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 Bible describes Jesus as both the Lion and the Lamb. But what does this mysterious dual identity actually mean?
The following is an excerpt from Kurt Mahlburg and Warwick Marsh’s latest book, Jesus: The Centre of It All. Buy the book here.
Understanding the Book of Revelation
Domino toppling first became a craze in the 1970s, when people the world over began competing to create the biggest domino chain reactions imaginable. The world record, set in 2009, saw almost 4.5 million pieces tumble in an amazing display that lasted for an hour and a half.
The book of Revelation is structured similarly to a domino toppling spectacle. There are seven seals on a scroll, each of which open successively once the first seal has been broken. The opening of the last seal triggers seven trumpets that are blown in sequence. And the sounding of the final trumpet prompts seven bowls of judgment to be poured out. To see this great domino display, you will need to read Revelation for yourself. Our interest here is how the domino toppling begins—or more precisely, who triggers it.
John describes the tense scene in heaven as the show is set to begin:
Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. (Revelation 5:1-4).
The Scroll: The Title Deed to Planet Earth
Just about anyone could trigger the start of a domino toppling presentation. But not so with this scroll. Only the person with the authority to open it could break the first of the scroll’s seven seals and set in motion the wondrous spectacle to follow. John wept because he knew of no one who was worthy or had the authority to open it.
John understood that this scroll was no ordinary document. It was nothing less than the title deed to Planet Earth. In Genesis, the whole world came under the curse and was subjected to the power of Satan. The book of Revelation is all about God reversing the curse, retaking complete dominion of all that was lost, and establishing His kingdom reign once and for all. John wept because that glorious future now seemed like an impossibility.
But all hope was not lost. There was one who had earned the right to open the scroll. Writes John, “Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’” (Revelation 5:5). Who is this mysterious character—this Lion of the tribe of Judah, this Root of David, who was found worthy to open the scroll? It is Jesus! These are messianic titles. Jesus alone fulfils every Old Testament promise, and as a result, became the one person worthy of breaking open earth’s title deed and triggering the climactic events that are to come.
The Lion and the Lamb
John describes what happened next: “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain… He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.” (Revelation 5:6, 7). Did you notice the switch? One moment we are told a Lion will open the scroll, but the next moment it is a Lamb who steps forward. What is happening here? The Lion is the Lamb. The Lamb is the Lion. These are complementary images of Jesus. Jesus is strong, royal, ferocious and majestic—and at the same time, He is humble, pure, gentle and sacrificial.
Here in this vision, the Lamb is not slain, but looks “as if it had been slain”. In other words, Jesus’ death on the cross was never the final word. God had a greater plan all along in the resurrection of Christ. Jesus now stands, having risen and won the victory over sin, death, suffering and evil. Pondering this great mystery, C. S. Lewis expressed:
The New Testament writers speak as if Christ’s achievement in rising from the dead was the first event of its kind in the whole history of the universe. He is the “first fruits”, the “pioneer of life”. He has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because He has done so.
The Second Coming of Christ
It is by beholding the Lamb in Revelation that we finally understand all that Jesus’ death and resurrection truly achieved. Yes, He died and rose again for our salvation—to forgive us and bring us back to God. But Jesus achieved far more than just that.
By submitting Himself to death and then conquering the grave, Jesus became the ‘Last Adam’—the one person able to undo the curse and set the entire universe right again. (1 Corinthians 15:45). As Paul writes in Colossians, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Jesus], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20).
It is a glorious reality that began at the cross and will be completed when, as Revelation declares, “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah”. (Revelation 11:15).
Billy Graham summarised what that triumphal day will look like:
The second coming of Christ will be so revolutionary that it will change every aspect of life on this planet. Christ will reign in righteousness. Disease will be arrested. Death will be modified. War will be abolished. Nature will be changed. Man will live as it was originally intended he should live.
Worthy is the Lamb Who Was Slain
The significance of this scene was not missed by the audience present in heaven. John tells us that the elders and angelic beings who were gathered around the throne broke out into full-throated worship:
You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:9-10).
Immediately, millions upon millions of angels joined in the chorus, declaring, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:12). Finally, John tells us that every creature in heaven and on earth also joined their voices together in worship: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13).
There is something truly timeless about this picture in heaven. It could be captured in a single image, yet it depicts thousands of years of redemptive history. It is an eternal scene that invites all of heaven to worship Jesus. We cannot help but worship too as we gaze at the glory of the Lamb and ponder all that He has accomplished.
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The room was tense.
I was meeting with a couple in my office. I was twenty-one, a freshly minted financial planner, and this was one of my first solo client meetings. This couple had plenty of income and resources, and now just needed to create a budget for their retirement plan. Each line item, however, only created more friction and anger between them.
“Do we really need to spend so much on wine?”
“What do you mean? It’s for your friends, too. It wouldn’t be a problem if you didn’t spend so much on your golf.”
“Oh, so my hobby is the problem? Not your club dues? You don’t even use half of these!”
What about finances would cause this couple, and so many others like them, to become so angry and frustrated? Often, at the heart of a frustrating situation is a stubborn love of money, which has become an idol. How can we detect a money idol in our hearts, and what can be done about it?
First, what are idols?
Before we discuss money as an idol, we need to understand what an idol is. It’s not just a favorite drummer or baseball pitcher. In biblical terms, an idol is anything we trust in, depend on, give ourselves to, love, esteem, or treasure more than God. Idols are usually good things, such as family, happiness, or safety, that our sinful and greedy hearts twist and abuse.
We are all susceptible to idols. As sinners, we are constantly finding empty “replacement gods” to worship and adore. The Protestant theologian John Calvin famously wrote, “the human mind is…a perpetual forge of idols” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, I.11.8).
Although common, idolatry is a serious problem. If the Greatest Commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37), idols can become our “greatest sin.” Idolatry clouds our thinking, distracts our focus, and ultimately keeps us from glorifying God.
For believers, idolatry is a direct attack on God’s rights. The first question of the Heidelberg Catechism reminds us that we are no longer “[our] own but belong with body and soul, both in life and death, to [our] faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.” We wrongly give idols the worship due only to God.
Second, how can money be an idol?
The Bible warns us countless times against loving anything more than God. The love of money tops this list. Often it can be a consuming harmful pursuit. Wealth is a cruel master that will never satisfy those who pursue it (Eccles. 5:10-12). For those who run after riches, it “sprouts wings” and flies away (Prov. 23:4-5) leaving only poverty (Prov. 28:22).
More importantly, a money idol is spiritually dangerous. Paul describes loving money as “a root of all kinds of evils” that has led many away from the faith (1 Tim. 6:10) and to “ruin and destruction” (6:9). Ultimately, a heart that worships money shows a deeper problem: not worshipping God. It is impossible to serve God and money at the same time (Matt. 6:24).
Is money your idol?
While most believers know that loving money is wrong, many are unaware they may be committing this very sin. Has money become a secret idol in your heart? Here are a few signs that you may love money too much:
Boasting about your wealth: Are you proud of the nest egg you’ve built up? Do you delight in what your income can buy? Be careful to avoid boasting in your bank account. Everything is a gift from God (James 1:17), including our wealth. And just as we receive, we can also lose. The same God “makes poor and makes rich” (1 Sam. 2:7) and gives and takes away (Job 1:21).
Trusting in money: What gives you confidence and security, especially as the uncertainties of life begin crowding in? Do you find yourself mentally cataloging your financial resources in a crisis? Does your “back-up plan” involve only your emergency savings? As a financial planner I know the wisdom of careful savings; yet, don’t let money become your hope: “Whoever trusts in his riches will fall” (Prov. 11:28).
Sinning for more: Sinning for money doesn’t only include robbing a bank or theft. We can sin in many smaller, everyday ways, such as cheating on taxes, dipping into resources at work, or not paying for all goods and services received. These smaller acts of dishonesty show that we value monetary gain over a purity before God. Proverbs warns that such unjust gain “takes away the life of its possessors” (Prov. 1:19).
Unwillingness to help those in need: How generous are you with your wealth? Are you the first to help, or dragging your feet, the last? While we are to be wise with our giving, especially during seasons of tight finances, consistent stinginess may point to a heart valuing a healthy portfolio more than the lives of fellow believers. Even as Christ gave himself for us, we are called to give ourselves to others in need (1 John 3:16-17).
Giving for your image: While being stingy can show a lack of concern for others, even giving can be done for the wrong motives. When giving, are you concerned with others noticing you? Do you donate more generously when others are watching? Watch out for the prideful heart of the Pharisees who gave for the praise of man and so earned “no reward from [our] Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 6:1).
Insecurity about money: Are you constantly worried about losing money? Do unexpected purchases make you nervous? While caution in regard to your finances is wise, too much anxiety may point to a heart not resting in God’s providence. King David wrote that the little of the righteous is better than the abundance of the wicked, because “the Lord upholds the righteous” (Ps. 37:16-17). The same Lord who feeds the birds and clothes the flowers knows our needs (Matt. 6:25-33).
Over-focusing on monetary gain: Do the ups and downs in the stock market drive the ups and downs in your heart? Are you always looking for the next hot investment idea? Have your friends and family members tired of hearing about your latest money-saving schemes? While we should be wise with our investments and resources, be careful not to focus on worldly gain at the expense of what truly matters (Matt. 16:26).
