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
We must express the sense we have of our own meanness and unworthiness to draw near to God and speak to him.
But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? That God whom heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain, 2 Chronicles 6:18(ESV) with man, who is a maggot, and the son of man, who is a worm? Job 25:6(ESV)
Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my father’s house that you have brought me thus far to present myself before the Lord? 2 Samuel 7:18(ESV) That I have through Christ an access in one Spirit to the Father? Ephesians 2:18(ESV) And yet, as if this had been a small thing in your sight, you have spoken concerning your servant for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord GOD! 2 Samuel 7:19(ESV)
What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him, Psalm 8:4(ESV) and thus magnify him?
I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant; Genesis 32:10(ESV) nor is it right to take the children’s bread and throw it to such as I am; yet the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table; Matthew 15:26-27(ESV) and you bestow your riches on all who call on you. Romans 10:12(ESV)
Each of us is visited by tragedy eventually. But in the ultimate sense, there are no tragedies for the Christian. In this sermon, R.C. Sproul explains the truth that God works all things together for the good of His people.
The mainstream view during the Biblical era and among the earliest extrabiblical sources was that we should pray only to God, not to saints and angels. See my collection of articles arguing for that conclusion, along with discussions of ongoing opposition to praying to saints and angels in later generations of pre-Reformation church history, here.
Origen is an important extrabiblical source on the topic. He’s significant for more than one reason. He wrote a lot of material that’s extant. He wrote an entire treatise on prayer. He addressed prayer many times in other contexts. The subject of who we should pray to came up a lot in his response to Celsus, a second-century pagan who consulted one or more Jewish sources when studying Christianity. So, Origen’s treatise against Celsus reflects how a variety of sources perceived Christian views of prayer at the time.
I’ve written too many posts about Origen’s material on prayer for me to link all of them here. You can use something like a Google search to find the relevant posts or see our collections of posts under post labels like Origen and Prayer. The post here goes into a lot of depth in response to some common arguments about Origen put forward by advocates of praying to saints and angels. And here’s one about some material in Origen’s Homilies On Ezekiel that’s sometimes misused to make it appear that Origen supported prayer to angels. There are many other relevant posts in our archives, including some in comments sections of threads and in posts that don’t have the Origen label, for example. If you’re interested in an issue related to Origen and praying to saints and angels, there’s a good chance you can find some relevant material somewhere in our archives.
It’s important to go into discussions of this topic with some distinctions in mind. Supporters of praying to saints and angels will often change the subject, as if support for other prayer practices implies support for praying to saints and angels when it actually doesn’t. They’ll bring up passages in Origen about whether angels pray with us, even though that’s a distinct issue from whether we should pray to angels. Or whether saints in heaven pray for us will be cited, as if it implies support for praying to those saints, which it doesn’t. You have to be careful to consistently maintain such distinctions. Otherwise, your thinking about these issues and the discussions you have about them will go off track.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (5:22–23)
Contrasted with the deeds of the flesh is the fruit of the Spirit. Deeds of the flesh are done by a person’s own efforts, whether he is saved or unsaved. The fruit of the Spirit, on the other hand, is produced by God’s own Spirit and only in the lives of those who belong to Him through faith in Jesus Christ. The spiritual behavior of walking by the Spirit (v. 16) has the negative effect of causing the believer to put away the habitual, ongoing evil deeds of the flesh and positively causes him to bear the good fruit produced by the Spirit. The first contrast between the deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit is that the products of the flesh are plural, whereas the product of the Spirit is singular. Although Paul does not mention the truth here, there is also a contrast between the degrees to which the deeds and the fruit are produced. A given person may habitually practice only one or two, or perhaps a half dozen, of the sins Paul mentions here. But it would be practically impossible for one person to be habitually active in all of them. The fruit of the Spirit, on the other hand, is always produced completely in every believer, no matter how faintly evidenced its various manifestations may be. The Bible has much to say about fruit, which is mentioned some 106 times in the Old Testament and 70 times in the New. Even under the covenant of law, a believer produced good fruit only by God’s power, not his own. “From Me comes your fruit,” the Lord declared to ancient Israel (Hos. 14:8). In the New Testament such things as praise of the Lord (Heb. 13:15), winning converts to Christ (1 Cor. 16:15), and godly work in general (Col. 1:10) are spoken of as spiritual fruit produced through believers. But such action fruit must come from attitude fruit, and that is the kind of fruit Paul focuses on in Galatians 5:22–23. If those attitudes are characteristic of a believer’s life, the fruit of active good works will inevitably follow. The Spirit never fails to produce some fruit in a believer’s life, but the Lord desires “much fruit” (John 15:8). As an unredeemed person, possessing only a fallen, sinful nature will inevitably manifest that nature in “the deeds of the flesh” (v. 19), so a believer, possessing a redeemed new nature will inevitably manifest that new nature in the fruit of the Spirit. But it is always possible for the believer to bear and manifest more fruit if he is receptive to the Spirit. The Spirit’s provision of fruit might be compared to a man standing on a ladder in an orchard, picking the fruit and dropping it into a basket held by a helper below. No matter how much fruit is picked and dropped, the helper will not receive any unless he is standing under the ladder with his basket ready. The fruit of the Spirit is the outward indicator of salvation. A believer’s sonship to God and citizenship in His kingdom (cf. v. 21) are manifested by the fruit the Spirit produces in his life. “You will know [men] by their fruits,” Jesus said. “Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit” (Matt. 7:16–18). In verses 22–23 Paul lists nine representative characteristics of the godly fruit produced by the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life. Although many attempts have been made to categorize these nine virtues in various groupings, most such schemes seem artificial and irrelevant. Whether or not satisfactory classifications of them can be made, it is important to remember that these are multiple characteristics of but one fruit and are therefore inextricably related to one another. They are not produced nor can they be manifested in isolation from each other. Rather paradoxically, all of the nine manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit are also commanded of believers in the New Testament. Also in every case, Jesus can be seen to be the supreme example and the Holy Spirit to be the source. Love. The first characteristic of spiritual fruit is love, the supreme virtue of Christian living (1 Cor. 13:13). Some commentators insist that in this context love is a synonym for fruit and therefore encompasses the other characteristics in the list. In any case, love is clearly dominant. As Paul has just declared, “the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ ” (Gal. 5:14; cf. Rom. 13:10). Agapē love is the form of love that most reflects personal choice, referring not simply to pleasant emotions or good feelings but to willing, self-giving service. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). In the same way, the most extreme sacrificial choice a loving person can make is to “lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). The apostle John expresses those two truths together in his first letter: “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). But love is tested long before it is called on to offer that supreme sacrifice. As John goes on to say, “Whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (v. 17). A person who thinks his love is great enough to sacrifice his life for fellow believers but who fails to help them when they have less extreme needs is simply fooling himself. True agapē love is a sure mark of salvation. “We know that we have passed out of death into life,” John says, “because we love the brethren.… Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (1 John 3:14; 4:7). By the same token, as John repeatedly makes clear throughout the same letter, having a habitually unloving spirit toward fellow Christians is reason for a person to question his salvation (see e.g., 2:9, 11; 3:15; 4:8, 20). Jesus Christ is the supreme example of this supreme virtue. It was not only the Father’s love but also His own love that led Jesus to lay down His life for us, demonstrating with His own self-sacrifice the love that gives its life for its friends. And before He made the ultimate sacrifice, He demonstrated the same self-giving love in many lesser ways. As Jesus saw Mary and the others weeping because of Lazarus’s death, He, too, wept (John 11:33–35). He did not grieve for the fact that Lazarus had died, because He purposely delayed coming to Bethany until His dear friend was dead, in order to demonstrate His power to raise him from the grave. Jesus wept because of the great evil, destruction, and human misery caused by sin, whose final wages is always death (Rom. 6:23). For believers, love is not an option but a command. “Walk in love,” Paul declared, “just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (Eph. 5:2). Yet the command cannot be fulfilled apart from the Holy Spirit, the source of this and all the other manifestations of spiritual fruit. “The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us,” Paul explained to Roman believers (Rom. 5:5), and it was for such “love in the Spirit” that he gave thanks for the believers in Colossae (Col. 1:8). Joy. The second manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit is joy. Chara (joy) is used some 70 times in the New Testament, always to signify a feeling of happiness that is based on spiritual realities. Joy is the deep-down sense of well-being that abides in the heart of the person who knows all is well between himself and the Lord. It is not an experience that comes from favorable circumstances or even a human emotion that is divinely stimulated. It is God’s gift to believers. As Nehemiah declared, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). Joy is a part of God’s own nature and Spirit that He manifests in His children. Speaking of how we feel about the Lord Jesus Christ, Peter wrote, “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Pet. 1:8). Joy is the inevitable overflow of receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and of the believer’s knowing His continuing presence. Joy not only does not come from favorable human circumstances but is sometimes greatest when those circumstances are the most painful and severe. Shortly before His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned to joy” (John 16:20). To illustrate that truth Jesus compared divine joy to a woman in childbirth. “She has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she remembers the anguish no more, for joy that a child has been born into the world. Therefore you too now have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one takes your joy away from you” (vv. 21–22). God’s joy is full, complete in every way. Nothing human or circumstantial can add to it or detract from it. But it is not fulfilled in a believer’s life except through reliance on and obedience to the Lord. “Ask, and you will receive,” Jesus went on to explain, “that your joy may be made full” (John 16:24). One of John’s motivations in writing his first epistle was that his joy might “be made complete” (1 John 1:4). Jesus Himself is again our supreme example. He was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3; cf. Luke 18:31–33), but, just as He had promised for His disciples, His sorrow was turned into joy. “For the joy set before Him [He] endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). Despite the misunderstanding, the rejection, the hatred, and the pain He endured from men while incarnate among them, the Lord never lost His joy in the relationship He had with His Father. And that joy He gives to each of His followers. Although joy is a gift of God through His Spirit to those who belong to Christ, it is also commanded of them. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” Paul commands (Phil. 4:4; cf. 3:1). Because joy comes as a gift from Him, the command obviously is not for believers to manufacture or try to imitate it. The command is to gratefully accept and revel in this great blessing they already possess. “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). Peace. If joy speaks of the exhilaration of heart that comes from being right with God, then peace (eirēnē) refers to the tranquility of mind that comes from that saving relationship. The verb form has to do with binding together and is reflected in the modern expression “having it all together.” Everything is in place and as it ought to be. Like joy, peace has no relationship to circumstances. Christians know “that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). Because God is in control of all aspects of a believer’s life, how his circumstances may appear from a human perspective makes no ultimate difference. That is why Jesus could say without qualification to those who trust in Him, “Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:1). There is absolutely no reason for a believer to be anxious or afraid. Jesus was the Prince of Peace, both in the sense that He was supremely peaceful Himself and in the sense that He dispenses His peace to those who are His. Even when He confronted Satan face-to-face in the wilderness, Jesus had perfect peace, knowing His heavenly Father was continually with Him and would supply His every need (Matt. 4:1–11). It is His own peace that He bequeaths to His disciples: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you” (John 14:27). “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things,” Paul said; “and the God of peace shall be with you” (Phil. 4:9). Because they have the God of peace in their hearts, believers need “be anxious for nothing,” having “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, [to] guard [their] hearts and [their] minds in Christ Jesus” (vv. 6–7). Patience. Makrothumia (patience) has to do with tolerance and longsuffering that endure injuries inflicted by others, the calm willingness to accept situations that are irritating or painful. God Himself is “slow to anger” (Ps. 86:15) and expects His children to be the same. Just as believers should never “think lightly of the riches of [God’s own] kindness and forbearance and patience” (Rom. 2:4), they should themselves manifest those attributes of their heavenly Father. In the last days, arrogant unbelievers will taunt Christians by asking, “Where is the promise of [Christ’s] coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation” (2 Pet. 3:4). In their sin-darkened minds unbelievers will fail to see that, just as in the days of Noah, when God patiently delayed the Flood in order to give men more time to repent (1 Pet. 3:20), it is also because of His merciful patience that He forestalls Christ’s second coming and the accompanying judgment on unbelievers, “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). Paul confessed that, as the foremost of sinners, he found mercy in God’s sight “in order that in [him] as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Tim. 1:15–16). Believers are commanded to emulate their Lord’s patience. “As those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved,” they are to “put on a heart of … patience” (Col. 3:12), especially with fellow believers, “showing forbearance to one another in love” (Eph. 4:2). Like Timothy, all Christian teachers and leaders are to minister “with great patience” (2 Tim. 4:2). Kindness. Chrēstotēs (kindness) relates to tender concern for others. It has nothing to do with weakness or lack of conviction but is the genuine desire of a believer to treat others gently, just as the Lord treats him. Paul reminded the Thessalonians that, even though he was an apostle, he “proved to be gentle among [them], as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children” (1 Thess. 2:6–7). Jesus’ kindness is the believer’s example. When “some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them, … Jesus said, ‘Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these’ ” (Matt. 19:13–14). On another occasion He said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:28–29). Just as their Lord is kind, His servants are commanded not to “be quarrelsome, but [to] be kind to all” (2 Tim. 2:24). And just as He does with all the other manifestations of His divine fruit, the Holy Spirit gives God’s children kindness (2 Cor. 6:6). Goodness. Agathos (goodness) has to do with moral and spiritual excellence that is known by its sweetness and active kindness. Paul helped define this virtue when he observed that “one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die” (Rom. 5:7). A Christian can be morally upright but still not manifest the grace of goodness. He may be admired and respected for his high moral standards and might even have a friend who would risk his life for him. But the upright person who also has goodness is much more likely to have self-sacrificing friends. Joseph was such a righteous and good man. When he learned that Mary was pregnant but did not yet know it was by the Holy Spirit, “being a righteous man” he could not bring himself to marry her, assuming she had been unfaithful. But being also a good man, he could not bear the thought of disgracing his beloved Mary and therefore “desired to put her away secretly” (Matt. 1:19). David had a deep understanding of God’s goodness, as he repeatedly reveals in his psalms. “Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever,” he rejoiced (Ps. 23:6). He confessed that he would, in fact, “have despaired unless [he] had believed that [he] would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Ps. 27:13). As with every grace the Spirit provides, believers are commanded to exemplify goodness. Later in the letter Paul exhorts, “While we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal. 6:10). “To this end also we pray for you always,” he wrote to the Thessalonians, “that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the word of faith with power” (2 Thess. 1:11). Faithfulness. Pistis (faithfulness) is the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit that pertains to loyalty and trustworthiness. Jeremiah declared that “the Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22). Because Jesus was faithful, He “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” And because of the Son’s faithfulness, the Father “highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name” (Phil. 2:7–9). And as He was faithful when He came to earth the first time, He will be faithful to come again “in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). “Faithful is He who calls you,” Paul said, “and He also will bring it to pass” (1 Thess. 5:24). In his great vision on Patmos, John saw Christ seated on “a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True” (Rev. 19:11). The “servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God” are to be like their Lord in being “found trustworthy” (1 Cor. 4:1–2). “Be faithful unto death,” the Lord assures His followers, “and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). Gentleness. Prautēs includes the idea of gentleness, but is usually better translated meekness. In his helpful volume Synonyms of the New Testament, R. C. Trench writes that prautēs does not consist in a person’s “outward behaviour only; nor yet in his relations to his fellow-men; as little in his mere natural disposition. Rather it is an inwrought grace of the soul; and the exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God. It is that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting” (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1953). It is that humble and gentle attitude that is patiently submissive in every offense, while being free of any desire for revenge or retribution. Of the nine characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit, this one and the one following do not apply to God as God. The Old Testament never refers to God as being meek, and in the New Testament only the Son is spoken of as meek, and that only in His incarnation. In the New Testament prautēs is used to describe three attitudes: submissiveness to the will of God (Col. 3:12), teachableness (James 1:21), and consideration of others (Eph. 4:2). Although He was God, while He lived on earth as the Son of Man, Jesus was “gentle [prautēs] and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29; cf. 21:5; 2 Cor. 10:1). Like their Lord, believers are to actively pursue meekness and gentleness (1 Tim. 6:11) and to wear them like a garment (Col. 3:12). Self-control. Enkrateia (self-control) has reference to restraining passions and appetites. As with meekness, however, this grace does not apply to God, who obviously does not need to restrain Himself. “For I, the Lord, do not change,” He informs us (Mal. 3:6). In His eternal being, the Lord “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever” (Heb. 13:8). Perfect holiness possesses perfect control. But in His incarnation Christ was the epitome of self-control. He was never tempted or tricked into doing or saying anything that was not consistent with His Father’s will and His own divine nature. Again like Jesus, believers should “exercise self-control in all things” (1 Cor. 9:25; cf. 7:9), “applying all diligence, in [their] faith [to] supply … self-control” (2 Pet. 1:5–6). Against such things there is no law, Paul says. Even unbelievers do not make laws against such things as those which the fruit of the Spirit produces. The world does not make laws against such behavior, but generally prizes it. Even if some consider such things to be signs of weakness, they cannot escape recognizing that they are never harmful. There is certainly no law of God against such things, because those are the very virtues He wants all men to have and that He gives to them when they put their trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing,” Peter explains in regard to a similar list of virtues, “they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:8). The believer who walks in the Spirit and manifests His fruit does not need a system of law to produce the right attitudes and behavior—they rise from within him.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1983). Galatians (pp. 163–170). Moody Press.
22 It is appropriate that “love” (agapē) should head the list of the Spirit’s fruit—every Christian feels this—for “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and, therefore, the greatest of these is love (1 Cor 13:13). In biblical texts it is the association of agape with God that gives the word its distinctive character. Divine love is unmerited (Rom 5:8), great (Eph 2:4), transforming (Rom 5:5), and unchangeable (Rom 8:35–39). It is this love that sent Christ to die for sinful men and that perseveres with men in spite of their willfulness and love of sin. Now because the Spirit of Christ (who is characterized by love) is living within the Christian, the believer is to show love both to other Christians and to the world. By this, men are to know that Christians are indeed Christ’s disciples John 13:35). “Joy” (chara) is the virtue in the Christian life corresponding to happiness in the secular world. On the surface they seem related. But happiness depends on circumstances, whereas joy does not. In the NT a form of the word “joy” becomes a typical—and the most popular—Christian greeting (Matt 28:9; Luke 1:28; Acts 15:23; 2 Cor 13:11; James 1:2). Joy is particularly full when what was lost spiritually is found (Luke 15:6, 7, 9, 10, 32). The second of the two most popular Christian greetings is “peace” (eirēnē). It is roughly the equivalent of the Hebrew shalom. But, though it is related to this word, it also means more. Above all, peace is God’s gift to man, achieved by him at the cross of Christ. It is peace with God (Rom 5:1) and is to express itself both in peace of mind (Philippians 4:6, 7) and in a very practical peace between all those who know God. This latter peace should be seen, as Barclay notes: in the home (1 Cor 7:12–16), between Jew and Gentile (Eph 2:14–17), within the church (Eph 4:3; Col 3:15), and indeed in the relationships of the believer with all men (Heb 12:14). Moreover, Christians are to strive for it (1 Peter 3:11). The importance of this word is evident from its frequent and extensive occurrence in the NT—eighty times and in every book. “Patience” (makrothumia) is the quality of putting up with others, even when one is severely tried. The importance of patience is evidenced by its being most often used of the character of God, as in the great text from Joel: “Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil” (2:13, RSV). “Kindness” (chrēstotēs) is the divine kindness out of which God acts toward men. It is what the OT means when it declares that “God is good,” as it so frequently does. The Christian is to show kindness by behaving toward others as God has behaved toward him. “Goodness” (agathōsunē) is hard to define, just as in English. However, though it is related to “kindness” (above), it differs from it in being a more active term and being often directed toward that which does not merit the action. The primary idea seems to be generosity that springs from kindness. The last three virtues are concerned with the Christian man primarily as he is to be in himself, though these virtues naturally affect others also. He is to be characterized by “faithfulness” (pistis). This word also means faith, as KJV translates it here, but in this list it undoubtedly means that which makes a person one on whom others can rely—trustworthiness or reliability. It is the word by which a faithful servant is described (Luke 16:10–12), including servants of the gospel and of Christ (1 Tim 1:12; 2 Tim 2:2). It describes the character of a person who will die for his confession of Christ (Rev. 2:10; 3:14). It goes without saying that it is also descriptive of the character of Christ, the faithful witness (Rev 1:5), and of God the Father, who always acts faithfully toward his people (1 Cor 1:9; 10:13; 1 Thess 5:24; 2 Thess 3:3).
