IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
For God So Loved the World - By Pastor Mike Taylor - https://pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com/2021/06/for-god-so-loved-world.html
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” (JOHN 3:16-20) 18 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” …...... 25”Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29That no flesh should glory in his presence.” (1st Corinthians 1:18-21, 25-29) I am sometimes amazed at how people of this world cannot grasp the simple language of the Bible. Jesus said that we must become as little children. But the world uses logic and the finite mind to try and understand the wisdom of God who is infinite in knowledge, and love of mankind. 13 “And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. 16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.” (Mark 10:13-16) You look at a small child and they are so trusting of those who they know loves them. They believe what is told them, even though they may not understand it and follow the commands of their parents...(in most things, as children can be rebellious), but in simple day to day living, when given an explanation of something they may have asked in a one word question “WHY?” they are given the explanation and they believe. Many people just cannot wrap their finite minds around something so simple, but must be accepted in child like faith. You may not understand it, but you accept it because God has said it, and you believe...but some just can't see the forest for the trees. For example, we've examined the nuts-and-bolts answers to hard questions like, "Why did Jesus have to die?" and "would a loving God send people to hell?" etc. But it is good from time to time to revisit the basic gift of salvation. The people I speak of that can't grasp the concept of mercy and grace, think they must do something to warrant God's mercy and grace...like good works, or following rules, or following their denomination's traditions. In other words, they must earn this gift from God. But can you earn a gift? They just can't understand that salvation is for sinners. Maybe you know some people like this. They get hung up in rules and regulations, traditions that speak of works and doing what their “church” says. Then another set of people get hung up on keeping the Law of God, but can't seem to understand that you can't keep the law in its entire application of what God expects from each of us. From law keeping, the law is our school master, but it condemns each one of us, as we can't keep the whole of the law. When Jesus was asked what is the greatest and most important commandment of God, Jesus replied: “"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40) Love God and love your neighbor as yourself...simple. But when was the last time you loved everyone you meet and love them as yourself?. The world is full of those who in simple language, “are hard to love”. They can get you fired up and thinking inappropriate thoughts about those who offend you, or thoughts of “getting even”. Admit it...we can't love our neighbor (not all of them) as ourselves, it is humanly impossible...some will try, but each of us fail, because “we're human”. We are prone to failure to live up to even this commandment that encompasses the whole of the law. It leads directly to the truth that we can't keep God's Law, and thereby cannot have a personal relationship with God the Father, because of our sin. There is a huge gap between a Holy God and sinful mankind that cannot be bridged on our own. That's where Jesus comes into focus, as the bridge to God the Father. “6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” (John 14:6-9) You see, God the Father, being perfectly Holy in all His ways, cannot allow sin into His presence. No matter what we do, we will never qualify as perfect enough, sinless enough to enter into His presence...So that leaves you, that leaves me as sinners on the other side of this huge gap between us and a Holy God. We are ALL selfish sinners, that is why God had to become ONE of us. To do that, God emptied Himself of all His glory, entered into this quarantined sin-soaked world, into our atmosphere and took on human form, conquer sin in this world, and thereby defeating sins stranglehold on all of humanity. And then, having qualified as an acceptable Sacrifice, He paid the eternal penalty for sin on our behalf. 12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13 “(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 15But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” (Romans 5:13-19) The message from the preceding passage points to that all of mankind was cursed because of Adam's sin...thus scripture said God cursed him because he had allowed sin in his life. : “"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Genesis 3:19) As a symbol of the coming One who would cover his sin, God made a covering for Adam and Eve out of the skins of an animal..... 