There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes and see not, which have ears and hear not; Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence? …
JEREMIAH 5:21, 22
“There are over many who have much knowledge and little virtue,” said the blind saint, Malaval, “and who often speak of God while rarely speaking to Him.”
The Bible teaches plainly enough the doctrine of the divine omnipresence, but for the masses of professed Christians this is the era of the Absentee God. Most Christians speak of God in the manner usually reserved for a departed loved one, rarely as of one present; but they do not often speak to Him.
Truth is always better than error, and with the inspired Scriptures before us we need not think wrongly about such an important matter as this. We can know the truth if we will.
An Absentee God is among other things inadequate! He does not meet the needs of the being called man. As a baby is not satisfied away from its mother, and as life on earth is impossible without the sun, so human beings need a present God, and they can be neither healthy nor satisfied without Him.
Surely God would not have created us to be satisfied with nothing less than His presence if He had intended that we should get on with nothing more than His absence.
No. The Scriptures and moral reason agree that God is present!1
Oh! that the Lord Jesus, in a spiritual healing, would frame my powers anew in himself, that neither dumbness nor deafness might ever more stop my voice of praise for the cure of my soul, as the Lord healed the poor man’s son in his body! One should suppose that after the song of salvation had been once chanted in the renewed heart, that heart would never more be out of tune, nor feel a dumbness or deafness in the Lord’s praise. But, alas! so much of unbelief lies lurking within, and so much of exercises come from without, that the harp is often hanging on the willow, and we seldom sing to the Lord’s praise, or proclaim abroad his glory. Whereas the promise of Jehovah, in allusion to gospel-days, was, that his Israel should, even from the valley of Achor, find a door of hope; and the Lord added, that he would cause his Church to sing there, “as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.” (Hosea 2:15.) Surely, God is glorified, when, from the depth of exercises, songs of redemption still go on, and even in the fire the believer sings his morning and evening hymn to the praise of Jesus. Say, my soul, hath Jesus cured thee of this dumb and deaf spirit? Art thou daily showing forth his praises, who hath called thee out of darkness into his marvellous light? Dost thou delight thyself in the Lord, and delight to sing in the ways of the Lord, that “great is the glory of the Lord?” See to it that this be among thine evidences of a spiritual healing; for the Lord promised, in allusion to Israel’s recovery, that the ears of the deaf should be unstopped, and the tongue of the dumb should sing. Hence all the way through the pilgrimage-state, the song of salvation should be heard from the mouth of Zion’s travellers, until they arrive in glory, where “songs of everlasting joy shall be upon their heads, and sorrow and sighing be done away for ever.”1
No one will dispute this statement, for it would be unseemly for the servant to be exalted above his Master. When our Lord was on earth, what was the treatment he received? Were his claims acknowledged, his instructions followed, his perfections worshipped, by those whom he came to bless? No; “He was despised and rejected of men.” Outside the camp was his place: cross-bearing was his occupation. Did the world yield him solace and rest? “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” This inhospitable country afforded him no shelter: it cast him out and crucified him. Such—if you are a follower of Jesus, and maintain a consistent, Christ-like walk and conversation—you must expect to be the lot of that part of your spiritual life which, in its outward development, comes under the observation of men. They will treat it as they treated the Saviour—they will despise it. Dream not that worldlings will admire you, or that the more holy and the more Christ-like you are, the more peaceably people will act towards you. They prized not the polished gem, how should they value the jewel in the rough? “If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?” If we were more like Christ, we should be more hated by his enemies. It were a sad dishonour to a child of God to be the world’s favourite. It is a very ill omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout “Well done” to the Christian man. He may begin to look to his character, and wonder whether he has not been doing wrong, when the unrighteous give him their approbation. Let us be true to our Master, and have no friendship with a blind and base world which scorns and rejects him. Far be it from us to seek a crown of honour where our Lord found a coronet of thorn.1
THE infuriated mob raved like madmen when Paul had spoken of the Lord’s grace towards the Gentiles.
Acts 22:23–30
23, 24 And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him.
25 And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?
26 When the centurion (who was appointed to scourge him), heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.
27, 28 Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
29 Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
30 On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.
Acts 23:1–11
AND Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
2 And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.
3 Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? (Paul’s temper was roused by the unjust conduct of the high priest. His prophecy was fearfully fulfilled: almost at the commencement of the siege of Jerusalem Ananias fell by the daggers of his enemies. We cannot help noting the difference between the meek silence of Jesus, and the indignant reply of Paul.)
4 And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest?
5 Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
6, 7 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.
8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
9 And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God. (The apostle obeyed the injunction, “Be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” He saw how hopeless it was to plead his cause before so prejudiced an assembly, and therefore lie raised another issue. He knew that the Pharisees and Sadducees hated each other even worse than they hated him; and, therefore, he cast in a spark upon their combustible materials, and set them in a blaze. The two parties left their victim, and turned their weapons against each other.)
10, 11 And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle. And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. (Amid the uncongenial sights and sounds of the barracks, the heart of the apostle would have sunk had it not been for the heavenly visitation, Jesus will not leave his faithful servants alone—he will reveal himself to us when we are in sore distress. Never let us despair, for the Lord has more work for us to do yet.)1
For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? (6:25)
For this reason refers back to the previous verse, in which Jesus declares that a Christian’s only Master is God. He is therefore saying, “Because God is your Master, I say to you, do not be anxious.” A bondslave’s only responsibility is to his master, and for believers to worry is to be disobedient and unfaithful to their Master, who is God. For Christians, worry and anxiety are forbidden, foolish, and sinful.
