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
Did you ever contemplate that while our incredibly massive universe has limits to its boundaries the God who spoke the Word and created it doesn’t! Or that when God established the dimension of time, that He existed before time began! And that while we have limits as to what we can accomplish through hard work and human wisdom, God has no limits as to what He can do.
While we are very limited because we are finite, our God is not because He is infinite! And though this may make us seem somewhat insignificant, being just one of eight billion people on planet earth, and living on a planet, that is just one tiny speck, among the untold trillions of heavenly bodies in our universe, this thought could not be further from the truth. For you see God loves you so much that first, He created you in His very own image. Second, He sent His Son to die on the cross of Calvary, to redeem you from certain eternal destruction. Third, He considers you His treasured possession and wants more than anything else to have a special relationship with you. And fourth, He promises us, when we die, that we can spend eternity with Him in perfect peace, joy, and bliss!
Away with the idea that we are insignificant. To our infinite, eternal, and limitless God we are, next to the Trinity, the most blessed and valuable people in the universe! Yes we are very limited in so many ways, but I love what A. W. Tozer said about our limitations: “How completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has none. Eternal years lie in His heart. For Him time does not pass, it remains; and those who are in Christ share with Him all the riches of limitless time and endless years.”1
My friends the next time you are feeling down and of little worth why not take a few moments to reflect on just how special and valuable you are to the Creator of the universe – Jesus Christ! And in closing why not reflect on this amazing thought: As finite human beings we can only have a certain amount of special thoughts toward our great God. But since God is limitless, Scripture tells us: “How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand…” (Psalm 139:17-18). Imagine God has a virtual limitless amount of precious thoughts towards you!
“You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.’” – Exodus 19:12
Moses was a man uniquely used by God. The privilege, power and prestige which he had is unparalleled among humans and eclipsed only by the Lord Jesus Christ. Through Moses, God spoke and directed His own people, Israel. And in our text for today, God used Moses to erect a “wall” for safety. The ones kept safe by the wall were God’s people. What the wall kept them safe from was God! Thus, we can call this a wall of grace.
We are reminded by this that God uses prohibitions and restrictions to keep us safe. Moses, God’s man of laws, set down this boundary – a “law” – so that the people would remain alive rather than being killed. If the people were to “…break through” the result would be death. Like a railing at the rim of the Grand Canyon, this boundary marker set up by Moses was a gracious restriction.
We should praise God for His Word, “No!” His loving Word keeps us safe, especially ‘no.’ Truly God reveals two significant things in this text. First, His love. He loves His people enough to tell us ‘no.’ Second is His holiness. When His holiness is transgressed, He will ‘break out’ in judgment against the transgressor. May our hearts overflow with thanks for God’s ‘no!’
Suggestions for prayer
Ask the Lord to make you willing to hear His Word ‘No’ and obey the Divine restrictions. Ask God to show you how helpful His wall of grace is.
Rev. Harold Miller graduated from Mid-America Reformed Seminary in 2001 and has served churches in Wellsburg, Iowa and Kansas City, Missouri before arriving at Oak Lawn, Illinois in 2020. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. It is also available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com
1:1 The Hebrew word for “God,” Elohim, is grammatically plural but does not indicate a numerical plural (i.e., “gods”). Hebrew uses the plural form to indicate honor or intensity, sometimes called the “plural of majesty.” The pairing of a singular adjective (Ps 7:9) or verb (Gn 20:6) with Elohim shows that the one God is intended. From the Israelite standpoint the oneness of the true Deity is never in question. In Dt 6:4 “The Lord,” that is, Yahweh the God of Israel, is called “our Elohim,” and declared to be “one.”[1]
1:1 This opening verse of the Bible, seven words in the Hebrew, establishes seven key truths upon which the rest of the Bible is based.
First, God exists. The essential first step in pleasing God is acknowledging his existence (Heb 11:6). Second, God existed before there was a universe and will exist after the universe perishes (Heb 1:10–12). Third, God is the main character in the Bible. He is the subject of the first verb in the Bible (in fact, he is the subject of more verbs than any other character) and performs a wider variety of activities than any other being in the Bible. Fourth, as Creator, God has done what no human could ever do; in its active form the Hebrew verb bara’, meaning “to create,” never has a human subject. Thus bara’ signifies a work that is uniquely God’s. Fifth, God is mysterious; though this particular Hebrew word for God is plural, the verb form of which “God” is the subject is singular. This is perhaps a subtle allusion to God’s Trinitarian nature: He is three divine persons in one divine essence. Sixth, God is the Creator of heaven and earth. He does not just modify preexisting matter but calls matter into being out of nothing (Ps 33:6, 9; Heb 11:3). Seventh, God is not dependent on the universe, but the universe is totally dependent on God (Heb 1:3).[2]
1:1 In the beginning, God. The Hebrew word for “God,” the first subject of Genesis and the Bible, is plural to denote His majesty. There is no other god (Deut. 4:39; Is. 40:21, 28; 43:10; John 1:1; Col. 1:17). He is truth, the basis for all sound knowledge (John 14:6). God is personal; He speaks and acts.
created. This translates a Hebrew word reserved for God’s creative activity alone. Linguistically possible, though less likely, is the translation “When God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was without form and void.” God’s creative activity was not merely the ordering of preexistent matter (like an artisan fashioning a product), however, for other passages clearly teach that the universe was created ex nihilo (i.e., out of nothing, John 1:3; Heb. 11:3; 2 Pet. 3:5) and that only God is eternal and transcendent (e.g., Ps. 102:25–27; Prov. 8:22–31). Not even the darkness exists apart from God’s creative word (Is. 45:7). While the narrative here is fully consistent with the doctrine of creation ex nihilo, the emphasis falls on God’s progressive ordering of a formless and empty world (v. 2 note).
the heavens and the earth. This compound of opposites signifies the organized universe.[3]
1:1In the beginning Genesis opens with the Hebrew phrase bere’shith, typically translated as “in the beginning.” There are two possible interpretations of this phrase: a specific, absolute beginning of all time; or a nonspecific, general beginning of God’s work of creation.