22 “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands,which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 25Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; 26For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9:22-26) Jesus paid the penalty for the sin that Adam allowed to enter into the world, and to every man since Adam, but Jesus was WITHOUT sin. Having been born of the Father in this sin sick world, Jesus lived the life that God expects from each of us, but was unable to do what He demanded, that in Jesus He defeated the penalty of sin that we deserve. This was mercy and grace. Mercy is defined of being forgiven of something we earned, which was death, and grace receiving what we could not earn, but given as a gift. He defeated sin by His death, but because of His resurrection He justified all who believe in Him and what He accomplished. 8“For by grace are ye saved, not of works. It is a gift of God, lest any man should boast............... 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”. (Ephesians 2:8,12-18) All of mankind has sinned. It is part of our spiritual DNA, from our original parents that no one can escape. Nobody who ever sinned, even once, has defeated sin personally, and all mankind remains under sin's penalty of death. All mankind is under a curse and without ridding ourselves of the sin we have committed will stand before a righteous judge and be condemned. 24 "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; 26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." (Hebrews 9:24-28) TWO PARTS TO THIS COMING DEATH Death is in two parts. The physical death, and what the Bible calls the 'second death' eternal separation from God in the Lake of Fire. And so is the judgment of a person's life. Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as a little child in that child-like faith have already been judged at the cross of Christ. Their penalty has already been paid. 14“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances (penalty) that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” (Colossians 2:14-15) But for those who trust in their own good works to save themselves, there will be a second death before the Great White Throne of God Almighty, where they will be judged for ALL their works, either good or bad. Contrary to some who believe that if they live a good life, and their good works which outweigh their bad, will somehow earn them a ticket to heaven will be horrified to learn that they were wrong. But beware if you think such foolishness, as there is no balancing scale with good deeds on one side and bad deeds on the other. Even ONE sin of those standing before God at this judgment will earn them eternal separation from God. All who have died in this physical life, will taste physical death, should the Lord tarry, but those who stand before God without some form of payment for their sinful nature, will taste spiritual death. This is the second death "20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:20-23) THOSE THAT FOUND FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. When a sinner accepts Jesus Christ as personal Savior, our sin is transferred to our Lord, as the propitiation (substitute) for what we deserve. Jesus blood sacrifice on a Roman cross paid our eternal debt from that moment forward on into eternity. There is NOTHING left to judge us on, except what rewards that we will receive at the Bema Judgment Seat of Christ. It is something that we could never earn no matter what we do, because it is a free gift, freely offered to all men. By accepting Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf and committing to follow Him we are declared righteous by God on the basis of our faith. Therefore as new creatures, recreated by the Blood of Christ, wearing His righteousness instead of our own, we are able to come before the throne of God blameless and cleansed, re-establishing our relationship with God. When God the Father will look upon us standing before His throne, He will see nothing but the righteousness of His Son...we are clothed with that righteousness when we confessed our sins, and accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and the substitute payment for what we did deserve....death, eternal death. 14 “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. 16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;." (2nd Corinthians 5:14-18) No matter what men do, this has nothing to do with religion. Those who promote one religion supreme over another fool themselves that they can somehow do enough righteous acts through their church to qualify somehow to enter into God's Kingdom. Men believe that they have to belong to a certain religion and call it “God's Church” founded by the Lord Jesus Christ. Proper teaching of truth by one's denomination can lead you into the truth found solely in Jesus Christ, but it can do nothing in of itself to justify you, just because you belong to its religion and follow their traditions, no matter how righteous they may seem, it will do nothing for your eternal salvation. But it CAN lead you astray from Jesus as the only payment for that sin. The apostle Paul made that abundantly clear when he was preaching to the church in Galatia, where a false teaching had crept into their midst that said that Christians had to be circumcised like Jews, in order to prove they belonged to God. Paul corrected those in error that they were neither Jew or Gentile, but a new creature in Christ. 