In the Greek, the command do not be anxious includes the idea of stopping what is already being done. In other words, we are to stop worrying and never start it again. For your life makes the command all-inclusive. Psuchē (life) is a comprehensive term that encompasses all of a person’s being—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Jesus is referring to life in its fullest possible sense. Absolutely nothing in any aspect of our lives, internal or external, justifies our being anxious when we have the Master we do.
Worry is the sin of distrusting the promise and providence of God, and yet it is a sin that Christians commit perhaps more frequently than any other. The English term worry comes from an old German word meaning to strangle, or choke. That is exactly what worry does; it is a kind of mental and emotional strangulation, which probably causes more mental and physical afflictions than any other single cause.
It has been reported that a dense fog extensive enough to cover seven city blocks a hundred feet deep is composed of less than one glass of water—divided into sixty thousand million droplets. In the right form, a few gallons of water can cripple a large city.
In a similar way, the substance of worry is nearly always extremely small compared to the size it forms in our minds and the damage it does in our lives. Someone has said, “Worry is a thin stream of fear that trickles through the mind, which, if encouraged, will cut a channel so wide that all other thoughts will be drained out.”
Worry is the opposite of contentment, which should be a believer’s normal and consistent state of mind. Every believer should be able to say with Paul, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need” (Phil. 4:11–12; cf. 1 Tim. 6:6–8).
A Christian’s contentment is found in God, and only in God—in His ownership, control, and provision of everything we possess and will ever need. First, God owns everything, including the entire universe. David proclaimed, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it” (Ps. 24:1). He also said, “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth” (1 Chron. 29:11).
Everything we now have belongs to the Lord, and everything we will ever have belongs to Him. Why, then, do we worry about His taking from us what really belongs to Him?
One day when he was away from home someone came running up to John Wesley saying, “Your house has burned down! Your house has burned down!” To which Wesley replied, “No it hasn’t, because I don’t own a house. The one I have been living in belongs to the Lord, and if it has burned down, that is one less responsibility for me to worry about.”
Second, a Christian should be content because God controls everything. Again David gives us the right perspective: “Thou dost rule over all, and in Thy hand is power and might; and it lies in Thy hand to make great, and to strengthen everyone” (1 Chron. 29:12). Daniel declared, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. And it is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men, and knowledge to men of understanding” (Dan. 2:20–21).
Those were not idle words for Daniel. The events of Daniel 2 and 6 were separated by many years. When the jealous commissioners and satraps tricked King Darius into ordering Daniel thrown into the den of lions, it was the king, not Daniel, who was worried. “Slept fled from” the king during the night, but Daniel apparently slept soundly next to the lions, whose mouths had been closed by an angel (6:18–23).
Third, believers are to be content because the Lord provides everything. The supreme owner and controller is also the supreme provider—as indicated in one of His ancient names, Jehovah-Jireh, which means “the Lord who provides.” That is the name Abraham ascribed to God when He provided a lamb to be sacrificed in place of Isaac (Gen. 22:14). If Abraham, with his limited knowledge of God, could be so trusting and content, how much more should we who know Christ and who have His whole written Word? As the apostle assures us, “God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).
The needs that Jesus mentions here are the most basic—what we eat, what we drink, and what we put on. Those are things that every person in every age has needed; but because most western Christians have them in such abundance, they are not often worried about.
Throughout Bible times, however, food and water could seldom be taken for granted. When there was little snow in the mountains there was little water in the rivers, and inadequate rainfall was frequent. Shortage of water naturally brought shortage of food, which seriously affected the whole economy and made clothes harder to buy. Yet Jesus said, do not be anxious for any of those things.
Those things are important, and the Lord knows and cares about our need of them, as Jesus goes on to explain. But, He asks rhetorically, Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? All three of those necessities pertain to the body, and Jesus says that the fullness of life is more than merely taking care of the body.
Yet taking care of the body has always been a common obsession with men. Even when we are not starving or thirsty or naked, we still give an inordinate amount of attention to our bodies. We pamper the body, decorate it, exercise it, protect it from disease and pain, build it up, slender it down, drape it with jewelry, keep it warm or keep it cool, train it to work and to play, help it get to sleep, and a hundred other things to serve and satisfy our bodies.
Even as Christians we are sometimes caught up in the world’s idea that we live because of our bodies. And since we think we live because of our bodies, we live for our bodies. We know better, of course, but that is the way we often act. Our bodies in themselves are not the source of anything. They do not give us life but are given life by God, who is the source of all life—spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical.