God The Hebrew word used here for “God,” elohim, is plural. While elohim may be used to describe multiple deities, ot authors usually use the term to refer to the singular God of Israel (more than 2,000 instances), such as here.
Bara The Hebrew word for “create” (bara) is used in the ot to refer to divine activity only—Yahweh alone serves as its grammatical subject—implying the writer wanted to emphasize that people cannot create in the way that Yahweh creates and that no other god can claim to be the creator. The verb bara also conveys the idea of ordering or determining function, suggesting God’s creative activity consists of bringing proper order and function to the cosmos.
created The Hebrew word used here is bara. Compare Isa 40:26; note on Gen 1:27.
the heavens and the earth This phrase refers to the entirety of creation. The ot often uses opposing word pairs to refer to a totality.[4]
1:1In the beginning. This opening verse can be taken as a summary, introducing the whole passage; or it can be read as the first event, the origin of the heavens and the earth (sometime before the first day), including the creation of matter, space, and time. This second view (the origin of the heavens and the earth) is confirmed by the NT writers’ affirmation that creation was from nothing (Heb. 11:3; Rev. 4:11). God created. Although the Hebrew word for “God,” ’Elohim, is plural in form (possibly to express majesty), the verb “create” is singular, indicating that God is thought of as one being. Genesis is consistently monotheistic in its outlook, in marked contrast to other ancient Near Eastern accounts of creation. There is only one God. The Hebrew verb bara’, “create,” is always used in the OT with God as the subject; while it is not always used to describe creation out of nothing, it does stress God’s sovereignty and power. Heavens and the earth here means “everything.” This means, then, that “In the beginning” refers to the beginning of everything. The text indicates that God created everything in the universe, which thus affirms that he did in fact create it ex nihilo (Latin “out of nothing”). The effect of the opening words of the Bible is to establish that God, in his inscrutable wisdom, sovereign power, and majesty, is the Creator of all things that exist.
1:1 God’s act of creation is the foundation for the entire biblical history. A considerable number of passages refer back to creation (e.g., Psalms 8; 104; 148; John 1:1–3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:15–17; Heb. 1:2; 11:3; 1 John 1:5–7). All the rest of the Bible depends indirectly on it.[5]
1:1In the beginning is a thesis statement, which can be paraphrased, “Here is the story of God’s creation of the heavens and the earth.” John 1:1 speaks of a time that predates Gen. 1:1, but no information is given here on what happened before this time. It is possible that the rise, rebellion, and judgment of Satan transpired before these events. In ch. 3 Satan has already fallen (he tempts Eve in the guise of the serpent), and Gen. 6:1–4 speaks of angels who are already fallen. Furthermore, God’s angels already have been created (3:24). In ch. 1 the focus is on the creation of the material world—the heavens and the earth. God: This standard Hebrew term for deity, Elohim, is in the form called the plural of majesty or the plural of intensity. In contrast to the ordinary plural (gods), this plural means “the fullness of deity” or “God—very God.” Even though the word for God is plural, the verb for created is singular. It means “to fashion anew.” This often used word in the Bible always has God as its subject. Here, it means that God renewed what was in a chaotic state. God changed chaos into cosmos, disorder into order, emptiness into fullness. The heavens and the earth mean “all of creation” or “the cosmos.”[6]
1:1“In the beginning God.…” These first four words of the Bible form the foundation for faith. Believe these words, and you can believe all that follows in the Bible. Genesis provides the only authoritative account of creation, meaningful for people of all ages but exhaustible by no one. The divine record assumes the existence of God rather than seeking to prove it. The Bible has a special name for those who choose to deny the fact of God. That name is fool (Ps. 14:1 and 53:1). Just as the Bible begins with God, so He should be first in our lives.[7]
[1] Mathews, K. A., & Luter, A. B., Jr. (2017). Genesis. In T. Cabal (Ed.), CSB Apologetics Study Bible (p. 3). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Bergen, R. D. (2017). Genesis. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (p. 5). Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ge 1:1). Lexham Press.
God prohibiting Moses from making graven images (Exodus 20:4)
Moses telling this to Aaron and the people (Exodus 24:3)
The people pledging to obey (Exodus 24:3)
Moses writing it down (Exodus 24:4)
Moses reading it aloud (Exodus 24:7)
The people publicly claiming again to obey (Exodus 24:7)
The people making a blood covenant (Exodus 24:8)
Aaron given the special privilege of being invited (Exodus 24:1)
Moses and the others going up to the LORD (Exodus 24:9)
Moses and the others seeing the LORD in His glory (Exodus 24:10)
Moses and the others eating with the LORD (Exodus 24:11)
Aaron and Hur being delegated responsibility over the elders of Israel (Exodus 24:14)
Not only were the people and Aaron aware of the Law, and not only was Aaron incredibly privileged by the LORD, but the LORD used Aaron’s name and preserved it in the Bible 40 times in the next 5 chapters (Exodus 27:21-31:10).