13 “For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. 14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. 16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." (Galatians 6:13-16) A NEW CREATURE IN CHRIST For a lot of people, this is a difficult concept to understand exactly what a “new ?creature” is according to scripture and what it is not. The Bible teaches there are four separate spiritual creations of God. First God created the angels, which became ministering spirits and flames of fire: 7 ”And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.” …... 14“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? “ (Hebrews 1:7, 14) Angels were created to serve Almighty God and humanity who would become heirs of salvation, even before man was even created. Some call them guardian angels, and they do watch out for us according to the will of God. Then God created Adam in His image and His likeness. Adam was sinless and designed to live forever as long as he followed the commandments of God..and there was only one...not to eat of one particular tree...sounds simple, doesn't it? At Adams fall, his spiritual state changed as he became separated from God because of his sin and became the father of unregenerate Gentiles. Adam willfully rebelled against God's command. Some say it was out of love for Eve, who was deceived, but Adam was not. Then there is Abraham, through faith, fathered the first of another new spiritual creation. Isaac was the first spiritual Jew, the father of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. Since then, every person is born either a Jew or a Gentile, from the perspective of their spiritual state of existence. For simplicity, we speak of them as Jews, but it is more correct that God separated out a member of the Hebrew race. The first three sentient, spiritual creations of God, then, are angels, Jews (Hebrews) and Gentiles, descended from Adam, but in God's Image, with an eternal spirit. From that point, God dealt with Jew and Gentiles separately. A Jew would always be a Jew in God's eyes, and a Gentile could be a practicing Jew. A Jew could never be a Gentile, but they both were estranged from God apart from Jesus Christ. They were both still in their sins that separated them from their Maker. At the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God introduced a new Spiritual Creation. All through the Old Testament there are scriptures that prove that man was made in the image of God, but beginning with the New Testament, the image of God makes a very decided shift. Jesus the second Adam, the man from Heaven, (as the Bible calls Him) or as John said “the eternal Word, is in the image of God in the flesh. Not mankind in general. Now get this, for lack of a better word, Jesus was a prototype. He was a full, functioning form of a NEW type. This is what I mean by a shift in emphasis of what man is to become (immortal and in the image of Christ). Jesus was the first, the example of becoming the image of God. Jesus was the prototype, the goal of our redemption, our salvation and our glorification. This is the final goal of born again man “And have put on the new man, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (meaning us, man). (Colossians 3:10) “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1st John 3:2) Jesus introduced a new spiritual creation with His resurrection. Those who trust Jesus are transformed into a totally new spiritual creation, personally indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, and restored to the fellowship lost by Adam. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12) "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." (Romans 5:19) Each of us, meaning forgiven sinners have received an earnest deposit of God's Holy Spirit (earnest meaning deposit) guaranteeing our future glorification. 13 “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14) Having been MADE righteous and restored to fellowship, Christians are neither Gentile nor Jew. Nor are they angels, either literally or figuratively. The Bible calls them 'SAINTS' -- something entirely unique in the history of the universe. Either Jew or Gentile, they remain who they are, but a Christian who accepts Jesus Christ is REBORN into a new birth, a new spiritual creation of God. This points to that the NEW man in not just in the image of God, or just a general picture of God, as man was formed to look like, but specifically to be formed into the image of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He, Jesus, becomes the goal of the redeemed man, unto salvation. Jesus proclaimed this truth to Nicodemus when he came to him by night, seeking truth from Jesus: 3”Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:3-8) Salvation is a permanent transformation from one kind of spiritual creation to a different kind of spiritual creation. It is the misunderstanding of the new creature that is a stumbling-block to grasping the simple assurances of the Gospel. The Bible says to repent (literally, change your mind), realizing your sin will take you to hell, and that there is nothing you