Therefore, whether the Lord gives us more or gives us less of anything, it all belongs to Him, as owner, controller, and provider. It is our responsibility to thank Him for what He gives and to use it wisely and unselfishly for as long as He entrusts us with it.1
Another point, already implied in the preceding, is now brought to the foreground more definitely, namely, that the person who, because of his lack of trust in the heavenly Father, devotes his time and talent to the piling up of earthly treasures, hence to the worship of Mammon, confuses values. He is “all mixed up” with respect to priorities. He attaches primary significance to that which is secondary, and vice versa (see c on p. 343). Says Jesus, 25. Therefore I say to you, Do not be anxious about your life, what you are going to eat or what you are going to drink, nor about your body, what you are going to wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
The word “Therefore” shows the connection with the preceding. On the basis of what has gone before and in connection with what follows, the meaning is probably this: Since transitory earthly treasures do not satisfy, and setting the heart on them implies forfeiting the enduring pleasures of heaven (verses 19–21), and since the yearning for such earthly riches blurs mental and moral vision (verses 22, 23), and finally, because a choice must be made between God and Mammon (verse 24), do not continue to set your heart on the latter, that is, on earthly things, such as food and drink, to keep alive, or on clothes, to keep dressed. After all, it is your heavenly Father who gave you your life and your body and will sustain them. He who has provided the greater, namely, life and body, will he not also furnish the lesser, namely, food, drink, and clothes? Is not life more important than food, and the body than clothes? Do not, then, confuse priorities!
What we have here, therefore, is an argument from the greater to the lesser, somewhat on the order of Rom. 8:32, “He who did not spare his own Son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also graciously give us all things?”
“Do not be anxious,” says Jesus. Since the present imperative is used here, the meaning seems to be, “Do not have this bad habit.” It may, however, also mean, “If you have already fallen into it, then break this habit: stop being anxious.” Compare with verse 31, where the exhortation is, “Do not become anxious.” The word used in the original for being anxious means being distracted, as was, for example, Martha, whose attention was divided to such an extent that she, for a while, forgot about “the one thing needful” (Luke 10:38–42; note verse 41, “you are anxious and troubled about many things”).2
1 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1985). Matthew (Vol. 1, pp. 419–421). Moody Press.
Ezekiel 24:2 — EnduringWord.com compares this date to 9-11 – nation-changing and unforgettable! They note this date is also recorded in 2 Kings 25:1, Jeremiah 39:1, and Jeremiah 52:4. John MacArthur identifies this as January 15, 588 BC.
Ezekiel 24:6 — The key to Ezekiel 24:3-13 is this word “scum.” “Scum” is used 5 times in the next 7 verses. Webster’s Dictionary 1828 identifies it as “the extraneous matter or impurities which rise to the surface of liquors in boiling.” God is purging Jerusalem with Babylon, and He’s having Ezekiel demonstrate it with a pot. Job used a more pleasant metaphor – removing the dross from gold (Job 23:10). Though dross is a less offensive word than scum today, it refers to the same concept. This process of refining metals is referred to in Psalm 66:10, Proverbs 17:3, Zechariah 13:9, Malachi 3:2-3 and 1 Peter 1:7. The Old Testament refers to dross 8 times (Psalm 119:119, Proverbs 25:4, Proverbs 26:23, Isaiah 1:22, Isaiah 1:25, and Ezekiel 22:18-19.) Basically, Jerusalem has a wicked heart (Proverbs 26:23), and God is trying to remove the wickedness from her. He will not repent (Ezekiel 24:14).
Ezekiel 24:18 — Ezekiel’s wife was taken by the LORD. Jeremiah was denied a wife (Jeremiah 16:2). Hosea was told to marry a prostitute (Hosea 1:2). Job’s kids were taken by permission of the LORD (Job 1:19). Fairness isn’t a concern of the LORD. Holiness is (Romans 8:28-29). Whatever God has for you to do – praise the LORD (Job 1:21).
Ezekiel 25:3 — Don’t interfere when the LORD is judging another. Schadenfreude is not part of God’s plan of holiness for you.
Ezekiel 26:4 — This was prophesied in 587 BC and fulfilled in multiple steps. EnduringWord.com talks about Nebuchadnezzar’s 13-year siege from 586-573 BC, the Persian conquest in 525 BC, and Alexander the Great’s destruction in 332 BC. Alexander’s Siege of Tyre was quite dramatic, ending with 8,000 civilians massacred and 30,000 residents being sold into slavery.
Hebrews 11:4 — We have entered the Hall of Faith! It houses those who are marked by the following of one of Paul’s three cardinal virtues (1 Corinthians 13:13). Peter said faith in God’s Word is better than hearing God’s voice (2 Peter 1:19). Faith is powerful – they believed that there was a God and it was worth serving Him (Hebrews 11:6).
Psalm 110:1 — We just read Hebrews 1:13 that quotes Psalm 110:1, and Hebrews 5:6 that quotes Psalm 110:4. The Psalmist who wrote this probably didn’t know what he was writing about (1 Peter 1:11), yet we now have it revealed to us! The King (Psalm 110:1) is an eternal priest (Psalm 110:4). Uzziah was cursed with leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:19) for trying to be a Priest-King (2 Chronicles 26:18). This is truly a mystery that has been solved for us in Hebrews!
Proverbs 27:14 — Wait until your friend has had his morning coffee before talking to him!
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Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.John 6:37
Is there any instance of our Lord’s casting out a coming one? If there be so, we would like to know of it; but there has been none, and there never will be. Among the lost souls in hell there is not one that can say, “I went to Jesus, and He refused me.” It is not possible that you or I should be the first to whom Jesus shall break His word. Let us not entertain so dark a suspicion.
