they catch men. 27 Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich; 28 they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy. 29 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?” 30 An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: 31 the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?
Impending Disaster for Jerusalem
6 Flee for safety, O people of Benjamin, from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms out of the north, and great destruction. 2 The lovely and delicately bred I will destroy, the daughter of Zion.2 3 Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her; they shall pitch their tents around her; they shall pasture, each in his place. 4 “Prepare war against her; arise, and let us attack at noon! Woe to us, for the day declines, for the shadows of evening lengthen! 5 Arise, and let us attack by night and destroy her palaces!” 6 For thus says the LORD of hosts: “Cut down her trees; cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem. This is the city that must be punished; there is nothing but oppression within her. 7 As a well keeps its water fresh, so she keeps fresh her evil; violence and destruction are heard within her; sickness and wounds are ever before me. 8 Be warned, O Jerusalem, lest I turn from you in disgust, lest I make you a desolation, an uninhabited land.” 9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “They shall glean thoroughly as a vine the remnant of Israel; like a grape gatherer pass your hand again over its branches.” 10 To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it. 11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of the LORD; I am weary of holding it in. “Pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the gatherings of young men, also; both husband and wife shall be taken, the elderly and the very aged. 12 Their houses shall be turned over to others, their fields and wives together, for I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD. 13 “For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. 14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. 15 Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,” says the LORD. 16 Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ 17 I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’ 18 Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them. 19 Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not paid attention to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it. 20 What use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will lay before this people stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble; fathers and sons together, neighbor and friend shall perish.’” 22 Thus says the LORD: “Behold, a people is coming from the north country, a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth. 23 They lay hold on bow and javelin; they are cruel and have no mercy; the sound of them is like the roaring sea; they ride on horses, set in array as a man for battle, against you, O daughter of Zion!” 24 We have heard the report of it; our hands fall helpless; anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labor. 25 Go not out into the field, nor walk on the road, for the enemy has a sword; terror is on every side. 26 O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth, and roll in ashes; make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us. 27 “I have made you a tester of metals among my people, that you may know and test their ways. 28 They are all stubbornly rebellious, going about with slanders; they are bronze and iron; all of them act corruptly. 29 The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed by the fire; in vain the refining goes on, for the wicked are not removed. 30 Rejected silver they are called, for the LORD has rejected them.”
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Warning Against False Teachers
3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship1 from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,2 liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound3 doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners
12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.4 Amen.
18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
None of us likes to dwell on our flaws or weaknesses. If we’re honest, we’d much rather discuss our strengths, gifts, and talents. But listen to Truth For Life with Alistair Begg to discover why limitations are actually the key to being useful to God. actually the key to being useful to God.
— Read on www.truthforlife.org/broadcasts/2023/10/21/limitations-the-key-to-usefulness-/
3:12 After commanding believers to “put away” worldly behaviors, Paul offered a series of positive commands to put on or to “clothe yourselves” (Rm 13:14) with behavior fitted for God’s people. The adjectives chosen (Is 43:20; 65:9; Rm 8:33; 2Tm 2:10; Ti 1:1; 1Pt 1:1; 2:4, 6, 9), holy (Mk 1:24; Lk 4:34; Jn 6:69; 1Pt 2:9), and loved (Mt 3:17; Eph 1:6; 1Th 1:4; 2Th 2:13) were all applied to Israel, Jesus, and the church. The five virtues are just the opposite of the vices listed in vv. 5 and 8.[1]
3:12 Put on. Paul envisions believers taking on the character of the Lord Himself. The “new self” of v. 10 is not something believers must construct by their own power. Their new identities take shape as they come to know Christ better, since He is the image of the invisible God and the One in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden (1:15; 2:3).
as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved. In contrast to the Colossians’ fear of cosmic powers, believers are entitled to a clear sense that God guarantees their relationship with Him (John 6:37, 44, 65; 15:16; Eph. 1:4, 5; Phil. 1:6). They can know that they have been declared holy on the basis of a righteousness that is not their own (Rom. 3:21–26; 1 Cor. 1:2, 30), and that God genuinely, even passionately, loves them (John 3:16; Rom. 8:32; Gal. 2:20; Titus 3:4; 1 John 4:9, 10).
compassionate hearts. An emotional, caring relationship with those whose lives are hurt and broken (Matt. 9:36; 14:14; Rom. 12:1).
