Luke: A Historian of the First Rank! – Bible Apologetics – A DAILY DEVOTIONAL

It is almost universally acknowledged that the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts were written by the beloved physician Luke. The question must be asked how accurate a historian was Luke? One of the greatest archaeologists of all time, Sir William Ramsay, didn’t think Luke was very accurate. In fact, he traveled throughout Asia Minor, Greece, and other places during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s in an attempt to refute Luke’s historical records in the Book of Acts.

Before his travels he believed that Luke couldn’t have been very accurate because of a lack of archaeological evidence to support Luke’s claims. Ramsey, after years of study, found the exact opposite to be true, and he completely reversed his position. In fact, Ramsey went on to comment: “Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy, he is possessed of the true historic sense … in short, this author should be placed along with the greatest of historians.”1

According to (Acts 1:1-3) one of Luke’s key purposes in writing the Book of Acts was to attest to the veracity of who Jesus was and that all of His claims are trustworthy. For we read: “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” Ramsey was so impressed with the historicity of Acts that he eventually became a Christian.

Another famous Roman historian, A.N. Sherwin-White, said: “For Acts the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming. . . . Any attempt to reject its basic historicity must now appear absurd. Roman historians have long taken it for granted.”2

According to Geisler and Turek: “Luke includes the most eyewitness details. (While Luke may not have been an eyewitness to the Resurrection itself, he certainly was an eyewitness to many New Testament events). In the second half of Acts, for example, Luke displays an incredible array of knowledge of local places, names, environmental conditions, customs, and circumstances that befit only an eyewitness contemporary of the time and events.”3

In addition, Geisler and Turek comment: “Classical scholar and historian Colin Hemer chronicles Luke’s accuracy in the Book of Acts verse by verse. With painstaking detail, Hemer identifies 84 facts in the last 16 chapters of Acts that have been confirmed by historical and archaeological research.”4 I have listed below 25 of these 84 facts to give you a flavor of Luke’s amazing detailed accuracy.5

1. the natural crossing between correctly named ports [Acts 13:4-5]
2. the proper location of Lycaonia [14:6]
3. two gods known to be so associated-Zeus and Hermes [14:12]
4. the proper form of the name Troas [16:8]
5. the place of a conspicuous sailors’ landmark, Samothrace [12:14]
6. the proper association of Thyatira as a center of dyeing [16:14]
7. the presence of a synagogue in Thessalonica [17:1]
8. the abundant presence of images in Athens [17:16]
9. Areopagites as the correct title for a member of the court [17:34]
10. the correct designation of Gallio as proconsul, resident in Corinth [18:12]
11. the bema [judgement seat], which overlooks Corinth’s forum [18:16ff.]
12. the well attested “great goddess Artemis” [19:27]
13. the proper title of honor neokoros, authorized by the Romans [19:35]
14. employment of the ethnic term Asianos [20:4]
15. the appropriate route passing across the open sea south of Cyprus favored by persistent northwest winds [21:3]
16. the flight of steps used by the guards [21:31, 35]
17. the common way to obtain Roman citizenship at this time [22:28]
18. Ananias being high priest at this time [23:2]
19. Felix being governor at this time [23:34]
20. the name Porcius Festus, which agrees precisely with that given by Josephus [24:27]
21. the characteristic form of reference to the emperor at the time [25:26]
22. the slow passage to Cnidus, in the fact of the typical northwest wind [27:7]
23. the locations of Fair Havens and the neighboring site of Lasea [27:8]
24. the precise term [Bolisantes] for taking soundings, and the correct depth of the water near Malta [27:28]
25. the conditions of imprisonment, living “at his own expense” [28:30-31]

It is also important to note that interspersed throughout the Book of Acts are over 30 miracles. The thing that excites me about this fact is that Luke records these miracles without any special embellishments – they are recorded just like the historical accounts are with an eye to detail and accuracy. So, if one believes the historical accounts why do so many dismiss the miraculous? I can only say that many people have an anti-supernatural bias that is uncalled for. Look if you believe that the universe was created by a supernatural force of immense power and intellect (God) then the miracles in the Book of Acts would be clearly possible and not as spectacular.

In conclusion having Luke’s amazingly accurate historical portrayal in the Book of Acts, in my opinion, makes it just as likely that his miracle accounts are also historically accurate. In fact, it takes more faith to believe that these miraculous accounts didn’t take place than to believe they did.

1 Luke and the Book of Acts – Drive Thru History®

2 Archaeology Verifies Bible Ch2 (christiantrumpetsounding.com)

3 Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2004), p. 256.

4 Ibid., p. 256.

5 Ibid., pp. 256-259.

The post Luke: A Historian of the First Rank! appeared first on Bible Apologetics – A DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

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March 3 Evening Verse of the Day

heirs of the promise

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (3:29)

The spiritual promise of eternal salvation and blessing given to Abraham belongs to all those who belong to Christ. They are all heirs according to that promise, which is fulfilled in Christ. This is not a reference to the promises given to Abraham regarding the land (Gen. 12:1; 13:14–15; 17:8), but refers to the spiritual blessings that come to all who, being justified by faith just as Abraham was (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:3–11), will inherit the spiritual promises given to Abraham. Not all the physical seed of Abraham will receive the promises of salvation (Rom. 9:6–11), but many who are not physical seed of Abraham will receive them by coming to God by faith as he did, thereby becoming his spiritual offspring.

Those who are children of God are “heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17). Christ’s inheritance belongs to “all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32), His fellow “heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7). They are “sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13), the promise of inheriting God Himself. “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup,” exulted David (Ps. 16:5).

In his vision on Patmos, John “heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain.… He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son’ ” (Rev. 21:3–4, 7).

John Stott lucidly summarizes his comments on this passage in the following words: “We cannot come to Christ to be justified until we have first been to Moses to be condemned. But once we have gone to Moses, and acknowledged our sin, guilt and condemnation, we must not stay there. We must let Moses send us to Christ” (The Message of Galatians [London: Inter-Varsity, 1968], p. 102).^[1]

29  As those who are united to Christ and who participate in the new existence made possible by him, believers “thus belong to Christ,” and since Christ is the true offspring of Abraham (v. 16b), those who thus belong to Christ are collectively also Abraham’s true “issue,” and as such individually heirs in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham.

Thus the new dispensation of faith is described in these verses (26–29) as one in which believers become sons of God through faith, since they are united to Christ by baptism, being constituted thereby Abraham’s true offspring and therefore heirs of the promised inheritance.

Before going further in Paul’s argument we pause to note several important considerations that arise from vv. 23–29.

(1) V. 24 states, again, that justification is through faith, but a comparison of v. 22 and vv. 23f. reveals a further point. The theme of imprisonment is repeated from v. 22a and strengthened in v. 23, and the divine purpose is described both as the imparting of the promise through faith to those who believe (v. 22b) and as justification by faith (v. 24b): just as “through faith” in v. 24b corresponds to the same phrase in v. 22b (where it is paraphrased by NEB), so also “that we might be justified” (v. 24, RSV) corresponds to “that the promise … might be given to those who believe” (NASB). This means that the “promise” of v. 22b is to be understood as the promised blessing of justification; this is in harmony with our conclusion reached earlier (on v. 22) that the promise there has to do with the righteousness mentioned in v. 21. Therefore, justification by faith is seen to be the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham, a conclusion which is in line with our earlier observation (on 3:8) that the promise to Abraham implicitly involves and anticipates the doctrine of justification by faith.

(2) From vv. 26–29 it is seen that believers are individually God’s sons and collectively the true offspring of Abraham. They are God’s sons since by faith they have been incorporated into Christ, the Son of God, and they are collectively the true seed of Abraham since, by virtue of their faith-union with Christ, they are one person in him who is the true “issue” of Abraham (cf. v. 16). Materially, therefore, God’s sons are also the true issue of Abraham and sonship to Abraham is identical with sonship to God; since the promise is fulfilled in sonship to Abraham (v. 29c), it is fulfilled in sonship to God. But we have just seen that the promise is fulfilled in justification, and earlier (on vv. 7–14) that it is fulfilled in reception of the Spirit; hence, justification by faith, reception of the Spirit by faith, and becoming sons of God by faith are intimately linked together as different expressions for the fulfillment of the promise. From this we may infer that these three are not separate and distinct experiences but closely interwoven parts or aspects of the single experience of faith-union with Christ. Experientially, they take place at the same time in fulfillment of the same promise; logically, however, they are distinguishable and their logical relationships to one another will become clear in the next section of the text (4:1–7).

(3) The promise to Abraham is seen to have a double fulfillment. From the salvation-historical point of view, it is fulfilled in Christ, the promised seed (v. 16), and in all those who are comprised in him (v. 29). Experientially considered, on the other hand, it is fulfilled in the individual believer’s threefold experience just referred to: justification, reception of the Spirit, becoming a son of God. These two points of view are, of course, complementary: the latter takes place in the individual when he comes to be “in Christ,” an incorporation effected by faith. Hence it is by faith-union with Christ that the individual aligns himself with the central event of salvation history and partakes of the benefits accruing therefrom.

(4) The principle of justification by faith is again presented within the framework of salvation history as that which comes into force in the new dispensation, which is sharply set off from the earlier dispensation at the point where the Christ-event cuts into history. The coming of Christ as the ground of salvation also ushers in the principle of faith as the means of justification, and this is set over against the function of law which held sway until the coming of Christ and the revelation of faith: the coming of Christ meant the cessation of law, so that the principle of justifying faith could take over. This division of history into two parts, with Christ as the line of demarcation, is connected with Paul’s interpretation of the apocalyptic doctrine of the aeons: the present evil age (cf. 1:4) is still dominated by law, but in Christ the age to come has dawned and the law has ceased to be valid for those who through union with Christ already exist in the age to come.^[2]

29 Paul now comes full circle, unfolding the logical consequences of the preceding discussion for the question under debate in Galatia, namely, Who are the heirs of the divine promises? Answer: “And if you are of Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs in accordance with promise.” English translations typically understand “if you are of Christ” to mean “if you belong to Christ” (taking “of Christ” as a genitive of possession, so NRSV, NIV, CEB; see also NLT, ESV). The preceding material, however, might more readily dispose the hearer to understand the meaning as “if you are a part of the larger whole that is Christ” (a “wholative” genitive, also called a partitive genitive). Paul has been speaking of the many, both Jews and gentiles, being incorporated together into Christ, even being “plunged into Christ” through baptism.