Suppose we go to Jesus now about the evils of today. Oh, this we may be sure—He will not refuse us audience or cast us out. Those of us who have often been and those who have never gone before—let us go together, and we shall see that He will not shut the door of His grace in the face of any one of us.
“This man receiveth sinners,” but He repulses none. We come to Him in weakness and sin, with trembling faith, and small knowledge, and slender hope; but He does not cast us out. We come by prayer, and that prayer broken; with confession, and that confession faulty; with praise, and that praise far short of His merits; but yet He receives us. We come diseased, polluted, worn out, and worthless; but He doth in no wise cast us out. Let us come again today to Him who never casts us out.
Sunday, November 10, 2024: Join us for Sunday morning worship services from Providence Baptist Church in Beauregard, AL. Message today by Senior Pastor Dr. Rusty Sowell. 🔴 Live: Providence Baptist Church on RSBN: Sunday Morning Worship 11-10-24
“For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart. O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:16-17).
Does it matter to you whether or not you honor God? Too often, we put God in an isolated spot in our life and think He doesn’t see the many times we fall short of honoring Him. We know He is in our church on Sunday, but there He stays until next Sunday. Well, that’s not true. The church isn’t a building, but it’s the people who truly believe. Living for the Lord should be a 24/7 way of life.
“That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ” (Ephesians 1:12).
Christ has done so much for us, and our gratitude should shine through our way of life. Too many Christians seem to be beaten down by the world, and there is no joy in their life. A defeated Christian brings no glory to God. The Apostle Paul had many things in his life that could have discouraged him but chose to dwell on positive things.
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
You can please God by dwelling on His blessings no matter what your circumstances are.
Throughout history, Christians have been persecuted. There are horror stories of those brave and faithful people in the first century who were put in an arena with hungry lions just for believing the truth. My mother always asked, “If you’re accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Those early martyrs must have lived such lives, so there was plenty of evidence to convict them.
The persecution didn’t stop. Sadly, many Christians who faced persecution were persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church. William Tyndale was one who believed every person should have access to Scripture. Of course, the pope was not happy about that. Mr. Tyndale spoke many languages, including Greek and Hebrew, and he set about translating both the Old and New Testaments and studied Scripture deeply. His efforts to translate Scripture so that the common person could understand was met with opposition by the pope. Eventually, he was arrested and spent a year in prison. Then he was strangled and burned at the stake.
Today, there are many, many Christians who face persecution and death just for their faith in Christ. Try openly sharing the Gospel in China and see what happens.
What can give a person such conviction to choose martyrdom rather than denouncing Christ?
When we first come to Christ in repentance and faith, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory“ (Ephesians 1:13-14).
The Holy Spirit lives within every Christian and will guide us and comfort us. Sadly, many Christians choose to dwell upon all the bad things in the world and live defeated lives with no joy. Good and bad things happen to every person, whether they are Christians or not. Those of us who have placed our hope in Jesus should dwell on what Christ did for us rather than the evils in human governments and the evil that people do to each other. You can’t have the joy of the Lord if you choose to dwell on the doom and gloom of the world.
King David wrote many Psalms of praise, even in times of his greatest trials. How was he able to face the anger and persecution of Saul, or how could he find reason to praise God when his son wanted to kill him? David kept the words of his mouth and the meditation of his heart acceptable to God. We can learn a lot from David. He loved God and was a man after God’s own heart. David was human and a sinner. In fact, he came very close to losing his salvation because of sin. Instead of covering up the evil he had done, he understood that his sin was against God, and that truth brought him to repent.
“Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest” (Psalm 51:4).
Oh, to have a man like David to lead our government! He went to God and asked Him to “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
He knew that people would always come against him, but the way he handled persecution could change those around him. “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways and sinners shall be converted unto thee” (Psalm 51:12-13).
David loved the Lord, and he yearned to desire what God desires. Do you have the desire to please God in such a way? How do we know how to please God?
We have Scripture. From Genesis through Revelation, we learn about God. We learn that God created everything and that He has rules to live by. For instance, to reject Him as creator brings consequences. Romans chapter 1 goes into great detail telling us about those consequences. We can see how much God loves the nation of Israel and know that we need to love that nation also.
Pride is a thing that doesn’t please God. Pride causes a person to be wise in their own eyes, and that’s always a problem. Humility and submission to God is the attitude that a Christian needs. It isn’t always easy, but pleasing God is always best. Satan is always going to try to stumble you. Actually, Satan is filled with pride, which is a good example of why we need to reject the pride and humble ourselves before the Lord. Satan was filled with pride and thought he could trick Jesus into abandoning His mission. Satan twisted Scripture, but Jesus couldn’t be fooled. Jesus quoted true Scripture to confound Satan’s wiles.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
Honor God, and Satan will have no way to stumble you. Study Scripture and write it on your heart. Whenever you are tempted to say or do something that isn’t pleasing to God, recall Scripture to your mind, and you will resist the devil.