kindness. Readiness to do good, even when it may be undeserved (Rom. 2:4; Titus 3:4).
humility. A posture of lowliness and servanthood (Mark 10:45; Phil. 2:1–11).
meekness. Or, “gentleness” in offering help, a non-coercive approach to encouraging change in others’ lives (Matt. 11:29; 2 Cor. 10:1; Gal. 6:1; 2 Tim. 2:25).
patience. Willingness to take the long view in the face of human frailty (Rom. 2:4; 1 Tim. 1:16).[2]
3:12chosen of God Originally, God chose the nation of Israel to be His people (Deut 14:2; Rom 9:4–5). However, because such distinctions are rendered irrelevant in Christ (Col 3:11), Paul affirms the Colossian believers as being among God’s chosen people (compare 1:12, 21–22).[3]
3:12 So. In view of what God has done through Jesus Christ for the believer, Paul described the behavior and attitude God expects in response (vv. 12–17). chosen of God. This designates true Christians as those who have been chosen by God. No one is converted solely by his own choice, but only in response to God’s effectual, free, uninfluenced, and sovereign grace (see notes on Jn 15:16; Ro 8:29; 9:14–23; Eph 1:4; 2Th 2:13, 14; 2Ti 1:8, 9; 1Pe 1:1, 2; cf. Ac 13:46–48; Ro 11:4, 5). beloved. Election means believers are the objects of God’s incomprehensible special love (cf. Jn 13:1; Eph 1:4, 5). put on.See note on vv. 9, 10.heart of compassion. It is a Hebraism that connotes the internal organs of the human body as used figuratively to describe the seat of the emotions (cf. Mt 9:36; Lk 6:36; Jas 5:11). kindness. Refers to a goodness toward others that pervades the entire person, mellowing all harsh aspects (cf. Mt 11:29, 30; Lk 10:25–37). humility.See notes on Ro 12:3, 10; Php 2:3; cf. Mt 18:4; Jn 13:14–16; Jas 4:6, 10. This is the perfect antidote to the self-love that poisons human relationships. gentleness.See notes on Mt 5:5, Gal 5:23. Sometimes translated “meekness,” it is the willingness to suffer injury or insult rather than to inflict such hurts. patience.See note on 1:11; cf. Ro 2:4. It is also translated “longsuffering,” the opposite of quick anger, resentment, or revenge and thus epitomizes Jesus Christ (1Ti 1:16; cf. 2Pe 3:15). It endures injustice and troublesome circumstances with hope for coming relief.[4]
3:12elect of God: God calls all people to salvation; those who accept are the elect from the foundation of the world (compare Eph. 1:3–14). They become God’s own special people. As God is holy, we who are beloved by God must be holy and put on His characteristics. Exploitation of others was the old way of life; the new must be characterized by concern.[5]
3:12 In verse 10, Paul said that we have put on the new man. Now he gives some practical ways in which this can be done in our everyday lives. First of all, he addresses the Colossians as the elect of God. This refers to the fact that they had been chosen by God in Christ before the foundation of the world. God’s electing grace is one of the mysteries of divine revelation. We believe the Scripture clearly teaches that God, in His sovereignty, has chosen men to belong to Christ. We do not believe that God has ever chosen anyone to be damned. Such a teaching is directly contrary to Scripture. Just as we believe in God’s electing grace, we also believe in man’s responsibility. God does not save men against their will. The same Bible that says “elect according to the foreknowledge of God” also says “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Next Paul addresses the Colossians as holy and beloved. Holy means sanctified, or set apart (same word as “saints”) to God from the world. We are positionally holy, and we should be practically holy in our lives as well. Because we are the objects of God’s love, it gives us a desire to please Him in every way.
Now Paul describes the Christian graces which we are to put on as a garment. Tender mercies speaks of a heart of compassion. Kindness speaks of the unselfish spirit of doing for others. It is an attitude of affection or goodwill. Humility means lowliness, the willingness to be humbled and to esteem others better than oneself. Meekness does not speak of weakness, but rather the strength to deny oneself and to walk in grace toward all men. Vine says:
The common assumption is that when a man is meek, it is because he cannot help himself; but the Lord was “meek” because He had the infinite resources of God at His command. Described negatively, meekness is the opposite to self-assertiveness and self-interest; it is equanimity of spirit that is neither elated nor cast down, simply because it is not occupied with self at all.