Paul has been addressing this question from the outset of chapter 3, first calling the Galatian converts to remember their actual experience of receiving the Spirit and of God’s working in their midst (3:1–5)—in other words, to remember that they had already received what was promised (3:14). He went on to demonstrate from Scripture that “those who exhibit trust,” following Abraham’s example, are Abraham’s genuine sons and daughters (3:7) and receive the blessing along with Abraham (3:9). He demonstrated from a close reading of the promises themselves that God bequeathed this blessing upon Abraham and upon a particular offspring of Abraham, and not Abraham’s descendants generally, such that those who joined themselves to that particular Seed (Christ) joined themselves to the heir, to share the inheritance (3:15–18). He returns to this argument, claiming that he has now demonstrated what he had set out to prove, much as a mathematician signs “Q.E.D.” at the conclusion of a mathematical proof. In baptism, the Galatian converts joined themselves to Christ, the Seed of Abraham, thereby becoming collectively that Seed of Abraham to whom God gave the promise, the true heirs of God’s promise of the Spirit and of righteousness and, thereby, the life that the Spirit was given to nurture and bring to completion (3:29). There is nothing more that Torah observance or circumcision could do for the Galatian Christians, save undo the work of the Spirit in their midst.

A major goal for Paul in Galatians is to demonstrate that the social lines of division created by the distinctions made between Jew and gentile and enforced by the regulations of Torah for keeping the two groups separate are transcended in the new community formed in Christ, with the result that the regulatory principles of the “old creation” (even those once given by God!) no longer have authority over relationships in the community of the “new creation” (Gal 6:15). Paul’s vision continues to challenge the global Christian community wherever Christians allow longstanding ethnic and racial divisions, prejudices, and hostilities to guide their interactions with one another ahead of our unity in Christ. To name just the largest of a herd of elephants in the room for American Christianity, Christians of European descent and Christians of African descent often find the history of race relations in America regulating and restricting their relationships to a far greater extent than their mutual experience of being submerged into Christ and adopted into God’s one family. Paul’s vision challenges us all to work very diligently, and in the Spirit’s power, to love one another as sisters and brothers—and address the very real issues that continue to plague race relations in America from that mutual love and commitment—rather than continue to live out the scripts that the broken domination systems of America have written for us over the centuries. “New creation” is indeed waiting to be birthed in this regard.

One could rewrite the preceding paragraph, changing what is required, again and again in country after country. In Sri Lanka, it is the challenge to live and love as brothers and sisters in Christ first, rather than as Sinhalese and Tamils in line with the scripts written for these ethnic groups over decades of alienating practices and civil war. Whatever its particular local manifestation, Paul’s vision calls Christians to take the necessary steps to come to a place where Christ’s actions on behalf of Christians from both groups (or from multiple groups) are valued more highly and regulate interaction more completely than the history of those groups as written in and by “this present, evil age.”

Paul goes on to include two other pairs reflective of social divisions and vast inequalities. He denies any prescriptive relational value to the labels “slave” and “free person” in the Christian community. While Paul in the context of the Roman Empire could not abolish slavery per se any more than he could abolish the valuing of ethnic distinctions in the world at large, he could urge members of the new community in Christ to reject those distinctions and the regulatory weight they exercised on the lives of individuals and on their interrelationships. Such urging is seen most clearly in his letter to Philemon. Tragically read in ways that supported the institution of slavery in the antebellum American South, this letter actually challenged Philemon forcefully to make his own Christian identity real by honoring the new identity of the newly converted Onesimus as a brother above—and even in place of—their former relationship of master and slave. Christians are challenged by Paul’s vision not to allow the socioeconomic or caste divisions in their societies to limit, constrain, or regulate the life of and relationships within the community of the new creation.²³⁶ This community is called to order its common life in ways that demonstrate the lack of stratification (and the affinities and avoidances such stratification nurtures) among those whom God has made sisters and brothers in the one family of God.

Finally, while the physical differences between, and hence the division of humanity into, “male and female” are inherent in nature (see Aristotle, Politics 1.2 [1252a25–32]) and perhaps even in God’s design for creation itself (Gen 1:27), the expectations that relegate females to supporting roles are not. These are, instead, inherent in the fall and the curse (see Gen 3:16c). A Christian husband and wife are first and foremost fellow heirs of the gift of life and are called to bestow mutual honor (1 Pet 3:7), and on that basis to extend mutual submission (Eph 5:21). This mutuality extends, of course, into the larger life of the Christian community, which is to become a place where one’s immersion into Christ and one’s responsiveness to the Holy Spirit—and not one’s gender—guide how one will contribute, and be valued as a contributor, to the life of the church. We can look to certain scriptural texts for support in resisting this vision, but when we do so, we should also bear in mind that the rival teachers could and did do so as well.²³⁹

In the one family that God has created in Christ, the dividing walls of ethnicity are torn down, social prejudices are neutralized, and gender inequalities and male chauvinism are negated. Paul challenges us to continue to examine our hearts and our practice along these lines, asking continually, what would life in our congregation (and all its components) look like if we approached all such issues from the position articulated in Gal 3:26–28 and committed ourselves to live out fully this facet of the baptismal life, the new creation? Does our practice perpetuate these divisions and the social inequalities they inscribe, or does our practice challenge them, witnessing to the “new humanity” being formed in Christ in their communities, where Christ is all and in all?^[3]

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^[1] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1983). Galatians (pp. 100–101). Moody Press.

^[2] Fung, R. Y. K. (1988). The Epistle to the Galatians (pp. 176–178). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

^[3] deSilva, D. A. (2018). The Letter to the Galatians (N. B. Stonehouse, F. F. Bruce, G. D. Fee, & J. B. Green, Eds.; pp. 340–343). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

March 5 – Why These Details About the Tabernacle? | VCY

March 5 – Why These Details About the Tabernacle?

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
  Numbers 4:1-5:31
  Mark 12:18-37
  Psalm 48:1-14
  Proverbs 10:26

Jesuslovesyoutoday.org

Numbers 4:5 — This may be the first recorded instance of a professional moving company handbook. The Kohathites were given precise instructions on how to move the Tabernacle. Just stepping back to overview the Tabernacle, this is fairly important:

God created the whole world in six days, but he used forty to instruct Moses about the tabernacle. Little over one chapter was needed to describe the structure of the world, but six were used for the tabernacle.

Bible.org

Why was the Tabernacle so important? Because it was the dwelling place of the LORD (Exodus 25:8). Interestingly, as we look at the New Testament, Joseph was given precise instructions on what to do with the physical presence of the LORD as the baby Jesus (Matthew 2:13). Someday there will be a new Tabernacle where God will dwell with man eternally (Revelation 21:3).

Numbers 5:7 — We see an important principle of the Bible: sin must be met with confession, i.e. the admission of guilt – “I was wrong.” This concept of repentance is not limited to 1 John 1:9 – it is declared in Leviticus 5:5, 16:21, 26:40; Joshua 7:19; 1 Kings 8:33 and 35; 2 Chronicles 6:24 and 26, 30:22; Ezra 10:1 and 11; Nehemiah 1:6, 9:2, 9:3; Psalm 32:5; Proverbs 28:13; and Daniel 9:4 and 20.

Numbers 5:12-31 — This passage is called the “Ordeal of the Bitter Water” or “Sotah.” While it seems unusual today, one observation may be helpful:

Nahmanides points out that of all the 613 commandments, it is only the sotah law that requires God’s specific co-operation to make it work. The bitter waters can only be effective miraculously.

Wikipedia

In the same Wikipedia article, “According to Mishnah, Sotah 9:9, the practice was abolished sometime during the first century CE under the leadership of Yohanan Ben Zakkai.” While they cite that the fall of the Temple led to the abolishment of the sotah, could it be the lack of belief in miracles?

Mark 12:27 — Jesus is talking to the “Sad-you-sees” (so-called because of their rejection of the resurrection). Could it be that their lack of belief in the resurrection was related to their lack of belief in God’s miraculous leadership in other areas?

Psalm 48:1-2 — We have a Scripture memory song for you! “Great is the LORD and Greatly to be Praised!” is word for word from the KJV version. This version is sung by the wife of a pastor friend of mine. If you want a second verse, check out this guitar rendition.

Proverbs 10:26 — A warning to the lazy!

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.

An Expert Searcher | VCY

An Expert Searcher

For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. (Ezekiel 34:11)

This He does at the first when His elect are like wandering sheep that know not the Shepherd or the fold. How wonderfully doth the Lord find out His chosen! Jesus is great as a seeking Shepherd as well as a saving Shepherd. Though many of those His Father gave Him have gone as near to hell-gate as they well can, yet the Lord by searching and seeking discovers them and draws nigh to them in grace. He has sought out us: let us have good hope for those who are laid upon our hearts in prayer, for He will find them out also.

The Lord repeats this process when any of His flock stray from the pastures of truth and holiness. They may fall into gross error, sad sin, and grievous hardness; but yet the Lord, who has become a surety for them to His Father, will not suffer one of them to go so far as to perish. He will by providence and grace pursue them into foreign lands, into abodes of poverty, into dens of obscurity, into depths of despair; He will not lose one of all that the Father has given Him. It is a point of honor with Jesus to seek and to save all the flock, without a single exception. What a promise to plead, if at this hour I am compelled to cry, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep!”