In spite of this close relationship between Aaron and the LORD, Aaron leads the people in breaking the Law (specifically the Second Commandment that was still fresh in their hearing) and personally making (32:4) a molten calf, declaring it to be the god of Israel.
Exodus 32:22-24 — In the 1956 film “The Ten Commandments”, Aaron is portrayed squeamishly saying “The people made me do it.” The movie inspired the Fraternal Order of Eagles to present a monument of the Ten Commandments to the City of Milwaukee. It was placed at the Zeidler Municipal Building in 1957 and dedicated by Yul Brynner, who played Ramses in the movie. The movie has several biblical inaccuracies, including the fact that the Associates for Biblical Research (ABR) identifies the Pharaoh of the Exodus as Amenhotep II, not Ramses. That’s why we should go to our Bibles and not to Hollywood for the truth!
Exodus 32:28 — A casual reader would wonder why God would be so angry to kill 3,000 people. But having looked at the context we saw earlier, the people had entered a blood covenant with the LORD to obey His command against idolatry.
Exodus 32:32 — Just like Paul in Romans 9:3, Moses loved his people; both were willing to go to hell for their people.
Matthew 27:1 — We have a formal trial of Jesus (in contrast to the illegal night examination of Jesus) when it was morning. They found Him guilty and delivered Him to Pilate for sentencing (Matthew 27:2). However, under the Mishna this was illegal – capital cases cannot be done at night nor finish on the same day of conviction.
Psalm 33 — Notice the use of the synonymous parallelism of Hebrew poetry: in verse 1 the first phrase starts with “Rejoice”, while the second phrase uses the similar word “Praise”. The first phrase ends with “righteous”, the second phrase ends with the synonym “upright”. Throughout this psalm we see the thought of the first phrase repeated in different words in the second phrase.
Proverbs 8:35-36 — Unlike the synonymous parallelism of Psalm 33, we see the use of contrasts. Find wisdom, find life. Hate wisdom, hate life.
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Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. (James 4:8)
The nearer we come to God, the more graciously will He reveal Himself to us. When the prodigal comes to his father, his father runs to meet him. When the wandering dove returns to the ark, Noah puts out his hand to pull her in unto him, When the tender wife seeks her husband’s society, he comes to her on wings of love. Come then, dear friend, let us draw nigh to God who so graciously awaits us, yea, comes to meet us.
Did you ever notice that passage in Isaiah 58:9? There the Lord seems to put Himself at the disposal of His people, saying to them, “Here I am.” As much as to say—”What have you to say to me? What can I do for you? I am waiting to bless you.” How can we hesitate to draw near? God is nigh to forgive, to bless, to comfort, to help, to quicken, to deliver. Let it be the main point with us to get near to God. This done, all is done. If we draw near to others, they may before long grow weary of us and leave us; but if we seek the Lord alone, no change will come over His mind, but He will continue to come nearer and yet nearer to us by fuller and more joyful fellowship.
‘Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:12-15
Life is not always easy.
Everyday letters come to this website from those of you walking through complex, confusing, and even tragic things that have unexpectedly imposed themselves on lives with little or no warning. If you find yourself arising to a day that is in turmoil, consider getting dressed for your day according to scripture.
Whenever you don’t know what to do, do this one thing first — clothe yourself with compassion, kindness and humility.
Pull on gentleness, patience and forgiveness. Wrap the cloak of love around them all as you go. (Colossians 3:12-15)
Deliberately put these things on just as you deliberately put on your clothes. Ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen and help you.
As you step into the challenges of today clothe yourself first with these characteristics. Be intentional about keeping them in focus. Be specific in asking God’s help to demonstrate them as you walk. It will impact the day of turmoil and help bring God’s peace.
In a day when peace seems impossible this is the first step to having God’s peace rule your heart. Those around you, who share the difficult circumstances, will be steadied by your presence as you dress in the things only God can give in the measure you need today.
Father God, I need Your Spirit to clothe me with a soft heart today. Though things around me may be hard, may I help bring Your presence into the circumstances of today by being dressed with the characteristics Your Holy Spirit can bring to my life. Stir within me a thankful heart and use my presence to help bring Your presence of peace to those around me. I ask this in the strong name of Jesus, Amen.
Question: How do you keep these characteristics of God in focus?
“I have given them the glory You gave Me – the glorious unity of being one, as We are – I in them and You in Me, all being perfected into one – so that the world will know You sent Me and will understand that You love them as much as You love Me” John 17:22,23
One day, as I was reading this prayer of Jesus to God the Father, I leaped from my chair in excitement when I realized that God loves me as much as He loves His only begotten Son!
What is more, He loves us unconditionally. That means He loves us not because we are good, or worthy of His love, but simply because of who He is.
Of course, the miracle of it all is that when Jesus, who is the incarnation of God’s love, comes to live within us, that same supernatural love becomes operative within us, enabling us to love others supernaturally as well.
Agape (sacrificial, supernatural and unconditional love) is best described in the well – known and oft – quoted 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians:
“Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. If you love someone you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.”
Question: What limitations do we sometimes try to put on God’s love? Why are such limitations illegitimate?