Jealousy of richer people: What is your attitude toward those wealthier than you? Do you ever find yourself wishing you could have some of their money or secretly hoping they suffer financial loss? Jesus warned us to be on guard against covetousness, remembering that “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). Paul also equates covetousness with idolatry (Col. 3:5). A jealous heart loves what it doesn’t have instead of loving our kind Lord who gives us all things.
How can we stop worshipping money?
If any of the signs above resonate with you, what can be done? How can we cure ourselves from a love of money?
Importantly, we can’t cure ourselves. We can never fix a money-crazed heart by giving away everything we own, following the strictest budget, never buying luxury goods, or forever forsaking vacations. Although budgeting is a great way to steward your resources wisely, it can never cure an idol-sick heart. As Paul wrote to the Colossians, these external rules—“do not handle, do not taste, do not touch”—appear wise but “are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Col. 2:20-23).
We need a deeper healing, and that healing is found in Christ. To be rid of slavery to sin, including idolatry, we must first be set free in Christ by “the Spirit of life” (Rom. 8:2). As long as we remain outside of Christ, we are powerless (John 15:5-6; Rom. 8:8). When we belong to Christ, however, the Holy Spirit puts to death our sinful flesh and brings to fruition righteousness that glorifies God (Gal. 5:22-23). He enables us to live righteously.
For believers, freedom from the love of money starts by fixing our hearts and minds firmly on Christ (Col. 3:1-4). When our hearts are in the right place of loving, trusting, and worshipping God, we can then think rightly about money.
If you struggle with an idol of money, here are a few of the many precious promises in Scripture to encourage you to love and worship God instead:
“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5). With the Lord on our side, we have nothing to fear. No bear market, no lost income, no unexpected financial hardship can keep us from God’s love and protection. We can rest contentedly in what we have since our all-knowing Great Shepherd watches over us.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33). It is easy to feel overwhelmed with the “unknowns” of money and all the scary things that can derail a well-prepared financial plan. A premature death or disability can leave a young family struggling to make ends meet. Identity theft can erase years of hard-earned savings. A shock to the market can cause a portfolio to tumble. Yet, these fears shouldn’t consume our thoughts. Our sovereign Lord is in charge and promises to take care of us. We are called to trust him and his plan, even when it is very different from our own.
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). There are two applications in this verse. First, in Christ we are wealthier than the wealthiest people. We have an eternal inheritance that can never be taken from us (1 Pet. 1:4). Secondly, since we have received such a generous gift from God, we can give generously to others. Charity is no longer a painful duty but rather a glorious privilege.
“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17). Riches are uncertain: jobs can be lost, stocks can turn south, and savings can be emptied, but our God will stay faithful. He graciously gives us “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3). We have God the Father providing for us, Jesus Christ advocating for us, and the Holy Spirit guiding us. And we have the hope of heaven secured by the precious blood of Christ. No matter what happens in life, this will not be taken from us. We can then confidently say along with King David, “I shall not want” (Ps. 23:1).
Forsaking money as an idol isn’t a force of will but rather an act of adoration. When we know the blessings that are ours in Christ, we are then free to love, trust, and worship our God. We loosen our grip on money so that we may more firmly grasp the promises of our awe-inspiring Savior.
One of the greatest treasures of the gospel is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In this message on Romans 8:9–11, Derek Thomas invites believers to revel in the glorious hope that being “in the Spirit” brings.
And ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. (Malachi 4:2)
Yes, when the sun shines, the sick quit their chambers and walk abroad to breathe the fresh air. When the sun brings spring and summer, the cattle quit their stalls and seek pasture on the higher Alps. Even thus, when we have conscious fellowship with our Lord, we leave the stall of despondency and walk abroad in the fields of holy confidence. We ascend to the mountains of joy and feed on sweet pasturage which grows nearer heaven than the provender of carnal men.
To “go forth” and to “grow up” is a double promise. O my soul, be thou eager to enjoy both blessings! Why shouldst thou be a prisoner? Arise, and walk at liberty. Jesus saith that His sheep shall go in and out and find pasture; go forth, then, and feed in the rich meadows of boundless love.
Why remain a babe in grace? Grow up. Young calves grow fast, especially if they are stall fed; and thou hast the choice care of thy Redeemer. Grow, then, in grace and in knowledge of thy Lord and Savior, Be neither straitened nor stunted. The Sun of Righteousness has risen upon thee. Answer to His beams as the buds to the natural sun. Open thine heart; expand and grow up into Him in all things.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” John 3:16
Cristine headed to hot and humid Central America with her youth group’s summer mission project. They would host a two-day children’s evangelistic outreach.
The teens prepared an entire program to illustrate the love of Christ to the children. In spite of hours of practice, things went wrong. But their nervous apprehension melted away when the teens learned to depend upon God.
The children were wide-eyed. They clamored for the wordless bracelets, which use colors to tell about God’s love. Through smiles and broken Spanish, the teens helped forty children pray to invite Christ into their hearts! The little ones wanted to hear God’s story over and over again.
Dear one, the simplicity of God’s love, not our eloquence or expertise is what touches a person’s life.
Wherever you are, tell someone about God’s love today!
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”Isaiah 7:14
This is a familiar passage for many of us. Depending on your background, it might bring warm memories of childhood Christmas celebrations, or maybe it’s just holiday verbiage that had little meaning for you.
We must not miss the astounding message of this passage, however. In Matthew, it is quoted, giving us more definition: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which means God with us” (Matthew 1:23).
“God with us.” Let that phrase sink in for a moment. Not “God above us” or “God distant from us” or “God against us.”
What does it mean, that God is with us? He wasn’t content to watch men and women, made in His image, wallowing in sin and darkness. He wasn’t content to leave us to ourselves. He fashioned, before the dawn of time, a daring rescue plan. A plan that would have Him lose His life … only to take it up again … to pay for our sins and to give us eternal life. That is “God with us” and God for us!
Each December, during the deepest darkness of the longest nights, God sends us His message year after year: “I am with you.” He is with us in the Light that has come into the world, His Son, Jesus. His Spirit dwells inside each and every believer.
“Arise, shine, for your Light has come!” (Isaiah 60:1). That is the glory of Christmas. Let us never lose this hope.
Rejoice!
Heavenly Father, even in the darkest times of the year and in our lives, you promise to be with us. That promise is celebrated in the birth of Jesus, the Light of the World. Let Him shine brightly in my heart so I can be a beacon for others. Amen.
Hamas rockets target Tel Aviv area Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip launched a barrage of rockets at central Israel on Tuesday afternoon, setting off sirens in Tel Aviv, Bat Yam, Jaffa, Rishon LeTsiyon, Ramat Gan and other cities and towns across the Gush Dan and Shfela regions. It was the first rocket-fire on the area in over a week. There were no initial reports of injuries or damage.
This is how an IDF soldier found Sinwar’s bunker in Gaza IDF soldiers in Gaza managed to reach the home of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Shati shortly after he fled the scene. The house, one of Sinwar’s four houses, was networked with 40 perimeter security cameras. In addition, the house had mirror windows for concealment and additional curtains. A soldier noticed that the flooring in one of the rooms in the house had a bit of grout missing, which raised his suspicion that something was under there. The soldier pressed his foot on the floor tiles and a hydraulic double door opened leading to a bunker with escape routes outside.
The curious case of the Biden administration and Hamas Biden’s latest bizarre statements, in which he warned that Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing” of the Gaza Strip, are the best gift he could have given to Hamas and its Iranian patrons. By accusing Israel, falsely, of “indiscriminate bombing,” Biden is parroting the bogus accusations made by Israel’s fiercest enemies around the world, such as Hamas and Iran’s mullahs, who are trying to stop Israel from defeating a terrorist organization akin to Islamic State and Al-Qaeda.
As Gazans find themselves in abject poverty, IDF uncovers 5 million shekels in home of senior Hamas member IDF troops found two suitcases filled with a total of 5 million shekels (more than $1 million) while searching the home of an unnamed senior member of Hamas in Jabaliya in northern Gaza. In addition to the money, the IDF also found a large assortment of weapons. “At a time when most of the residents of Gaza don’t have enough money to buy even minimal food – 5 million NIS cash was found in the house of a senior Hamas official. Hamas doesn’t care
Egypt says talks over Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam have failed -statement Egypt said on Tuesday that the latest talks over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) have failed, but it will closely monitor the process of filling and operating the dam and reserve the right to defend its water. “Egypt reserves its right, in accordance with international charters and accords, to defend its water and national security in case of any harm,” Egypt’s ministry of water resources and irrigation said in a statement.
Democrat governor deploying Nat’l Guard to the border Announcing the new executive order on Friday, Hobbs explained, “Yet again, the federal government is refusing to do its job to secure our border and keep our communities safe. With this Executive Order, I am taking action where the federal government won’t.”
US Navy shoots down 14-drone wave as shippers avoid Red Sea The U.S. military said it shot down 14 drones in the Red Sea launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen as attacks on commercial carriers continue from the Iranian-backed group, threatening havoc for world trade.