Living Stones | Daily Thoughts about God.

Living Stones

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“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:5

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In music, harmony adds dimension and fullness to the melody. Its different parts work together to enhance the song, adding flavor and depth.

The same is true of the family of God. Individuals don’t do and say the same thing, but all of them work together, each using their unique gifts and abilities to bring depth and dimension to the ONE purpose.

And there’s the rub. Working together brings friction, conflict, and tension.

We all are familiar with this chafing, but often we fail to see the beauty that comes from the abrasiveness. It is in the friction where beauty is born.

Working together with other people who are broken and imperfect like us is God’s beautiful design.

We are like rocks in a stream: bouncing, rubbing, and polishing off each others rough edges.

So, let’s welcome the tension, open the door to conflict, and allow it to refine and perfect us.

If you find yourself in conflict with another follower of Jesus, don’t be surprised. Remember, we’re all still in the process of being perfected. Peter tells us, “And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple.…” 1 Peter 2:5 (NLT)

Know this: God wants to use this friction in your life to polish you into a beautiful living stone for all the world to see!

Heavenly Father, I know You designed family. It’s part of Your plan, but I confess there are times when I don’t like the pain that comes with it! I want to run and hide. I want to escape the hurt, throw it to the winds and be done with it. But teach me to STAY, to embrace the pain and see the beauty. Amen.

By Kristi Huseby
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

• Wisdom for Life’s Trials – by Charles Stanley

• Trials and Triumphs Together –  by Christa Hardin

• Faith Through Trial – by Charles Spurgeon

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The post Living Stones can be found online at Daily Thoughts about God.

Finding the Good in Conflict | Daily Thoughts about God.

Finding the Good in Conflict

“Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark…They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.” Acts 15:36-37,39

Conflict. Conflict among believers? Conflict among Christian leaders! When we read the powerful stories of the Holy Spirit’s movements in Acts, this episode between Paul and Barnabas stands out as a blemish.

By now they had ministered in many cities throughout the Roman Empire, silenced a false prophet, explained Jesus’ place in Jewish history, performed miracles, and been mistaken as Zeus and Hermes (Greek gods). And they had weathered rejection, abusive language, even stoning. But in Pamphylia, their third partner, John Mark, suddenly left them to go home to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13).

That became a sore point. Acts 15:38 states Paul didn’t think having John Mark rejoin them was a wise decision. Perhaps Paul didn’t wish to trust a deserter with so much on the line. Paul had churches to visit, sermons to preach, Jews and Gentiles to enlighten about the Good News of Jesus. He valued gospel proclamation. Barnabas, it seems, wanted to give John Mark a second chance, to mend a fence, to build up a young believer who probably felt horrible about ditching them.

We can learn a few lessons here:

We may be called to unity of purpose (Romans 5:5-6), but our means might differ. Both Paul’s big picture approach and Barnabas’ relational one grew the church.

Conflict may be difficult, but good can come of it. In this case, Paul and Silas went one direction, and Barnabas and Mark another — all to visit new churches in order to build them up.

Conflict is a part of life, and good-meaning people rub each other the wrong way routinely. The question is how we will deal with it — either destructively or constructively?

Dear God, please help me see that conflict with people may be your way of growing me and people around me. May I not wish it away, or run from it, but may I find your good in it. Amen.

By Bill Strom
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

• Every Conflict –  by Max Lucado

• When Satan Hinders You – by Charles Stanley

• God our Guide –  by Phil Ware

The post Finding the Good in Conflict can be found online at Daily Thoughts about God.

3 Mar 2024 News Briefing

Seattle is the least-religious large metro area in the US
Americans have grown less religious over the past couple of decades, and attendance at religious services is down across the country. Of course, some parts of the country are a lot less religious than others. New survey data shows Seattle is one of those places. A clear majority of adults in the Seattle area — around 64% — never attend church or religious services, or go less than once a year. That pencils out to about 1.98 million people out of the total 3.1 million population aged 18 and older in the metro area,

1 million acres destroyed in ‘catastrophic’ wildfire
The Smokehouse Creek fire in Hutchinson County, Texas, has become the largest wildfire in the state’s history, destroying over 1 million acres and resulting in the death of two individuals and thousands of livestock. In an update regarding the historic wildfire on Friday, the Texas A&M Forest Service announced, “The #SmokehouseCreekFire in Hutchinson County is an estimated 1,078,086 acres and 15% contained.

Democrat Sheriff Where Illegal Immigrant Accused Of Murder Vowed Not To Cooperate With ICE
The elected Democrat sheriff of the Georgia county where illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra allegedly murdered nursing student Laken Riley campaigned in 2020 on not cooperating with immigration authorities on the deportation of illegal immigrants.

Germany Confirms Leaked Audio Of Its Top Generals Discussing Blowing Up The Crimean Bridge
In a huge development and absolute smoking gun revelation, the government of Germany has confirmed the authenticity of a leaked audio recording file published by Russia’s state-backed RT. The leak was first published by RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, who described that she received it from Russian security officials.

Discharged Soldiers to Receive Significant Discount On Land Purchases, Netanyahu Announces
IDF soldiers leaving the war can qualify for land to build a home at a significant discount, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday. During a press conferee on Thursday evening, the prime minister said “Our heroic fighters earned it by right. they defended the house and they will now receive land to build a house on…

Illegal immigrant allegedly murders toddler after being released despite ICE detainer
An illegal immigrant has been arrested in connection with the murder of Jeremy Poou Caceres, 2, of Baltimore, Maryland. Caceres and his mother were at Langley Park when they were caught in the crossfire between two groups of individuals. A total of five arrests have been made in relation to the incident.

Hamas delegation meets with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
The Hamas delegation met with the Special Envoy of the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, at the headquarters of the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday, the terror organization stated on its Telegram channel. Hamas’s delegation included members of the political arm of the terror organization including Mousa Abu Marzouk and Hossam Badran.

‘The ball is in Hamas’s court’ after Israel approved hostage deal – US official
Israel has “basically agreed” to a hostage deal and a pause in fighting while the countries involved in negotiations are awaiting an answer from Hamas about whether they will accept the plan. Speaking on a conference call with reporters, the official said, “The Israelis have agreed to the terms of the deal.” He added, “If Hamas agrees to the terms and agrees to release the captives, a six-week ceasefire will begin immediately.”

‘Future of Judea & Samaria’: Former US envoy unveils sovereignty plan
Former Ambassador David Friedman’s proposal “protects Israel’s security, respects biblical covenants and affords civil rights and human dignity to all.”

IDF official to lawmakers: No such thing as ‘settler violence’
Representatives of the Israel Defense Forces told members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Wednesday that “there is no such concept as settler violence” in Judea and Samaria. “There is nationalistic crime, but we are talking about a few incidents…We have great respect for the residents of Judea and Samaria. They are our brothers, and it is our job to ensure their safety,” the senior IDF officials told lawmakers during a closed-door meeting.

‘Nowhere in the Bible do you find the words West Bank,’ says Troy Miller, CEO of National Religious Broadcasters
As part of his endeavor to support Israel in the public relations war against its enemies, the NRB, under his leadership, decided to endorse the historic “Biblical Heartland Resolution.” The resolution urges Christian media broadcasters to refrain from using the term ‘West Bank’ for the disputed territories, advocating instead for the biblical names ‘Judea and Samaria.’ “We started having this discussion with a number of organizations several months ago

Yes, Covid came from a lab. When will the mainstream media quit gaslighting us?
The Wall Street Journal just breathlessly reported that the Covid virus was manufactured in a lab. It even hinted that the lab in question might have been — drumroll, please — the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Of course, this is not news to anyone but those who still read the mainstream media.

Dangerous blizzard continues pounding California with feet of snow, 190 mph wind gust
Feet of snow, 190 mph wind gusts, drivers stuck behind closed freeways, national parks and ski resorts shuttered, and even a tornado have already pummeled California during a days-long blizzard underway in the Sierra Nevada. And that was just on Friday.

Elon Musk sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, claiming betrayal of its goal to benefit humanity
Elon Musk is suing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman over what he says is a betrayal of the ChatGPT maker’s founding aims of benefiting humanity rather than pursuing profits. In a lawsuit filed at San Francisco Superior Court, billionaire Musk said that when he bankrolled OpenAI’s creation, he secured an agreement with Altman and Greg Brockman, the president, to keep the AI company as a nonprofit that would develop technology for the benefit of the public.

Odds of volcanic eruption remains in Iceland
Dozens of earthquakes shook the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland on Saturday morning as officials warned that the odds of a volcanic eruption had increased, but by Saturday evening, officials said the threat of an eruption had diminished.

Dangerous blizzard continues pounding California with feet of snow, 190 mph winds 
Feet of snow, 190-mph wind gusts, drivers stuck on closed freeways and even a tornado have already pummeled California during a days-long blizzard underway in the Sierra Nevada, and it is expected to continue for several more days.

Multiple States Prepare for Vaccines to Be Added to Food Supply: Doctor Warns About ‘Genetically Adulterated’ Food with No Long-Term Safety Data
Legislators in Tennessee and Arizona appear to be preparing their states for the addition of vaccines to their food supply. Though they come from different states, the two bills were introduced only weeks apart. Neither of the bills prohibit vaccines from being added to food. Rather, they accept the addition as inevitable.

WEF Pushes Ban on Home-Grown Food to ‘Fight Climate Change’ 
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is calling on governments to ban the general public from growing their own food at home by arguing that they are causing “climate change.”