Putin Tells West Russia Cannot Be Defeated In Ukraine, But Is ‘Ready’ For Negotiated Peace President Vladimir Putin in his lengthy interview released Thursday with journalist Tucker Carlson clearly wanted to deliver a firm message of defiance to the West. At one point he stressed that Kiev’s Western supporters must understand it is “impossible” to defeat Russia in Ukraine. “Up until now, there has been the uproar and screaming about inflicting a strategic defeat to Russia on the battlefield. But now they are apparently coming to realize that it is difficult to achieve, if possible, at all.
EU Bends The Knee To Farmers: Drops Key Provisions In 2040 Climate Proposal According to the EU exeuctive’s plan, “all sectors” need to now contribute to the effort – but the previously mandated 30% cut to agricultural production between by 2040 is gone. The revised draft has also excluded a mandate for citizens to make lifestyle changes – such as eating less meat, and a push to end fossil fuel subsidies, Politico reports.
US Army Ditches Next-Gen Helicopter Program In Major Aviation Shakeup In an announcement, the service said the decision to end FARA was based on a “sober assessment of the modern battlefield” that would now allow it to increase investments in unmanned aerial vehicles. FARA was launched in 2018 and selected two helicopters in 2020: Bell-Textron with the 360 Invictus and Sikorsky with its Raider X.
Prophetic Chess Pieces — Israel And Syria Go Toe To Toe; U.S. To Recognize A Palestinian State? But many times, it seems that Syria is left out of the equation in the larger conversation. Syria remains a very active front. Israel has carried out hundreds, if not more, airstrikes in Syria over the past several years, striking Iranian-backed targets in the region. The Assad regime and the Syrian army are an avowed ally of the Iranian regime. Iran is in Syria, Many times, people mention Isaiah 17 and Damascus, the Syrian capital.
What would Israel do if it captures Sinwar? If the mediators fail to bring the parties to agree on any deal, one can only hope that military and diplomatic pressure will ultimately force Sinwar to accept a deal. Sinwar’s challenge is using the hostages — the only card left in his hand — to enable Hamas’ survival in the Strip under his leadership.
World-Renowned German Research Institute Fires Top Academic Over Antisemitic Social Media Posts One of the world’s leading institutes for research into the natural and social sciences has fired a prominent academic over posts he wrote on social media that glorified the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in Israel. Prof. Ghassan Hage, a Lebanese-Australian scholar of anthropology, was dismissed from the Max Planck Society in Germany on Wednesday for posts that were deemed “incompatible” with the institution’s “core values.”
Netanyahu orders plan for evacuation and military action in Gaza’s Rafah Hamas cannot be defeated with four battalions remaining in Rafah It is impossible to achieve the goal of the war without eliminating Hamas, and by leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah,” the statement noted. “On the contrary, it is clear that intense activity in Rafah requires that civilians evacuate the areas of combat.”
Knesset Speaker cancels meeting with UN chief over his anti-Israel statements Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, who is currently on a visit to Washington, DC, cancelled a scheduled meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which was scheduled for Friday, due to Guterres’ statements against Israel, Channel 12 News reported. According to the report, Ohana made clear that he would not give Guterres legitimacy by holding the meeting.
Biden unable to recall his son’s death date or his years of vice presidency President Joe Biden could not recall when he served as vice president or when his son Beau died, according to a Special Counsel report released Thursday. Department of Justice investigators say that “Biden’s memory was worse” than in previous interviews when he appeared in their office on Oct. 8, 2023. That day, the president “did not remember when he was vice president,” nor could he “remember, within several years, when his son Beau died.”
U.S. assassinates top Kata’ib Hezbollah commander The United States assassinated a top Islamic terrorist in the middle of Baghdad Wednesday night as part of its ongoing retaliation for the Iranian-backed drone strike on an American base in Jordan in which three of its soldiers were killed.
Magnitude 5.1 earthquake strikes southern California A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck southern California on Friday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said. The quake was 10 km (6.2 miles) below the Earth’s surface, GFZ said.
Hamas commander tells troops it’s time to surrender to the IDF In their own words, it appears the time has come for Hamas terrorists to throw in the towel. When Shin Bet asked Hamas Nukhba terror commander known as Abu al-Baraa during interrogation if he had a message for his fellow Hamas fighters, he said, “I recommend everyone surrender, your fate is death.”
Crime-ridden Chicago now embraces terrorism The permissive attitude of the city’s administration towards unspeakable violence extends beyond the domestic and into the international realm. Death may be the ultimate fate of us all, but it comes in many forms. In Chicago in recent years, all too often it has come from a bullet amid gangland turf wars and skyrocketing violent crime.
Three US soldiers died because Biden won’t stand up to Iran “as President Biden has made clear, we will take all necessary measures to defend our people and will always respond at a time and place of our choosing. No group will strike our troops with impunity.” But Iran and its jihadi proxy militias could and did go on attacking our troops with impunity. We launched a few light airstrikes for show and the attacks went on.
Hiker discovers an ancient and rare scarab in the Lower Galilee Erez Avrahamov, a 45-year-old resident of Padoel, recently hiked the Tabor Stream Nature Reserve in the Lower Galilee in Israel, and to his surprise, found a scarab dating back to the First Temple period – about 2,800 years ago.
