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A Never-Ending Battle with Global Bias – By Amir Tsarfati - https://harbingersdaily.com/amir-tsarfati-a-never-ending-battle-with-global-bias/ (Galilee, Israel) — Shalom from Northern Israel. I’ve said it before and I will say it again – My region of the world never takes a holiday. This has become all the truer since October 7, 2023. The past five months and counting have resulted in greater levels of stress than I’ve dealt with in a long time – maybe my entire life. If the massacre of that Saturday wasn’t enough, we’ve been at war with Hamas for five months now. Adding to that, we’re dealing with an imminent war in the north with Hezbollah seemingly any day now. On top of both of these realities, there is a never-ending battle with the global bias against my beloved country… …but God. Even in this tragic season, I see the faithfulness of the Lord. And one of the primary ways I see this is through the preservation of His people, Israel. He’s preserved us throughout the ages and He’ll preserve us now. Malachi 3:6 KJV – “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Gaza & Hamas Adding insult to injury, the US began supplying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip last week. If it’s not enough that the people of Gaza were seen throwing some of the aid in the trash because it came from the US, some locals were also killed in the process. Apparently, some of the aid was incorrectly dropped from the sky leading to fatalities. And don’t be fooled, there’s plenty of evidence revealing there’s no food shortage in Gaza. The people have plenty of access to food. Sadly, the news doesn’t get better regarding US involvement in our war with Hamas. In a recent interview, President Biden explained that he would never cut off defensive weapons. This means the current administration would be willing to cut off offensive weapon supply as leverage against Israel in the future in an attempt to prevent further operations in Gaza. Both the US and Hamas share at least one thing in common – they have completely unrealistic expectations regarding what it will take to bring an end to this war. Tragically, Israel has learned that at least 34 abductees of the 134 taken to Gaza on October 7 have died. On a positive note, #3 in the Hamas hierarchy is believed to have been eliminated over the weekend. The US is slowly but surely becoming our greatest obstacle when it comes to obliterating this terrorist organization. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even had to correct Biden in a recent statement saying, “When he says that my policy is against Israeli interests and against Israeli public opinion, he is wrong on both counts.” No matter what, Netanyahu remains determined to win this war. I’m glad to have a strong leader at such a time as this. None of this should surprise us, as the Biden administration has gone out of its way to save face with the pro-Palestinian audience over the last several weeks, especially since the beginning of Ramadan. Lebanon & Hezbollah With Hezbollah increasing its aggression, Israel has been the recipient of a multitude of rocket barrages from Lebanon over the last several days, which has forced the IDF to respond with a number of strikes in Southern Lebanon and Syria. While our primary military conflict has been with Hamas in Gaza, we’ve been dealing with these terrorists north of our border as well. At least 240 of them have been killed as a result of Israeli strikes since October 2023, which have happened in multiple cities and towns. Tensions are only on the rise. Given recent developments, Israelis are expecting an imminent war with our enemy in the north. I encourage you to watch my most recent breaking news segment concerning this very issue! The United States It’s of no small concern to see what’s happening in the United States. Its sympathy towards the Muslim mentality is extremely alarming. Look no further than Times Square, where Muslims gathered for prayer at the onset of Ramadan. Beyond this, amid the war in Gaza, disgusting pro-Palestinian fliers were seen in New York City stating, “Rape is resistance”, and “Babies are occupiers too”. This is the direction the west has been heading for years. It’s no surprise that NYC is seeing a rise in Islamic terror propaganda. As our war in Gaza rages on, it’s becoming clearer by the day that Biden is living in a fantasy world when it comes to his perception of the Middle East. He appears to think that Palestinians are eager for peace and Israel’s government is at odds with its people. Both are anything but true. Russia Since the onset of the war, Russia has stood by the side of the Palestinians. Just days ago, they denied the report of the special envoy investigating the sexual crimes committed against Israeli women throughout the massacre – crimes that left an overwhelming trail of evidence. If the Russians hadn’t already made their position clear concerning who they side with, they’ve now left zero room for doubt. Yemen & the Houthis After sinking a British-owned ship, the Iranian-sponsored Houthis continue to initiate terror in the region. Late last week, the group fired a pair of ballistic missiles at a Singapore-owned ship. Thankfully, the missiles missed their target. Within 24 hours, coalition forces and the US Navy intercepted 15 Houthi drones in the Gulf of Aden. Furthermore, the Houthis announced that they targeted a US