can do about it except to trust Jesus' promise that by trusting Him for your salvation as the Lord of your life, you are now a new creation of God. It's so simple. So simple, but in fact, that there are millions upon millions who just can't get it. Paul spoke of being "wise in your own conceits" (Romans 12:16) not the least of which is the belief that our works contribute to our salvation. "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty." (1st Corinthians 1:27) If Jesus didn't do it all, then He didn't have to do it at all and He died in vain. God could have just thrown us away and send us into the penalty for sin in our lives, but God loved His creation so much, knowing that He created man to be His family, He chose a way to save His creation and have very large family. Hence, God the Father sent His Son to redeem lost mankind. "16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. 18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (GALATIONS 2: 16-21) THE SIMPLE ALTERNATIVE TO SALVATION THROUGH JESUS 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:16-19) That is the simplicity of the Gospel. Jesus is the gift, (God gave His only Begotten Son). It is free for the asking and accepting if by faith the free gift. But notice the verses after 16-17? That is a simple explanation of what will be the result if you choose in your own freewill choice to either accept or reject this free gift. It is a penalty imposed because of that freewill.....it is condemnation. It is a simple explanation of what man can expect if they reject God's provision for their salvation from being separated from God for all eternity. No one can say that they rejected God's free gift out of ignorance. The Salvation message has been preached to nearly the entire world. It would have to be a backward civilization so removed from modern life, that they never heard the name JESUS, YESHUA..THE SON OF GOD who came into the world to save sinners, like me, like you... 9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2nd Peter 3:9-10) There is coming a day when Jesus will come and those not found in Him will be thrown headlong into the coming Tribulation. But that is not what this message is about. Prophecy is usually my main focus, but without Jesus, prophecy means nothing. Prophecy covers what Jesus has done, what He will do, and that He calls each of us by His Holy Spirit. If you have heard that call, don't put it off one day longer, as the window of your salvation could close abruptly, for we are not promised even tomorrow. 2 “(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)” (2nd Corinthians 6:2) I am reminded of a song I love that speaks of what Jesus did: “Living He loved me, Dying He saved me, Buried He carried …..my sins far away, Rising He justified, ….freely forever, One day He's coming, Oh, Glorious day. Oh, Glorious day.” Embrace the simplicity of the Gospel and you could be singing that song the next few minutes... 8 “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (ROMANS 10:8-13) Today, in this world we live in , we need to get people to Jesus and Jesus to the people... This is Pastor Mike Taylor, praying the simplicity of the Gospel finds it's way into your heart and mind. If you need prayer, counseling, or just a friendly, listening ear, email me at [email protected], . God bless you all, TILL WE MEET AT JESUS FEET....................SOON!! “You’ll Own Nothing, And You’ll Be Happy” - By Sandy Howard - https://www.raptureready.com/2021/06/06/youll-own-nothing-and-youll-be-happy-by-sandy-howard/ There are those who propose the possibility that “the lie” or “strong delusion” that will come upon people, who find themselves left behind after the Rapture of the Church, could be that they will be told, and believe totally, that we who were Raptured were taken by aliens in UFOs to another planet. And it may very well be true that this is the strong delusion. However, it recently occurred to me that there is another possibility. While reading an article about some of the ingredients in what some refer to as ‘the jab,’ it seems the cocktail includes something called ‘dopamine.’ I have heard of this chemical before and realize that our human bodies produce this compound in our brains. It is known as the feel-good neurotransmitter. Our nervous systems use it to send messages between nerve cells to denote pleasure. For instance, when we eat food that tastes good or while engaging in a pleasurable activity, dopamine causes that feel-good feeling of satisfaction, like a reward system. Here is an excerpt from the article I was reading about how dopamine influences behavior. “In lab experiments, dopamine prompts a rat to press a lever for food again and again. This is no different in humans; it’s the reason why we partake in more than one helping of cake. This ‘press-the-lever’ action applies to addiction as well. Dopamine causes you to want, desire, seek out, and search. It increases your general level of arousal and your goal-directed behavior. Dopamine creates ‘reward-seeking loops’ in the sense that people will repeat pleasurable behavior, from checking Instagram to taking drugs.” When I read that this chemical compound is part of the