Biden’s daughter owes $5,000 in taxes: “The scale is not anything like Hunter, but… Joe is constantly talking about how wealthy and connected people do not pay their fair share and can afford to pay more, and it just so happens that both of his living children did not pay their taxes,” Ziegler told Fox News. “
Red Sea Blockage Means A New Round Of Surging Cost-Push Inflation Yesterday, BP and Norway’s Equinor ASA joined the slew of vessel owners that have paused transit through the Red Sea, and hence the Suez Canal. Some have already taken a detour around the Cape of Good Hope, lengthening travel time by some 8 to 15 days, while others are waiting for further instructions and/or military protection
“Worst-Case Scenario” Volcano Erupts In Iceland Near Power Plant A volcano in the southwestern region of Iceland erupted on Monday, sending geysers of hot lava as high as 330 feet. “We are looking at a worst-case scenario,” The eruption appears big, and only about two kilometers from major infrastructure.”
Houthis Vow To Keep Up Attacks After US Unveils Details Of Ten-Nation Naval Force the Houthis say they’ll remain undeterred in operations meant as retaliation for the Gaza war, vowing to keep up the attacks. “The American-formed coalition is to protect Israel and militarize the sea without any justification, and will not stop Yemen from continuing its legitimate operations in support of Gaza,”
Achieving Equity Through Mediocrity: Chicago Moves To Eliminate “High-Achieving” School Programs Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Board of Education are following the lead of other major cities and eliminating gifted school programs in the name of achieving greater racial and social “equity.” major cities with failing public education programs are erasing performance gaps in their schools by decapitating the top performers rather than elevating the performance overall.
The Secret Weapon to Avoid Being a Victim of the Next China Virus Like most “American” companies, Big Pharma outsources 80% of their products to China to save a buck. But now the bill comes due: drug shortages, coupled with the new “White Lung” China pneumonia outbreak, is causing severe prescription shortages in the US. The situation is grave: shortages are a matter of life or death for many Americans. Imagine suddenly being unable to get the medicine you need for an acute illness.
Graham Says The ‘Biden Knew Nothing About His Son’s Activities’ Narrative Is Falling Apart Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) believes the narrative being presented by Hunter Biden in response to the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden is “falling apart.” During a Dec. 17 interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sen. Graham said Hunter Biden’s narrative that his father knew nothing about his business dealings had begun to unravel in the light of day.
Biden admin hit with legal challenge over gas appliance crackdownenate The natural gas industry is challenging the Biden administration over its regulations targeting traditional gas-powered residential furnaces, which a rulemaking energy groups says will impact more than half of all U.S. households.
Texas Gov. Abbott signs bill making illegal immigration a state crime Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed a new law giving police the authority to arrest migrants who cross the border illegally. At the signing ceremony, Gov. Abbott said the goal of Senate Bill 4 was to “stop the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas.”
Amazon selling hidden spy cameras disguised as boring home accessory Amazon is selling one of the creepiest items you will come across this Christmas. What looks like a very dull home accessory is, in fact, concealing a hidden spy camera. Recording devices have been built into clothes hooks, which at first glance wouldn’t appear to be anything more than something to hang your jacket or towel on.
The FDA Can Now Withhold COVID Vaccine Safety Records. Again, We Ask – Are The FDA, With Their Ties to Bill Gates, Fit For Purpose? Under a recent order from a federal judge, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is being allowed to withhold COVID-19 vaccine safety data for at least another six months due to meeting the criteria of “exceptional circumstances.” Lawyers representing the FDA have said that the agency is “overburdened by court orders” forcing it to produce a certain amount of records pertaining to the authorisation of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
Klaus Schwab wants to stop the retreat of globalisation and global governance with a new form of globalisation and global governance Klaus Schwab and Thierry Malleret’s book ‘Covid-19:The Great Reset’ identified “the global governance free fall” as an existential challenge and if we do not collaborate “we are doomed.” “Nation states make global governance possible (one leads the other),” the book states. “The more nationalism and isolationism pervade the global polity, the greater the chance that global governance loses its relevance and becomes ineffective. Sadly, we are now at this critical juncture. Put bluntly, we live in a world in which nobody is really in charge.”
CJ Hopkins: The Gestapo raided homes in New Normal Germany as part of the Third European Day of Action Against Hate Crimes In April 2022, during the second EU-wide joint action day against “hate crime,”…authorities raided multiple locations across Europe and targeted 176 people concerning offences such as dissemination of racist and xenophobic hate speech, calls to violence, and incitement to commit offences. On 14 December 2023, the third European Action Day took place. Coordinated by Europol, law enforcement agencies again took action against “hate crimes” in several European countries.
Environmental Worship: Apple Commerical Promotes Sacrifices To ‘Mother Earth’ goddess Everyone worships something… that is just how God made us. But in a world that is corrupted by sin and in constant rebellion to its Creator, that worship gets distorted and twisted in ways that dishonor God. We can understand how that would happen in a jungle tribe where there is no direct access to what God has revealed about the right way to offer worship, but what about in America today? There is access to the Bible on everyone’s phone or laptop, and the instructions are clear.
“No man can well doubt the propriety of placing a president of the United States under the most solemn obligations to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution. It is a suitable pledge of his fidelity and responsibility to his country.” —Joseph Story (1833)
Fellow Patriots, on this day in 1606, a group of men and boys set sail from England for the New World, eventually establishing Jamestown in what would become Virginia. That bit of history might be surprising to the race-baiters who thought America began in 1619. —Mark Alexander
Democrats in Colorado have succeeded, perhaps temporarily, in another persecution effort.
Nate Jackson
Colorado Democrats aren’t the only constitutionally illiterate politicos unjustly attacking Donald Trump. But they are the first to succeed in getting a state Supreme Court to disqualify Trump from its presidential primary ballot in 2024. Similar cases are pending in 13 other states. Trump is supposedly a threat to be a “dictator,” you see, so Democrats are going to “save democracy” by limiting voter choices and turning our nation into a banana republic.
Our Mark Alexander summed up the only thing he thinks matters here:
The Trump charade serves the same end as I wrote about in the Trump indictment strategy — to remind people about Trump’s despicable election claims leading to the J6 riots, keeping the hate-Trump legions rallied so the haters can defeat him again. The legal merits of the case are irrelevant to this strategy and amount to churn. It’s about rallying the FEAR and HATE Trump constituency in every state where this movement exists — it’s not about actually keeping him off the ballot. The visceral hatred for Trump has only increased since 2020, and despite all the news about his lead in various polls against Joe Biden, Trump loses to generic ballot Democrats — and that is the only poll that matters.
In terms of the actual merits of the legal case in Colorado, surely the U.S. Supreme Court won’t allow that insanity to stand, but we’ve thought that before and been disappointed by judicial gymnastics. Indeed, Alexander adds: “States have the authority to regulate balloting — which is why bulk-mail balloting is ‘legal’ and not subject to any federal legislation. It may be that SCOTUS has to find that the state has a right to set its own ballot qualification rules.” There are also issues of standing that are yet to be sorted out.
Then again, there is a federal element here, so let’s back up the truck and explain some of the case.
In a 4-3 ruling, the Colorado Supreme Court said “President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President” and therefore “it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code” to include his name on the state’s presidential primary ballot. The general election ballot hasn’t yet been decided, though we expect the same “logic” would apply.
The ruling is based on a tendentious reading of the 14th Amendment, which barred Confederate leaders from holding federal office — specifically, anyone who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion.” That reading of “insurrection” is, of course, due to January 6. Our Douglas Andrews took on the 14th Amendment argument back in August, but we’ll make a couple of points here.
On the bright side, at least Democrats are dusting off their copies of the Constitution, and some of them are even appalled by Colorado’s ruling because of it. Minnesota’s Supreme Court rejected a similar case on constitutional grounds. Others, including four Colorado justices, are reading our nation’s founding document upside down and backwards.
While Democrats impeached Trump the second time for “insurrection,” and Leftmedia outlets still dutifully parrot that term, not a single J6 defendant, including Trump, has been charged with insurrection, much less convicted. Nevertheless, observed Ed Morrissey, “a state court has found Trump guilty of a federal crime with which he’s never even been charged, based on informal allegations of unlawful conduct that took place 2,000 miles from the court’s jurisdiction.” It’s sheer lunacy.
But they do smoke the good stuff in Colorado.
Not that the Rocky Mountain High jurists will admit it. In fact, they opine over 213 pages about how much the momentous but difficult decision troubles them. “We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” the court’s majority wrote. (Isn’t that a relief?) “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”
Shut up, they explained.
Trump’s campaign “will swiftly file an appeal” of the “completely flawed decision” to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Colorado court’s decision is stayed until January 4. On the one hand, Chief Justice John Roberts usually aims to appear nonpolitical, even when it backfires, and Trump’s three appointed justices may likewise wish to avoid appearing political. On the other hand, this case will take up the justices’ time over the Christmas holiday, and they may not be so grateful to Colorado for the lump of coal in their stockings.
Finally, don’t forget that the related January 6 trials recently got more complicated. It seems our nation is destined to keep fighting over events that day for at least another year and perhaps longer. All the while, Trump will gain devotion from his followers and support from others who clearly see the ridiculousness of the persecution, and his detractors will hate him even more.