23 “Gentleness” (prautēs) describes the person who is so much in control of himself that he is always angry at the right time and never angry at the wrong time (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, IV, 5, 1–4), just like Moses, who is praised for being the gentlest or meekest among his contemporaries (Num 12:3). This is the spirit in which to learn (James 1:21) and in which discipline must be applied and faults corrected (Gal 6:1). It is also the virtue for meeting opposition (2 Tim 2:25) and giving a Christian witness (1 Peter 3:15, 16). “Self-control” (enkrateia) is the quality that gives victory over fleshly desires and which is therefore closely related to chastity both in mind and conduct. As Barclay says (in loc.), “Enkrateia is that great quality which comes to a man when Christ is in his heart, that quality which makes him able to live and to walk in the world, and yet to keep his garments unspotted from the world.” These are the qualities of the life that has been claimed by Jesus Christ and is Spirit-led. “Against such things there is no law” (v. 23b). The last clause is most likely an understatement used for rhetorical effect. The law, as Paul has said, was given to restrain evil; but these qualities do not need to be restrained. Hence, no law opposes them. There may also be a sense, however, in which Paul is suggesting that the law cannot be against such as live in this manner because of the very fact that by being so led they are in principle fulfilling all that the law requires.
Boice, J. M. (1976). Galatians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Romans through Galatians (Vol. 10, pp. 498–499). Zondervan Publishing House.
The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto. Deuteronomy 28:8
If we obey the Lord our God He will bless that which He gives us. Riches are no curse when blessed of the Lord. When men have more than they require for their immediate need and begin to lay up in storehouses, the dry rot of covetousness or the blight of hard-heartedness is apt to follow the accumulation; but with God’s blessing it is not so. Prudence arranges the saving, liberality directs the spending, gratitude maintains consecration, and praise sweetens enjoyment. It is a great mercy to have God’s blessing in one’s iron safe and on one’s banking account.
What a favor is made ours by the last clause! “The Lord shall bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand unto.” We would not put our hand to anything upon which we dare not ask God’s blessing, neither would we go about it without prayer and faith. But what a privilege to be able to look for the Lord’s help in every enterprise! Some talk of a lucky man: the blessing of the Lord is better than luck. The patronage of the great is nothing to the favor of God. Self-reliance is all very well; but the Lord’s blessing is infinitely more than all the fruit of talent, genius, or tact.
A clear, simple, and wonderful explanation of the Gospel. Eternity can come for you at any moment. Are you ready? Poetry by Kay Cude
The Night of Golgotha, 1869, Vasily Vereshchagin
Are You Known? Did Christ see your face from the Cross at Golgotha? There your sin was laid upon Him and remains your effective condemnation if you have rejected Him. Me la The Son of God. He is Messiah. He is The Only Acceptable Sacrifice, blameless and without sin. He is the The Ransom of The Lord God Almighty provided for the forgiveness of your sin.
Understand, there is nothing unfamiliar to Him about your face. He has known your name from before eternity past. Before He created all living things before He laid the foundatione of the heavens and the earth, before the birth, life and death of centuries of your parental ancestors; before kings and kingdoms rose and fell, HE determined to die in your appointed place of condemnation to reconcile you to God
He knew every life choice you would make, every word you would speak, and every heart-decision you would put into physical action. This All-Knowing Christ Jesus, this Saviour-Redeemer, is God The Son, and He has forever known who you are. But, are you one who has never known Him?
I AM The Resurrection and The Life, he who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. DO YOU! believe this?” John 11:25-26
What will YOU do with Jesus?
Therefore I say unto you that you will die in your sins, unless you believe that I AM HE you will die in your sins.” John 8:24
“For there is One God, and One Mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. who gave Himself as a Ransom for all, The Testimony given at the Proper Time.” 1 Timothy 2:5-6
ART- THE NIGHT OF GOLGOTHA Vailly Vosbchagin, 2000. Original in Trstyskor Gallery, Mincow, Rassis: http://www.styskorgallery.ru/) -Text addition by author Kay Cude
Christ is made the sure foundation, Christ the head and cornerstone; Chosen of the Lord, and precious, Binding all the Church in one, Holy Zion’s help forever, And her confidence alone.
All that dedicated city, Dearly loved of God on high, In exultant jubilation, Pours perpetual melody, God the One in Three adoring In glad hymns eternally.
To this temple, where we call Thee, Come, O Lord of Hosts, today; With Thy wonted lovingkindness Hear Thy servants as they pray. And Thy fullest benediction Shed within its walls alway.
Here vouchsafe to all Thy servants What they ask of Thee to gain; What they gain from Thee forever With the blessèd to retain, And hereafter in Thy glory Evermore with Thee to reign.
Laud and honor to the Father, Laud and honor to the Son, Laud and honor to the Spirit, Ever Three and ever One; Consubstantial, co-eternal, While unending ages run.
Jesus and the Angels – Pastor Patrick Hines Sermon
[Hebrews 1:5-9 NASB20] 5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, “YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE FATHERED YOU”? And again, “I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE WILL BE A SON TO ME”? 6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.” 7 And regarding the angels He says, “HE MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS, AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.” 8 But regarding the Son [He says,] “YOUR THRONE, GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE SCEPTER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM. 9 “YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS; THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL OF JOY ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS.”
A Morning Prayer link from the Syrian Clementine Liturgy link
O God, Who are the unsearchable abyss of peace, the ineffable sea of love, the fountain of blessings, and the bestower of affection, Who sends peace to those that receive it; open to us this day the sea of Your love, and water us with the plenteous streams from the riches of Your grace. Make us children of quietness, and heirs of peace. Kindle in us the fire of Your love; sow in us Your fear; strengthen our weakness by Your power; bind us closely to You and to each other in one firm bond of unity; for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen
Steer the ship of my life, good Lord, to your quiet harbour, where I can be safe from the storms of sin and conflict. Show me the course I should take. Renew in me the gift of discernment, so that I can always see the right direction in which I should go. And give me the strength and the courage to choose the right course, even when the sea is rough and the waves are high, knowing that through enduring hardship and danger in your name we shall find comfort and peace. Amen
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, Forever and ever. Amen.
Through the dark hours of this night protect and surround us, Father, Son and Spirit, Three. Forgive the ill that we have done. Forgive the pride that we have shown. Forgive the words that have caused harm that we might sleep peaceably, and rise refreshed to do your will. Through the dark hours of this night protect and surround us, Father, Son and Spirit, Three Amen
Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (6:34–40)
The crowd’s second request (cf. vv. 30–31) again reveals their spiritual blindness. Completely missing Jesus’ point in verses 32 and 33, they eagerly said to Him, “Lord, always give us this (physical) bread.” Their continuing desire to use Jesus for their physical needs is evident from this demand and a clear indication of their superficial interest. It still marks the shallow, temporary followers of Jesus who fill churches looking for their needs and desires to be met. There are always churches that accommodate them. Today they are often the places that draw the largest crowds, but have the lowest percentage of true believers. Having first insisted that He prove Himself, they now insisted that He give them what they wanted. Kurios (Lord) would be better understood as their way to say, “Sir” (as it is in 4:11, 15, 19, 49; 5:7; 12:21; 20:15; Matt. 13:27; 21:30; 27:63; Luke 13:8), since it is clear from verse 36 that the crowd did not truly believe in Jesus. They were still focused on having their physical needs met (cf. 4:15), as with the provision of manna (Ex. 16:35). In their obtuseness, they exhibited the fact that “a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor. 2:14). Their dullness and lack of understanding prompted Jesus to declare unambiguously to them, “I am the bread of life.” The Lord had not been referring to actual bread, as they mistakenly thought, but to Himself; He is the very bread He earlier promised to give (v. 27). No bread, not even manna, or the fish and bread Jesus had just created the evening before (6:1–13), could permanently cure physical hunger. Thus, when the Lord declared that those who come to Him will never again hunger or thirst, He had to be speaking not of the body, but of the soul. Here, as in Matthew 5:6, the human need to know God is expressed metaphorically as hungering and thirsting (cf. Pss. 42:1–2; 63:1). Two simple verbs in verse 35 define man’s part in the salvation process: comes and believes. To come to Christ is to forsake the old life of sin and rebellion and submit to Him as Lord. Though John does not use the term “repentance” in his gospel, the concept is clearly implied in the idea of coming to Christ (cf. 1 Thess. 1:9). As Charles Spurgeon put it, “You and your sins must separate, or you and your God will never come together” (“Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 21 [Pasadena, Tex.: Pilgrim, 1980], 88). To believe in Christ is to trust completely in Him as the Messiah and Son of God, and to acknowledge that salvation comes solely through faith in Him (14:6; Acts 4:12). Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin; to repent is to turn from sin, and to believe is to turn to the Savior. They are inseparable. This is the first of seven highly significant statements in John’s gospel where “I am” is joined with metaphors expressing Christ’s work as Savior. In addition to the bread of life, Jesus also used “I am” to describe Himself as “the Light of the world” (8:12), “the door of the sheep” (10:7, 9), “the good shepherd” (10:11, 14), “the resurrection and the life” (11:25), “the way, and the truth, and the life” (14:6), and “the true vine” (15:1, 5). Jesus also used egō eimi (“I am”) in an absolute, unqualified sense (4:26; 8:24, 28, 58; 13:19; 18:5–8) to appropriate for Himself the Old Testament name of God (Ex. 3:14). Having declared that He was the Bread of Life, Jesus rebuked His hearers for their unbelief (note the similar rebuke of the Judeans in 5:38–40), adding the indictment, “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.” The specific rebuke to which Jesus was referring (when He said this to them in the past) is not known, but clearly their unbelief was in the face of His self-revelation, so their rejection was inexcusable. Alla (but) indicates a sharp contrast between the crowd’s actual response and the one Jesus desired (cf. Matt. 23:37). Although they had seen Him, they failed to grasp the significance of His miracles, and missed the point of His teaching. As was the case with their forefathers in the wilderness, “The word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard” (Heb. 4:2). The miracles they had seen merely whetted their appetite for more miracles; they were intrigued by what Jesus could do to ease the difficulties of life, but they were not willing to believe in Him as their Messiah and Lord. In spite of the crowd’s response, Jesus was not discouraged. His confidence in the success of His mission was firmly rooted in the omnipotent sovereignty of God. He knew that all those whom the Father gives to Him (cf. v. 39; 10:29; 17:2, 6, 9, 24) will come to Him. The neuter singular form of pas (all) views those whom God gives to Jesus as a collective body, those chosen in Him before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). This profound reality teaches us that all who are saved are a love gift from the Father to the Son. The whole history of redemption is the gathering of this redeemed body—or the calling of a bride for the Son as a love gift from the Father. The Son views every soul given by the Father to Him as an expression of the Father’s irresistible love, so that all whom He gives will come to Christ. From the standpoint of human responsibility, “God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent” (Acts 17:30; cf. Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Mark 6:12), and “whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:13; cf. John 3:15–16). Yet salvation does not depend on the human will. The redeemed are those “who were born, not … of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). Salvation “does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Rom. 9:16). Both repentance (Acts 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:25) and faith (Eph. 2:8–9; Phil. 1:29; cf. Acts 16:14) are granted by God. Otherwise no one would ever come to Him, since “there is none who seeks for God” (Rom. 3:11; cf. 8:7–8; 1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:1–3). That God is absolutely sovereign in salvation is foundational to the Christian faith. Those errant theological systems (i.e., Pelagianism, semi-Pelagianism, and Arminianism) that make salvation dependent on man’s will in effect dethrone God, and are contrary to the clear statements of Scripture:
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. (v. 44)
And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” (v. 65)
For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matt. 22:14)
Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. (Mark 13:20)
When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. (Acts 13:48)
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. (Rom. 8:28–30)
Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. (Eph. 1:4)
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Col. 3:12)
Knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you. (1 Thess. 1:4)
But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. (2 Thess. 2:13)
Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. (2 Tim. 1:9)
For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. (2 Tim. 2:10)
Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness. (Titus 1:1)
Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? (James 2:5)
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. (1 Peter 1:1–2)
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)
The unbelief of spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1) sinners cannot thwart the saving work of God. Having chosen them in eternity past, He graciously and irresistibly calls them to Himself. Lest any seeking souls should fear that they might not be among the elect, Jesus described the one whom the Father gave to the Son as none other than the one who comes to Me. From God’s view, we are given by His sovereign power to the Son. From our view, we come to Christ. And, of course, our Lord would never reject one who comes as a love gift from the Father. So Jesus added, I will certainly not cast that one out. The strong double negative ou mē states emphatically that Christ will not reject anyone who sincerely and submissively comes to Him. True saving faith can never be exercised in vain, but only at the prompting of the Father (v. 44). Here again is the incomprehensible (to the human mind) interplay between divine sovereignty and human responsibility: only those given to the Son by the Father will come to Him, yet all who are “thirsty [may] come” and anyone “who wishes [may] take the water of life without cost” (Rev. 22:17). Though they seem impossible to harmonize, there is no conflict between those two truths in the infinite mind of God (Deut. 29:29). (God’s sovereignty in salvation does not negate the believer’s responsibility to evangelize the lost—Matt. 24:14; 26:13; 28:19; Mark 13:10; cf. Acts 8:25, 40; 14:7, 15, 21; 16:10; Rom. 1:15; 15:19–20; 1 Cor. 1:17; 9:16, 18; 15:1; 2 Cor. 10:16; 11:7; Gal. 1:8–9, 11; 2:2; Phil. 4:15; 1 Peter 1:12). Certainly, the Son would never reject any part of the Father’s gift to Him. Such disunity within the Trinity is utterly inconceivable, as Jesus’ next statement, “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me,” made clear. The Lord came to earth for one purpose: to perfectly obey the will of the Father who sent Him. To the disciples Jesus declared, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work” (4:34). Later He added, “I can do nothing on My own initiative … because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (5:30; cf. Matt. 26:39). “So that the world may know that I love the Father,” He affirmed in 14:31, “I do exactly as the Father commanded Me.” In His High Priestly Prayer Jesus said to the Father, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do” (17:4). The reality that Jesus came to do the will of the Father who sent Him (vv. 39–40) guarantees the salvation of the elect and their eternal security. It is the Father’s will that of all that He has given to the Son, the Son should lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. As in verse 37, the neuter form of the pronoun pas (all) views the elect as a collective unit. No part of that group, which the Father assigned to Christ in eternity past and gives to Him in time, will be lost; the fourfold promise that the Son will raise it up intact on the last day (40, 44, 54) constitutes an ironclad guarantee of eternal salvation to all true believers. Jesus reiterated that truth in the strongest terms when He declared in John 10:27–30,
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
In His High Priestly Prayer He said to the Father, “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition [Judas Iscariot, who was not one of those given to Christ by the Father; cf. 6:64, 70–71], so that the Scripture would be fulfilled” (17:12). The rest of the New Testament echoes the Lord’s teaching regarding the perseverance and protection of the saints. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:29–30,
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
The repeated phrase “He also” links the entire salvation process from eternity past to eternity future in an unbreakable chain. All whom God foreknew will be predestined, called, justified, and glorified; no one will be lost along the way (cf. 8:31–39). In Philippians 1:6 Paul expressed his confidence that “He who began a good work in [believers] will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” To the Colossians he wrote, “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory” (Col. 3:3–4). All who are united with Christ in His death will return with Him in glory (cf. Rev. 19:14). In his first epistle Peter wrote that those who are
chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood … [will] obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for [them], [because they] are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:1–2, 4–5)
In the introduction to his epistle Jude described believers as “those who are the called … kept for Jesus Christ” (Jude 1). He concluded his letter with the marvelous benediction, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (vv. 24–25). The blessing of eternal security or the preservation and perseverance of believers is never apart from personal repentance and faith, so our Lord affirms that heaven belongs to everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him. It is they who will have eternal life (vv. 47, 54; 3:15–16, 36; 5:24; 10:28), which by its very nature can never end (3:16; 10:28; Matt. 25:46). That fact further reinforces the protection and security of believers taught in verses 37–39. The eternal life that comes through Jesus, the Bread of Life, should be sought with far more zeal than the physical bread the crowd selfishly sought.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). John 1–11 (pp. 244–251). Moody Press.
“I Am the Bread of Life”
John 6:30–35
So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
In the early years of my ministry, when I was still doing graduate work, I had opportunity to study the Book of Amos in detail. I remember from those studies a passage that gripped me then and that still grips me whenever I remember it. Amos is speaking of a day when God’s judgment will be such that there will be no one to preach true doctrine and when men and women will wander up and down and will not be able to find it. He casts the situation under the image of a famine and says, “ ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign LORD, ‘when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it’ ” (Amos 8:11–12). This is a horrible prophecy. But in some ways it is even more horrible to have the Lord Jesus Christ, the bread of life, available (as he is today) and yet have men refuse to come to him. Men have great hunger—a hunger for truth, righteousness, peace, joy, spiritual satisfaction, and other things. Jesus is the answer to this hunger. Yet the tragedy is that men will not come to him. Jesus showed the wisdom of coming when he told the people who had followed him to Capernaum in Galilee, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (6:35).
Manipulation
Jesus had been talking to people who had been present on the other side of the Sea of Galilee when he had multiplied the loaves and fish. They were interested in having the miracle repeated. They had been taught by their rabbis that when the Messiah would come he would duplicate the miracle of the giving of manna that had been given originally by Moses. Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah. They could see that. Why, then, should they not expect him to duplicate Moses’ miracle, particularly that aspect of the miracle that had to do with his repeating it six times a week for the entire forty years of desert wandering? The Jewish writings said, “You shall not find the manna in this age, but you shall find it in the age that is coming” (Midrash Mekilta on Exod. 16:25). “For whom has the manna been prepared? For the righteous in the age that is coming” (Midrash Tanchuma, Beshallach 21:66). “What did the first redeemer do? He brought down the manna. The last redeemer will also bring down manna” (Midrash Rabba on Eccles. 1:9). No doubt the people had heard such sayings as these and had them in their minds. But as I study the story of this conversation it seems to me more and more that they were far less desirous of that age of messianic blessing than they were of a successful outcome to their efforts to manipulate Jesus into doing what they wanted. Manipulation! That is the real clue to their questions. Jesus had spoken of the fact that he was God’s gift to men and that God desired men to believe in him. They replied, in effect, that they would not believe unless they received a sign. We find it hard to imagine how they could overlook the sign they already had received. But they were actually saying something like this, “We admit, Jesus, that you did a wonderful thing yesterday. But before we believe in you as the Messiah we want to see a real sign. What you did was interesting, but we are Jews and we cannot forget that when Moses fed the people he did so for forty years. We will believe in you if you can do what Moses did and feed us now.” The Lord Jesus Christ does not stoop to answer this type of arrogant question on the part of sinful men. Thus, he simply overlooked the suggestion and instead directed his remarks to the real, spiritual issue. He said two things about Moses. First, Moses did not give manna. God gave it. It was God’s miracle. Second, the manna that was given was not the true bread from the true heaven. It was only earthly bread from a visible sky. He then turned away from the person of Moses entirely and instead pointed to himself as that true bread which alone satisfies the real hunger of the human soul. “I am the bread of life!” This solemn saying is the first of seven such sayings in John’s Gospel: “I am the bread of life” (6:35); “I am the light of the world” (8:12; 9:5); “I am the gate” (10:7, 9); “I am the good shepherd” (10:11, 14); “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25); “I am the way and the truth and the life” (14:6); “I am the true vine” (15:1, 5). So we take this first saying, spoken in this significant context, and we look at it for what it teaches about Christ and our condition.