CVS, Walgreens to Begin Selling Abortion Drugs Ahead of SCOTUS Case
CVS and Walgreens are set to begin selling abortion drugs “within a week,” ahead of a Supreme Court battle challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) rollback of safety restrictions for mifepristone, the first drug used in a two-drug medication abortion regimen.

Letitia James wants Colorado Supreme Court to force Christian baker to make cake celebrating Satanist’s sex change
“Masterpiece Cakeshop, a Colorado bakery, refused to make a customer a cake when they found out it was to celebrate her transition,” James said. “This bakery has discriminated against LGBTQ+ people before, and I’m urging the Colorado Supreme Court to stop this transphobic discrimination.”

Comedian Katt Williams on Joe Rogan’s Podcast: Transgenderism Is Connected to Satanic Baphomet Cult
Unless you have been living under a rock, the issue of Satanism among the elites – as well as in Hollywood and the Music Industry – isn’t anything new. But even the better informed of us couldn’t help but gasp in horror at the new revelations from Comedian Katt Williams in Joe Rogan’s podcast.

Austria: 17 Migrant Youths, Known to Police, Repeatedly Gang Rape and Blackmail 12-Year-Old Girl, Films Attacks Over Several Months 
All 17 suspects, all known to police, reportedly showed no remorse or guilt, have been released from police custody, and are now at large.

Google Blasted for Gemini AI ‘Erasing White People From History’ – Calls Arise for CEO Sundar Pichai to Be Replaced
Google recently unveiled its new AI Chatbot Gemini, and it turned out to be a total dud – sending Alphabet stocks tumbling and raising concerns that the company may not be able to bypass the insane political bias shown by the new application to produce serious and competitive products.

Gene-edited mosquitos get released, now dengue fever rockets by 400%
Dengue fever, carried by mosquitoes, is swamping the populations of Brazil and Peru, Argentina, Laos and causing major concerns in other parts of the world.

CDC Downgrades COVID to Same Severity as the Flu… But Says You Must Keep Having Vaccines
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has downgraded the severity of the Chinese coronavirus to the same status as the flu, calling for a “unified approach” to treating such conditions.

Covid vaccines cannot be ruled out as cause of cardiac deaths in young and middle-aged, MP says
During a debate in the House of Commons on premature deaths due to heart and circulatory diseases, Philip Davies, Member of Parliament for Shipley, raised the “clear trend” of cardiac deaths in young and middle-aged adults in the UK. One theory, he said, is that these deaths are a result of the population-wide use of covid vaccines.  But “we do not know if that is the cause or not because the data is not being released.”

Klaus Schwab: Your avatar will live after you die and your brains will be replicated with algorithms
At a private World Economic Forum session in September 2022, Klaus Schwab told Global Shapers that their avatar will continue to live after they die and that their brains will be replicated through artificial intelligence. He told the Global Shapers this just months before WEF launched its version of the metaverse.

Germany: Parents of AfD Politician Targeted in Devastating Arson Attack by Government-Funded Antifa Terrorists 
Despite being targeted and falsely labeled as “extremists” by the German government and left-wing media, the AfD faces ongoing threats from left-wing groups like Antifa, which receive financial and political support from these very institutions.

3 Mar 2024

Headlines – 3/3/2024

EU envoy: Peace efforts can be advanced even if parties not currently interested

Biden walks back Monday assessment for Gaza truce amid political pressure – It comes amid pressure from progressives to do more to help Palestinian civilians

US says Israel ‘more or less’ accepts framework deal for Gaza ceasefire

U.S. Says Israel Accepts Gaza Deal Outline, Implementation Hinges on Hamas Agreeing to Hostage Release

Hostage families head to Jerusalem for rally after 4-day march; protesters urge elections

As Hamas delegation arrives in Cairo, official says ‘big price’ for details on hostages

Liberman: Government has ‘no right to exist,’ there must be elections

Gantz to Head to Washington Despite Netanyahu’s Objection, Set to Meet VP Harris – However, sources close to the war cabinet member denied any tension between the two regarding the meeting

Joe Biden confuses Gaza with Ukraine twice as he announces plans to airdrop aid

NYT’s Kristof: Food Aid Dropped into Gaza Is Going to Be Stolen by Hamas

UN Security Council conveys ‘deep concern’ over Gaza aid convoy debacle

IDF vows probe of deadly Gaza aid chaos, rejects claim it deliberately hurt civilians

An Israeli strike near a hospital in Rafah killed at least 11 people, Gaza health officials say.

IDF says 50 Hamas targets hit in 6 minutes during overnight Khan Younis strikes

Three soldiers killed in Gaza as troops keep up raids on Hamas sites and gunmen

Pro-Palestinian protestors interrupt first lady’s event: ‘This is a genocide’

Bernie Sanders Slams Biden’s ‘Totally Absurd’ Israel Policy: ‘You Can’t Reconcile It’ – The senator said Friday that “this wholesale slaughter” of Palestinians “makes my stomach turn” and urged the U.S. to stop funding it

Rishi Sunak Says Islamist and ‘Far-Right’ Extremists Are Trying to Destroy British Democracy

War spurs anger over Israel military exemption for ultra-Orthodox

Israeli stabbed in alleged terror attack in Palestinian town; suspect arrested

US: Houthi surface-to-air missile hit in strike, amid ‘imminent threat’ to aircraft

Houthi Rebels Sink British Carrier Rubymar in Red Sea with Anti-Ship Missile Attack

Vessel Hit by Houthis Becomes First Ship to Sink During Red Sea Crisis

Cargo ship sunk in Houthi strike poses Red Sea environmental risk, US military says

Red Sea Conflict Threatens Key Internet Cables – Maritime attacks complicate repairs on underwater cables that carry the world’s web traffic

Yemen’s Houthis blame UK and US action for ‘glitch’ in Red Sea undersea cables

Senior Hezbollah terrorist reportedly among 3 killed in alleged Israeli strike on car

IDF: Lebanon strike targeted Iranian militia members involved in rocket fire on north

Hard-liners leading in Iran parliamentary election with reported record-low turnout

Saudi Arabia Executes 7 for ‘Terrorism’ Offenses, State Media Say

Argentina’s Milei warns lawmakers he will make sweeping economic reforms ‘with or without’ them

Italian Prime Minister Meloni’s shift from anti-globalist to pro-Europe, Biden buddy infuriates base: ‘Will not vote for her anymore’

As Sweden joins NATO, it bids farewell to more than two centuries of neutrality

Russia’s Next European Target: Moldova – The Kremlin foments trouble in the breakaway region of Transnistria

Blackwater Founder Erik Prince on Ukraine, “We Need to Bring That War to a Close – An Ugly Peace is Better than Whatever Their idea of an Ideal War Is”

Hungary’s Orban: Reelect Trump to End Ukraine War

Biden Hails Italian PM’s Ukraine Stance as US Aid Fears Mount

American tech fueling Russian war machine, lawmakers say – Senate probe says Kremlin obtaining key tech despite sanctions

Peter Schweizer: Chinese Strategy Is Defeat U.S. ‘Without Firing a Shot’

Peter Schweizer: Fentanyl a ‘Chinese Operation Much More than It Is a Mexican Drug Cartel Operation’

Mitch McConnell’s Sister-in-law Angela Chao’s Death Under Criminal Investigation, Sheriff Reveals “Not a Typical Accident” – Chao served as the CEO of the dry bulk company The Foremost Group, a company with deep connections to the Chinese Communist Party

James Biden Admits Joe Biden Got $40K in China Funds Via Alleged Loan Repayment

Five Key Instances Hunter Biden ‘Could Not Recall’ During Closed-Door Deposition

‘Preposterous answers;’ Comer says criminal referrals for false testimony coming in Biden probe – Key chairman admits impeachment won’t succeed in Senate, looks to create criminal accountability in a future DOJ

Trump: Biden Will Be ‘Convicted by the American People’

Donald Trump Will Be Convicted Before Election Despite Trial Delays: Lawyer

House Speaker Johnson announces the release of 5,000 more hours of Jan. 6 footage

Appeals court ruling that vacates Capitol rioter’s sentence could impact dozens of Jan. 6 cases

MSNBC’s Joy Reid Says the Supreme Court is Trying to Make Trump President for Life or Something

Whoopi Goldberg: SCOTUS Immunity Ruling Could Lead to Dictatorship

Trump wins the Missouri caucuses and sweeps Michigan GOP convention as he moves closer to nomination

Biden facing Super Tuesday revolt from ‘uncommitted’ far -left voters: experts

Google Blasted for Gemini AI ‘Erasing White People From History’ – Calls Arise for CEO Sundar Pichai to Be Replaced

Kellogg’s Faces Boycott After CEO Pushes ‘Cereal for Dinner’ in Response to Inflation

Gold Rush: Mark Zuckerberg among millionaires Doomsday prepping by hoarding gold as election & cell outages spark end-of-times fear

5.4 magnitude earthquake hits south of the Kermadec Islands

5.0 magnitude earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands region

Earthquakes diminish in Iceland as threat of volcanic eruption wanes – The Icelandic Met Office says dozens of earthquakes have happened on the Reykjanes Peninsula as a magma instruction begins

Sabancaya volcano in Peru erupts to 21,000ft

Popocateptl volcano in Mexico erupts to 21,000ft

Ruiz volcano in Colombia erupts to 21,000ft

Marapi volcano in Indonesia erupts to 18,000ft

Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupts to 15,000ft

Semeru volcano in Indonesia erupts to 14,000ft

‘You can’t see anything’: Blizzard closes most Tahoe ski resorts and Yosemite National Park as winds hit 143 mph

Firefighters face difficult weather conditions as they battle the largest wildfire in Texas history

Texas Ranches Ravaged by Wildfires Face Long Recovery – State officials estimate tens of thousands of cattle were killed in blazes burning across more than 1 million acres