cocktail of the-you-know-what, I remembered a quote by Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), regarding our future. He said, “You’ll own nothing, and you’ll be happy.” Hmm, that made me wonder if it would be possible, as part of the Great Reset plan, to ‘build back better’ (Biden’s campaign slogan that he took from the UN’s vision of this so-called ‘sustainable future’), that this compound in the jab could later be used to remotely ‘pull the lever,’ so to speak, of people who have received it, in order to make them feel ‘happy’ about what the WEF and its followers and promoters decide to do. Quote: “The World Economic Forum says by 2030, you will own nothing and you will (still) be happy, and a “Great Reset” will occur after COVID-19. What do they mean?” And this: “The World Economic Forum aims for no personal property ownership by 2030. In their video, they state, “You will own nothing and you will be happy.” And this: “At the UN on Sept. 29, 2020, Trudeau [president of Canada] said the pandemic was an opportunity for a reset as laid out by the World Economic Forum, and he used Biden’s campaign slogan “build back better.” And this: “The COVID-19 crisis is affecting every facet of people’s lives in every corner of the world. But tragedy need not be its only legacy. On the contrary, the pandemic represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset our world to create a healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous future.” (I’m pretty sure “more equitable” translates into “take away everything from everybody so that everybody is then ‘equal.'”) It seems absurd to make a statement to people like “You’ll own nothing, and you’ll be happy” about it, right? I cannot imagine being happy about some person or group coming to my house and taking everything I own, including my house, while I stand there with a happy-face smile! It doesn’t seem possible and like something out of a Twilight Zone episode, doesn’t it? But if you think this type of ‘control’ isn’t really possible, think again. There have been, and continue to be, SO many advancements in technology that it absolutely could be done. Right now. Most people are only aware of the advances in technology that concern them personally, like having a cell phone that can call, text, face time, take pictures and access the world wide web. Anytime, anywhere. And what about Alexa? Oh, and don’t forget the convenience things, like controlling your air conditioner remotely, like starting your car remotely, like paying bills online or transferring money to someone else via an app, or like locking your doors and turning your lights on or off while you are away, for just a few. No doubt, though, some have also at least heard about the use of drones for all types of purposes. And robots that look so much like real humans that it is hard to tell the difference. When I was a teenager, if someone had told me that I would enjoy all these conveniences and more via technology, I would have thought that someone was not playing with a full deck. Back then, anyone who studied end-times events or the tribulation could not figure out how the whole world would be able to witness, LIVE, all at the same time, the two witnesses in Jerusalem being killed and laying dead in the street for three days, and witness them being resurrected by God, literally taken up into heaven. No one knew how this could happen, but the Bible said it, so…. Those were the days of rotary telephones, record players and TVs with only three channels (no remote included either). If you are interested in reading about more advances and what is possible via technology, I suggest you go to Billy Crone’s website. He has tons of very interesting and very well-researched videos that are free to watch or download, detailing the stunning things the tech community can do (and already are doing) these days. Here is a link to his site: https://www.getalifemedia.com/ So, could this ability to make “you own nothing, and be happy about it” turn out to be the great deception? I don’t know, but it is interesting that this chemical compound is included in the jab and interesting that, given to rats or mice, they can be directed to go to an area they don’t like and be happy about it. Things that make you go “hmm.” Scripture references: 2 Thessalonians 2:11 “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” Revelation 11: 7-12 “When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three and a half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. Now after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. And they heard a voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’ And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.” Article references: https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/https/jonathan-brentner-g8fgsquarespacecom/config/2021/4/29/the-poison-pill-of-socialism?fbclid=IwAR1nYs9YhuSCCicwjKU6OOZGC7CwwTsOz9u1jSd-kBdDhYOTrR3YgiWRmlk https://www.naturalnews.com/2021-05-25-covid-vaccines-gmo-magneto-protein-behavior-brain.html# Inflation Is Starting To Get Really Crazy – And It Is Worse Than You Think - by Michael Snyder - http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/inflation-is-starting-to-get-really-crazy-and-it-is-worse-than-you-think/ Inflation is making headlines all over the country, but the mainstream media is not being honest about the true severity of the crisis. We are being told that the official rate of inflation is still in single digits, but what we aren’t being told is that the way inflation is calculated has changed dramatically over the years. In fact, according to Forbes “the government has changed the way it calculates inflation more than 20 times” over the past 30 years. The rate of inflation directly affects so many other things in our system, and the government would like to keep that number as low as possible. So they tinkered and tinkered with the formula until they got it just where they wanted it. But even with the highly modified formula that they are now using, the rate of inflation still rose at the fastest pace in almost 13 years last month… The consumer price index, which represents a basket including food, energy, groceries, housing costs and sales across a spectrum of goods, rose 5% from a year earlier. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting a gain of 4.7%. The reading represented the biggest CPI gain since the 5.3% increase in August 2008, just before the financial crisis sent the U.S. spiraling into the worst recession since the Great Depression. We all remember what happened in the months following August 2008. Hopefully we will not have a repeat of that. Of course the truth is that consumer prices are not just rising at a 5 percent rate in the United States right now. According to John Williams of shadowstats.com, if the rate of inflation was still calculated the way that it was back in 1990, it would be above 8 percent right now. And if the rate of inflation was still calculated the way that it was back in 1980, it would currently be sitting at about 13 percent. But 5 percent inflation sure sounds a whole lot better than 13 percent, doesn’t it? One thing that I am keeping a very close eye on is food inflation. Earlier today, I came across a story from one CBS affiliate in which they used the term “sticker shock” to describe what consumers are now experiencing at the grocery store… You may have noticed a significant jump in prices at the grocery store. More and more grocery shoppers are experiencing sticker shock every day. The price of food — especially meat, fruit and vegetables — is going up. If prices were increasing at just a 5 percent annual rate, that wouldn’t be a big deal. Sadly, the reality is much worse than that, and that is especially true for meat prices. According to one deli owner, the true rate of inflation for meat prices is “probably closer” to 20 or 30 percent… Jeff Cohen, a deli owner and meat wholesaler, said those factors are making the price of meat out of control. “They said on national news it’s 10 percent. But that’s not true. it’s probably closer 20, 30 percent,” Cohen said. We will continue to get a lot of happy talk from the Biden administration and from the Federal Reserve, but this is becoming a real national crisis. When CBS News interviewed one shopper in Maryland, she said that she is now spending about twice as much on groceries as she did before… Abby Walter said she started noticing her grocery bill creeping up earlier this year. Prior to January, the Maryland resident had typically spent about $75 a week on groceries. Now her bill is averaging about $150 or even more. I still remember when I could get an entire shopping cart of food for just 25 dollars. Now if I can get an entire cart of food for less than 200 dollars, I consider that to be a monumental achievement. I try really hard to take advantage of sales and make every dollar stretch as far as I can. But these days some of the sale prices are higher than the old regular prices. As global commodity prices have exploded higher in recent months, companies have been forced to pass those increases along to consumers, but they are attempting to use language that will not cause widespread alarm… If you ask Pampers maker Procter & Gamble Co., it’s not raising prices, it’s “taking pricing.” Rival Unilever, known for Dove soap and Axe body spray, says it’s been “very active with pricing.” The prize for creativity — so far at least — has been home-improvement retailer Lowe’s Cos., whose finance chief told investors Wednesday that it was “elevating our pricing ecosystem.” What in the world is a “pricing ecosystem”? I would love to have a representative from Lowe’s define that for me. Executives from General Mills are also using language that borders on the absurd… Then there’s cereal maker General Mills Inc., whose jargon includes arcane phrases like “strategic revenue management” and “holistic margin management,” which is not language you’d ever find on the back of a box of Lucky Charms. The company uses those terms so often, in fact, that its CEO now just refers to them by the acronyms SRM and HMM. Why can’t they just say that they are “raising prices”? These days, I cringe whenever I go down the cereal aisle. It is hard for me to believe that cereal prices are so high now, but I know that they will eventually get a whole lot higher. We have way too many