If humility is the “absence of pride,” then meekness is “the absence of passion.” Longsuffering speaks of patience under provocation and of the long endurance of offense. It combines joy and a kind attitude toward others, along with perseverance in suffering.[6]
3:12. Again Paul called on believers to take a decisive action: Clothe yourselves (endysasthe). Because they have “put on (endysamenoi) the new self” (v. 10), they should live accordingly, with appropriate attributes and attitudes. In verses 8–9 Paul listed six vices (anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language, and lying). Now in contrast to them, Christians—as God’s chosen people (cf. Rom. 8:33; Titus 1:1), holy (“separated to God”; cf. Col. 1:2) and dearly loved (cf. Rom. 5:8; 1 John 4:9–11, 19)—are to have several virtues. These include compassion (splanchna oiktirmou, lit., “tender sympathy of heartfelt compassion”—an unusually touching expression; in Phil. 2:1 Paul joined these two nouns with “and”), kindness (benevolence in action; cf. 2 Cor. 6:6), humility (a lowly attitude toward God; cf. Phil. 2:3; 1 Peter 5:5), gentleness (prautēta), meekness, a lowly attitude toward others, and patience (makrothymian, self-restraint, a steady response in the face of provocation; cf. Col. 1:11). The last three of these are mentioned in the Greek in the same order in Ephesians 4:2; and Galatians 5:22–23 in the Greek includes three of them: patience and gentleness, as well as kindness.[7]
12 As God’s chosen people who have already put on the ‘new person’, the Colossians must clothe themselves with the graces which show them to be different. God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved are special titles which were used of Israel as God’s own possession in the OT (e.g. Is. 43:20; 65:9) and of Christ in the NT (‘Chosen One’, Lk. 23:35; ‘Holy One’, Mk. 1:24; Lk. 4:34; ‘My Son, whom I love’, Mt. 3:17). Their use here underlines the point of the Christian’s similarity to Christ. It is Jesus who is the chosen one. What a remarkable privilege it is, then, that we are addressed in the same way as Christ! This is a powerful motive to behave in a Christlike way.
The five graces, with which believers are to be clothed, are elsewhere seen as characteristics of God or Christ (e.g. Ps. 25:6; Je. 33:11; Mt. 9:36; 2 Cor. 1:3) and show how they, as God’s elect, should behave in their dealings with others, particularly fellow-Christians. Three of these, kindness, gentleness and patience, are listed as the fruit of the Spirit in Gal. 5:22.[8]
3:12“chosen of God, holy and beloved” These terms were used to describe Israel (Exod. 19:5–6), but now they describe the church (cf. Gal. 6:16; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6).
Notice that the goal of the People of God is holiness by election (cf. Eph. 1:4), not a privileged standing. Israel was chosen as a tool to reach all humans made in the image of God. Israel missed her evangelistic mandate (cf. Gen. 12:3; Exod. 19:5). The Church has clearly been given this assignment (cf. Matt. 28:19–20; Acts 1:8). Believers are called to holiness and to be witnesses.
This is literally “bowels of compassion” (cf. 2 Cor. 6:12; Phil. 1:8; 2:1; Philemon 7, 12, 20). The ancients believed the seat of emotion was located in the lower viscera (abdomen).
[3] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Col 3:12). Lexham Press.
[7] Geisler, N. L. (1985). Colossians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 682). Victor Books.
[8] O’Brien, P. T. (1994). Colossians. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 1273). Inter-Varsity Press.
Jeremiah 37:7 — Jeremiah wasn’t a popular guy. He prophesied defeat in the midst of apparent victory. He said that the wounded Chaldeans were better than Israel’s finest (Jeremiah 37:10).
Jeremiah 37:15 — Jeremiah knew (like Paul did) what it meant to suffer from his own countrymen (2 Corinthians 11:25).
Jeremiah 38:4 — Compare with Lachish Letter VI:
Who am I, thy slave, a dog, that thou hast sent me the letter of the King and the letters of the officers, saying: “Read, I pray thee, and thou wilt see that words of the prophet are not good, (liable) to weaken the hands, to make sink the hands of the men in city and country.
This rendering here in part follows Dr. J. W. Jack in The Palestine Exploration Quarterly, July, 1938, pp 176, 181.