The Message
It is obvious that when the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of himself as the bread, he was using an image about which everybody knew. So we turn to what people knew about bread for his meaning. What is important about bread? The first answer is that bread is necessary for life. When I was in the process of preparing this chapter I asked the following question at the dining room table one evening as a number of us were gathered around: “What makes bread important?” This was the answer I received: “Bread is necessary for life.” What is more, as we talked about it we saw that in Christ’s day bread was even more essential than in our own time, for it was the only staple in most persons’ diets. Without bread, men died. If you see that, then you also see that Jesus was claiming to be the One whom men and women could not do without. Are you trying to do without him? Are you going your way saying, “I’ll take care of myself. I can get by. I live in an affluent age. I have a house, a car, plenty to eat, a good job, a wife, a family. I don’t need Jesus”? What if everything in this entire life should go well for you, but you should lose your soul? Would that be a gain? Would you consider it a good bargain to do without Jesus forever? You cannot do without him. You can manage after a fashion, for a time, but you cannot survive. In another of the “I am” sayings Jesus declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (14:6). He is the life. You will remain dead spiritually without him. Second, bread is suited for everyone. Not everyone can eat everything. Some people can never eat sweets. Others cannot eat shellfish. Some cannot eat certain kinds of meat. The nursery rhyme says, “Jack Sprat could eat no fat; his wife could eat no lean.” But bread is suited for everyone. In the same way, the Lord Jesus Christ is perfectly suited to the needs of all men. Sometimes people tell me, “Jesus may be all right for the kinds of people you talk to, but he is not for me.” That is not at all uncommon. If a person is of more than average intelligence, he tends to think that Christ is only for the dull. If he is dull, he thinks that Christ is only for the intelligent. If he is sophisticated, he thinks that Jesus is only for the common people, and so on. But Jesus is for all. He is for you. He is the Savior of the world, and that includes the peasant as well as the king on his throne. Jesus Christ is great enough and glorious enough so that you will never exhaust him either in this life or in eternity. He has what you need. What is more, he knows you and he knows how to meet that need.
Our Daily Bread
Third, bread should be eaten daily. This brings us into a whole new area, the area of the Christian life. Everything before this has had to do with trusting Christ initially. But when a person trusts Christ as Savior this is hardly the end. Actually, it is the beginning, for it brings him into a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in which he is to grow by feeding upon him day by day. This point puts us in mind of that phrase in the Lord’s Prayer that says, “Give us today our daily bread.” There is a great emphasis upon the words “today” or “daily” in this prayer simply because by means of them the idea of a repeated fulfillment of a request occurs twice. The Lord’s Prayer has only sixty-five words (seventy-two in Greek). So anything that is repeated twice is important. But why is it important? For many years commentators on this prayer simply did not know the exact meaning of the Greek word that is translated “daily,” for this is the only place where it occurs. They had a rough idea. The word is translated in our Bibles. Still, no one could be quite certain what precise shade of meaning to give to it. In fairly recent times, however, scholars have discovered a piece of Egyptian papyrus that seems to contain most of this word. It is part of an account book and contains the reading: “_ obol for epious—.” The writing breaks off at this point. But the word epious seems to be the Greek word epiousios (daily) minus the last three letters. The reference seems to be to something like a daily ration. Interestingly enough, this meaning now seems to be supported by a seemingly parallel inscription in Latin found at Pompeii. This, too, is a list of expenditures, and it contains the phrase “five assess for diaria” (a term based on the Latin word for “day”). Since both these phrases seem to be part of lists itemizing what we would call a day’s supply of something for a person or group of persons, it seems right to take both words in the same sense and refer them to rations. Put these two texts together—“Give us today our daily bread” and “I am the bread of life”—and think of the truths that emerge from them. One truth is that God cares for our bodies. The Lord’s Prayer is certainly speaking of this. Unfortunately, there always have been some in the Christian church who have tried to minimize the importance of the body on the mistaken conviction that by doing so they were somehow becoming more spiritual. But that is not right. Christianity is the only religion in the world that takes the body with full seriousness. It teaches that God gave the body as well as the soul, and that a redemption of the body as well as a redemption of the soul is part of the divine plan. Therefore, it is right to pray for this world’s needs, for food, homes, clothing, and other necessities. We have an illustration of the Lord’s concern for physical needs in the fact that he fed the multitude. On the other hand, there is also the truth that God is able and willing to provide for our spiritual needs, and this is far more important. We have spiritual needs as well as physical needs, though in our fallen state we may not be so conscious of them. Will we allow Jesus to satisfy those needs also? All we need to do is come to him, and come daily. Tragically, many Christians allow the love of things to intrude between themselves and Jesus and, therefore, go on being spiritually hungry. In the Old Testament we are told that this happened repeatedly with the people of Israel. We are told that they desired things instead of God. Therefore, God gave them “things” but “sent a wasting disease upon them” (Ps. 106:15). We do the same thing today. One of our hymns describes us in the terms of God’s description of the Jewish people in Old Testament times—“rich in things, but poor in soul.” Is that your condition? Perhaps you have devoted most of your life to satisfying your hunger for objects, and yet you have never looked to God in order to be fed spiritually. You pray, “Give me my physical needs.” But you have never made a habit of praying, “Give me that spiritual bread that comes down from heaven.” Most of our hungers are all right in themselves, of course, although we often get them out of proportion. They have been put within us by God. We have a valid desire for achievement, happiness, friendship, love, and success. But it is tragic that many Christians attempt to satisfy these hungers in the world’s way while neglecting the truly satisfying task of spending time with God. Fourth, bread also produces growth. We need to grow. The church of Jesus Christ is weak in our age, and it is weak simply because the individuals who compose it are not strong. Where are the great churches of a former age, churches filled with men and women who knew the great doctrines of the faith and were not afraid to trumpet them to a sleeping world? Where are the Augustines, the Luthers, the Calvins, and the Wesleys of our time? I do see some hopeful signs. The fact that some conservative churches are growing is hopeful. The Jesus movement is another hopeful sign. So are the great evangelistic crusades. But we do not have a strong church today. What we have is a weak, anemic Christianity, a lot of easy believism coupled with morality—and I include evangelical churches in that characterization. What is the reason for our sickly Christian postures? Undoubtedly, the reason is our deep failure to feed upon Jesus Christ who alone can make us grow.
The True Bread
Would you like to see such growth—in your church, in you personally? If so, you must feed on Jesus. This means, in the first place, that you must not look to other people as the source of your nourishment. That is what the people who had been talking to Jesus were doing. They were looking to the current teaching of their rabbis and to Moses. They were saying, “We are people of tradition. We look to what has been passed on to us by Moses through history.” Do not look to the past. Do not look to men as the source of your teaching. I know that others can be the channels of good teaching. I am trying to be that myself for many people. But it would be terrible if a person should go away from hearing sound teaching and say, “But Dr. So and So said …” when you should go out declaring, “The Lord Jesus Christ has spoken thus.” There is no power in the name of a human teacher. But there is power in that blessed name of Jesus, that name that is above all earthly names. Before him, every head shall bow and all knees bend. In the second place, we must not look to earthly things for our satisfaction. The people of Christ’s day were doing this. Are you looking only for your earthly needs to be granted? God will satisfy your earthly needs. He has promised to do it. But if that is the whole of your desire, even your major desire, then you are never going to see a great moving of the Holy Spirit of God in your life. We need to get our minds off ourselves and our needs, and we need to focus instead on the Lord Jesus Christ and his glory. And what great glory! What a great Lord! Have you ever thought about all that grain must pass through before it becomes bread? It must first be planted and then grow. When it is ripe it must be cut down, winnowed, ground into flour. Finally, it must be subjected to the fiery heat of the oven. Only by this process does it become able to sustain life. This is what happened to the Lord Jesus Christ in order that he might become your bread. He was born into this world. He was bruised. He was cut down by sinful men. He passed through the fires of God’s holy wrath as he took your place in judgment. This is his glory. He suffered this for you. How, then, can you refuse to feed upon him? Come to him! Draw from his fullness, and grow strong.
Boice, J. M. (2005). The Gospel of John: an expositional commentary (pp. 475–480). Baker Books.
Democrats: Cocky For The Wrong Maine’s shameless Democrat Governor, Janet Mills – and her uncontrollable party – act like they own Maine, are a “force unto themselves,” entitled, unstoppable, unaccountable to anyone. They inflict increasing pain on average Mainers, taking us into a new kind of darkness, personal insecurity, fear among kids and seniors, intolerably high property, sales, and income taxes, health care crisis, infrastructure collapse, and educational outcomes in freefall. They are cocky for The Wrong.
Leading Ukrainian ‘statesman’ and ‘patriot’ assassinated in western Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the “horrific murder” of Andriy Parubiy, 54, a leading figure in Ukraine’s pro-European protest movements who was shot and killed in Lviv on Saturday. A former speaker of parliament, Parubiy also previously served as secretary of the National Security and Defence Council.
Israeli officials ‘optimistic’ that Hamas military spokesman Abu Obaida was eliminated in airstrike Israeli security sources said Saturday that a precision airstrike in Gaza City may have struck Abu Obaida, the longtime spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing. While his death has not been confirmed, officials described the initial assessment as “cautiously optimistic,” suggesting that the outcome of the operation appeared favorable. The Israel Defense Forces, working alongside the Shin Bet security agency, said the strike was directed by Military Intelligence and carried out under the authority of the Southern Command.
‘Dangerous combat zone’ | IDF halts daily humanitarian tactical pauses in Gaza City As part of its preparations to expand combat operations in the Gaza Strip’s central camps and Gaza City, the IDF has decided to cancel the daily humanitarian tactical pauses. The IDF wrote in a statement on Friday that in accordance with the situational assessment and the directives from the political echelon, starting today (Friday), at 10:00, the local tactical pause in military activity will not apply to the area of Gaza City, which constitutes a dangerous combat zone.”