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The stunning findings of a new poll show that young Americans see things radically differently than the rest of us.
Douglas Andrews
“Their curiosity seems stunted, their reason undeveloped, their values uninformed, their knowledge lacking, and most worrying of all, their humanity diminished.”
Undeveloped. Uninformed. Lacking. Diminished.
So goes the blurb in Jeremy S. Adams’s Hollowed Out: A Warning About America’s Next Generation, a book by a teacher of both high school and college that seems eerily prescient in light of a recent poll about the attitudes of our young people.
That poll, from Harvard-Harris, was conducted from December 13-14 among 2,034 registered voters, and some of its findings are so stunning as to seem downright fake. For example, the poll found that 51% of Americans aged 18-24 said they believed the long-term solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict was for “Israel to be ended and given to Hamas and the Palestinians.”
Fifty-one percent.
Only 32% said they thought a two-state solution was the answer, and just 17% said the other Arab states in the region should absorb the displaced Palestinians, whose plight has been such an animating cause for the Arab world since the modern state of Israel was founded in 1948.
That 51% number is alarming not only on its face but also in light of how other age groups answered the question. Only 31% of those age 25-34 were rooting for Israel to be wiped off the map, and the number kept dropping as the age cohort went up: 24% of those age 35-44; 15% of those age 45-54; 13% of those age 55-64; and just 4% of Americans age 65 and up.
What does it say about our young people, our college-age people, that their views about Israel are so twisted, so perverse? It says that they’re being brainwashed by the dirty leftists who populate our colleges and universities, and whose tuition costs have saddled the American people with a whopping $1.75 trillion in student loan debt. Here, we’re reminded of the Kevin Bacon character in “Animal House” — the pledge who drops his drawers, bends over, takes a paddling, and keeps saying through clenched teeth, “Thank you, sir, may I have another?”
As Kansas Republican Senator Roger Marshall put it, “These individuals siding with evil over democracy should be a wake-up call. Ideological rot among young Americans, driven by woke values and victim culture, has gotten so bad they’ve convinced themselves to sympathize with actual terrorists who hate America.”
Perhaps even more shocking, though, is young Americans’ views on white people and, to a slightly lesser extent, Jews. According to the poll, they’re “oppressors.” When asked about their views on “an ideology that white people are oppressors and nonwhite people and people of certain groups have been oppressed,” nearly 80% of Americans age 18-24 agreed, and they further believe that Martin Luther King’s ideal of a colorblind society should be abandoned in favor of racial preferences in college admissions and employment opportunities.
Thankfully, again, older Americans reject this racist ideology out of hand, with three-fourths of Americans age 55-64 and more than four-fifths of those age 65 and up opposing it.
It should surprise no one that our colleges and universities are promoting this rot. And it appears that they’re being funded to do so. As The Washington Times reports, “The same U.S. universities that increasingly are seen as breeding grounds for anti-Semitism have taken billions of dollars in previously undisclosed donations from the Middle East — and their critics don’t believe in coincidences.”
What kinds of coincidences? Try this: Since 2021, Carnegie Mellon has taken in a half-billion dollars from the wealthy Arab state and Hamas hangout of Qatar, and the university is being sued by the Lawfare Project for “pervasive anti-Jewish discrimination.” Again, it’s hard to believe that the former is unrelated to the latter.
“Carnegie Mellon happens to be one of the largest recipients of Qatari money,” said the Lawfare Project, which works with the online movement End Jew Hatred. “The question one must ask is, what is the money being used for?” Indeed, the nation’s list of foreign donors to our universities from 2014-19 was topped by — you guessed it — Qatar at $2.7 billion, followed by England at $1.4 billion, China at $1.2 billion, and Saudi Arabia at $947 million.
So the views of our nation’s young people have been shaped against Jews and especially against whites, and we have the Marxist indoctrination of our leftist colleges and universities to thank for it.
As Jeremy Adams rightly notes: “Something has gone terribly wrong. Something essential is missing in our young people.”
Cowardice, plagiarism, and the consequences of Racial Marxism.
Emmy Griffin
Harvard’s president, Claudine Gay, is still the subject of heavy — and warranted — criticism having to do with her congressional testimony deeming Harvard students’ chants for genocide against Israel only anti-Semitic “depending on the context,” as well as the recent revelations of her numerous alleged instances of plagiarism in her various scholarly works (including her dissertation).
Her counterpart at the University of Pennsylvania, Liz Magill, resigned under pressure as a result of her testimony in which she stated the same thing Gay did — i.e., campus freedom of speech only applies when it’s radicals calling for genocide against the Jews. While Magill resigned, Gay has doubled down.
As our Nate Jackson covered previously, Harvard rallied around her by standing in support of both her plagiarism and her refusal to condemn anti-Semitism on Harvard’s campus. Gay has two big things going in her favor for the leftist ideologues that inhabit the once-hallowed halls of Harvard: one, she is a woman, and two, she is black. She hits two of the three “oppressed” classes in the reigning Marxist DEI victimhood hierarchy.
The president of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, has also come out in defense of Gay. Frankly, it’s the weakest and yet most predictable defense imaginable: Anyone who criticizes Gay is racist. In a post on social media, Johnson wrote: “Enough is enough. Harvard President Claudine Gay is a distinguished scholar and professor with decades of service in higher education. The recent attacks on her leadership are nothing more than political theatrics advancing a White supremacist agenda.”
So, pointing out that she is a scholar who has lifted entire passages from others without acknowledgement to those said authors is … racist? Pointing out that students are wrong for calling for genocide is … racist? That dog ain’t gonna hunt.
Carol M. Swain, one of the authors and scholars that Gay didn’t credit in her writings, put it best in an article for The Wall Street Journal: “Harvard can’t condemn Ms. Gay because she is the product of an elite system that holds minorities of high pedigree to a lower standard. This harms academia as a whole, and it demeans Americans, of all races, who had to work for everything they earned.”
In other words, the very act of Harvard protecting Gay from the consequences of her blunders and intellectual theft is the real racism.
Gay should be “proud” after all; she herself helped to construct this ivory tower of job protection for herself. As journalist and researcher Christopher Rufo explains: “Gay quietly built a ‘diversity’ empire that influenced every facet of university life. Between 2018 and the summer of 2023, as the dean of the largest faculty on campus, Gay oversaw the university’s racially discriminatory admissions program, which the Supreme Court found unconstitutional. Even after the court issued its ruling earlier this year, Gay said that it was a ‘hard day’ and defended the university’s policies, which were deemed discriminatory against Asian and white applicants. Gay promised to comply with the letter of the law, while remaining ‘steadfast’ in her commitment to producing ‘diversity’ — a not-so-subtle message that Harvard would find a way, as the University of California has done, to evade the law in practice.”
Gay is the head of the DEI snake that has its coils in a chokehold around Harvard. Her rise to president was a direct result of Harvard purposely misunderstanding what racism is in favor of critical race theory dictates. Harvard now has two outright strikes against it in the original definition of racism — one against Asian and white students during the admissions process, and another for failing to defend its Jewish students from anti-Semitism on its own campus.
At the end of the day, perhaps it’s best Harvard showed its true colors. It’s losing lots of donations because keeping Gay as president shows the entire world the ideological corruption within the once-storied academic institution. It also gives potential students and their parents a clear view of what that institution stands for as well as provides a fresh, more urgent motive to build a better alternative to Harvard. The DEI monster only knows how to destroy. It’s a return to academic excellence, meritocracy, the teaching of how to think and not what to think, and a standard of morality that’ll foster such flourishing.
As Rufo states in a recent spate of pieces on the subject: “Recent campaigns against critical race theory, gender ideology, and DEI have eroded trust in educational institutions. Elites in tech and finance, such as hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman, have become increasingly comfortable criticizing left-wing orthodoxy. Meantime, the Left’s rhetorical magic — smearing critics as ‘racist,’ ‘sexist,’ and ‘homophobic’ — has lost its power, due to years of unjustified use.”
The Marxists have pushed too far, and perhaps it’s not too late to re-sow the garden the leftist academics have left in ashes.
A major flaw has been exposed in studies that purport to show that so-called “conversion therapy” leads to higher rates of suicide.
Thomas Gallatin
One of the biggest clubs the Rainbow Mafia wields against those who object to the normalization and cultural promulgation of homosexuality and “transgenderism” has been the claim that failure to affirm an individual’s sexual orientation or “identity” is tantamount to wishing them dead.
There is indeed a higher suicide rate among those engaging in these lifestyles or suffering mental illness presenting as gender dysphoria. Yet that is presented as proof positive that lack of broad cultural acceptance is primarily responsible for their deaths.
To make this intellectually dishonest case, proponents cite a number of studies that supposedly back up their assertion. The trouble is that most of these studies are either classic examples of junk science, or, in the case of one of the more popular studies, the data actually undercuts the authors’ claim.
In the above case, Paul Sullins, a research professor at The Catholic University of America and senior researcher for the Ruth Institute, recently reran the data behind the popular study that supposedly concluded that “conversion therapy” led to higher suicide rates. What Sullins found was that “the evidence shows that SOCE [sexual orientation change efforts] is fairly effective at preventing suicide attempts.”