container ship in the Red Sea with several naval strike missiles. The Houthis are now reportedly testing hypersonic missiles and are preparing to produce them as well. Israel Needless to say, Israel has its hands extremely full right now. In addition to what I’ve mentioned above, we have approximately 15,000 troops deployed in the West Bank for the month of Ramadan in order to counteract and prevent terror. The IDF has been extremely proactive in dealing with terrorists coming out of the West Bank throughout this war. Sadly, our readiness doesn’t stop those who love violence. Even today, we’re dealing with the aftermath of multiple isolated acts of terror. I have zero doubts that my country demands strong leadership right now. The polls reflect this, as Netanyahu is overwhelmingly desired in contrast to his opponent(s). Israel’s strategic game of survival - Caroline Glick - https://www.jns.org/israels-strategic-game-of-survival/ Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer’s obscene call for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ouster from power on the Senate floor on Thursday was the latest sign that Hamas’s strategy is working. On the “Caroline Glick Show” this week, U.S. Military Academy professor Col. John Spencer, who chairs West Point’s Urban Warfare Studies Program, explained that the terrorist organization’s goal for victory is a concerted political-military strategy. Hamas, he said, knew that Israeli Defense Forces would respond with force to its Oct. 7 assault in southern Israel. “They wanted Israel’s counterattack, and then they wanted to hold in the tunnels and use the hostages just to buy time for the international community—namely, the United States—to stop the IDF in their operations.” “Their only goal is to survive. … It’s all about time. They want to survive Israel’s attack against them, which gives them immense political power. If they survive in any way, they have strategically won the war,” said Spencer. Hamas didn’t invent this strategy. This has been the Palestinians’ strategy for defeating Israel since at least the 1982 war in Lebanon. In that war, the PLO relied on the United States to force Israel to permit the PLO to survive to fight another day, by evacuating to Tunisia. The Palestinians clearly identified Israel’s greatest strategic vulnerabilities and built their strategy around them. Its first vulnerability is its Jewishness. Israel is the Jew of the international community. As such, it is continuously scapegoated, just as Jews have been scapegoated throughout history. The United States is the only powerful nation that has ever been willing to stand up to international bigotry against the Jewish state. So the only thing needed to collapse Israel’s international position is for America to turn against Israel. This goes double for military capabilities. Since 1973, Israel’s ability to maintain its war effort militarily has dependent on the U.S. resupply of arms during the course of war. By the Palestinians’ line of reasoning, if their many friends could convince Washington not to supply Israel with weapons in wartime, then they will survive. Since all the Palestinians need to do to win is survive, their strategic aces in the hole are antisemitism and time. Today, all aspects of U.S. policy regarding the Hamas war against Israel in Gaza and the larger Iranian-directed war to destroy the Jewish state are aligned with the Palestinian strategy. The Biden administration’s insistence that Israel permit unlimited quantities of food, water, fuel, medicine and other goods to enter the Gaza Strip ensures that Hamas will maintain its control over the population. America’s threats to end its military resupply to Israel has forced Israel to slow down its operations in Gaza in the interests of conserving munitions. Biden’s demand that Israel not conquer Rafah—Hamas’s last conventional holdout, where a quarter of its forces and its military leadership are holed down—is a demand that Israel allow Hamas to survive with its leadership and that part of its army intact. In other words, it is a demand that Israel not only allow Hamas to survive, but that Israel permit Hamas to end the war with a victory parade. Likewise, the administration’s obsessive focus on building a Palestinian state, which under all circumstances will be dominated by Hamas, with its opposition to continued Israeli military control over Gaza after the war indicates that not only is the administration opposed to an Israeli victory, but it seeks a Palestinian victory. As Spencer explained, in prosecuting the war to date, Israel has managed to do the impossible. It has waged the war successfully on the tactical level despite the massive obstacles the Biden administration has placed against its operations at every turn. Israel’s tactical prowess owes to the fact that the IDF is a citizens’ army. As such, it is able to tap into and utilize the unique skills of all sectors of Israeli society. For instance, in the weeks leading up to the ground invasion, the so-called Hilltop Youth—young men who live in isolated communities in Judea and Samaria—appeared at the mobilization base outside Gaza with their welding tools and metal beams. They fitted APCs and tanks with steel canopies that protected them from RPGs and other armor piercing projectiles. No one called them up to help. They just arrived. And their efforts saved the lives of countless soldiers. Similarly, a high-tech engineer