Netanyahu rejects Hamas’ ‘delusional’ terms for a hostage release deal, says ‘total victory’ is possible within months Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’ terms for a deal that would see the release of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, calling the proposal “delusional.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is currently visiting Israel for the fifth time since the outbreak of the war in early October, referred to Hamas’ conditions as “non-starters.”
Telescopes Show the Milky Way’s Black Hole is Ready for a Kick artist’s illustration depicts the findings of a new study about the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy called Sagittarius A* (abbreviated as Sgr A*). As reported in our latest press release, this result found that Sgr A* is spinning so quickly that it is warping spacetime — that is, time and the three dimensions of space — so that it can look more like a football. Black holes have two fundamental properties: their mass (how much they weigh) and their spin (how quickly they rotate). Determining either of these two values tells scientists a great deal about any black hole and how it behaves
It’s the Year of the Dragon. Chinese zodiac, or Sheng Xiao (生肖), is a repeating 12-year cycle of animal signs and their attributes, based on the lunar calendar. The Lunar New Year marks the transition from one animal to another.
M5.7 earthquake hits southeastern flank of Mauna Loa volcano, Hawaii A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M5.7 (downgraded from M6.3) hit the southeastern flank of Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii at 20:33 UTC on February 9, 2024. The agency is reporting a depth of 36.8 km (22.8 miles).
Shallow M6.1 earthquake hits Kermadec Islands, New Zealand A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.1 hit Kermadec Islands, New Zealand at 10:57 UTC on February 9, 2024. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles)..
Squatters Are Taking Over Homes All Over The Nation On An Industrial Scale And Turning Them Into Dens Of Crime …Thanks to online listings, it is easier than ever to identify properties that are vacant, and many states have laws that make it exceedingly difficult to get squatters out once they have settled in. This is becoming an absolutely massive problem, especially in certain areas of the country. For example, it is being reported that squatters have taken over approximately 1,200 homes in the Atlanta area.
Amir Tsarfati: Israel Is Winning The War In Gaza—Don’t Let The Media Tell You Otherwise Israel is winning the war in Gaza. Don’t let the media tell you otherwise. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have destroyed 17 of 24 Hamas battalions. Thousands of buildings used to house terrorists and their war materiel have been demolished, and kilometers of underground tunnels are being blown apart weekly. A massive number of weapons, from explosives to rockets to automatic rifles to handguns, have been found and confiscated.
Have You Seen Tucker’s Interview With Vladimir Putin? The Reason Why The Elite Are Freaking Out Is Because They Don’t Want Peace This week, the biggest news story in the entire world is Tucker Carlson’s interview with Vladimir Putin. Honestly, it was kind of a bizarre interview, and you can watch it for yourself below. But I give Tucker Carlson a ton of credit for going to Russia and sitting down with Putin. I think that the real reason he did this is because he wanted to see for himself if there is any hope of avoiding a cataclysmic conflict between our two nations.
The Ongoing Inward Struggle Of The Jewish People To the unbelieving world, blindness is only apparent in its physical form. But to us who believe, we know there are two types of blindness – physical and spiritual.
BRICS agenda and “Western Empire” agenda are the SAME agenda In an article last month, Catte Black and Iain Davis argued that we should oppose the multipolar world order just as vigorously as we might any other model of tyranny. Why? Because the multipolar world order, led by the BRICS nations, is the same agenda that you’ve heard from the talking heads of the “Western Empire,” the US, its allies and its so-called military-industrial complex.
MUST WATCH: Democrat senator promotes Satanism in Arizona state Capitol On Wednesday, Arizona state Senator Juan Mendez (D) proudly honored satanists at the state capitol in Phoenix. Mendez claimed that Satanists are under “arbitrary” and “tyrannical” religious persecution and gave the group glowing praise as he welcomed them to the capitol grounds before a committee hearing.
THOMAS GALLATIN Washington’s double standard of justice is exposed by a refusal to prosecute a homosexual who recorded himself having sex in a Senate hearing room.
BRIAN MARK WEBER As part of its J6 investigation, the administration’s financial crimes network flagged terms such as Cabela’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods, and even purchases of religious books.
THOMAS GALLATIN In a naked effort to push the alarmist claim that climate change is making common weather events worse, a couple of scientists want to change the hurricane scale.