Panama Canal shipping issues continue – The drought situation along the Panama Canal could become the top challenge facing the U.S. grain export system in 2024

Three trains derail near Pennsylvania’s Lehigh River, no injuries or toxic spills reported

Climate activists face felony charges after allegedly defacing US Constitution in DC

“I Don’t Have the Authority to do That!” – Joe Biden When Asked Why He’s Waiting to Take Executive Action on the Border Crisis He Created

Rep. Mike Collins to Introduce ‘Laken Riley Act’ Requiring DHS Lock Up Illegal Aliens with Arrest Records

Cartel Gunmen Use Land Mines, Drones to Kill 4 Soldiers in Mexico

Maine Residents Furious over $13M Tax Bill for ‘Taj Mahal’ Where Migrants Get Two Years of Free Rent

Woke Church of England Posts Job for Anti-Racist Officer to ‘Deconstruct Whiteness’

Judge Approves Class-Action Lawsuit for 6,000 Black Tesla Workers Claiming Racism

Fake nude photos with faces of underage celebrities top some search engine results – Since 1996, computer-generated sexually explicit images of children have been illegal to disseminate

Pope Francis: Gender Ideology Is the ‘Worst Danger’ of Our Time

Pope Francis decries transgenderism as ‘ugliest danger,’ urges embracing differences between sexes – “Erasing differences is erasing humanity”

Return of the Pronoun Police: Elon Musk’s X/Twitter Reinstates Rules Against Misgendering, ‘Deadnaming’

Nebraska all-ages drag show to feature 6-year-old drag queen ‘Lulu Lovely Twirls’ at Omaha coffee shop

Montana Judge Throws Out Three Laws Restricting Abortion

Trump Floats 15-Week Limit on Abortions

Joe Biden asked his aides and his grandchildren how they it was possible for young people to “make love” during the Chinese coronavirus pandemic

CDC Downgrades COVID to Same Severity as the Flu – But Says You Must Keep Having Vaccines

Measles vaccinations given in ’70s and ’80s may have worn off by now, doctor warns

Measles case count up to 41 across 16 states, CDC reports

Source: http://trackingbibleprophecy.org/birthpangs.php

Christian Nationalists :: By Bill Wilson – Rapture Ready

The news media, radical leftists, and the Democratic Party are labeling conservative Christians as new Nazis. The direct term is “Christian Nationalists,” a radical brand of Christianity that is detrimental to the “state” because it believes the values of the Christian faith should be represented in government.

Politico investigative reporter Heidi Przybyla said on February 22^nd’s edition of MSNBC’s “All In” that Christian nationalists, not Christians, believe rights come from God. She said they are problematic because “they believe that our rights as Americans, as all human beings, don’t come from any earthly authority; they don’t come from Congress; they don’t come from the Supreme Court; they come from God.”

This is antithetical to the American form of government. The Declaration of Independence clearly stated that no authority other than God gave us rights. The Declaration says:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

This is the exact opposite of what Przbyla and her Marxist minions believe is the construct of American civil rights. From the time of Plato to Thomas Hobbes to John Locke in the 1600s, to our Founding Fathers in the 1700s to Marx in the 1800s, men attempted to define the need of government in society.

Plato wrote of a utopian communistic society, as did Hobbes, who used Biblical imagery in his essay “Leviathan” to describe the all-powerful government. Marx wanted to ban all religion. Their systems essentially focused on the idea that man is inherently evil and must be strongly governed by a “benevolent” sovereign. Locke, however, saw that God created man in his own image, gave him dominion over the earth, and gave him laws by which to live. Locke believed these inalienable God-given rights were those of life, freedom, and property. He believed that governments were needed to impartially enforce the laws of God. In other words, man would give up some of his freedom for the protection of government in civil society. Otherwise, he should be left to prosper by his own value add, which is his labor.

Founder John Adams said:

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

The rule of law is the law of freedom instituted by God. When the law of God is written in our hearts, we want to do what is right because we embody the righteousness of God.

The law in stone—where man does what is right in his own eyes–results in the kind of culture we have today, where law is used to undermine families, religion, and the community as a whole.

May we be a Jeremiah 31:32 people as the Lord declared:

“I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

Christians participating in government and guided by God’s Word–Christian nationalism–is what the Founders intended. No wonder the enemies of God label it a threat.

***

Sources:

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2024/02/23/politicos-przybyla-christian-nationalists-not-christians-believe-rights-come-from-god/

Posted in The Daily Jot

 

The post Christian Nationalists :: By Bill Wilson appeared first on Rapture Ready.

— Read on www.raptureready.com/2024/03/02/christian-nationalists-by-bill-wilson/

The Ostrich Tactic :: By Daymond Duck – Rapture Ready

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, has voiced a series of opinions lately that have caught my attention.

On Feb. 14, 2024, on live TV, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said, “Hamas is not a terrorist group for us. It’s a political movement.”

Erdan responded:

• “Is the brutal murder of hundreds of civilians not terror? Is the systematic rape of women not terror? Is attempting Jewish genocide not terror? Ladies and gentlemen, this is the UN: a terror-excusing, Hamas-promoting, victim-blaming organization that has lost every ounce of credibility. Nothing said by the UN can be trusted or accepted.”

(Note: Griffiths tried to excuse his obvious bias by saying, “Just to clarify: Hamas is not on the list of groups designated as terrorist organizations by the United Nations Security Council.”)

On Feb. 20, 2024, Erdan was talking about Lebanon firing rockets and missiles at Israel when he told the UN Security Council:

• “For years, Israel has called for this Council to impose the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 (an agreement for Hezbollah to stay away from Israel’s border), yet for years, the UN has opted for the ‘ostrich tactic.’ Tragically, this is no longer a situation that can be ignored. The clock is ticking. It is not a matter of years but weeks before Israel will be forced to implement Resolution 1701 ourselves.”

On Feb. 21, 2024, Erdan was being interviewed when he said:

• “Today I told the Security Council about the letters and meetings I had with Lazzarini (the head of the UNRWA) and Guterres (the UN Sec. Gen.) how terror tunnels pass under schools and how UNRWA teachers idolize Hitler. We have been presenting this information to UN officials for years – but they have become collaborators of Hamas, and now they are literally a part of the terrorist organization.”

What was Erdan talking about when he accused the UN of taking the ostrich tactic?

He was saying Israel has asked the UN to do something about Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon again and again for years, but the UN officials and the UN Security Council have buried their heads in the sand and done nothing.

The UN has ignored Israel’s complaints and acted like a problem doesn’t exist.

The fact that the truth does not matter to these people has led to war in Gaza, is leading to a greater war in Lebanon and Syria, and will lead to the greatest war ever during the Tribulation Period.

The ostrich tactic is why I sometimes say, “UN stands for United Nothing.”

(Update: On Feb. 26, 2024, Erdan called on UN Sec. Gen. Guterres to resign for allowing the UNRWA to become a de facto terrorist organization with extensive ties to Hamas and doing nothing to correct the situation.)

Below are some current events that seem to relate to Bible prophecy.

One, concerning world government, a borderless world, and the decline of America: according to U.S. Customs and Border protection, 7,298,486 illegal immigrants (some sources say more than 10 million) have entered the U.S. since Biden became president.

36 states have a population of less than 7,298,486.

Two, concerning “signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:25-27): on Feb. 19, 2024, Michael Snyder (author, frequent guest on radio and TV) wrote, “I am not anticipating that any particular event will happen on April 8th. Rather, I believe that what we will witness on April 8th is a sign and a warning for the entire nation.”

Snyder was writing about the fact that the paths of two solar eclipses (one on Aug. 21, 2017, and the other on Apr. 8, 2024) form an “X” over the U.S.

Among other things, Snyder points out that:

• The two solar eclipses are almost 7 years apart.
• The path of the Aug. 21, 2017 eclipse passed over 7 U.S. locations named Salem (short for Jerusalem).
• The path of the Apr. 8, 2024 eclipse will pass over 7 U.S. locations named Nineveh (a city that was built by Noah’s great-grandson Nimrod, a wicked city where Jonah delivered a warning from God; Gen. 10:11; Jonah 1:1-17).
• On Apr. 8, 2024, the sun, the moon, and 7 planets will be aligned in a straight line looking from Jerusalem.
• When the Apr. 8, 2024 eclipse starts across the U.S., the first community it will come to is Eagle Pass, TX (ground zero of the U.S. immigration crisis).

Here are some thoughts that have crossed my mind about Snyder’s excellent article:

• 7 is the number of perfection. It is the most mentioned number in the Bible. Its root word means “enough” or “full” (see Rev. 17:4-5).
• Jerusalem is the most mentioned city in the Bible. Jesus will come back to Jerusalem and rule the world from Jerusalem for 1,000 years.
• Jerusalem comes from the root word Shalom, which means peace. We will not have peace on earth until Jesus comes back.
• Nimrod tried to establish a New World Order (world government and a pagan world religion) at the tower of Babel (it included Nineveh).
• God destroyed Nimrod’s New World Order.
• God told Jonah to tell the citizens at Nineveh to repent of their great wickedness, or He would destroy Nineveh.
• In the days of Noah, God destroyed the world with a flood because the wickedness of man was great.
• The immigration crisis is part of Biden’s New World Order plan (a borderless world).
• 8, 2024, is exactly 7 weeks before May 27, 2024 (when world leaders are scheduled to vote on the International Pandemic Treaty and amendments to the International Health Regulations, a scheme to get nations to surrender their sovereignty for the creation of a New World Order.

I honestly don’t know what to think about the eclipses, but it could be unwise to overlook the fact that they might be a warning.

Here is a link to Snyder’s article.

https://endoftheamericandream.com/on-april-8th-the-great-american-eclipse-of-2024-will-cross-over-7-u-s-locations-named-ninevah/

Three, concerning the World Economic Forum (WEF) and world government: on Feb. 21, 2024, it was reported that 11 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced a bill to stop the U.S. and U.S. agencies from giving money to the WEF.