In other words, the study’s data showed the exact opposite of what its authors claimed. To make matters worse, Sullins found that every published study on people struggling with sexual orientation distress going back to 2009 contained the same scientific flaw.
It’s a case of bad science leading to bad policy.
The major flaw in the studies is the failure to control for suicidal thoughts or attempts by LGBTQ-identifying individuals prior to any “conversion therapy” experience. In other words, these studies beg the question and then interpret the data to back up the preconceived conclusion.
As a side note, we might argue that “gender-affirming care” is a twisted form of conversion therapy — one in which the recipient of that “care” is led to believe he or she will actually convert to the opposite gender. That such patients are already deeply troubled is self-evident.
Back to the scientific research, it is based in part upon these flawed studies that several states have enacted legislation banning so-called “conversion therapy” on the false justification that doing so saves lives. Furthermore, the dubious studies may even be influencing the U.S. Supreme Court, which recently saw conservative Justices John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, and Neil Gorsuch join with the Court’s left wing in refusing to take up a case challenging laws banning therapists from conferring with patients suffering from unwanted same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria.
How such bans are not a violation of First Amendment rights both of speech and religion is difficult to argue. But the obvious goal for the Rainbow Mafia is to eventually make it a crime to object to the promotion of sexual deviancy.
Furthermore, the sad irony is that many of these studies actually show that patients expressing unwanted same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria are many times more suicidal, not because of some lack of wider social acceptance but because of a deeper mental health issue. Thus, by refusing to address mental health and moral challenges and simply “affirming” these individuals in their self-deceit, they are being consigned to a life of despair.
It is the belief that there is not any real hope for change that can unfortunately lead some individuals to suicide. Ultimately, the problem isn’t only that the studies’ flaw comes to the wrong conclusion, but that the wrong conclusion is in many instances leading to the creation of laws that prevent troubled individuals from getting the help they need.
Judge orders Epstein files unsealed, Kamala’s “Reproductive Freedoms” tour, taking hot air literally, and more.
Douglas Andrews, Thomas Gallatin, & Jordan Candler
Cross-Examination
Judge orders Epstein files unsealed: Some 177 former “high-profile associates” of the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein may be running for cover on New Year’s Day following Judge Loretta Preska’s order to have “unsealed in full” the court documents containing the names of his friends and associates. Will the names of those who flew on the pedophile’s infamous “Lolita Express” finally be revealed? Will the public finally be made privy to the rich and powerful who may have engaged in Epstein’s crimes? This is happening now, years after Epstein’s “suicide,” thanks to a defamation case raised by Virginia Roberts, one of Epstein’s victims, against Epstein’s cohort Ghislaine Maxwell. The judge’s order is likely causing a stir across the Atlantic among the royal family, as Prince Andrew has been accused by Roberts of sexual assault. Stay tuned, as it’s a good bet that over the next two weeks actions will likely be taken to prevent the judge’s order from being realized.
Biden to apprentices: You’re fired: As employers across the U.S. complain about the lack of skilled workers at their disposal, the Biden administration is taking decisive action — albeit not the kind of action that will improve things. Instead, Team Brandon is focused on improving the — wait for it! — diversity, equity, and inclusion of union apprenticeship programs. Indeed, as the Wall Street Journal’s opinion page observes, the Biden Labor Department has proposed an onerous 776-page rule “that purports to clarify a two-page 1937 law regulating apprenticeship programs.” Such programs have long helped workers train for a skilled trade while earning a paycheck under the supervision of experienced workers. As the Journal notes: “They are a common low-cost way for employers to train workers in trade occupations such as plumbing and construction. They can also serve as a worker pipeline for newer industries such as cyber-security and green manufacturing.” Unfortunately, they’re now being overly regulated and sufficiently wokened to provide gender-appropriate bathrooms for all and “personal protective equipment” that fits “according to each apprentice’s size and body type.” If employers think there’s a shortage of good employment candidates now, just wait.
Foreigners control 2% of U.S. Over the last decade, foreigners have been buying up millions of acres of U.S. farmland — so much so that as of December 2022, “foreign persons held an interest in over 43.3 million acres of U.S. agricultural land.” According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, that total was a 3.4 million-acre increase over the year prior “and represents 3.4 percent of all privately held agricultural land … and nearly 2 percent of all land in the United States.” Who are these foreign entities buying up U.S. farmland? While the majority of foreign-owned U.S. farmland belongs to friendly nations such as Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, and the United Kingdom, a number of purchases are tied to countries that aren’t our friends — Venezuela, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Russia, and, of course, China. The Senate sought to include a block on allowing China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from buying American farmland in the National Defense Authorization Act, yet it failed to match up with the House’s version and was stripped from the legislation. Both Republicans and Democrats have voiced concern over foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, with Senator Tom Cotton arguing that at best it doesn’t serve America’s interest and “at worst, these purchases undermine our security.” Back in September, Senator John Fetterman contended that “the Chinese government and other U.S. adversaries should own zero, zero agricultural land in our country.” Regarding China specifically, Fetterman added: “They’re taking back our pandas. We should take back all of their farmland.”
Kamala’s “Reproductive Freedoms” tour: On Tuesday, Kamala Harris announced that she will soon be crossing the country engaged in a pro-abortion tour. Dubiously dubbed the “Reproductive Freedoms” tour, Harris plans to criss-cross the country “building a coalition and community to fight for reproductive freedom.” Harris justifies her tour by claiming that “there is a full-on attack in our country against the ability of people to just make decisions about their own body and their life.” Of course, Harris makes no mention of the hundreds of thousands of fatal attacks on the bodies of preborn babies annually. Harris’s tour is scheduled to begin in Wisconsin on January 22 in recognition of the 51st anniversary of the now-overturned Roe v. Wade decision. It is clear that Democrats see abortion as a winning campaign issue for them going into the election. And with Joe Biden now sinking below Harris in national polls, this is an opportunity for her to raise her profile on a popular platform issue with Democrats with the possible aim of pushing Biden out.
Taking hot air literally: If you’ve been losing sleep over the calamitous effects of cow farts on our planet’s climate, you aren’t likely to be soothed by the warm wind from a UK study that says we humans are heating the globe simply by breathing. As NDTV reports: “Exhaled human breath can contain small, elevated concentrations of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), both of which contribute to global warming. … Experts explained that methane and nitrous oxide in the air we exhale make up to 0.1% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. So once you factor in the farts and burps being produced by humans, it becomes clear that humans are fueling global warming by just exhaling from lungs, scientists said.” But while these findings might seem troubling, they also come with a simple solution — a solution that every concerned leftist can immediately employ: they can stop breathing. Interestingly, the New York Post picked up the story, but its accompanying X post was fact-checked thusly: “Breathing is carbon neutral. All of the carbon exhaled came from carbon plants extracted and stored.” Whew. Perhaps we humans can breathe easy after all.
New York Reparations Commission: It didn’t pan out well for Democrats in California, but no matter; Democrats in New York are bound and determined to follow the Golden State’s folly. On Tuesday, Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill authorizing a state task force to study the possibility of enacting race-based reparations for the Empire State’s black residents. Hochul will now appoint a nine-person task force that will provide recommendations to the state legislature on possible means to redress past discrimination. While acknowledging that talk of reparations makes “a lot of people instinctively dig in,” Hochul asserted that was due to people not “really thinking about what it means or why we need to talk about it.” Really? Not thought or talked about enough? That’s pure gaslighting. Hochul then went full woke by arguing, “I challenge all New Yorkers to be the patriots and rebuke — and not excuse — our role in benefiting from the institution of slavery.” Does Hochul mean all people living in America today have benefited from the institution of slavery, including the descendants of slaves? Like California, this task force will only result in extreme and ridiculously costly “solutions” that only promise greater racial division.
Only two dozen laws passed this year: Those who believe, as Thomas Jefferson did, that a government which governs least governs best will be thrilled by the news that our 118th Congress passed a paltry 24 bills during 2023 — which makes this the least (numerically) meddlesome, least mischievous Congress since 1989, the first year of the George H.W. Bush administration. Of those 24 pieces of legislation, only 20 have so far gotten Joe Biden’s signature, while the other four await. Left-leaning Axios seems somehow troubled by this news, noting: “It’s the product of not only divided partisan control of Washington, but infighting within the House Republican majority that has routinely ground legislative business to a halt. That includes the three-week period this fall in which Congress was paralyzed Republican’s inability to find a replacement for ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy.” To this we say boo hoo, and we’d remind them that, at least to conservatives, Speaker Mike Johnson is a significant upgrade in more ways than one. Further, we’d pass along to Congress this age-old encouragement on behalf of those who prefer a healthy dose of Beltway gridlock: Don’t just do something! Stand there!
Will pro-Hamas insurrectionists get the J6 treatment? We haven’t yet heard from Attorney General Merrick Garland, but we’re sure his spirited denouncement is being crafted as we go to press. After all, Garland was swift and forceful in his condemnation of all the January 6 participants — most of them tourists but some of them undercover FBI agents and others cop-assaulting thugs — and we’d expect nothing less this time around from the attorney general, who will no doubt “follow the facts wherever they lead.” Or not. As Fox News reports, “Dozens of anti-Israel protesters were arrested on Tuesday after staging an illegal rally inside the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., an act led by activist Linda Sarsour, according to reports.” The pro-Hamas crowd was calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, chanting clever ditties like, “Not another nickel, not another time, no more money for Israel’s crimes,” and carrying signs that read, “Stop Arming Israel.” It’s the third such protest in the Capitol, and we doubt it’ll be the last.