QUOTES Non Compos Mentis “[François] Mitterrand from Germany — I mean, from France — looked at me and … said, ‘What would you say, Mr. President, if you picked up the paper tomorrow in the London Times, and London Times said, ‘A thousand people break through the House of Commons, break down the doors, two Bobbies are killed in order to stop the election of the Prime Minister’?” —Joe Biden in a bizarre G7 Summit ghost claim that he had a conversation about the January 6 Capitol riot with Mitterrand, who has not been president of France since 1995 “Helmut Kohl of Germany looked at me and said, ‘What would you say, Mr. President, if you picked up The London Times tomorrow morning and learned that 1,000 people had broken down the doors, the doors of the British Parliament, and killed some [people] on the way in [to] deny the prime minister to take office?'” —Joe Biden in a bizarre G7 Summit ghost claim that he had a conversation about the January 6 Capitol riot with Kohl, who has not been chancellor of Germany since 1988 “Initially, the president of Mexico, El-Sisi, did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in [to Gaza]. I talked to him. I convinced him to open the gate.” —Joe Biden (Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is the president of Egypt, not Mexico.) “I love how Trump is now saying Biden is for abortion on demand. That’s not true. That’s not what Roe v. Wade said. It said the three trimesters.” —Joe Biden “Making Roe v. Word — Ward — the law of the land.” —Joe Biden “There is only one existential threat we face in the world — that’s the environment. I mean it literally is the existential threat. … There is one existential threat — it’s Donald Trump.” —Joe Biden “I said, ‘I’m gonna be a president for everybody, whether you live in a red state or a green state.'” —Joe Biden The BIG Lies I “I did not share classified information.” —Joe Biden (“Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.” —Special Counsel Robert Hur) “My memory is fine.” —Joe Biden (“We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” —Robert Hur) “I take responsibility for not having seen exactly what my staff was doing.” —Joe Biden The BIG Lies II “All indications are this [border] bill won’t even move forward to the Senate floor. Why? A simple reason: Donald Trump. Because Donald Trump thinks it’s bad for him politically. … Frankly, [Republicans] owe it to the American people to show some spine and do what they know to be right. … So, Republicans have to decide: Who do they serve — Donald Trump or the American people?” —Joe Biden “We need [border] help. Why won’t [Republicans] give me the help?” —Joe Biden “[Republicans] created this. … [Biden] has done everything Republicans have asked him to do. And now they keep moving the goalpost … because they realize they don’t really want to solve this. They like the chaos that it’s created.” —New York Governor Kathy Hochul regarding record illegal immigration Theater of the Absurd “Frankly, the reason Republicans turned against [the border bill] was because we did too good a job. … Republicans couldn’t imagine a world in which they didn’t have the border to run on this November.” —Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) “If the bill fails, I want to be absolutely clear about something: The American people are going to know why it failed. … Every day between now and November, the American people are going to know that the only reason the border is not secure is Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican friends.” —Joe Biden “We want [Republicans] to pass the border bill, and if they vote against [it], America will know who is for fixing the border and who is not.” —Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) “It’s incredible to me that instead of extreme MAGA Republicans pivoting to working with us in a commonsense way to solve real problems for the American people, their focus is on, ‘How do we get Steve Scalise back to Washington so we can continue to do the bidding of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump and impeach Secretary Mayorkas?'” —House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) “The thing that has distinguished U.S. economic performance from other countries … is the fact that our pro-immigration policies actually allow us to continue in our economic growth, whereas similar countries with anti- or more … closed-border policies experience economic stagnation when they submit themselves to this xenophobic … border panic narrative.” —Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud “The people we care about most [are] the undocumented Americans that are in this country.” —Chris Murphy Circling the Wagons “What they’re doing to Secretary Mayorkas is baseless, is shameful.” —White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre “Mayorkas has been doing a very competent and excellent job under trying circumstances.” —Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) “What does the impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas have to do with building a healthy economy? Nothing. What does the impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas have to do with addressing the inflationary pressures that have existed on the economy since the shutdown of the economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic? Nothing. And it has nothing to do with fixing our broken immigration system.” —Hakeem Jeffries “This is an impeachment without merit. Secretary Mayorkas has demonstrated no — there is absolutely no evidence for an impeachable offense. It is completely politicized.” —Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Race Bait “When you talk about impeachment, a White House official pointed out that in the impeachment report, it says, ‘The committee, through these articles of impeachment, begins the process of deporting Secretary Mayorkas from his position.’ You know, I think it’s not subtle the fact that Secretary Mayorkas is the first immigrant … to serve as a DHS secretary.” —CNN’s Phil Mattingly Useful Idiots “I’m of the view that the conduct of the response in the Gaza Strip has been over the top.” —Joe Biden “Israelis were dehumanized in the most horrific way on October 7th. The hostages have been demonized every day since. But that cannot be a license to dehumanize others.” —Secretary of State Antony Blinken chastising Israel “The only long-term answer to peace in the region, to Israel’s security in the region, is a two-state solution. … I think since October 7th the need to work on that has only increased.” —National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan “How … can the United States condemn Russia’s indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Ukraine as a war crime, and yet fund Netanyahu’s war machine which has killed 1000s of children?” —Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) “[The U.S.] criticize[s] the terrible human rights records in China, Iran, and other authoritarian countries, but ignore[s] the human rights of Palestinians.” —Bernie Sanders “The fact that this word [genocide] is even in play, the fact that this word is even in our discourse, I think demonstrates the mass inhumanity that Gazans are facing.” —Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez More BIG Lies “The Treasury Department has been extremely aggressive and very vigilant about sanctions on the Iranian regime.” —Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen “My son spent a year in Iraq. That’s how I lost him.” —Joe Biden “We have the best economy in the world. Inflation is coming down. … A