In this day and age in which we live, it’s becoming harder and harder to keep right with God. Few pastors preach from Scripture. The ungodly people in this world seem to be winning the war. They may seem to be winning, but they aren’t. As long as there is a remnant of true believers, Christians who put their trust in Jesus and live to honor Him, there is hope. Christians have a responsibility to honor Him. We must show Christ in us by the way we conduct our lives. We must make it a habit to live for Christ. Instead of dwelling on the world and the troubles found there, take control of what you put into your thoughts.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
You cannot fight a war if you are in league with the enemy. Let every thought and every action be under the control of the Lord. Know Him better by studying His word. Write it on your heart and let it shine through your life. If others see Christ controlling your ways and the joy He brings to your life, you just might lead someone to give their life to Christ, and the remnant will grow.
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
Please God in all you do. Desire what God desires, and serve Him with joy. You will please Him.
Here, the Lord reveals Himself as the prayer-answering God, – the God who answers by fire! That revelation was needed to call His people back to the worship of their covenant God. In the contest on Mt. Carmel, Baal, humanly speaking, had all the advantages. As the storm god, it should have been easy to provide just one bolt of lightning to ignite his altar. Furthermore, he had 850 of his followers calling upon his name, whereas the Lord had only one. They also got to choose the best bull for the sacrifice. As if this were nothing, Elijah drenches the Lord’s altar with 12 jars of water to make it impossible to light. But Baal, like our idols of pleasure and possessions, cannot hear or answer prayer, regardless of our shouts and sacrifices. Thus, mocked and exhausted, his prophets give up in despair.
Taking 12 stones to set up Yahweh’s altar, Elijah reminds the people that all Israel, those to whom the word of the Lord came (verse 31), belonged to the Lord by His covenant promise. Then he prays, and the fire of God consumes the sacrifice and licks up the stones and the water, as well. And the people cried, “TheLord, He is God!”
On this Lord’s Day, let us remember the fire of God that fell upon Jesus, that we might be reconciled to God. Let us draw near to Him in worship and prayer, with reverence and awe as we tremble at the preaching of His Word – for our God is a consuming fire.
Suggestions for prayer
Pray that today, you may realize that the God who acted on Mt. Carmel is the God who speaks to you now. Pray that as Elijah prayed, you may expect, in Jesus’ name, fire on the earth (Luke 12:49).
Rev. Barry Beukema is a graduate of Calvin College and Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He has pastored the Christian Reformed Churches in Burdett, Alberta and Smithers, British Columbia. He then pastored the URCNA churches of Smithers, BC, Thunder Bay, ON, Lacombe, AB, Neerlandia, AB, and is now pastoring the United Reformed Church of Taber, Alberta.Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY FAITH.” Romans 1:17 (LSB)
The Protestant Reformation was used by God to restore the lost doctrine of Justification by Faith. Also, all of the reformers were adamant that the Bible be available to all people in a language they could read and understand. The Roman Catholic Church of that era was apostate and taught a corrupt gospel based on works. The Bible was kept locked up and away from non-scholars. It was always read verbally to the people in Latin, which few understood.
As the Bible was translated from Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek into German, English, French, etc. the doctrine of Justification by Faith became central. Why would our enemy and his seed seek to bury this doctrine within religion? <Continue reading post>
President-elect is different because he speaks about peace in Ukraine, Dmitry Peskov said
The future policy of US President-elect Donald Trump is less predictable than that of Joe Biden and his officials might be, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday. It is unclear whether Trump will follow through on his election promises, the official added in an excerpt of an interview published on Telegram.
Peskov was responding to a question from Rossiya-1 correspondent Pavel Zarubin about whether President Putin’s “bet” on candidates from the Democratic Party worked out. The spokesperson noted that the bet on the Democrats was a “bet on predictability.”
“Everything is quite predictable, the line that [Biden and vice president Kamala Harris] will pursue until the moment they leave the White House. Mr Trump is less predictable in this regard. And it is also less predictable how he will stick to the statements made during the election campaign,” Peskov explained.
During the election campaign, Trump spoke about his desire to bring the Ukraine conflict to a swift end, which distinguishes him from the direction taken by the current US administration, Peskov stated. He also pointed out that, unlike the Democrats, the president-elect talks about peace and not confrontation.
In September the president of Russia had said Moscow would be rooting for the Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, after the incumbent US president called on his supporters to back her as the new Democratic hopeful.
“I don’t know if I’m insulted or he did me a favor,” Trump commented at the time.
Prior to the elections, the Republican had repeatedly promised to end the conflict within “24 hours,” a statement viewed in Moscow as a campaign-season exaggeration. However, Trump said on Thursday that he and Putin would probably speak in the near future, while the Russian leader noted that he would be open to a call, adding that “it wouldn’t be beneath me to call him myself.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that one of the plans under Trump’s consideration includes Kiev dropping its ambitions to join NATO in the near future and freezing the conflict along the current front line.
Moscow has ruled out a freeze of the conflict, insisting that all of the goals of its military operation – including Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification – must be achieved. Nevertheless, Russia has repeatedly said that it is open to talks aimed at resolving the crisis.
Speaking at the Valdai International Discussion Club in the Russian city of Sochi on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin said that Trump’s professed desire to end the Ukraine conflict “deserves attention, at the very least.”
“Today is a contest between the people who think the news is real and those who know it is not.”
This cheeky quip came from the pen of American author and cartoonist Scott Adams before any polling stations had closed on Tuesday. How right he turned out to be.
The 2024 US election was much more than a referendum on who Americans wanted to lead their country. It was a verdict on who they trust to interpret reality.