Zedekiah II was obviously a weak character. He allowed himself to be moved by whichever party pressed its will most earnestly upon him (Jeremiah 38:4, 5; cf. vs. 8-10, 19). Beginning his reign as a vassal of Babylon, he served Nebuchadnezzar up to at least his fourth year (594 B.C.), when he made a visit to the city of Babylon (Jeremiah 51. 59). However, the false prophet Hananiah was then already inciting the common people to support revolt against Babylon, by promising the breaking of the Babylonian yoke “within the space of two full years” (Jeremiah 28. 3, 11). Thus there were two differing factions under the rule of Zedekiah II; one faction, which included the princes, sought freedom from the Babylonian domination, and looked to Egypt for military support; the other faction, to which Jeremiah certainly belonged, if he did not actually lead it, believed submission to Babylon to be the right course.
Jeremiah 38:16 — Jeremiah said the king will either kill him or not listen (Jeremiah 38:15). The king promised merely not to kill him.
Jeremiah 38:20 — The voice has cried out throughout the millennia, “Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.”
“Obey” – the simple command
“I beseech thee” – the personal, emotional appeal of Jeremiah
“the voice of the LORD” – the authority appealed to by Jeremiah
“which I speak unto thee” – Jeremiah is a preacher of the Word
“so it shall be well unto thee” – the promised blessing part 1
“and thy soul shall live” – the promised blessing part 2
1 Timothy 6:1 — Paul taught a radical concept: servants should obey secular masters (not just the believing ones). They should do so honorably, otherwise to do the opposite was the same as blaspheming God! How we interact in personally undesirable situations is a picture of how we treat God!
1 Timothy 6:9 — ”… (T)hey that will be rich …” is a great description of those that play the lotto. Strangely enough, the NY Times ran a story on a “Christian card-counting group” that played in casinos. All was “well” except for:
Accusations of cheating arose, stress mounted and at one point the team had a painful losing streak, having racked up $465,000 in losses. Some members failed their exams on their card-counting skills, resulting in being fired from the team. Members got kicked out of hundreds of casinos across the country.
1 Timothy 6:17 – The “uncertain(ty of) riches” is just the tip of the iceberg as compiled by David Cloud:
Charles Riddle, who won $1 million in Michigan in 1975, got divorced, faced several lawsuits, and was indicted for selling cocaine.
Evelyn Adams, who won the New Jersey lottery in 1985 and 1986 for a total of $5.4 million, gambled and gave away all her winnings and by 2001 was living in a trailer park.
Teresa Brunnings, who won $1.3 million in a lottery in 1985, says that she had a party then, but, “Of all the people who came, not one speaks to me now.”
Karen Cohen, who won $1 million in the Illinois state lottery in 1984, filed for bankruptcy in 2000 and in 2006 was sentenced to 22 months in jail for lying to federal bankruptcy court.
In Exodus 4, Moses makes three more protests to God. He is concerned the people won’t believe him (v.1); he next says he is not eloquent in speech (v.10); thirdly, he simply says “please send someone else” (v.13). Why would the Lord call Moses to such a task? From a human perspective he seems so unfit for the work.
He is already 80 years old, he might have a speech impediment, he lacks confidence, he doesn’t take rejection very well (Exodus 6) and he doesn’t want to do it. In a way, this makes Moses the perfect candidate. There will certainly be no room for pride in Moses when he realizes that God can shoot straight with a crooked arrow. God has chosen the foolish things of this world to accomplish His purposes.
It is not by might or power, but by the Word of the Lord that the kingdom expands and permeates the world around us. The “foolishness” of preaching is able to soften the heart of the hard-hearted. It is by the Word that the sorrowful are comforted, the wayward are called back, the searcher is shown the path. How many men have been elected to church office and thought, “Certainly Lord, there are far more qualified men.” But, the Lord calls us, sometimes to great and sometimes to difficult positions and places in this life. Will He also give us the grace for that? Yes, because He has promised to do so (II Corinthians 12:9).
Suggestions for prayer
Ask the Lord for strength to fulfill your calling(s) in life. Thank Him for His patience with you.
Rev. Steve Swets was born and raised in NW Indiana. He graduated from Mid America Reformed Seminary in 2007, and he is currently the minister at Redeemer United Reformed Church in St. John, Indiana. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. It is also available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.
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