Iran’s looming collapse: Dangers of civil war, regional instability There is a danger that the collapse of the Iranian regime could lead to a vacuum of governance and subsequent civil war, a report released on Wednesday by the Henry Jackson Society. The report comes in light of various setbacks to the Iranian regime: Israel’s targeted strikes in April 2024 and June 2025 resulted in the weakening of its air defense capabilities; Israel’s decapitation of Iran’s proxies Hamas and Hezbollah have detracted from its regional influence; and the overthrow of the regime of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad also resulted in a setback.
Only four Houthi ministers remain alive Reports indicated that among those killed in the Thursday operation were Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi and the Ministers of Economy, Industry and Investment; the Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security; the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Local Administration; and the Deputy Interior Minister. The strike also killed the Houthi Prime Minister’s office director, the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, the Justice Minister Majahad, and the Minister of Youth and Sports. According to additional reports, the Transportation Minister was also killed.
One Man And One Woman: Could We Be Witnessing The Beginning Of The End For Obergefell? Back in 2015, shortly after gay marriage was legalized through the Supreme Court’s decision on Obergefell v. Hodges, then Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis drew a line in the sand. Davis said she could not, as a Christian, issue marriage licenses for same-sex unions, sparking national media attention and outrage in her community. This launched a string of lawsuits filed against Davis left and right, but she refused to comply even after the courts ordered her to, landing her in jail for refusal to abide by federal law. This marks the first time since Obergefell that the Supreme Court will have the opportunity to take up a case challenging its legality.
Chicago mayor says police will not aid federal troops or agents Chicago police will not collaborate with any National Guard troops or federal agents if U.S. President Donald Trump deploys them to the city in coming days as threatened, Mayor Brandon Johnson said on Saturday. The Democratic mayor, surrounded by other city leaders, signed an executive order aimed at preparing Chicago for any U.S. enforcement operation as Trump has done in Los Angeles and Washington, and urged the Republican president to reverse course.
What is 3I/ATLAS? 3I/ATLAS represents the third confirmed interstellar object detected in our solar system, following 1I/’Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. This remarkable celestial visitor was first identified by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey on July 1st 2025, marking another milestone in our understanding of objects originating from beyond our solar system. Unlike its predecessors, 3I/ATLAS exhibits unique characteristics that challenge our current models of interstellar object behavior. Its distinctive spectral signature and unusual trajectory have made it a prime target for intensive astronomical observation and study.
Australia’s Largest Rare Earth Miner Plans US Expansion To Compete With China Australia’s Lynas, the world’s largest rare earths miner outside China, plans to raise A$825mn (US$538mn) to boost stockpiles, expand capacity, and invest in magnet makers in Malaysia and the US, according to the Financial Times. Rare earths are critical for products ranging from weapons systems and electric vehicles to medical devices and bicycles. “We want to be able to participate, either on an operational or a supply or an equity basis in this part of the supply chain,” said Amanda Lacaze, Lynas’s chief executive, during an investor call.
When Washington Gets Out Of The Way – Energy Workers Deliver Results After years of paying too much at the pump and hearing politicians in Washington tell us it was all Putin’s fault, American families are finally getting relief. The reason is simple: our energy workers have an administration that lets them do their jobs. The results are undeniable. This weekend, gas prices are the lowest they’ve been since 2020.
Florida Probe Uncovers Migrant CDL Test Cheating With Hidden Cameras applicants used tiny cameras to transmit test questions outside DMV facilities, where an accomplice provided answers through an earpiece. Police in Jacksonville recently arrested several migrants in the scheme. One man was sentenced to eight months in prison, another was turned over to ICE, and others had cases dismissed after court-ordered conditions. Officials describe the cheating operation as “highly organized” and likely active nationwide. It comes amid a rise in fatal crashes involving non-English-speaking truckers.
From Blacklist To NIH Director: Jay Bhattacharya On Fauci, Bioweapons, And The Collapse Of Free Speech In Science Bhattacharya, long known as one of the fiercest critics of lockdown orthodoxy, has gone from blacklisted dissenter to running the world’s largest biomedical research agency. He carries into his new post a distrust of entrenched power, a skepticism of politicized science, and an insistence that free inquiry—not censorship—must guide American health policy.
Democrats “Are Society Destroyers” “The Democrat Party as an institution – its judges, its lawyers, its community activists, and its politicians – exist to serve these criminal THUGS. We see it here in DC,” Miller contiuned. He added, “We talk to the cops. They say, ‘We’re not allowed to arrest anybody, and when we do arrest somebody, they are immediately bailed out, they are immediately set free, they’re back on the street again.’” “And what do they do? They kill, they attack, they rob, they rape. WHY would we put up with this?” He further urged.
On Ukraine, Ignore What Trump Says – Watch What He Does I continue to believe that it is more important to watch what Donald Trump does rather than focus on what he says. However, his remarks during the meeting of his cabinet earlier this week regarding negotiations to end the war in Ukraine are alarming and merit attention. When asked about Sergei Lavrov’s comment that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not legitimate, Donald Trump dismissed the statement, saying: It doesn’t matter what they say. Everybody’s posturing. It’s all bullshit, okay. Everybody’s posturing. He characterized Lavrov’s remarks – and the broader Kremlin rhetoric on Zelensky’s legitimacy – as meaningless showmanship,
Will NATO Choose War to “Solve” the Ukraine Crisis? There is growing evidence that not only have the peace talks for Ukraine stalled, but NATO has won over Washington to not only continue the war, but to expand it. While Putin has flown off to meet with his two buddies, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un, in China on an unprecedented four day jaunt, NATO, with full US backing, is stepping up its effort to hand the Russian army a major defeat and, following that, introducing NATO troops to “stabilize” Ukraine.
Cross-polar flow and weak polar vortex drive early-season cold anomaly across North America A strong early September cold air intrusion is forecast to affect much of the central and eastern United States from September 3 to 7, 2025, with daytime highs of 15–20°C (59–68°F) and overnight lows of 7–9°C (44–48°F) across the Midwest and Great Lakes, up to 10°C (18°F) below average for this time of year. This development also marks a rapid seasonal transition.
Strong blizzard brings unusually heavy snow to New South Wales, and Victoria, Australia Heavy snowfall affected southeastern Australia on August 29 and 30, 2025, with 82 cm (32 inches) measured at Mount Buller, Victoria, and 40 cm (16 inches) in New South Wales resorts. Strong winds up to 130 km/h (81 mph) caused damage and power outages. The blizzard also hampered the search of double murder accused in Porepunkah, Victoria.
New Zealand: Was Tropical Cyclone Dovi in 2022 a result of weather manipulation? Tropical Cyclone Dovi was a powerful tropical cyclone that impacted the Southern Pacific in February 2022, forming on 4 February and dissipating on 13 February. Perhaps not coincidentally, at the time, the “convoy for freedom” was encamped outside the parliament building in Wellington, vowing to stay there until the Government lifted covid-related mandates. As an anonymously written paper suggests, circumstantial evidence points to weather manipulation techniques being used to steer the cyclone towards Wellington with the aim of dispersing the encamped protestors.
Canada Sprays Cancer-Linked Glyphosate from Helicopters Over Forests and Families Canada is dumping poison from the sky. On August 24th, RAIR Foundation USA filmed three Ontario women who are leading the charge to stop the government’s aerial spraying of glyphosate — better known as Roundup — across forests and communities that families depend on for food, water, and life itself.
Ruins revealed by wildfire boost Galilean site’s claim as New Testament’s Bethsaida …The flames destroyed the team’s equipment, but in the process, they also cleared out the dense vegetation that had long concealed parts of the site. What emerged was evidence that could bolster the archaeologists’ long-held argument that el-Araj is in fact the ancient village of Bethsaida, celebrated in the New Testament as the hometown of St. Peter and a place where Jesus walked and performed miracles.
German Political Parties (Ex-AfD) Sign ‘Fairness Pact’ That Prevents Criticizing Immigration In Cologne’s upcoming local election campaign, all major parties except the Alternative for Germany (AfD) have pledged to speak only positively about immigration and avoid linking it to social problems. The pact commits the signatories not to blame migrants or refugees for unemployment, crime, or security concerns. It also promises an active fight against racism and antisemitism, with compliance monitored by Protestant and Catholic church representatives. Citizens are encouraged to report possible breaches of the agreement by party campaigners or candidates.
Macron’s Palestine Pivot: From Sympathy with Israel To Two-State Champion Emmanuel Macron wrote a strongly-worded open letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that said in part “France will always be a friend of Israel and the Palestinians. I solemnly appeal to you to end the desperate race of a murderous and illegal permanent war in Gaza, and to take the outstretched hand of international partners ready to work towards peace.”
Senator Graham Calls For Disarming Hezbollah By Military Force Hawkish Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has said “it’s time for Hezbollah to go” – and he’s willing to use military force to do it. “They are trained by Iran, they are loyal to Iran, and we’re looking for military power in Lebanon to be loyal to the Lebanese people and a good partner to the region,” Graham, who is the Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, said at a press conference in Tel Aviv.
Rubio Blocks Visas For Palestinian Leaders, Including Abbas, Ahead Of UN Summit A major Friday development has put the prospect of peace in Gaza and the West Bank even further away. The Trump administration has revoked visas for officials from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) – including PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
Stats Show Shocking Surge In Attacks On Churches In America In 2024, the United States witnessed a significant uptick in acts of hostility targeting churches, with a total of 436 documented incidents—a sharp increase from 315 in 2023 and nearly double the 230 reported in 2022…The incidents spanned a wide range of hostile actions across 43 states. Vandalism was the most prevalent, accounting for 284 cases that included property destruction, defacement, burglary, and ransacking.
Providence Baptist Church on RSBN featuring Pastor Dr Rusty Sowell live from Providence Baptist Church in Beauregard, AL Sunday Morning Worship 8/31/25
The corporate media has been working overtime to downplay the trans terrorism last week at a Catholic School in Minnesota because it did not fit the narrative they were hoping to push. One CNN host ended up getting wrecked, though, after trying to pull this stunt this morning.