Headlines
Ramaswamy pledges to “withdraw” from Colorado ballot amid Trump removal (The Hill)
Biden border crisis shatters record with 14,509 illegal immigrants encountered in one day (Washington Examiner) | Study: 59% of non-citizen migrants use welfare (American Thinker)
Gaza hospital boss admits he’s a Hamas commander, used medical facility as terror base (National Review)
Pentagon announces new international mission to counter attacks on commercial vessels in Red Sea (AP)
Jim Jordan subpoenas Merrick Garland over DOJ’s alleged efforts to spy on Congress (Daily Wire)
Fresh allegations of plagiarism unearthed in official academic complaint against Claudine Gay (Washington Free Beacon)
Ketanji Brown Jackson slapped with ethics complaint over husband’s income (Fox News)
Biden “feels so much younger” than 81 as wife, aides reportedly warn him to slow down (New York Post) | Biden is reluctant to accept his “old age,” aides say (Axios)
New York Dems target Chick-fil-A for being closed on Sundays (MRCTV)
Philadelphia LGBTQ activist charged with rape of minors (CBS News)
“Gender nonsense”: Multiple New Jersey school districts scrap transgender policies (Daily Wire)
Washington’s women’s volleyball team retracts scholarship from trans recruit after finding out he’s male (MRCTV)
EVs are bad in winter and costly and time-consuming to repair (Daily Signal)
Remember this rule of life: Everything the Left touches, it destroys. That includes joy.
Dennis Prager
People need to realize the Left is using the alleged “existential” threat of global warming to wage war against liberty, against the Western world’s (not China’s) economy, and against joy.
The automobile, that magnificent enhancement to human freedom and joy, is a target of the Left. The idea that individuals should be able to go where they want when they want in their own car is anathema to the Left — it provides way too much individual liberty. Ideally, almost no one should own a car. We should all aspire to live in a high-rise apartment building in a major metropolis and use public transportation, ride bicycles or walk. If for some reason we have to travel a longer distance, let us say to conservative relatives who selfishly own their own homes in the suburbs, we can use public transportation; and if none is available, we can use Uber or Lyft.
Even the family, one of life’s greatest sources of joy and meaning, is a target of the climate change activists. They believe that there are way too many people in the world. Kids are carbon-emitting machines. So, an increasing number of women, including married women, are choosing not to have children. They don’t see how they can justify bringing children into a world in which they will be roasted to death. And frequently their progressive parents (the would-be grandparents) agree with them. As I wrote in a previous column, based on the many comments of New York Times readers on an opinion piece written by a woman who has decided not to have children because of global warming, many readers wrote that despite the fact that they long for grandchildren, they support their child’s decision to go childless.
Now we have another joy of life that progressives are targeting in the name of combating global warming: Christmas gifts. Many progressives have long opposed giving Christmas gifts in the name of combating “consumerism” (to be fair, some religious conservatives share that ascetic view). But climate change will soon constitute the greater moral reason.
In the Daily Mail this week, a woman wrote an article making this case.
“Last year,” she wrote, “surrounded by wrapping paper and abandoned gifts, I suggested to my husband Chris that next time we shouldn’t buy anything — for each other or the children.
“Not buying anything for my husband is trivial because he can buy for himself. But not buying presents for our two girls, aged six and three, is a trickier proposition…
“We’re increasingly aware of the global impact of our purchases. Everything we buy the kids will go into landfill…
“With the planet on fire and plastics everywhere it seems like we are at a moment of reckoning and have been for some time…
“I’ve forced this rule on the family, telling my mother, in-laws and the brothers and sisters not to buy the girls anything.
“My sister was appalled and very cross that she will be thought of as the mean old aunt. Just because I want to strip the joy out of Christmas, why should she have to?”
This woman’s article encapsulates much of the darkness the Left represents and creates.
First is the war on joy. Part of the joy of Christmas, especially for children, is receiving gifts. To deny this is to deny reality. This can be verified by asking any adult to describe the joy they experienced as a child looking under the Christmas tree for their gifts.
Second, it is a war on altruism. Gift-giving may be animated by a number of factors, but one fact is undeniable: Giving people gifts is an altruistic act. If people stop doing so — whether to combat “consumerism” or to combat global warming — they are ending one of the most widespread expressions of altruism in our society.
Third, children are the primary targets of this nonsense. Progressives seem to have a particular animus for children. They wage war on children’s innocence with early “sex education,” with LGBTQ activism in elementary school, and by promoting drag queen “story hours” beginning at age 5; by their closing schools for nearly two years for no valid reason; by depriving children of God, religion and patriotism; by their irrationally frightening children about their future (they will essentially be burned alive); and now by depriving children of Christmas gifts and, presumably, birthday gifts (they, too, add to landfills).
Fourth, the woman who wrote this article has no qualms about imposing her beliefs on everyone else. It is not enough for her to tell her husband not to give her 6- and 3-year-old daughters Christmas gifts. She has ordered the girls’ grandparents, aunts and uncles not to do so: “I’ve forced this rule on the family.”
Fifth, progressive reasoning is not only morally defective, but also factually defective. If no one in the United Kingdom gave a single Christmas gift, nothing would be accomplished with regard to global warming. But a whole society would be deprived of a major joy of life, and the country’s economy would take a major hit.
Just remember this rule of life: Everything the Left touches, it destroys.
Biden Is Losing the Young Vote in Wisconsin to Trump — A recent poll conducted by NBC News shows that Donald Trump is leading young voters by a margin of four points over Joe Biden in Wisconsin. Back in 2020, Biden enjoyed a 20-point lead with this group.
The White House Says the Economy Is Great — The press secretary says everything is fine and the economy is great and Americans are better off than ever. Peter Heck breaks down how they want you to ignore the evidence of your own eyes.
Dem Pollster Wonder: Why Aren’t People Happier? — Limousine Liberal with excessive amounts of disposable income wonders why the Great Unwashed are unable to understand the Miracle of Bidenomics! It’s almost like they are downright ungrateful for what the progressives have done for the economy!
The AI Future Is Now! — For years, car companies promised that cars would drive themselves, but it never happened … until now.
“A state court has found Trump guilty of a federal crime with which he’s never even been charged, based on informal allegations of unlawful conduct that took place 2,000 miles from the court’s jurisdiction. This is patently absurd.” —Ed Morrissey
“The U.S. has put sanctions on other countries for doing exactly what the Colorado Supreme Court has done.” —Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)
The BIG Lies
“We didn’t just leave a bunch of weapons in Afghanistan. This is a fallacy. This is a farce.” —National Security Council spokesman John Kirby
“When the president walked into this administration, the economy was in a tailspin. It was. … The president signed [the Inflation Reduction Act], and only Democrats voted for it — no Republicans did — and it’s going to help the American people. And so there are historical actions that this president has taken that has shown, the data shows, that the economy is in a better place.” —White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
“The entire economy … recovered swiftly during the Biden economic recovery.” —Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
Baghdad Bob
“I take offense — and I think the president does too — in saying that we haven’t taken [the border] seriously.” —Karine Jean-Pierre
“Many Republicans like to … demonize immigrants and also dehumanize immigrants.” —Karine Jean-Pierre
Dumb & Dumber
“We have a governor … that is placing families on buses without shoes, cold, wet, tired, hungry, afraid, traumatized. And then they come to the city of Chicago. … The governor of Texas needs to take a look in the mirror of the chaos that he is causing for this country. This is not just a Chicago dynamic. He is attacking our country.” —Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson
“New York. This is a place where every day you wake up, you could experience everything from a plane crashing into our Trade Center to a person who’s celebrating a new business that’s open. This is a very, very complicated city, and that’s why it’s the greatest city on the globe.” —New York City Mayor Eric Adams
“If you have social media that is dominated by algorithms that pull people down these rabbit holes … they are the digital equivalent of AR-15s. They outta be banned.” —Al Gore
“One of the persistent debates in American life centers on how strictly we should judge the sins of our national past. Were those people who owned slaves or broke faith with Native Americans or passed the Chinese Exclusion Act merely products of their time? MAGA Men and MAGA Women will not have that excuse. They know there is a different way.” —New York Times columnist David French
Race Bait
“Enough is enough. Harvard President Claudine Gay is a distinguished scholar and professor with decades of service in higher education. The recent attacks on her leadership are nothing more than political theatrics advancing a white supremacist agenda.” —NAACP President Derrick Johnson
“I’m sick of average white guys commenting on football. Y’all not even good at football. Can we please replace the Pro Bowl with an All-Black vs. All-White bowl so these cats can stop trying to teach me who’s good at football. I’m better than ur goat.” —former NFL running back Rashard Mendenhall
Breaking Ranks With the “Trans” Orthodoxy
“I live my life as a woman. But I’m not.” —Bruce “Caitlyn” Jenner
And Last…
“We have gone from homosexuality being ‘in the closet’ to Pride celebrations at the White House … to now LGBTQ sex in Senate hearing rooms. What’s next — gay couplings in the House chamber during the State of the Union address? … After the 2020 election, we were told that the ‘adults’ were back in charge and that Joe Biden would bring us all together and restore normalcy to America. It’s been anything but normal!” —Gary Bauer
“Our high schools and colleges would make Adolf Hitler proud. We won World War II, but the National Socialists (Nazis) have won America’s classrooms.” —Gary Bauer
Israeli troops advance South while Hamas terrorists shift their activities in the Gaza strip. The Colorado State Supreme Court has disqualified Former President Donald Trump from the Republican primary ballot. Pope Francis approved allowing catholic priests to bless same-sex couples. An exclusive interview with CBN News-Nikki Haley explains why she has the best chance to beat President Joe Biden.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick quipped during an interview with FNC’s Laura Ingraham on Tuesday that if Colorado wants to take former President Trump off the 2024 ballot, maybe Texas should retaliate against President Biden for not enforcing border security.