called up to reserve duty developed a drone capable of operating inside the tunnels. Cross-industry collaboration with the IDF led to the immediate production of the drones for deployment in the tunnels—to great effect. One of the IDF’s tactical innovations that most impressed Spencer was its success in turning Hamas’s tactical advantage—its tunnels—into a disadvantage by learning to fight inside them. ‘This is a conventional war’ Since Israel first bore out the accuracy of the Palestinians’ strategic assessment of its weaknesses by standing down in in the face of U.S. pressure in Beirut in 1982, Jerusalem has opted to avoid the strategic contest altogether and focused on achieving tactical advantage across time. Its tactical successes enabled life to go on in Israel as the Palestinian war against it festered. The situation wasn’t desirable. Over the decades, the Palestinian-led political war against Israel’s right to exist constantly escalated in scale and destructive capacity in the international arena. But on a day-to-day level, Israel prospered. Given the sharp differences of opinion among Israelis over the strategic goals vis-à-vis the Palestinians, by limiting the battle to the tactical arena, Israeli society remained unified sufficiently to fight limited wars in Gaza, as well as limited operations in Judea and Samaria. The clash in Israel revolved around Israelis’ perception of Palestinian goals. Israelis on the left believed Palestinian demands were limited, and therefore, it would be possible to peacefully coexist if Israel appeased them by withdrawing from Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and giving them a state. Israelis on the right believed Palestinian demands were unlimited; therefore, Israel must have the national and strategic means to defeat them as a military and political threat by retaining perpetual control of Judea and Samaria, and granting the Palestinians limited autonomy. The military scope and genocidal nature of Hamas’s assault on Israel on Oct. 7 did two things. First, it settled the argument between left and right. Domestic support for Palestinian statehood dried up. Depending on the poll, between two-thirds and 85% of Israelis (including Israeli Arabs) now oppose Palestinian statehood. Oct. 7 also ended Israel’s ability to suffice with tactical successes and avoid a strategic victory. Hamas’s strike was strategic. The dimensions of their slaughtering and the jubilation with which it was greeted across Palestinian society mean that nothing short of total victory will suffice to ensure Israel’s survival. Unfortunately, the Biden administration and its Democratic Party refuse to understand the strategic stakes. Spencer explained that the West—and specifically, the United States—will not acknowledge two fundamental facts about the war. First, this is a conventional war, not a counterterror operation. Hamas is not merely a terrorist organization. It is a large, fortified army that began the war with 30,000 soldiers organized in specialized, well-trained units operating under a unified command. To understand the nature of the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, “you really have to go back to World War II-style battles,” said Spencer. “Defense is always the strongest form of warfare … Hamas has had 15-plus years to build defensive positions. … Yes, they don’t have an air force. They don’t have armor and tanks. They’re mostly light infantry. But they’re in probably the most defensive terrain that could ever be created. They’re in literally bomb-proof bunkers underneath every house. … It’s 400 miles of tunnels that range from 15 feet to 300 feet underground where no military munition can reach.” The IDF, Spencer noted, “has lots of drones and things above, but you can’t see through concrete. You can’t see underneath the buildings. It’s an immense defensive capability, but also the rocket supply. The fact that Hamas has launched over 12,000 rockets at Israel’s civilian sites—every one of them a war crime—is part of their combat power. … The fact that they’re sitting in their defensive positions, waiting for attack and have been planning for that for 15 years means it doesn’t really matter how big the IDF is or how powerful they are.” The second fundamental feature of Hamas’s war against Israel that the United States refuses to acknowledge is that Hamas’s Oct. 7 operation was not a terrorist attack. “They did terrorist things, but that was a full division-level invasion of a nation, of Israel,” and “while Hamas is a terrorist organization, it’s also an army.” The terrorists that carried out the slaughter that day didn’t “penetrate” Israel, like a suicide bomber who explodes himself in a crowded cafe. Hamas operatives invaded Israel with thousands of well-trained, heavily armed terror forces organized as light infantry and artillery units. Their goals were to seize whole communities, military bases and villages, and enact a premeditated plan of sadistic slaughter, gang rape, seizure of hostages of all ages, seizure of strategic targets, and, if possible, the holding of territory within Israel. The ground invasion was synchronized with a massive missile and drone strike, in addition to a cyber-attack against first-response systems and other critical infrastructure. Three things Israel must do to win Israel’s mini-war against Hamas in 2014 ended with a tactical victory and strategic stalemate. Ten years ago, Netanyahu was