As The Gateway Pundit’s Jordan Conradson reported, a shooting occurred Wednesday morning at Minneapolis, Minnesota’s Annunciation Church and Catholic School.
According to reports, students were attending an all-school mass on Wednesday morning when the gunfire started. Two children were killed, and 14 were injured, while three adults were also wounded.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed that the shooter, who died of a self-inflicted wound, was a male in his early 20s. He has been identified as Robin Westman, a deranged anti-Christian transgender leftist who wrote “kill Donald Trump” on one of his firearms.
On CNN’s State of the Union, guest host Brianna Keilar hosted Dr. Sebastian Gorka, the deputy assistant to President Trump and senior director for counterterrorism, to discuss the despicable act of terrorism. She attempted to play down the clear pattern of attacks on Christians by the trans community by deliberately obscuring facts on mass shootings to make it appear like it was a rare circumstance.
But Gorka quickly noted the huge problem with he data set Keilar was using: she was including trans terorism in her data with gang violence, which has nothing to do with ideology.
When one removes gang violence, one deals with a much smaller data set.
WATCH:
NOW: Gorka SHUTS DOWN CNN’s fake narrative that 96% of mass shootings were carried out by non-trans men.
There’s one BIG problem with that data set…and @SebGorka exposed it live for all to hear.
KEILAR: Um, so let me ask you about this. When you are looking at the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center looking 172 mass attacks in the U.S. between 2016 and 2020. 96% of the attackers were non-trans men.
So I know you’re focusing on the shooter being trans, uh, the shooter was trans, and that is certainly of note. But are you missing the bigger picture here when you zero in on that…And you perhaps miss through line that connects them all?
GORKA: Well, no, because your facts obfuscate two things: You are using data based on the predominant gun violence, which is gang-on-gang violence with zero ideological content.
If you remove all of that, the gang violence on the streets, then you come down to a much smaller data set. So, it’s like those who say ‘gun violence in America causes so many deaths’ and then fail to note the majority of the stats they are using also refer to suicides by gun, which, of course, is not what we are talking about here today.
So let’s concentrate on mass shootings at schools, especially Christian or Catholic schools; then the data set is wholly different. So, don’t conflict with different datasets just to make a political point.
There was an ideological content to this attack. that’s what terrorism is. It’s not becuase somebady didn’t get the drug deal they wanted. It is an ideological message.
That has nothing to do with gang violence. Let’s not mix the two things up.
Keilar, then tried to to use CNN ‘facts’ on schoool shooting since 2020 involving transgender individuals but this quicly backfired as well when Gorka called her out and pointed out CNN’s constant lies during that time.
HOLY SMOKES: Sebastian Gorka just NUKED CNN live on their own network over their use of FAKE data on transgender shootings.
There’s no coming back from this.
As Brianna Keilar tried to push her narrative…claiming only 3 school shootings since 2020 involved transgender… pic.twitter.com/XOqjBN8H7e
KEILAR: By CNN’s count, when you look at 32 school shootings sicne 2020, only three were committed by transgender shooters.
GORKA: yeah, forgive me if I don’t go with CNN’s stats, okay?”
CNN has proven itself to be wholly inaccurate in all kinds of things for the last ten years. Perpetrators of the Russia Russia hoax, and that we didn’t have an open border. So please forgive me if I don’t take your stats for granted.
KEILAR: It’s simple math, two of 32…
GORKA: It’s not simple math. It’s distortion. You are distorting the facts.
Let me be clear, in just a couple of years, we have seen seven mass shootings involving people of transgender nature or who were confused in their gender. SEVEN in just the last couple of years. That is inordinately high.
I’m going to stick with the facts and not CNN’s pseudo-facts.
Calley Means, White House Senior Advisor for MAHA, joined Charles Hurt on FOX News Saturday night to discuss the walk-out protest at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday.
Hundreds of CDC workers left their jobs to protest in support of Susan Monarez and the resignation of three others from CDC leadership.
CDC staff and alums gathered outside HQ this afternoon to salute those top four officials who resigned in protest yesterday. the crowd looks fairly massive, per a pic sent to me pic.twitter.com/lemHh0tS1k
On Saturday, Calley Means told Charles Hurt that there is a memo going around at the CDC headquarters, and throughout HHS, on how to subvert President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy.
These people should be immediately fired and the ones who organized this effort out to be criminally charged.
Calley Means: Charlie, my wife is eight months pregnant, my sister is seven months pregnant. This is a miraculous process. I mean, watching them grow human life inside their womb, this is a sacred process. This is a process that at the highest level of science, we should be celebrating. There is one type of person who can undergo that process. That is a woman, and that is a mother. This man who they are celebrating right here, and who is being held up by the media as the paragon of science, does not have the moral or scientific rigor to speak the word ‘mother.’
Today, President Trump and Secretary Kennedy are the two most popular public officials in America. I think it’s because they put on armor every single day and go to work to fight for science and to fight for kids.
Under the CDC, we’ve had guidelines on COVID for two years of school lockdowns. It turned out those guidelines were written by the teachers unions. We have the CDC website to this day celebrating smaller family size and actually alluding to abortion as one of the great public health advancements in modern history. We have the CDC, it’s recently come out, actually hid research on myocarditis risk for the COVID vaccine for young boys.
Actually, when you get past the rhetoric and actually look at why these people are resigning, look what their listing that Bobby Kennedy did, it’s that he took the COVID vaccine off the recommended schedule for children. 95% of parents were already rejecting that advice, and actually 85% of health care workers were rejecting that advice. When these people in the media say that they are standing up for science, they are saying they’re going against 95% of parents, and they want every single six-month-old in this country to have a mandated mRNA COVID injection!
I want everyone watching to know this.
There is a memo going around at the CDC and throughout HHS about how to subvert President Trump and how to subvert Secretary Kennedy. They are saying we’re going to outlast them, that the Republicans are going to lose the midterms, that this is going to be a flash in the pan. The American people have a very, very clear choice. Do you accept their argument that the status quo when it comes to health care in this country is acceptable, or do you support President Trump and Bobby Kennedy who are fighting for reform?
🚨 CALLEY MEANS: “There is a memo going around at the CDC, and throughout HHS, about how to subvert President Trump and how to subvert Secretary Kennedy. They are saying we are going to outlast them.” pic.twitter.com/Kfj7URtDZX
Gavin Newsom speaking at a podium in Sacramento. (wikimedia)
In defending his state’s sanctuary laws, California Governor Gavin Newsom warned that Immigration and Customs Enforcement might show up at polling places to “chill participation.”
That statement was an admission: Democrats know non-citizens are voting—and they are relying on it.
For years, Democrats and allied media have insisted that non-citizen voting is a “myth.”
WATCH: TEXAS Democrat INDICTED—STOLE Thousands from TAXPAYERS with SIBLINGS
Yet extensive research contradicts them. A 2014 Electoral Studies paper found that about one-quarter of non-citizens were likely registered, and over six percent voted in 2008.
The study concluded those votes “likely” changed key elections for Democrats, including Electoral College outcomes and a Senate race that enabled passage of Obamacare.
It also reported that 81.8% of non-citizens who admitted voting in 2008 supported Barack Obama.
Those findings were reinforced by Just Facts, which updated the estimates using 2022 Census data.
They determined that between 10% and 27% of non-citizens nationwide are illegally registered to vote.
With 19.7 million non-citizen adults counted in 2022, that means two to five million names appear illegally on voter rolls.
Given turnout rates, between one million and nearly three million non-citizens could cast ballots in 2024.
That is enough to swing battleground states and determine control of Congress.
The argument that those numbers are “too small” collapses when compared to recent election margins.
In 2020, Biden carried Arizona by just over 10,000 votes. Georgia’s margin was fewer than 12,000.
If even a fraction of the non-citizen votes identified occurred in those states, outcomes could have flipped.
🚨BREAKING: Newsom ADMITS Illegal Immigrants Vote in U.S. Elections
A 2014 Electoral Studies paper found that approximately one-quarter of non-citizens were likely registered, and over six percent voted in the 2008 election.https://t.co/e8PyTItsD3
Yet Democrats dismiss the issue, even while their governors admit illegal immigrants are participating.
Republicans have responded with legislation requiring proof of citizenship to register for federal elections. That should be the bare minimum.
Democrats resist every reform. When Trump’s Election Integrity Commission requested publicly available voter-roll data, Democrat officials refused and filed lawsuits to block it.
California’s secretary of state falsely claimed the commission asked for “personal data.” In reality, it only requested public voter registration lists.
Blocking transparency has become a cornerstone of Democrat election policy.
Polls show non-citizens overwhelmingly favor Democrats. Surveys between 2006 and 2022 found 73% to 82% supported Democrat candidates.
That aligns with promises of amnesty, welfare expansion, and sanctuary protections. Each illegal ballot cancels the vote of an American citizen—and Democrats benefit from nearly all of them.
Newsom’s remark stripped Democrats of denial. He acknowledged that immigration enforcement near polling places would deter “participation.”
The only participation deterred would be from people not legally allowed to vote. Newsom admitted the system is compromised.
President Trump has been vilified for saying non-citizen voting undermines elections.
The data prove him right. Democrats like Newsom, instead of protecting ballots, enable fraud that erodes trust in democracy.
The question is no longer whether non-citizens are voting. The question is whether Americans will allow Democrats to keep pretending it isn’t happening.
Let’s introduce a new phrase:self-righteous entitlement. This is when people believe they’re owed rights that simply don’t exist, and worse, they wrap their demand in a cloak of moral superiority. It shows up in everyday life.
A parent insists their child deserves playing time on a sports team even if they aren’t good enough, because the parent volunteers or simply “deserves” it. That’s not fairness, but rather favoritism justified by entitlement. The underlying message is that rules and standards are fine for everyone else, but not for an individual convinced his/her felt-righteousness demands an exception. Left unchecked, this mindset corrodes trust, breaks down order, and undermines the very foundation of accountability.