little bit of corporate greed going on too.” —Joe Biden “We’ve created a record 15 million new jobs.” —Joe Biden “We have created more than fourteen and a half million new jobs [and] increased wages for tens of millions of Americans.” —Kamala Harris “The high prices were not caused by Bidenomics.” —Janet Yellen “We don’t have to get the prices down because wages are going up.” —Janet Yellen Baghdad Bobs “Whether it’s milk, eggs, used cars, airfares, we’ve actually seen cost reductions in some key consumer areas.” —Council of Economic Advisers Chair Jared Bernstein “Easing inflation, rising real pay is finally reaching families and they’re feeling it.” —Jared Bernstein “Bidenomics is working. … He’s going to continue lowering costs. … It takes a long time to make that connection.” —Karine Jean-Pierre Dumb & Dumber “I think it’s critically important that the U.S. be on a fiscally sustainable path, and President Biden has put forward a series of budget proposals … and also tax proposals and investment proposals that would, I believe, guarantee that we are on a fiscally sustainable path.” —Janet Yellen “Both inward and outward investment [in China] are economically beneficial.” —Janet Yellen Delusions of Grandeur “I’m well-meaning and I’m an elderly man and I know what the hell I’m doing. I’ve been president. I put this country back on its feet.” —Joe Biden “I’m the most qualified person in this country to be president of the United States and finish the job I started.” —Joe Biden “The people who know my work are incredibly supportive.” —Kamala Harris Pot Calling the Kettle Black “We, at this point, really need our Republican colleagues to choose to walk away from chaos, which is what they want … and join us in a commonsense approach to meeting the needs of the American people.” —Hakeem Jeffries “We’ve got to move past this toxic politics. … We can’t continue to let petty, partisan politics get in the way of our responsibility.” —Joe Biden Lack of Self-Awareness “I have long believed we have to look at each other even in our most challenging times not as enemies but as fellow Americans. … My prayer, my hope is … that as a nation we continue to believe in honesty, decency, dignity, and respect.” —Joe Biden “The last time I checked … we were a nation based on the rule of law, not on the rule of individual men.” —Hillary “Rules for Thee but Not for Me” Clinton Can’t Fix Stupid “Why did Trump believe Putin more than our 11 intelligence agencies? I think I do have a working theory.” —Hillary Clinton Belly Laughs of the Week “Actually, Joe Biden at his age is so — he has a big vision for our country. He brings the wisdom, the knowledge, the judgment of age, as well as experience. He knows how to get things done. He’s a legislator, not a person to hold things up. And he has a big heart of empathy for the American people.” —Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) “I serve the American people. I’m here to solve problems.” —Joe Biden “When people see what’s happening on the ground in their districts, that’s when it really sinks in — the great work that happened under President Biden and with House Democrats last Congress.” —Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (D-WA) “As we enter into the campaign season, the American people are beginning to focus on President Biden’s incredible track record of results.” —Hakeem Jeffries “That’s what the American people want … a Congress that will help President Biden finish the job.” —House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA)
With the Department of Justice’s Special Counsel report calling President Biden’s mental competency into question, there is renewed speculation that Democrats may seek to replace Biden on the ballot in the upcoming presidential election. But who would they pick on such short notice?
The Babylon Bee has exclusively obtained the following list of potential replacement candidates:
Taylor Swift: Though many saw it coming, years of meticulous Deep State planning is finally coming to fruition.
President Xi: He’s been running the country behind the scenes for years, so he might as well make it official.
Claudine Gay: Just imagine all of the amazing State of the Union speeches throughout history that we’d get to hear again.
Chris Pratt: He’s already appearing in every other role. Why not president?
One of Biden’s many body doubles: It would be a seamless transition.
Daniel Day-Lewis: The only man more qualified than Joe Biden to pretend to be a president.
Harry Truman: Just like Joe Biden, he has presidential experience and he passed away years ago.
A life-sized wax sculpture of Joe Biden: No one would know the difference.
Start preparing yourself to see one of the names listed above being sworn in next January.
By now the whole internet has heard Ben Shapiro rapping, but did you know that there are actually two more verses they cut out of the track?
Today I joined Kudlow to discuss this rotten foreign spending bill. This bill sends the message to Americans that their elected officials don't care about them. I've never met any Kentuckian who says, “fix the border of Ukraine before you fix our own.” pic.twitter.com/8zkGPOOKzF
American voters no longer conside Joe Biden fit to occupy the White House as his mental faculties look increasingly patchy during numerous public appearances.
The United States is enduring mass migration of people from across the world in numbers never seen in history. Citizens from as far as China are flooding the United States’ southern border which, if continued to be left unchecked, will forever change the culture of America. The consequence of this will result in a change of values that will be felt across the world. Fr. Charles Murr poses a disturbing suggestion of how mass migration has been so prevalent with a haunting question: is the United States government doing this to its own people on purpose? Watch the full show […]
Even far-left national media outlets couldn’t ignore last night’s train wreck at the White House. ‘This is becoming a five-alarm fire for the White House,’ declared a CNN political analyst.
Few philosophies in the history of civilization have promised more and produced less than Marxism. Today, R.C. Sproul considers the disastrous effects of Karl Marx’s attempts to overthrow the religious and economic foundations of the Western world.
The recent Alistair Begg controversy has taught us something VERY important… In this video, Todd Friel discusses how Christians should respond to Alistair and those who agree with him on this issue, and emphasizes the importance of unity in the Church.
As Joe Biden yawps his way through his presidency, mixing up the presidents of Egypt and Mexico, Putin launches into a recital of 1,000 years of Russian history.
Joe Biden may be preparing to toss Attorney General Merrick Garland under the bus following the release of the DOJ Special Counsel Robert Hur’s damning report on his poor memory and building anger over the pace of the Trump election interference probe.
The Gateway Pundit’s Cristina Laila previously reported Biden went on a vulgar tirade following the release of Hur’s report. Biden and his cronies also partially blame Garland for not exercising his authority to demand edits to Hur’s report.
Now, a report from Politico reveals that Biden is angry Garland did not prosecute Trump sooner for “election interference.” Translation: Biden wanted the case decided before the 2024 election (which is still possible) purely to lock Trump before the 2024 election. It is an incredible yet unsurprising attempted scheme to abuse the power of the presidency.