TEXAS LT. GOV. DAN PATRICK: Arizona tried this [border security reform] about 10 years ago. But our law is different. It simply says that our law enforcement can arrest anyone, take them in, do a background check, photograph, do fingerprints. If they saw them cross the border illegally, we can do that, or if they happen to reveal in the arrest stop that they crossed illegally, and then the magistrate will send them back and will escort them to the border. And they have a choice. They go to jail or they can go back.
And if they go back and dry to come back again and we rearrest them again, the penalty gets even higher. We are fed up.
In fact, seeing what happened in Colorado, Laura makes me think, except we believe in democracy in Texas. Maybe we should take Joe Biden off the ballot in Texas for allowing 8 million people to cross the border since he has been president. Disrupting our state far more than anything anyone else has done in recent history.
We have been through a section of verses that show Jesus’ life in His earthly ministry. We’ve seen Him as servant, teacher, shepherd, intercessor, and healer.
Now we look at His attributes. Today- Omniscience.
CARM.org: Definition of omniscience Omniscience is an attribute of God alone. It is the quality of having all knowledge (Isaiah 40:14). God knows all things possible as well as actual because He has ordained whatsoever will come to pass according to the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11). He does not need to experience something to know about it completely.
Ligonier: Scripture and the Two Natures of Christ The historic Christian understanding of the person of Christ is that He is one person who possesses two natures: a divine nature and a human nature. Each nature retains its unique properties, and the two natures remain distinct, though inseparably united in Christ’s person. Thus, according to His divine nature, as the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God is omniscient, omnipotent, and so forth. According to His human nature, the incarnate Christ needs to eat food to survive, grows in knowledge, and so forth.
GotQuestions: What does it mean that Jesus is omniscient? Despite the condescension of the Son of God to empty Himself and make Himself nothing (Philippians 2:7), His omniscience is clearly seen in the New Testament writings. The first prayer of the apostles in Acts 1:24, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart,” implies Jesus’ omniscience, which is necessary if He is to be able to receive petitions and intercede at God’s right hand.
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The Christmas season is a time when we often celebrate family, friends, joy, life, and all the good things we have. There is much for which to be thankful, and appreciation and enjoyment of these things is good. Yet, it is also easy to forget that Jesus came into the world without many of these things.
Jesus was not born into a festive family home ablaze with lights, the aromas of good food, and the joyful sounds of music and festivities. The buildup to his birth didn’t include lights, caroling, or cookie parties. Rather, Jesus came into the world where animals were kept. His earthly father was a carpenter; his mother was a young girl—one who was suspected of having sexual relations before marriage, and not with her husband to be. His first visitors were lowly shepherds and Eastern wise men. And yet, despite the differences, here are three reasons why it is perfectly fitting for us to celebrate Jesus’ birth joyously with overflowing hearts of gratitude:
1. Jesus takes our place before God’s judgment seat.
We all hate being judged by others, especially when our faults, sins, and transgressions are pointed out and we will suffer some hard consequence. Imagine a courtroom setting where God as the judge is passing just judgement on your sins. God is perfectly righteous, good, and just—and we are not. In fact, sin pervades even the nicest things we try to do.
Because God is just he must judge sinners. For our sin we must suffer eternal separation from the goodness of God and only experience his wrath against sin. This is our just condemnation if we try to stand alone and on our own merits before God.
Yet, God is also good, merciful, loving, and kind, and he promised a Savior who would willingly suffer for us in our stead. The righteous Judge sent his only begotten Son to take the punishment that we deserved, so that we could have forgiveness of our sins and a righteous standing before the good Judge.
Jesus willingly undertook this sacrifice because of his love for his Father and his love for us. Thus, we should rejoice exceedingly because the birth of Jesus was a major step toward God’s fulfillment of his promise to send a Savior who would take our place of judgment and give us the righteousness we need to stand blameless before the God of the universe.
2. Jesus welcomes the forgotten and poor.
I love how Jesus enters the world. He is born into a poor family, and his mother was a young girl who was suspected of fornication. He would grow up in a little unimportant town. His first visitors were shepherds of lowly social class. Jesus himself wasn’t popular, good-looking, or famous.
God sent Jesus to the broken and lowly. Jesus didn’t appear in palaces to be applauded by the healthy, wealthy, and worldly-wise. He came to those with whom no one else would bother. Such is God’s great love and mercy. He bends down to comfort and build up the weak. He pours a special blessing and honor upon those whom the world would never notice. The birth of Jesus shows that God the Father longs to gather to himself those who are lowly. God cares for even the least and poorest of peoples.
We do not earn a standing before God based on our bank account or social status. No, the Father welcomes the poor and needy. The physically poor, lowly, and outcasts are also a picture of our spiritual state. We are broken, poor, dirty, guilt-ridden sinners, outcasts from God. Jesus came to gather those broken lowly sinners—the dirty ones—to himself and to the Father.
We should celebrate the coming of Jesus because it reminds us that God’s love covers all our sins, making us clean before God and part of his family. Trusting in Jesus Christ as our Savior means we have received the gift of God’s love and a welcome into a forever eternal and loving family. We will never be outcasts again.
3. Jesus brings light into a dark world.
Light is such an important resource. One of the hardest things about winter is getting up in the dark to go to work and getting out of work when it’s dark again. We miss the glorious light of the sun. The gloom can easily set in. Without light there is no way to chart a clear path—we fumble around in the dark.
Do you remember a time the electricity went out, and you had to search in the dark for matches or a flashlight? Think of the world with no clear knowledge of God, his goodness, mercy, or love. Before Christ came, the darkness of sin was very powerful and overwhelming. Philosophers had theories about morality, goodness, and gods, but the world did not have the Light. The world was fumbling around in the darkness of sin, groping for answers but unable to find the ultimate life-giving truth and light that only come from God.
In Christ, God sheds his light of salvation upon this world. The Israelites had God’s truth but not its fulfillment. They had a promise—a glimmering—but not the fulfilled reality. When Jesus came, he was the fulfillment of God’s promise to break humanity out of the shackles and darkness of sin and to bring them into the light of the glory and blessing of God.
We can celebrate the coming of Jesus, because in him alone we find the light that frees us from the darkness of sin. We find the light that breaks into the darkness of our lives and hearts, changing and drawing us out of darkness into a relationship with the Light Giver. Praise God for sending a Savior who takes our just judgment upon himself, welcomes the broken, and sheds light into our minds and hearts.
This article was originally published on December 12, 2018.
Throughout history, mighty empires and powerful leaders have come and gone. But thousands of years ago, a baby’s birth revealed a perfect King and an extraordinary kingdom. What does it mean for us now? Find out when you listen to Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
Each Christmas, myriads of people around the world are given a fresh opportunity to make the right assessment of Jesus. Who is the baby in the manger? Unlike our perceptions of other people, the answer to that question has enormous consequences, not only in this life, but into eternity.
4 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, 2 and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law,1 and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 3 He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; 4 but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. 5 For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
The Lord Shall Rescue Zion
6 In that day, declares the LORD, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted; 7 and the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore. 8 And you, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem. 9 Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pain seized you like a woman in labor? 10 Writhe and groan,2 O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to Babylon. There you shall be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. 11 Now many nations are assembled against you, saying, “Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.” 12 But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor. 13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze; you shall beat in pieces many peoples; and shall devote3 their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.
The Ruler to Be Born in Bethlehem
5 4 Now muster your troops, O daughter5 of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. 2 6 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. 3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. 4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. 5 And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men; 6 they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances; and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land and treads within our border.
A Remnant Shall Be Delivered
7 Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which delay not for a man nor wait for the children of man. 8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, which, when it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver. 9 Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off. 10 And in that day, declares the LORD, I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots; 11 and I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down all your strongholds; 12 and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes; 13 and I will cut off your carved images and your pillars from among you, and you shall bow down no more to the work of your hands; 14 and I will root out your Asherah images from among you and destroy your cities. 15 And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey.
11 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. 6 They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. 7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit1 will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically2 is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.