dollars chasing way too few goods and services, and instead of taking emergency measures to get inflation under control our leaders seem intent on making things even worse. The Biden administration wanted to spend 2 trillion dollars on infrastructure, but a group of U.S. Senators is currently working on a “compromise deal” that would only provide 1.2 trillion dollars in new infrastructure spending. This is on top of the trillions upon trillions of dollars that we have already borrowed and spent during this crisis. We can’t do this anymore. It is complete and utter insanity. But our politicians in Washington don’t seem to care. They are going to continue to borrow and spend giant mountains of money that we do not have, and the Federal Reserve is going to continue to shovel enormous gobs of cash into the financial system. So more inflation is on the way, and the standard of living for most Americans is going to continue to go down. River Of Delights - By Hal Lindsey - https://www.hallindsey.com/ww-6-10-2021/ The Westminster Shorter Catechism begins with the primary question of human existence. “What is the chief end of man?” And then comes the glorious answer. “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Life presents challenges that are no fun. We all experience stress, grief, and fatigue. In Gethsemane, the Lord knew He was about to go through the long night of trials, betrayals, and beatings that would lead to His crucifixion and death. He entered a time of extraordinary stress. Luke 22:44 says, “Being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” But the story of Jesus does not end in His death. It continues today at the right hand of God the Father. Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us to look at Jesus as our example. “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Things happen in life. We experience grief. But for those who are in Christ, even the deepest sorrows do not last. Psalm 30:5 says, “Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.” Joy awaits us in heaven, but it can be ours here as well. In fact, one of the best ways to glorify God now is to enjoy Him now. Psalm 16:11 says, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” Psalm 144:15 says, “How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!” Whatever we face, Romans 8:31 remains true. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Isaiah 12:2 says, “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song.” He is our song! This speaks to our delight in Him. Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” Why rejoice? Because Christ the Lord came into the world, and He’s coming again. Scary circumstances do not have to scare us. And hope pervades even our worst grief. Psalm 36:7-9 says, “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.” Think about the phrase, “River of Your delights.” C. S. Lewis called it, “The delight that made David dance.” Are you troubled or tired? Are you heartsick over something that has happened to you, to someone dear to you, or to the nation you love? That’s okay. God is with you in your pain. But for the Christian, pain carries an expiration date. And even during the pain — including the worst of the grief, sorrow, or sadness — the river of His delights continues to flow. You don’t have to wait for heaven to experience it. You can go to that river right now. You, too, can know the “delight that made David dance.” Daily Jot: The Farm Chronicles: Of rain and hay – Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com Nothing brought farmers in Northeastern Ohio more angst in June and July than haying season. Under cloud cover most of the time, the weather was really a guessing game. Nobody wanted their hay to get wet during any part of the cutting, drying or baling process. If you didn’t have a baler, you had to find somebody who did, which could be difficult if everybody cut their hay on the same day, hoping for the same good weather. We always hired Junior Roberts to do our baling. His baler kicked out bales that weighed nearly 100 pounds each. Junior’s baler gave meaning to the phrase, “you’ve got to carry your own weight around here.” I knew it first hand in haying season as I was a skinny little runt. There were many a year that I used a hay hook to drag those heavy bales to the wagon, helping my brothers as they loaded and stacked the hay while Dad drove the tractor. When I got older, I could actually get at least one end of the bale on the wagon while it was moving through the field, and one of my brothers, either Larry or Chuck, would take it from me. Sometimes I felt they humored me because I wanted to help, but maybe I was more in the way than anything. They eventually figured out what I was best at—stacking hay in the barn. So I was up in the 120 degree barn with one brother throwing bales up through the haymow door and the other tossing them up to me for stacking. They said I was the “very best” at stacking, but in retrospect, I think they wanted to avoid the heat. Just saying. In 1964, I was nine years old, about 4 ½ feet tall and surely less than 100 pounds. Junior had a window to bale our hay, and even though we knew it was going to rain, Dad, who was