Four, concerning the Battle of Gog and Magog (Ezek. 38-39): on Feb. 21, 2024, it was reported that there are growing ties between Russia and Iran, 400 highly accurate Iranian missiles have been delivered to Russia since Jan. 2024, and more missiles will be sent in the future.

Five, concerning the accuracy of the New Testament: an 11-year-old boy recently found a coin while walking near the Dead Sea.

Some scholars say it is about 2,000 years old and is of the type mentioned in the story of the widow’s mite mentioned in the Bible (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4).

Six, concerning deceit and corruption in the mainstream media: there has been widespread speculation that some news agencies had advance knowledge of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel (and not warning Israel) because journalists were on the scene, taking pictures, etc.

The media has denied this, but it is now known that Al Jazeera employed some journalists who were also Hamas terrorists that had ties with the AP, Reuters, CNN, The New York Times, etc.

On Feb. 23, 2023, it was reported that Oct. 7 survivors and victims’ families have filed suit against the AP for supporting terrorism by publishing the work of Hamas terrorists.

Seven, former Pres. Trump made two statements on Feb. 23, 2023, that should encourage Christians:

• “We still need the hand of our LORD and the grace of almighty God!”
• “No one will be touching the Cross of Christ under the Trump Administration; I swear to you, that will never happen!”

Eight, concerning wars and rumors of wars: on Feb. 27, 2024, it was reported that Hamas is planning to escalate its war with Israel during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Hamas intends to claim that the desire of some Jews to sacrifice a Red Heifer means Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount are in danger, so Hamas intends to stir up riots during the month of Ramadan, supposedly to protect Jerusalem and the mosque.

According to the report, Hamas has the support of Hezbollah and Iran, and they are hoping that Muslims from many countries will join them.

Israel is thinking about limiting access to the Temple Mount during the month of Ramadan, but doing so will likely be met with rioting.

(Update: On Feb. 28, 2024, it was reported that high-level sources in Iran and Lebanon are saying that Iran has given Hezbollah in Lebanon permission to launch a large-scale attack on Israel if it becomes obvious that Israel intends to attack Rafah. It was reported that the head of Hezbollah stated on Feb. 26 that an attack on Israel is likely during the month of Ramadan, and it would happen sooner if Israel attacks Hamas in Rafah.)

Nine, concerning deceit at the end of the age: during a forum on Capitol Hill that heard from 22 scientists, medical doctors, former government officials, and journalists, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson alleged that our government is covering up the danger of taking a Covid-19 vaccination.

Here is my daily update on the Israel-Hamas war.

Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024 (Day 138): The eighty-third day of the resumed war.

• Residents of Rafah reported several Israeli strikes and large explosions.
• Concerning a vote by Israel’s Knesset to reject “international diktats” (the globalist effort to force the Two-State Solution on Israel) earlier in the week, Netanyahu said (on Feb. 21), “We will not reward terrorism by unilateral recognition in response to the Oct. 7 massacre, nor will we accept imposed solutions.” This strong stance sends a powerful message to the world: Peace and security (peace and safety) for Israel will be achieved through negotiations, not through unilateral actions. Today, we stand united more than ever.”

Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 (Day 139): The eighty-fourth day of the resumed war.

• 3 terrorists in Israel attacked 9 Israelis (1 dead; 3 critical wounds; 5 wounded but not critical). The terrorists have been killed.
• Israel downed a Houthi missile over the Red Sea.
• Israel destroyed a mosque and several houses in Rafah.
• The Houthis said they intend to ramp up their attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
• The Houthis fired 2 missiles at cargo ships in the Gulf of Aden.
• Israel’s cabinet said it will continue its war with Hamas until all its goals are met.
• In response to terrorist attacks in Judea, Israel advanced plans to build more than 3,000 housing units there.

Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 (Day 140): The eighty-fifth day of the resumed war.

• Israel is committed to seeking a diplomatic solution with Hezbollah, but its Navy is gearing up for war in case diplomacy fails.

Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024 (Day 141): The eighty-sixth day of the resumed war.

• Israel spotted a terror cell entering a Hezbollah weapons storage facility and sent jets in to blow it up, and there were several strong explosions.
• Israel has facilitated the delivery of almost 14,000 deliveries (254,000 tons) of humanitarian aid to Gaza since the Oct. 7 war began.
• Based on intelligence information from captured Hamas terrorists, 60 members of Hamas who participated in the Oct 7 attack on Israel were rounded up and arrested in Khan Younis.

Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 (Day 142): The eighty-seventh day of the resumed war.

• Christian and Messianic Jewish faith leaders started 3 days of fasting and prayer for the nation of Israel.
• The head of Israel’s military said advancements on the battlefield are the best way to get Hamas to release the hostages.
• The U.S. asked Israel to stop harming Hamas police officers because they are needed to protect trucks carrying humanitarian aid. Israel said its military will attack any Hamas terrorist regardless of their position.
• Israel will continue to attack Hezbollah even if it agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas.
• An Israeli strike killed 2 members of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
• Israel killed several members of Hamas in Khan Younis and captured many weapons, grenades, and a large amount of ammunition.
• Israel believes many Hamas leaders involved in the Oct. 7 arrack in Rafah are hiding in Rafah and holding most of the hostages there.

Monday, Feb. 26, 2024 (Day 143): The eighty-eighth day of the resumed war.

• Netanyahu gave his war cabinet a plan for evacuating Rafah, and Israel is pushing forward with plans to invade the city.
• The entire PA government submitted their resignations to Mahmoud Abbas. They plan to merge with Hamas to create a new PA government in the next few days and continue their opposition to Israel.
• Israeli forces killed more than 30 terrorists in Gaza City today.
• Israel struck targets in Lebanon that were farther from Israeli territory than any target since the Israel-Hamas war started on Oct. 7.
• Hezbollah fired about 60 rockets at Israeli targets in the Golan Heights.
• S. and UK jets struck 22 Houthi sites in Yemen in response to Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
• Israel discovered (and is destroying) a tunnel complex beneath a hospital, university campus, and prison that is 6.2 miles long and connects northern Gaza with southern Gaza.
• Israel’s Defense Min. said Israel will not allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza until the hostages are released.

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024 (Day 144): The eighty-ninth day of the resumed war.

• Cross-border attacks between Israel and Hezbollah are increasing.
• Israel is perplexed as to why Biden keeps saying a ceasefire in Gaza is near. (Note: I don’t think this is the only thing that is confusing Biden.)
• The U.S. shot down 5 drones that were launched by Houthis in Yemen.

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024 (Day 145): The ninetieth day of the resumed war.

• Hezbollah fired several old Soviet-made (as in Battle of Gog and Magog) rockets into Israel.
• Israel will continue to build settlements in the West Bank despite U.S. objections.

FYI: God does not send anyone to Hell (all of us are born with a sin nature and destined to go to Hell because we sin), but God has provided a way (Jesus) for everyone to go to Heaven (and He is the only way to get there; John 14:6).

Finally, are you Rapture Ready?

If you want to be rapture ready and go to heaven, you must be born again (John 3:3). God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless Son of God who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and raised from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Saviour; then tell someone that you have done this.

duck_daymond@yahoo.com

 

The post The Ostrich Tactic :: By Daymond Duck appeared first on Rapture Ready.

— Read on www.raptureready.com/2024/03/02/the-ostrich-tactic-by-daymond-duck/

CDC Officially Changes COVID Guidelines To Whatever Your Uncle Frank Said About It Years Ago | Babylon Bee

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After a new meta-analysis of COVID data, the Center for Disease Control has updated its guidelines to just do what your hillbilly Uncle Frank said to do four years ago.

“After tasking dozens of the best minds in science to review hundreds of studies, we have determined that Uncle Frank was right the whole time,” announced C.D.C. director Dr. Mandy Cohen. “Basically, just treat it like the flu. So, um, sorry about that whole ‘you can’t be with your dying husband’ deal. Our bad.”

According to sources, Uncle Frank had said the exact same thing back in 2020 when the whole COVID thing began. “Despite no formal medical or epidemiological training, Uncle Frank has somehow managed to continually stay a step ahead of the C.D.C.,” said researcher Dr. Stan Makowski. “Frank’s sage advice to ‘let ’em stick ya with that there vaccine only if COVID might kill ya’ has now been backed up by a large body of research. He also prophetically called for people to ‘forget about that dumb social distancing crap, just stay home if you’re sick’. Such an incredible mind! Uncle Frank’s brilliance knows no bounds.”

The C.D.C. has now officially changed all of its guidelines to match Uncle Frank’s recommendations for COVID, as well as all other infectious diseases. For his part, Uncle Frank has declined all offers to take a position with the C.D.C., reportedly saying, “Those swamp things would have to drag my cold, dead body out there, I’ll tell ya that right now.”

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Corruption and redemption? America on the precipice – American Thinker

A corrupt people will not long remain free. Period. That is something the Founders knew in their bones. Yet I fear we have forgotten that lesson.

— Read on www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/03/corruption_and_redemption_america_on_the_precipice.html

World War III Watch: British Troops Are Directing Air Strikes in Ukraine – Germany Discusses Blowing Up Bridge in Crimea – The Globalist Elites Want Their World War | The Gateway Pundit.

The bridge connecting Crimea to mainland Russia was bombed once already in October 2022.

Author and filmmaker Mike Cernovich tweeted out the news today that British troops are directing air strikes in Ukraine.

The globalist elites want their world war!
After all, it’s not their kids they are sending off to Ukraine.

Do you remember when they said Donald Trump would do this?

World War 3 has already begun.

British troops are directing air strikes in Ukraine.