Though I won’t mourn the death of the legacy press, I here offer my eulogy – a funeral dirge, if you will – in the form of four post-election reflections.
1. Elon Musk’s Purchase of Twitter
It’s no exaggeration to say that Elon Musk was a deciding factor in Trump’s victory this week – whether his last-minute campaign blitz through the battleground state of Pennsylvania, his wildly popular Joe Rogan interview, or his exposé of the Democrats’ near success in making swing states permanent blue strongholds through mass immigration.
But the biggest boost from Musk came more than two years ago, when he bought the little blue bird, rebadged it as “X”, and then cleaned house, removing woke ideologues from executive roles and rooting out the influence of US intelligence agencies at the company.
The narrative that X is now a haven for racism and hate is, like most elite hyperventilating, a furphy. My experience of the app has not changed since 2022, except that Community Notes now holds liars accountable, and conservatives don’t get kicked off for speaking the truth.
And speak the truth they did throughout this election campaign. X was the only news platform that allowed open criticism of Kamala Harris, the only place Trump’s message made it past the narrative gatekeepers, and the only platform that, on balance, predicted a Trump win.
If X was still under the chokehold of Silicon Valley powerbrokers, it is doubtful Trump could have returned to the White House.
2. The Media’s Narrative that Trump is Hitler
For years, the corporate press has likened Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, called him and his supporters fascists and Nazis, and warned that his re-election would spell the end of American democracy.
Well, Hitler has been elected. So why aren’t these people packing their bags and fleeing the United States, as hundreds of thousands of Jews did Germany in the 1930s?
This is a serious question. But there is no serious answer – because the talking heads in the media were never serious in the first place.
I will take them seriously when they begin the flee the country, and not a second sooner.
3. The Prospect of a National Mental Health Crisis
In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, former ABC News political reporter Mark Halperin predicted that a Trump victory would likely cause “the greatest mental health crisis in the history of the country.”
Halperin is a middle-of-the-road kind of guy, and he was being genuinely serious, to the shock of Tucker’s audience.
The only nuance I would add to Halperin’s remark is that Trump’s victory per se won’t be to blame, if such a scenario materialises, but rather, the media’s framing of Trump’s victory for the American public.
The reality is that Trump will govern like he did last time. There will be bombastic remarks and a lack of decorum at times, but all the checks and balances of democracy will hold and he will leave office in 2028, likely handing Americans a stronger economy. And, much to the disappointment of pro-lifers, he will do little to stem the tide of abortions nationwide.
The problem is that people with Trump Derangement Syndrome don’t understand that this is how Trump’s presidency will play out. They really do think dystopia is now upon them.
If you voted Democrat and you are feeling that the election result is truly horrifying, do this one simple thing for your mental health:
Write down your fears of what might happen in the next 4 years on a piece of paper.
Re-read and check in on them every few months.
It will be a constant source of relief to you when you see that your fears will not, in fact, come true.
Then start asking why you had those fears in the first place and how you can prevent them from forming the next time.
4. Trust in the Media Going Forward
The legacy press has discredited itself this election cycle — whether through its cover-up of Joe Biden’s cognitive decline, its portrayal of the wildly unpopular Kamala Harris as America’s saviour, its naive interpretation of polling data, or its relentlessly negative coverage of Donald Trump, who in the end defied assassinations, impeachments and indictments to stage the greatest political comeback in American history.
The media was wrong about Tuesday. You’d be crazy to believe anything they tell you today.
This is a bankruptcy moment for the legacy media. They shrieked Nazi, fascist, traitor, insurrectionist at the top of their lungs for years. The country didn’t believe it. Their spell is broken. Their credibility is destroyed. It’s a new dawn.
Take a moment to touch grass. Turn off the TV. Cancel your subscriptions. Question everything the talking heads say from now on.
Most of all, relax. Trump’s America will be just fine, and so will you. ___
The Deep State diaspora will begin in January, according to President-elect Donald Trump
In March 2023, Trump posted his intent to move federal jobs out of Washington, D.C. among a list of other promises regarding the dismantling of federal bureaucracy.
“Continue Trump administration effort to move parts of the federal bureaucracy outside of the Washington Swamp, just like President Trump moved the Bureau of Land Management to Colorado,” the Trump campaign wrote.
“Up to 100,000 government positions could be moved out of Washington,” the statement said.
“As many as 100,000 government positions can be moved out — and I mean immediately out — of Washington to places filled with patriots who love America,” Trump said in a video breaking down his agenda.
🇺🇸Trump Targets ‘Deep State’ and Corrupt Washington D.C.
The Federal News Network noted that when Trump moved BLM (Bureau of Land Management) jobs, more than 80 percent of those who held those jobs did not leave D.C.
Trump has tried to reform the federal workforce before.
Should most federal government agency headquarters be required to reside away from D.C. and the seats of power?
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Just before the 2020 election, Trump issued an executive order to create what was called “Schedule F,” which would reclassify the jobs of middle managers in the federal workforce.
Former White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said then that Trump’s 2020 executive order was designed to remove “people in the bowels of the federal government working against this president” who pursued “their own selfish political agenda,” according to the Independent.
“It’s not a secret that we want people in positions that work with this president, not against him, and too often we have people in this government — I mean the federal government is massive, with millions of people — and there are a lot people out there taking action against this president and when we find them we will take appropriate action,” he said in October 2020.