The Seventh Trumpet
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. 18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings,3 peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
14:22 Paul’s telling the Christians of those cities to expect many tribulations is echoed in his own account of his persecutions there (2 Tim. 3:10–12; cf. Rom. 8:17). Often in Acts new believers are exhorted to persevere in the faith (Acts 11:23; 13:43), and the reference to “tribulations” indicates that the Christian’s life is often beset by difficulties.[1]
14:22 — … strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”
We find spiritual strength and encouragement not only in warm, tender words, but also in words that confront us with harsh realities. The Christian life is a war, and we must never forget it (Eph. 6:10–17).[2]
14:22. Paul and Barnabas had experienced these troubles as seasoned believers. On the other hand, the new believers witnessed much turmoil soon after their conversion. Aware of this, Paul and Barnabas returned to these places (despite their own negative experiences there as well as the possibility of more opposition), strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith.
Their compassionate strategy shows that believers need encouragement as an aid to their perseverance. They can never lose the gift of eternal life. They can, however, veer off the path of discipleship especially in the context of its hardships. Paul and Barnabas assured them that “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” Persevering through hardships constitutes a normal experience for all disciples as they await the establishment of, and their entrance into, the future messianic kingdom.[3]
14:22 The exact nature of their follow-up work was strengthening the souls of the disciples and establishing the Christians in the faith by instructing them from the word of God. Paul described the process in Colossians 1:28, 29: “We warn everyone we meet, and we teach everyone we can, all that we know about him, so that, if possible, we may bring every man up to his full maturity in Christ Jesus. This is what I am working at all the time, with all the strength that God gives me” (JBP).
Second, they exhorted them to continue in the faith, an exhortation especially timely in view of the widespread persecution then prevalent. With this exhortation went a reminder that we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God. This refers to the kingdom of God in its future aspect, when believers will share Christ’s glory. A person enters the kingdom of God in the first place through the new birth. Persecutions and tribulations do not have any saving value. However, those who enter the kingdom of God by faith at the present time are promised that the pathway to future glory is filled with tribulations. “If indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Rom. 8:17b).[4]
14:22 This verse is a summary of Paul’s discipleship message. Notice it is focused on (1) perseverance and (2) tribulation. Believers are matured through trials (cf. Rom. 5:3–4; 8:17–18; 1 Thess. 3:3; 2 Tim. 3:12; James 1:2–4; 1 Pet. 4:12–16).
“strengthening” This term is used several times in the Septuagint in the sense of “to cause to rest on” or “to be established.” Luke uses this term several times to describe Paul’s follow-up discipleship ministry (cf. 14:22; 15:32, 41; 18:23).
“the souls of the disciples” The term soul is used in the sense of the person or their mental activities. This is not the Greek concept of every person having an immortal soul, but the Hebrew concept of soul as a way of referring to a human being.
“encouraging them to continue in the faith” See Special Topic: Perseverance following.[5]
22. Paul and Barnabas strengthened the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, “Through many hardships we must enter the kingdom of God.”
From the context we gather that the apostles spend much time with these disciples for two reasons: they continue to strengthen the new Christians in their faith and they keep on encouraging them (compare 15:32, 41; 16:5; 18:23). These recent converts in Lystra are unprepared for the harassment they have to endure. Although many of the Jewish Christians in Palestine, Phoenicia, Syria, and Cyprus could speak of the persecution they had endured following the death of Stephen (8:1), suffering for their faith would be a new and unsettling experience for Gentile Christians. We imagine that they could ask the legitimate question: “Why does God not protect his own people?”
Paul and Barnabas are able to answer questions relating to mistreatment and hardship. They know that God uses adversities to keep his people true to the faith. Remember that Paul rebukes these same Gentile Christians in Galatia for turning quickly away from the gospel to a different gospel, one that cannot even bear the name gospel (Gal. 1:6–7). Therefore, to have them remain true to their Christian confession and put their trust in Jesus Christ, God sends his people many trials.
Accordingly, the apostles tell these recent converts: “Through many hardships we must enter the kingdom of God.” The preposition through is descriptive of the life Christians must live; they must go through hardships and must personally experience them to enter God’s kingdom. The concept kingdom of God appears numerous times in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But in Acts, the expression occurs seldom and then only with reference to preaching (1:3; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 28:23, 31). That is, the believer who responds to Christ’s gospel enters the kingdom. Note that the apostles place themselves on the same level as the disciples when they declare that “we must enter the kingdom.”[6]
Haggai 1:1 — This is the same year as Ezra 4:24 (520 BC). Haggai is the first prophet to the returned remnant. We’ve read about Zerubbabel and Joshua in Ezra 3:2.
Haggai 1:4 — Interesting priorities. It wasn’t time to build the LORD’s house, but it was time to build “ceiled houses.” These houses were “roofed with costly woods;” some think “with the very cedar provided for the rebuilding of the Temple” (Ezra 3:7).
Verse 4 – For you, O ye; for you, yourselves; such as ye are (see Zechariah 7:5). He appeals to their consciences. You can make yourselves comfortable; you have time and means and industry to expend on your own private interests, and can you look with indifference on the house of God lying waste? Your ceiled houses; your houses, and those ceiled – wainscoted and roofed with costly woods (1 Kings 7:3, 7; Jeremiah 22:14), perhaps with the very cedar provided for the rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 3:7).
Haggai 1:9 — We’re told that God doesn’t dwell in temples (Acts 7:48, Acts 17:24). God did not need a temple, but this is indicative of the hearts of the people. Construction stopped for 16 years because of opposition (Ezra 4:24), but instead of seeking the LORD, they built their own houses. So, what was so important about this Temple? For the Israelites to obey God, they must follow His rules and that includes the sacrifices. Well over a hundred of the Torah laws dealt with the Temple. Under Babylonian captivity they had an excuse, but now there was no excuse.
Haggai 1:14 — God has put it in some people’s spirit to do the work of the house of the LORD God. Let’s do the work today; remember His last command (Matthew 28:19-20)!
Haggai 2:3 — This building was not going to rival Solomon’s Temple, but God still encouraged those building it (Haggai 2:4) because He would fill it with His glory (Haggai 2:7). He even promised that it would be more glorious than Solomon’s (Haggai 2:9).
Haggai 2:9 — How would this humble building rival Solomon’s Palace? Because in this place God would give His peace. If you’re interested in learning how that happened, check out this article yours truly did on the Peace of Christmas.
Haggai 2:19 — Blessing comes from obeying the LORD (Haggai 2:18). Now, what is the blessing? Is it always health, wealth, and prosperity? Lutheran Satire matched up present day “religious affirmations” with martyrs of church history in a provocative video. God’s blessings undo the ceremonial uncleanness (Haggai 2:13-14) and His chastening (Haggai 2:17).
Revelation 11:1 — We read about something similar in Ezekiel 40:3.
Revelation 11:3 — Who are the two witnesses? They have the power to shut heaven like Elijah (1 Kings 17:1), and their enemies are destroyed like Moses’ enemies (Numbers 16:32).
Revelation 11:10 — Welcome to Alternative Christmas – the celebration of the death of two intolerant bigots! What could be more joyous than the termination of people who didn’t get along with the Antichrist’s political correctness?
Psalm 139:1 — Welcome to the greatest psalm on omniscience! God knows me (Psalm 139:1), my goings (Psalm 139:2), my ways (Psalm 139:3), and my words (Psalm 139:4). What is my response? Psalm 139:14 – I will praise Thee!
Psalm 139:17 — This verse forms part of the chorus to the song, “I Have Been Blessed.”
Psalm 139:23-24 — The song, “Search me, O God,” is based on these two verses.
Proverbs 30:16 — There is a harsh pain in those who want to have children but cannot, even from biblical times (Genesis 30:1).
Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” –2 Corinthians 8:9
Mary and Joseph did not have the money or prestige to find a decent place for the baby to be born. Jesus’ birth is symbolic of the poverty into which He came. Mary’s baby is born in a stable. The scene in Bethlehem’s stable speaks of the poverty and humiliation of Jesus Christ. Mary lacks a bed on which to give birth. When the baby is born, they lack a cradle. The room was not sanitary. Jesus was not clothed in expensive baby clothes.
Poverty defined Jesus’ life. He later spoke about how He did not have a home. He said that the foxes have holes and birds have nests, but He had no place to lay His head.
The Apostle Paul provided a commentary of sorts on the Christmas story when he wrote in2 Corinthians 8:9that Christ became poor for our sakes. He states that through Jesus’ poverty it is possible for us to be rich. The grace of the Son of God towards us is evident in that He willingly gave up the glory that He enjoyed with the Father prior to the incarnation. The Son of God voluntarily became a poor man. Jesus became poor by taking over the debt we incurred by our sins.
Jesus was born into poverty to free us from the debt of our sins and to merit the riches of grace that are found in Him and the wealth to be enjoyed in the New World.
Suggestions for prayer
Pray that you would not be caught up with the love of money. Pray that you would comprehend the riches that you possess in Jesus Christ and that you will enjoy those riches in the new world.
Rev. Nathan Brummel is Professor of Systematic Theology and New Testament at Divine Hope Reformed Bible Seminary, and an associate pastor at Immanuel United Reformed Church in DeMotte, Indiana.Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each dayvia our RP App. It is also available in print, for purchase, atNTGDevotional.com.
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