Germany intends to bomb Crimea. pic.twitter.com/IvRvKTa1dP

— Cernovich (@Cernovich) March 2, 2024

German forces were also caught on audio discussing blowing up bridges to Crimea!

Russia released the audio and Germany confirmed it was real.

🇩🇪🇺🇦🇷🇺‼️ Germany confirms bugging of Bundeswehr Ukraine war talks — DW

Germany's Defense Ministry has acknowledged the authenticity of a leaked recording featuring a confidential discussion among high-ranking Bundeswehr officers on the war in Ukraine.

The conversation within… pic.twitter.com/SbhsdPcTWj

— TabZ (@TabZLIVE) March 2, 2024

They really, really want a World War!

Donald Trump Jr. tweeted out, “Are you paying attention?”

Are you paying attention? https://t.co/XR7r24kXEn

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 3, 2024

The post World War III Watch: British Troops Are Directing Air Strikes in Ukraine – Germany Discusses Blowing Up Bridge in Crimea – The Globalist Elites Want Their World War appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Sen. Marco Rubio: Biden Needs to Reverse The Border Policies He Changed In 2021 | Video | RealClearPolitics

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio urged President Biden to reinstate President Trump’s border policies during an interview this morning on “FOX News Sunday.”

SEN. MARCO RUBIO: The realistic path forward, if we want to end this crisis, begins with Joe Biden reversing the executive orders that he made. Every single one of them was designed to reverse the Trump policies.

With all of these executive orders, we have for the first time in American history, we have a president who will not detain people who entered this country illegally. The immigration system in America is complicated, but our laws are pretty straightforward. It defines who’s allowed to be in the country, and it says if you’re here illegally, you should be detained through removal. We used to have exceptions to that, but narrow exceptions. The majority of people were detained. Now the reverse is happening. Now the exceptions have become the rule. Today, if you enter the United States illegally, you are going to be released. Your chances of being released into the country very quickly are between 85 and 90%.

People know this. The word spreads. They come from all over the world. Now there are 7.2 million people in this country that have entered over the last three years that are here illegally…. That’s an unsustainable thing.

And all of that was driven by [Biden’s reversals of Trump’s policies]. You can see it in the numbers, beginning in January of 2021, when Joe Biden entered the White House. He needs to reverse and go back to the policies that were in place before then, when we didn’t have these numbers.
— Read on www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/03/03/sen_marco_rubio_biden_needs_to_reverse_the_border_policies_he_changed_in_2021.html

NATO’s Newest Member Says Ukraine ‘Has Right’ To Use Its Weapons To Attack Russian Soil | ZeroHedge

It was only last April that Finland formally entered NATO as the military alliance’s 31st member. This week Moscow has announced that it is initiating additional “military-technical measures” along its border with Scandinavia, also in response to Sweden’s recent accession approval. 

But already Finland is off and running with advancing a bellicose posture sure to only fuel already soaring tensions with Russia centered on the Ukraine

 proxy war.

Finnish broadcaster Yle reported Thursday that the government has given the OK for Ukrainian forces to use Finnish weaponry to mount attacks on Russian territory.

Soon after the 2022 Russian invasion, Finland began joining other European

 countries on sending defense aid to Kiev, and has thus far sent an estimated nearly $2 billion worth of arms packages.

Chair of the Finnish parliamentary defense committee, told Yle that “Ukraine has the right to use these [Finnish] weapons against military targets also on Russian soil.”

However, “A key condition for Western military aid to Ukraine is the commitment to avoid using it on Russian soil,” the publication also said. Finish officials have explained that thus far they have abided by that stipulation in respect of the desires of other Western allies.

But with Ukraine forces clearly being beaten back in the east, and with manpower and arms shortages becoming a dire problem, Finland is apparently joining the chorus of bolder and riskier pledges when it comes to supporting Ukraine.

The past number of months have meanwhile witnessed increased cross-border attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, but also civilian areas of places like Belgorod city near the border. This has resulted in scores of civilian casualties, after which Russia typically conducts large airstrikes against Ukrainian cities.

Moscow has also of late sought to highlight the alleged active presence of French mercenaries near the border, and has accused Western intelligence of assisting Ukraine with attacking targets on Russian soil. This means NATO and Russia are inching closer to direct, all-out war.

Certainly if this trend catches on of European leaders openly advocating that Western weapons be used to attack Russia directly, bigger war becomes more and more inevitable unless some kind of negotiations can be kick-started fast.

— Read on www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/natos-newest-member-says-ukraine-has-right-use-its-weapons-attack-russian-soil

Border Patrol Union mocking Biden ‘comes as no surprise,’ GOP rep says – YouTube

Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., reacts to the National Border Patrol Council mocking President Biden following his visit to the border, calls for accountability on NGOs and the University of Florida’s redistribution of DEI funds. #foxnews

— Read on www.youtube.com/watch

American Paralysis and Decline | Victor Davis Hanson

Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness

“We can bear neither our diseases nor their remedies.”

So shrugged the ancient historian Livy (59 B.C.- A.D. 17) of the long decline of Roman national character that, in his age, finally ended the Roman Republic.

Like a patient whose medicine proves worse than the disease, Livy lamented that the Romans knew that they had become corrupt and lawless.

But the very contemplation of the hard medicine needed for restoration—and the furious reaction that would meet the remedy—made it impossible to save the patient.

America is nearing such an impasse.

We know that no state can long exist after opening its borders to over 7 million illegal aliens, requiring neither background checks nor legality.

The recent murder of a Georgia female jogger by an illegal alien and the savage beating of New York policemen by similar others hardly merit media attention.

Everyone knows that neither new appropriations nor new laws are needed to secure the border as it was in 2020.

Instead, we could just stop suicidal catch-and-release, deport lawbreakers, privilege the legal over the illegal immigrant, demand would-be refugees apply for asylum first in their native countries, finish the border wall, and pressure Mexico to stop undermining the territorial integrity of its northern neighbor.

But then we shrug, “We can’t do that”—paralyzed in fear of being smeared as “xenophobic,” “nativist,” or “racist.”

So this generation apparently feels that it can endure the collateral damage of daily assaults on American citizens, the near bankruptcy of our cities, and 100,000 fentanyl deaths per year—but certainly not the idea that it is somehow not politically correct or compassionate.

The same is true of the $35 trillion debt, now costing more than $1 trillion a year in interest payments—and growing. We all know it is unsustainable. Americans understand it will eventually lead either to destructive hyperinflation, suicidal renunciation of federal debt, or confiscation of private savings.

Yet we ignore the reckless spending and keep borrowing well over $1 trillion a year. Apparently, our generation prefers being praised as “virtuous” and “caring.” So it leaves the next generation to be smeared as “cruel” and “unfair” when it is forced to cut federal entitlements and bloated government or face civilizational collapse.

The crime epidemic is also similar. Everyone accepts that no society can long endure quasi-legalized shoplifting or green-lighting smash-and-grabbers and carjackers to be released without bail.

But we assume that such a civilizational implosion will never reach our own sanctuary neighborhoods or safe places of work—at least not yet.

We also know that restoring deterrence by arresting, convicting, and jailing repeat felons will return safety to our streets.

But again, we fear even more that advocating “law and order” will earn slanders like “racist” or “reactionary.”

Ditto the homeless. In an age of self-congratulation and hyper-environmentalism, we know that a million homeless defecating, urinating, injecting, and assaulting on our downtown sidewalks and storefronts is medieval.

We know that it is illegal to camp out on the street and publicly harass citizens or relieve oneself in public.

And we know the cure lies in building and staffing more mental institutions and providing areas far from public spaces where the homeless can find shelter, sanitation, and medical care.

But the very idea of removing anyone from his accustomed sidewalk spot, or the notion of the use of force to transport the mentally ill to proper and humane facilities, terrifies us.

So we walk around, step over, and ignore those on the street.

Is the assumption that the odds of being assaulted or sickened acceptable? Or do we just not wish to learn where the flotsam, jetsam, and human offal of the street end up?

Most accept that had Donald Trump just not run for president in 2024 or was a man of the left, he would not now be facing four different felony court cases.

Most accept that three of the four prosecutors have either in advance promised to get Trump or have proved grossly unethical.

Most know it is wrong to try to remove a leading presidential candidate from state ballots.

Yet many shrug that this new weaponization of America’s legal system is the flamboyant Trump’s own problem, not their own. So they ignore the third worldization of our political system, which they quietly acknowledge is otherwise leading us to a Venezuela-like mess.

The paralysis of American society extends to our foreign policy as well. We deplore the terrorism of Iran and its thuggish surrogates. But we fear more the nasty, costly business of stopping its aggression.

Societies do not always collapse from a lack of wealth, invasion, or natural catastrophes.

Most often, they know what is destroying them. But they are so paralyzed by their fear that the road to salvation becomes too painful to even contemplate.

So they implode gradually, then suddenly.

Source: https://victorhanson.com/american-paralysis-and-decline/

The Real Message of the Rainbow | Daily Declaration.

God is calling us to repentance today. Let us share His saving gospel with others before it is too late for them to enter into covenant with Him and be redeemed from their sins.

As we stood around the walls of the small, dark meeting room outside the court, the barrister said firmly: “This is your last chance. If you plead guilty today, the Judge may mitigate your sentence, but if you plead not guilty, you will go to trial. You cannot win; all the evidence is against you.”

The accused man balled his fists, set his jaw like flint and snarled: “I will never plead guilty.” So it was. He went to jail for a very long time.

For centuries, both children and adults have loved the story of Noah and the animals. For most, it is like a fairytale. There’s a big boat, a funny old man who somehow gets his family and two of every kind of animal into it just in time before the whole earth is flooded. When the water goes down, there is a beautiful rainbow and a promise from God.

“The animals came in two by two – Hurrah! Hurrah!” Who doesn’t love that song?