A report in WUSA-TV estimates that however the concept of Schedule F morphs in a new administration, it might cover at least 50,000 workers.
“And to think 50,000 is the magic number is absurd because number one, that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union representing federal employees.
“Our union members are very worried about that,” he said.
Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said he is opposed to any workforce cuts, according to Virginia Business.
“My message to federal workers is I will be there to protect them, to protect their professionalism, to protect their careers,” Warner said.
“The idea is, well, Donald Trump claims to be a good businessperson. If he is, he would recognize that by moving federal workers all over the country, you’d lose vast amounts of experience, vast amounts of folks who know their jobs and do their jobs for Democratic or Republican administrations,” he said.
On “Sunday Agenda,” Lidia Curanaj commented on the left-wing media having a meltdown over President-elect Donald Trump’s win and the many mistakes Kamala Harris made on the campaign trail.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, advised by leftist political strategists, spent a billion dollars centered around labeling former President Trump and a majority of Americans as ‘Hitler’ and ‘Nazis.’ They poured millions into far-left Hollywood stars, elaborate concerts, and private jet travel, yet still ended up $20 million in debt—and got defeated in one of the most historic general election wins in a generation.
X user Autism Capitalcited a new report of Federal Election Commission filings that shows the Harris team’s spending trends between August 2023 and October 2024. The data is broken down into monthly spending totals, the top 20 recipients, a distribution of disbursement sizes, spending by type of media, temporal patterns, and trends.
Autism Capital said, “List of the top 500 disbursement recipients from the Kamala campaign. Enjoy, Internet.”
List of the top 500 disbursement
recipients from the Kamala campaign. Enjoy, Internet. 🫡
The massive payouts to celebrities from the Harris campaign show what a sham all of the left’s “Hitler” rhetoric is. Oprah says she’s fighting against a Nazi takeover but won’t waive her 7-figure fee to show up?
Nothing reflects Kamala Harris’ self-proclaimed middle class values than Harris spending $100,000 of her campaign money to build a set for a podcast rather than flying to LA, or paying Oprah $1,000,000 (like Oprah needs that money) to appear her on her show. pic.twitter.com/4OeKAsMTM9
In a recent interview on Fox News, DNC Finance Committee member Lindy Li called the Harris campaign:
“The truth is this is just an epic disaster, this is a $1 billion disaster. They’re $20 million or $18 million in debt. It’s incredible, and I raised millions of that. I have friends I have to be accountable to and to explain what happened because I told them it was a margin of error race.“
DNC finance committee member @lindyli blasted the Democratic Party in an appearance on Fox this morning, saying Harris’ campaign was a “$1 billion dollar disaster” and Biden’s endorsement of her was a ‘f*** you’ to the party. pic.twitter.com/kOGyvHM9cB
Meanwhile, Trump pledged support to help pay off Harris’ campaign debts…
Let’s take a moment to recognize that as Donald Trump states his willingness to pay off Harris’s campaign debts. The man has the best instincts as a politician since Ronald Reagan. pic.twitter.com/cUyXyLIaIA
In the lead up to the election leftist media outlets parroted the baseless critique that President Trump is a fascist. Comparing Trump to Hitler and invoking the term Nazi frivolously, was commonplace in the last few weeks prior to the election. This was the propagandists’ “Alamo,” as they made last ditch efforts to suggest Trump would impose a ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ dystopia on all of America.
With zero evidence to support these claims and four years of a first term that proves otherwise, it appears that the left just doesn’t like Donald Trump the man. A majority of the left’s rhetoric has suggested that Donald Trump is an existential threat to democracy.
By suggesting President Trump will be Hitler and that he is a threat to democracy the implication is that he will be a dictator. It follows that the left is suggesting Trump will take away rights and freedoms.
Yet, Trump’s first term suggests otherwise in looking at his economic reform alone. According to the Trump Whitehouse archives, the Trump administration cut 8 regulations for every new regulation adopted. They implemented the biggest tax reform in American history and cut the business tax rate from 35% to 21%.
It’s relevant to note these accomplishments as they indicate an expansion of economic freedom for the American citizen and business. These facts do not comport with the idea that freedoms were under assault with Trump leading the country.
Furthermore, the idea that President Trump is an existential threat into the future can be debunked at many turns. For example, Trump has seen major Democrats such as Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. join his movement. This would indicate there is bipartisan support for President Trump’s agenda.
Laughably, the left attempts to demonize Elon Musk for his support of President Trump. The man who led the effort to reuse rockets after space launch, and land them back onto a launchpad into the grips of mechanical arms, has now lost credibility according to the left. Out of one side of their mouth they suggest Musk is an unhinged, billionaire, madman supporting a fascist. Out of other side, they clamor him for to censor people on X.
In recent days since President Trump’s election win, videos of his Agenda 47 policy platform have gone viral on X. Gateway Pundit previously reported on President Trump’s plan to dismantle the deep state. Corporate media outlets have continued to label Trump as a fascist. However the Trump administration’s policy platform has a website that can be found here: Agenda 47
Not much scrolling is needed to find a few policies that would contradict the idea of President Trump planning a fascist dictatorship. One might question the left’s critique of Trump as a fascist dictator after assessing the bullet points from Agenda 47 below.