🚨This is a HUGE scandal, Joe Biden is furious that his top law enforcement stooge Merrick Garland didn’t arrest President Trump early enough so they could convict and lock him up before the 2024 election.
This is one of the dirtiest and corrupt persecutions in American history. https://t.co/Z44YU0MwyJ
While Biden himself has not weighed in on Garland’s future, most of the president’s senior advisers do not believe that the attorney general would remain in his post for a possible second term, according to the two people
“This has been building for a while,” said one of those people. “No one is happy”
Frustration within the White House at Garland has been growing steadily.
In recent weeks, President Biden has grumbled to aides and advisers that had Garland moved sooner in his investigation into former President Donald Trump’s election interference, a trial may already be underway or even have concluded, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss private matters.
The Gateway Pundit has extensively reported on Garland’s abuse of power. As Laila notes, Garland appointed Jack Smith as special counsel as a hired gun to jail Trump shortly after the former president announced his 2024 White House run in November 2022.
He also admitted to election interference when he told CNN back in January that there should be a “speedy trial” as Trump seeks to delay the two trials set to begin on March 4 and May 24.
The March trial concerns January 6, where Trump is being falsely accused of four crimes: Conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. The May trial concerns Smith’s attempt to lock Trump up for political purposes over holding “classified documents” at the Mar-A-Lago.
Garland has also targeted pro-life Americans, peaceful January 6 protesters, and school parents simply for exercising their constitutional rights. Yet he still has not gone far enough in the eyes of the White House.
Garland has been arguably the worst attorney general in American history. Just imagine how much scarier his replacement will be should Biden seize another term.
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s shocking cardiac arrest last year during a Monday night football game sparked a nationwide prayer wave, with players and sportscasters encouraging the public to invoke God’s name on Hamlin’s behalf.
The stunning outpouring, which preceded the Asbury Revival and a series of mass baptisms, left Jeffrey Scholes, a University of Colorado at Colorado Springs professor of religious studies, stating that faith-based commentary and prayer on TV amid Hamlin’s health crisis was “kind of stunning.”
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Scholes said at the time. “It looked more like ‘The 700 Club’ than it did ESPN for a bit there.”
It should be noted that faith in sports — and particularly the National Football League (NFL) — isn’t necessarily new. Still, in recent years, players have seemingly become more open and bold about their Christian ideals.
Famed football coach Tony Dungy, whose own open devotion to Christianity has long been on display, recently told CBN News that football’s influence and cultural patterns are coalescing to open up more opportunities for players to candidly share their faith.
“Football has become the No. 1 sport in our society today,” Dungy said. “There’s so much emphasis on it, but the other side of the coin is our, our world is … up in the air. [People] don’t know what’s going on. They have questions, but they come to football for that kind of sanctuary.”
Recognizing the power and influence that come with such a massive platform, some of these faithful players are becoming more bold and vocal.
“These young players have said … ‘I can use this platform and I can let people know what’s important to me and I can let people know about my faith in Jesus Christ,’” he said. “And it’s something that, for a long time, we kind of tried to keep under the radar. But we’ve had some very outspoken people.”
Watch Dungy explain:
He mentioned the late Reggie White who once vocally shared his beliefs. And also noted C.J. Stroud, the Houston Texans quarterback who recently gave “all glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” during an interview.
Dungy also referenced Brock Purdy, quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, who will be playing in Sunday’s Super Bowl LVIII. These stars, he said, are showing people for what they truly stand.
“These young guys are coming in and they’re not ashamed of the Gospel,” Dungy said.
Dungy’s comments to CBN News came as he plans to hand out the Bart Starr Award to Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick Jr. The Bart Starr Award is given to an NFL player who “best exemplifies outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field, and in the community.”
“It’s voted on by the players, which is very meaningful to them,” Dungy said. “It’s given to the person who shows extreme leadership, and community service.”
He described Fitzpatrick as being a man who truly fits this description.
“He was traded from the Miami Dolphins, No. 1 draft choice, played at University of Alabama, won a national championship. So, had all these accolades,” Dungy said, noting Fitzpatrick’s selection is well-deserved. “[He has] just the heart of a servant.”
Dungy said he’s been fortunate to have coached five of the men who have received the award and has, for the past decade, been among the pool of people who get to present the award to the annual winner.
He will join Athletes in Action for the Christian ministry’s 2024 Super Bowl Breakfast Feb. 10 at Ceasar’s Palace in Las Vegas to present the award to Fitzpatrick.
“The breakfast itself is a Gospel outreach,” Dungy said, noting there’s a presentation of biblical truth amid the celebrations surrounding the Super Bowl.
It’s an event that attracts 5,000 to 6,000 people who will hear a lot about football but, more importantly, will hear players discuss their faith.
“Player after player will talk about their relationship with the Lord, maybe how it started,” Dungy said. “There’s just been some unbelievable stories that have come through this, and it’s a Gospel outreach letting people know that Christ is the answer to a lot of our problems, and there’s always a Gospel invitation at the end.”
Find out more about the 2024 Super Bowl Breakfast here.
Fox News contributor Joe Concha discusses voters’ concerns for President Biden’s physical and mental health as the 2024 election looms on ‘Fox & Friends Weekend.’ #foxnews
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