away, told him to go ahead and bale. My brothers and I worked all afternoon putting those heavy bales in the barn and there were still a couple hundred left in the field as the rainclouds came rolling in. The neighbor’s came and got their hay wagon, so we had only our 1963 International stake bed truck to pick up the hay. Chuck had this idea for me to drive the truck and he and Larry would load the hay. He would set the throttle and the truck would just idle along as they loaded and stacked. I was all in, but I couldn’t even reach the clutch or the rest of the pedals without standing up in the cab. Chuck got the truck rolling and jumped out the driver’s side door. I scooted over and took the wheel. It went OK until the truck was almost full and they yelled out for me to stop. I stood up, left foot down on the clutch, and the truck coast to a stop. A few more bales left, they said to let out the clutch slowly to move on. Well, I eased the clutch into that terrible spot where it was almost engaged, but not quite. The truck suddenly was jerking back and forth throwing me back in the seat and my foot slipped off the clutch and the truck bounced on down the field. Chaos ensued. By the time we got stopped, all the hay had fallen off the truck and it was pouring rain. Amos 4:7 says “one portion of ground was rained upon, and another without rain withered.” We got a little more than rain when Dad got home and found out what happened. Daily Devotion: Twice Born - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ —John 3:6–7 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/twice-born/ - Listen Some people say, “I’m a Christian; I’m just not one of those born-agains.” But you can’t be a Christian without being born again. Jesus said to a religious ruler named Nicodemus, “You must be born again” (John 3:7 NLT). Are you born again? To be born again means to be born from above. It means that you’ve had a spiritual birth. If you’re born once, then you’ll die twice. You will ultimately die both physically and spiritually. But if you’re born twice, then you’ll die once. Your body will die, but your soul—your spirit—will live on. Jesus came to Earth to be born in a manger and die on the cross for our sins, because we’re all separated from Him. We’ve broken His commandments time and time again. Then He rose from the dead. Maybe you’re ashamed of certain things you’ve done and wonder whether God could ever forgive someone like you. The answer is a resounding yes. Not only can He forgive you, but He will forgive you right now. He will give you complete forgiveness. By coming to the Lord in prayer, you can ask for His forgiveness, and He will wipe away every sin you’ve ever committed. He’ll forgive it and forget it. In the same conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus said, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NLT). You can have everlasting life, and you can know that you will go to Heaven one day. You do this by asking Jesus to come into your life. If you want your sin forgiven, if you want to know that you’ll go to Heaven when you die, if you want Christ to come into your life, then call out to Him right now. 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I believe where the Lord guides, the Lord provides, and most of the time He provides through the willing and generous hearts of believers just like you and me. Humbly Seek Your Support Prophecy Update has no corporate sponsors. This ministry is paid for and prayed for by readers and supporters. Without your support, there would be no Prophecy Update, Please pray about becoming a monthly supporter - thanks! If ever there was a time to invest in God's Kingdom, it's now! What on earth are you doing for Heaven's Sake? "Share in the Blessings and Rewards that will last Forever!" "Folks, it's all beginning to unravel. America is in more danger of falling than at any time in its history. But I believe Bible prophecy predicts this very decline. From this point on, we believers have to get serious. We are going to face discouragement, disillusionment and, most certainly, persecution in the time between now and the Rapture. But don't be discouraged or disillusioned. The coming turmoil will provide us unrivaled opportunities to share the good news of the Gospel. So be ready to share your faith and your hope with those who need Christ. We still have time to reap a great harvest of souls for God's kingdom!" - Hal Lindsey 1) We need your prayers!- We proclaim the Truth of the Word of God and we are under constant spiritual and sometimes even physical attack. 2) We need your encouragement!- We need to hear from you, let us know how the Lord is blessing you through this ministry so that we can share it with others. 3) We need your input! - If you have a prophetic article or story or if there is a news related item we missed, let us know. 4) We need your financial support!- To put it quite simply, without your support, there would be no Prophecy Update. I ask that you would prayerfully consider partnering with us to get the Word out and keep the world informed. Remember, your gift, no matter how small, does make a difference! 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