Ironically it’s President Trump’s partnership with a prominent Democrat in Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that puts the fascist dictator narrative to bed once and for all. There are both policy and nominee recommendation websites that appear to have Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s fingerprints on them. Interestingly, these websites are built in the discussion forum format for citizens to make their recommendations on policy and nominees for the future Trump Administration. Below are screenshots describing each:
On both websites discussion board forums can be found with every day citizens discussing policies such as, “Food for the People” or, “How to Restore Free Speech Through Simple Legislation.” The nominees site offers the same format with votes for people that the citizens recommend as heads of different government departments. Notably, Anthony Fauci currently shows 0 votes for America’s Health.
It would be interesting to confront leftist critique with this seemingly unprecedented approach to policy and nominations. While the left has gaslit people about Trump’s danger to democracy, it’s quite relevant to ask them what exactly they mean by that. Discussion forums for the every day citizen to recommend policy and nominees appears to be the most democratic undertaking in history. One must consider the corporate media’s malfeasance in reporting President Trump’s rhetoric inaccurately when recommending policy. Perhaps when the media claims Trump is a danger to democracy, they’re really talking about the bureaucracy.
Lindy Li, a member of the Democratic National Committee finance committee and a substantial donor labeled the failed Harris campaign a “$1 billion disaster” during an interview Saturday morning on “FOX & Friends.” They’re $20 million or $18 million in debt. It’s incredible, and I raised millions of that. I have friends I have to be accountable to and explain what happened because I told them it was a margin-of-error race.
LINDY LI: I’m a donor. I’m not on anyone’s payroll. I’m not beholden to anyone. That’s why I’m here telling the truth. I’m not here to gaslight anybody, this is just the truth.
…
The truth is this was just an end epic disaster, this was a $1 billion disaster. \
Actually, it was $1.018 billion, and there were $20 million in debt. It’s incredible. And I raised millions of that, I have friends I have to be accountable to and explain what happened — because I told friends it was a margin-of-error race. I was promised, Jen O’Malley Dillon promised all of us that Harris would win. She even put videos out saying Harris would win. I believed her, my donors believed her, and so they wrote massive checks.
I feel like a lot of us were misled and even on election night, I looked somebody in the eye and said, are we going to do this, are we going to pull it off. She told me, yes. I asked somebody else, how are are you feeling? He’s like, we’re going to win Iowa. I was like: What?
…
I asked them, are you privy to internal numbers that I am not seeing? Because I’ve studied this so carefully. And I just wasn’t seeing any basis for that level of confidence.
And I want to remind your viewers that the trump campaign was touting all of this incredible empirical data weeks before election night. What Harris was touting was the door knocking. She didn’t say anything really about early voting. Now I know it’s because there was nothing much to say.
Donald Trump’s victory shows why the establishment press are less trusted than virtually any major institution in American life — a well-earned ignominy.
A lot of emotions are running through my mind as I sip on coffee from a cup Chris and I bought in Valley Forge with a sculpture of George Washington facing me. It is a reminder of my ancestors who overcame so much during the Revolutionary War to carve this great nation into being. It was the Lord that was with them then. It is the Lord that is with us today as Donald Trump overcame the forces of tyranny to win back the presidency.
This is a historic moment and one that I believe offers America a reprieve from the darkness of those demons that have dragged this country down into the miry pit. And while the insane left stands in shock, this change is an opportunity for all to reset toward a better world.
All the lawfare, fear-mongering, assassination attempts, lying, and politicking came to no avail as the American people overwhelmed the ballot box for Trump. When Romans 13:1 is quoted today: “For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God,” let everyone and all be settled that this was a hand of God election. People voted. God delivered.
In this present generation, there never has been such an election. Satan used a political party to throw every legal, political, and physical obstacle at Trump. He (and Americans) survived assassination attempts, the corrupt legal system, personal attacks, a corrupt media, election interference, and more for over a decade. For if they can do it to Trump, they can do it to the rest of us.
This should be a message to those who sit in their depressed stage of wonder: evil eventually destroys itself.
So self-righteous were those who proudly supported some of the most immoral and unthinkable acts—the grooming of America’s children into homosexuality and transgenderism; the rabid commitment to kill babies in the womb; human trafficking of women and children because of no border security; attacking Christians for their faith; creating a deadly drug crisis; sending billions upon billions of taxpayer dollars to terrorists while saying they support Israel.
All the while, they destroyed the US economy, drove up inflation, and flooded the country with illegals for political and economic exploitation. These things are evil. Thank God for the break and the opportunity to do good. Maybe now the scales can be reset.
You see, we have our work cut out for us. We have bought some time. There are only promises of a better, more righteous future for our nation. We must hold accountability—not the type of accountability of judgment and condemnation to our fellow citizens who disagree with us and are blinded by the god of this world, but the accountability of the standard of Christ in whom we believe and are disciples.
From protecting our children to the treatment of Israel to freedom of religion, we must stand in the gap and make the hedge. We must be ever vigilant that our nation is fully advantaged by the mercy our Lord has bestowed upon us. Let us continue to pray, act, repent, and seek the Lord that he may forgive our sin and heal our land.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY FAITH.” Romans 1:17 (LSB) 
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