In his introduction to Floodgates,¹ Dr Malcolm Hedding notes: [p. 11]

… the most important testimony of the Flood comes from Jesus, who spoke of it as a real historic event and warned of a similar cataclysm in the last days, saying:

“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:26-27)

So, are we in the days of Noah? Are there signs today similar to the time before the flood? Many believe the signs are obvious and, like the accused man, we have a choice. Jesus made it very clear. Now is the time to repent.

Lifelong Process

When I was introduced to Christianity at the age of 16, I was told that to come into a right relationship with God, I needed to repent. I was adamant I had no sins to confess. I hadn’t committed murder; I didn’t steal. On the whole, I was a good person.
The challenge came when I read Jesus simplified the Ten Commandments to just two:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’… And ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’.” (Mark 12:30-31)

Oops! Now it was in my face. I knew I didn’t love God with all my heart, neither did I love my neighbour [oh, no, that includes everybody] in the way I should. It was time to repent.

Repenting once is never enough. What Jesus is calling for is ongoing repentance. It’s an attitude of humility that acknowledges His Sovereignty and our dependence on Him. Repentance then becomes a daily attitude.

God’s Promise

After the destruction of the earth in the Great Flood, God makes a covenant with Noah. He promises to never flood the earth again. As a sign of His covenant, He says:

“Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind.” (Genesis 9:14-15)

The rainbow is one of the most beautiful representations of God’s love, mercy, grace and forgiveness. Whenever you see a rainbow in the sky – not on an ice-cream truck, or in a flag, or on a fairy castle – remember that God is remembering you.

Like the man with his barrister, we are given a choice, before it is too late. Inevitably, we will one day stand before the Righteous Judge. We can choose not to stand alone! We have Someone better than any barrister. We have Jesus, our Advocate, who will plead our case.

He says to the Judge: the person before you is not guilty because the debt of his guilt has already been paid. Jesus is an advocate for everyone who puts their trust in Him.

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2)

The Time is Now

It’s not too late. Each person who knows Jesus as Saviour, needs to find the role they are to play to warn those who don’t know. We all have a part to play, but play we must. Do not be fooled; the prophecies of Joel 2:28-32 and Zephaniah 1:14-18 will be fulfilled. The day of judgement will be more horrific than we can imagine.

This is not the time to be comfortable and say: “My salvation is assured. I’m okay.” This may be true, but while we breathe we must do all we can to save others from that ‘great and terrible day’.

Many people are suffering because of their struggle with moral issues. They are calling what we know is wrong, right, and what we know is right, wrong. We should be compassionate and care for them. But we should be straightforward in saying what the Bible says on clear moral issues.

To do this, we need to be certain in our minds and hearts about what the Bible says. We serve a Holy God. He has graciously given us the way to forgiveness and eternal life. Let’s embrace it and ensure that all within our ambit are given the opportunity to embrace it too – before it’s too late.

So why did God destroy the earth in the Great Flood? The clue is found in Genesis 6:11 —

Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.

As thousands watched Noah build the Ark, they were oblivious to the danger they were in. Are we living in similar times? Are we in danger of accepting wrong as right and right as wrong? Are we so comfortable we are missing the signs? I sincerely hope not.

___

1. David R Parsons, Floodgates: Recognize the End-Time Signs to Survive the Coming Wrath. Whitaker House.
___

Photo by Tomas Anunziata.

The post The Real Message of the Rainbow appeared first on Daily Declaration.

In New Interview, ‘The Chosen’ Director Dallas Jenkins Insists He Loves The Same Jesus as His Mormon ‘Brothers’ | Protestia

In New Interview, ‘The Chosen’ Director Dallas Jenkins Insists He Loves The Same Jesus as His Mormon ‘Brothers’

‘The Chosen’ Director Dallas Jenkins again articulated in a new interview with Allen Parr that he loves the same Jesus that his Mormon friends do, demonstrating again and again why he has a false understanding of Jesus and the gospel.

We’ve written about Jenkins and his abject biblical ignorance in the past with our posts:

Dallas Jenkins Says Mormons are Saved: ‘I’m Going to Die on That Hill,’

Dallas Jenkins Doubles Down on Controversial Mormon Comments, Straight-up Lies 

Dallas Jenkins Affirms Mormons are Christians in ‘Definitive, Final’ Video ‘ 

The Chosen Director Says Jesus Transfiguration Not Important: ‘What Purpose Would it Serve our Story? ‘

The Chosen Director Insists Mormon Friend is a Christian: ‘He loves Jesus… I’d go to war with and for him any day.’

Addressing the controversy that has dogged him for years, Jenkins tells Parr:

“The LDS issue is just something that got some controversy because several years ago on a YouTube interview I made the comment that I was referring to a few of my LDS friends and I said I’m not speaking for the LDS church, I’m not talking about their formal doctrine or anything like that, I’m talking about some of these LDS friends that I have do love the same Jesus that I do. Now we may have some disagreements about some aspects of it, but some of these brothers that I know, that I have had deep, intense, dozens of hours of conversations with, might not actually sign on to or might have a different viewpoint than what the official church doctrine is. Or the official church doctrine, much like the Evangelical world, has different sects and different denominations within it. And so I think it’s dangerous to speak for any one particular group.”

This is all completely false, however. If you love the same Jesus that Mormons do, you’re going to hell. If you believe there is no difference between Jesus of the Bible and the Jesus of Joseph Smith’s demonic imagination, you’re spiritually blinded and there only awaits a fiery expectation of judgment. If you repudiuate the Jesus of Mormonism, then you’re not a Mormon, and any true convert would run screaming from that cauldron of false teachinhg and heresy.

These words by Jenkins echo previous declarations he’s made that he and his Mormon friends love the same Jesus and want him to be known:

“But I’m happy to say, “Yeah, we disagree on some things, but I’m going to die on the hill of, we love the same Jesus, and we want the same Jesus known to the world.”

He has made similar comments on the Mormon Show “Saints Unscripted”

One of the most interesting things about this whole project has been my relationship with different denominational or faith traditions that I didn’t have before. I’ve learned so much more about the LDS community than I thought I knew.

…And what’s funny about the LDS folks as you guys seem to be, even though you’re the most controversial, you seem to be the least confrontational. It’s just like, ‘hey, we all love Jesus. I just want to let you know, we love the show’. And when people start going, ‘Hey, you’re a Mormon, you’re going to hell’. You just like, ‘hey, whatever.” It’s like it just kind of seems to roll off your back. Maybe it’s because you’re used to being on the outside sometimes.

…So even if I had significant disagreements with the LDS community, which I’ve learned, I have fewer than I thought I did. But even with that, I was okay, I was comfortable with that, because as long as they’re treating the show properly, that’s all that matters. So I can honestly say it’s been one of the top three most fascinating and beautiful things about this project has been my growing brother and sisterhood with people of the LDS community that I never would have known otherwise.

I’m learning so much about your faith tradition, and realizing, gosh, for all the stuff that maybe we don’t see eye to eye on, that all happened, that’s all based on stuff that happened after Jesus was here.

The stories of Jesus, we do agree on and we love the same Jesus. That’s not something that you often hear. Sometimes it’s like, ‘oh, they believe in a different Jesus that we do.’

Host: “that’s a controversial statement. ”

Yeah. No, it’s the same. I mean, I’ll sink or swim on that statement, and it’s controversial, and I don’t mind getting criticized at all for the show, and I don’t mind being called a blasphemer. I don’t like it when my (LDS) friends are.

And I made it very clear that if I go down, I’m going down swinging, protecting my friends, and my brothers and sisters. And so I don’t deny we have a lot of theological differences, but we love the same Jesus.”

Jenkins is deceived, and everytime he tells people that some Mormons and Christians love the same Jesus, he is deceiving others.

The post In New Interview, ‘The Chosen’ Director Dallas Jenkins Insists He Loves The Same Jesus as His Mormon ‘Brothers’ appeared first on Protestia.

Dems Begin To Panic As Biden Not Dead Yet | Babylon Bee

U.S. — Democrats have officially begun to panic as, against all odds, President Joe Biden is still not dead.

As polls persistently show Trump leading President Biden in both the popular vote and electoral college, Democrats have become increasingly anxious that Biden may survive to November. “He was supposed to bite the dust months ago,” sighed top Democratic political operative Dan Scarborough. “Everything has gone perfectly to plan these last four years. Biden wins from his basement, then his body begins shutting down right on schedule… but the guy just won’t die. It’s looking dire.”

In lieu of Biden dying, Democrats hoped he could be reasoned with to make way for a stronger candidate. “We tried to tell Joe that he’s done great and it’s time to move on, but he won’t budge,” said Democratic strategist Lisa Hanes. “He just laughs, grabs another vanilla cone, and starts arguing with the ghost of Lyndon Johnson. We may have gotten more than we bargained for nominating a dementia patient.”

With Biden holding firm on running for a second term, Democrats have begun trying to place the President in increasingly dangerous situations. “We’ve got sandbags strategically placed all over the Rose Garden,” said Scarborough. “We installed random stairways throughout the White House. For goodness’ sake, we’ve fed an elderly man literally gallons of ice cream every day, his arteries are half-filled with chocolate chips. How has Joe not kicked the bucket? How??”

At publishing time, Democratic strategists had been spotted placing banana peels at every doorway in the West Wing.

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It’s a serious medical emergency: you’re minding your own business when you hear an opinion you slightly disagree with.

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https://babylonbee.com/news/dems-begin-to-panic-as-biden-not-dead-yet

Elon Musk Wonders Why NATO Continue to Exist After 1991

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization

 (NATO) was established in 1949 during the period of mounting geopolitical tensions during the Cold War.

— Read on sputnikglobe.com/20240303/elon-musk-wonders-why-nato-continues-to-exist-after-1991-1117099681.html