We see this spirit in people who believe their “rights” place them above rules. It might be individuals ignoring policies at work because they think rules don’t apply to them, or politicians who assume their personal cause gives them immunity. The danger multiplies when leaders in positions of power justify nearly anything by claiming moral authority.
John Locke, one of the key thinkers behind the concept of civil society, taught that people agree to give up certain liberties in order to protect themselves and others from the lawless. Government’s role is to preserve life and liberty by restraining chaos and lawlessness. When leaders act as though their cause justifies stepping outside the law, they flip Locke’s principle on its head and invite disorder. People see it as justification of violence and bullying if they don’t get what they want.
There are many examples, like what we are seeing in places like Washington, DC, where officials and activists fight against law and order under the banner of “rights.” Defund-the-police efforts, releasing murderers and other violent offenders, and resistance to restoring accountability are all justified by claims of moral high ground.
Globally, we see it in the defense of terrorist groups like Hamas, which cloak murderous acts under the false flag of “Palestinian rights.” Statehood never granted, laws of war ignored, civilians targeted, even promotion of genocide against an entire people—yet some Western leaders and activists still insist these acts are justified. That is self-righteous entitlement at its deadliest: demanding rights that do not exist while stripping away the rights of others to live in peace and security.
Proverbs 12:15 reminds us, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.”
Self-righteous entitlement is folly disguised as wisdom. It convinces people they’re morally justified when they’re actually tearing down order and trampling the rights of others. When individuals, parents, politicians, or entire movements believe their imagined rights are higher than the rules, chaos follows.
The true test of character isn’t demanding exceptions; it’s submitting to standards for the greater good, doing what is right in the eyes of God.
Our nation doesn’t need more people grasping for phantom rights. We need leaders and citizens willing to lay aside entitlement for the sake of love, truth, honor, and justice. That is the path of wisdom, and the only path that preserves freedom rather than destroying it.
On Jan. 3, 2022, a gospel music group called Pasion Music (Kristian Stanfill, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, and Anna Golden) released a new song called “What He’s Done.”
The song celebrates what Jesus has done, and it has become very popular.
The Praise Team at the Church I attend sings it often.
Readers can get all the verses by Googling it, and those who want to can find it on YouTube.
Here are the first two verses and course.
See, on the hill of Calvary
My Savior bled for me
My Jesus set me free
Look, at the wounds that give me life
Grace flowing from His side
No greater sacrifice
What He’s Done
What He’s Done
All the glory and the honor to the Son
My sins are forgiven
My future is Heaven
I praise God for what He’s done
Sing! For the freedom He has won
Even death is dead and done
His life has overcome
Speak! Say the Name above all names
Over every broken place
He is risen from the grave!
What He’s Done
What He’s Done
All the glory and the honor to the Son
My sins are forgiven
My future is Heaven
I praise God for what He’s done
The song continues, and the writers say they will never forget what He’s done.
I love it; we should remember what He’s done forever, and I believe we will.
But Jesus also told us to watch for what He intends to do, and there seems to be little doubt that His Word is being fulfilled at a rapid pace today.
Here are some current events that seem to indicate that the Rapture of the Church could be close:
One, concerning wars and rumors of war at the end of the age: on Aug. 21, 2025, Israel’s Prime Min. Netanyahu said Israel will push forward with its military takeover of Gaza even if Hamas agrees to a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Israel’s Defense Min. Katz said soon the gates of hell will open upon the heads of Hamas’s murderers and rapists in Gaza – until they agree to Israel’s conditions for ending the war, primarily the release of all hostages and their disarmament.
The former head of Israel’s National Security Council said if we go into Gaza now, the price is 100 (Israeli soldiers) killed; if we wait another 60 days, the price will be 200 because Hamas will have more time to prepare.
(Update: On Aug. 22, 2025, Katz said Israel would destroy Gaza City unless the Hamas terror group releases the hostages and lays down its weapons.)
Two, concerning the expansion of Israel’s borders to include Judea and Samaria at the end of the age: on Aug. 21, 2025, America’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, made it clear that Israel is a sovereign nation that will make its own decisions.
Huckabee said:
They’re (Judea and Samaria) historic terms.
They reflect 3,500 years of geography.
Eighty percent of the Bible happened in Judea and Samaria.
Huckabee cited Pres. Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel as evidence that America supports Israel’s right to make its own decisions.
Huckabee said he was at the White House, and he asked Pres. Trump why he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Trump replied:
Because I said I would, and it’s the right thing to do.
(More: On Aug. 26, 2025, Israel’s Prime Min. Netanyahu said Israel’s recognition of new Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria “is not the end—it’s the beginning.”)
Three, concerning a Palestinian state: on Aug. 22, 2025, Jonathan S. Tobin, Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), said:
Everybody wants a Palestinian state except the Palestinians.
The Palestinian Arab population doesn’t want statehood as long as it would require them to live in peace alongside Israel.
They have rejected numerous offers of statehood, rejected all of them and walked away.
Neither the P.A. nor Hamas has shown itself willing to recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state, no matter where its borders might be drawn in the future.
Both seek Israel’s destruction and view talk of a separate Palestinian state as merely a way to further that objective.
It’s also true that many of those advocating for Palestinian statehood or chanting “From the river to the sea” or “Globalize the intifada”—in effect, cheering for Jewish genocide and terrorism against them everywhere—on college campuses and the streets of Western cities are not just ignorant. They, too, seek Israel’s destruction.
(My opinion: Those who are trying to destroy Israel are fighting God because He said He will not allow Israel to be destroyed. He has also said what they try to do to Israel, He will do to them. Their support for the destruction of Israel is sealing their own destruction. Because of what Jesus has done – on the cross – the Church will soon be removed, and except the coming days be shortened, no flesh would be saved.)
Four, concerning Pres. Trump’s warning that he will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons (because Iran keeps threatening to destroy Israel and the U.S.): on Aug. 24, 2025, Iran’s Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Khamenei, said:
Iran’s tensions with Washington over its nuclear program are unsolvable.
They (the Americans) want Iran to be obedient to America.
The Iranian nation will stand with all of its power against those who have such erroneous expectations.
(My opinion: Iran will continue to be a thorn in the West’s side until God intervenes at the Battle of Gog and Magog, and many things seem to indicate that the world is getting very close to that. It will be a global game-changer that will likely cause the acceleration of world government.)
Five, concerning Iranian efforts to destroy Israel: Iran finances the Houthi terrorist group that has taken over Yemen.
On Aug. 22, 2025, the Houthis fired a cluster missile at Israel.
On Aug. 24, 2025, Israel retaliated by striking several Houthi targets in Yemen.
Six, concerning Iranian efforts to destroy Israel, in years past, Iran was supplying weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon that were being used against Israel.
Israel exploded the cellphones of Hezbollah’s leaders, killed most of Hezbollah’s senior leaders and thousands of Hezbollah terrorists, destroyed more than 70% of Hezbollah’s military structure, and captured a large area of southern Lebanon on Israel’s border with Lebanon.
To get a ceasefire, the U.S. and France supported regime change in Lebanon, and they got a new government that agreed to disarm Hezbollah and stop the attacks on Israel.
Israel agreed to withdraw from most of southern Lebanon if the Lebanese government keeps its agreement to disarm Hezbollah and stop the attacks on Israel.
Hezbollah agreed to give up its weapons but is now refusing to do it, and Iran is supporting Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm.
(My opinion: Something has to give or more war is coming, and I believe the Bible teaches that more war is coming.)
(My opinion: This is another example of why agreements with radical Islamic terrorists are worthless, and why Iran still needs to be dealt with.)
(More: On Aug. 25, 2025, it was reported that Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists have taken over high positions in the Lebanese army’s Intelligence Directorate, and Israel is demanding that they be dismissed or reassigned.)
(More: On Aug. 26, 2025, a Trump official said Iran is paying the salaries of 40,000 Hezbollah fighters that have been attacking Israel. According to the official, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have agreed to create jobs and pay the salaries of these fighters if they will surrender their weapons and stop fighting. As of this writing, Hezbollah continues to say they will not disarm.)
(My opinion: In addition to paying the salaries of Hezbollah terrorists, Iran is also helping fund the Houthi and Hamas terrorists. Iran’s goal is to establish the Shiite Islamic religion as the one-world religion. This is not Islamophobia. It is a fact that willingly ignorant world leaders need to deal with.)
Seven, concerning the threat of several EU nations to support the Two-State Solution at a UN General Assembly meeting on Sept. 23-24: if Israel does not agree to a ceasefire with Hamas, last week America’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said the Two-State Solution is not a priority of the U.S., and he urged the EU nations to reassess their position.
Aug. 20, 2025, was Huckabee’s 70th birthday. Netanyahu met with Huckabee, wished him a happy birthday, and said,
Israel loves you.
The Jewish people cherish you.
The world is brighter because of you.
America’s support for Israel is important because God will bless those that bless Israel and curse those that curse Israel, and because God has warned the nations against dividing Israel and Jerusalem.
(More: On Aug. 23, 2025, it was reported that, in a podcast, Netanyahu asked UK Prime Min. Keith Starmer if terrorists butchered 15,000 in the UK, would you say, ‘We should give them a state next to London?’)
(More: On Aug. 27, 2025, Israel’s Foreign Min. was asked about his plans to deal with a Palestinian state, and he replied there won’t be one.)
Eight, concerning globalism and wickedness: on Aug. 27, 2025, Pres. Trump said:
They (George Soros and his son) should be prosecuted under the RICO Act for their support of violent protests—and much more—throughout the United States of America.
We will no longer let these lunatics tear America apart without giving it a chance to BREATHE and be FREE.
Soros and his gang of psychopaths have caused serious damage to our country!
This includes his crazy friends on the West Coast. Be careful—we are watching you!
Nine, concerning world government and a borderless world: on Aug. 27, 2025, it was reported that a UN document shows that the UN has been funneling money to groups that have helped millions of immigrants relocate to European nations.
(FYI: A world government is coming, and its ruler – the Antichrist – will rise to power in Europe. Some prophecy teachers believe he will be a Muslim.)
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.
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