able to withstand the Obama-Biden administration’s demand that Israel capitulate and enable Hamas to win a strategic victory by mobilizing the support of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which opposed Hamas. Fearing Hamas’s mastermind Iran—and in light of the U.S.’s determination to enable a Hamas victory to empower Iran—today the moderate Arab states are unwilling to stick their necks out. In the absence of Sunni support, Israel is compelled to stand alone against the United States. To win, Israel must do three things. It must remain politically stable. Schumer’s broadside from the Senate floor was just the latest salvo in an all-out effort by the administration to destabilize Israel politically and replace Netanyahu with his chief rival Benny Gantz, whom they believe will agree to capitulate and accept the formation of a Palestinian state. Minister-without-Portfolio Gideon Sa’ar’s decision on Tuesday to ditch Gantz’s party and take his faction’s four Knesset seats into the coalition speaks to the near consensus view in Israel that Netanyahu is the only leader that will fight to victory despite U.S. opposition. On Wednesday, a new Direct Polls survey showed that U.S. hostility has strengthened Netanyahu and the right. Netanyahu leads Gantz 47 % to 37% in public support. His right-religious bloc of parties, (including Sa’ar) is polling a 62 seat-majority to Gantz’s leftist bloc of parties’ 48 seats. The second thing Israel must do is mobilize U.S. public opinion on behalf of its goal of achieving strategic victory by eradicating Hamas and maintaining its security control over Gaza for the foreseeable future. According to last month’s Harvard-Harris poll. Americans support Israel against Hamas 82% to 18%. Netanyahu opened a campaign this week to secure public support with a slew of interviews to the American media and his speech to AIPAC’s annual convention. Schumer’s hysterical attempts to walk his remarks back amid a furious storm of criticism from all quarters revealed that pro-Israel public opinion remains a factor in American politics. Finally, Israel must conquer Rafah in defiance of the Biden’s redline and do so as quickly as possible. As the weeks and months pass, and Election Day in America draws nearer, if Israel remains politically stable, if the IDF continues its brilliant fight in Gaza and if U.S. opinion remains supportive, just as Israel has turned Hamas’s tactical advantages into its own, it will turn the Palestinian U.S.-centered strategy on its head. For once, time will work in Israel’s favor, and Israel will win the strategic victory it needs to secure its survival. DOWNLOAD THE PROPHECY UPDATE APP Prophecy Update Videos Must Watch Videos! Videos You Can Trust
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DONATE HERE Your can also mail your support to: Prophecy Update PO Box 40516 Bakersfield, CA 93384 Is The Black Horse of Famine Getting Ready To Ride Too? - by Michael Snyder - https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/is-the-black-horse-of-famine-getting-ready-to-ride-too/ A “perfect storm” of factors has created a global food crisis that just continues to intensify. While you are enjoying a warm dinner tonight, millions of parents on the other side of the globe will have nothing to give to their children. The world simply is not producing enough food to feed everyone, but I am entirely convinced that things are going to get dramatically worse by the end of this decade. Yesterday, I discussed the red horse of war. I believe that we are in the early stages of World War III, and during the years ahead we will see death and destruction on an unprecedented scale. Needless to say, conflict of that magnitude would greatly disrupt global food production and global supply chains, and as a result we would experience horrifying famines all over the planet. The scenario that I just described is exactly what we see in the Book of Revelation. In Revelation chapter 6, the black horse of famine immediately follows the red horse of war… 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. 5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. Right now, we are literally teetering on the brink of such a disaster. According to the UN’s World Food Program, we are dealing with “a hunger crisis of unprecedented proportions” right now… Conflict, economic shocks, climate change and soaring prices for food and fertilizer are all combining in a perfect storm to create a hunger crisis of unprecedented proportions. Right now, in some of the hungriest places around the world, there just isn’t enough food to feed the population. They are not talking about a “perfect storm” that is coming someday. They are talking about a “perfect storm” that is already here. Last year, more than 3 billion people could not afford to eat a healthy diet… Worldwide, more than 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet, according to the report. That’s 42% of the world’s population, and a significant increase over pre-COVID levels. Why aren’t we hearing more about this? Just because our families aren’t facing severe hunger yet does not mean that we shouldn’t be paying attention. According to an article that was posted by the New York Times, the number of countries that are “at risk of famine” just continues to grow… The list of countries at risk of famine now includes Afghanistan, Syria and Mali. Humanitarian observers also worry that North Korea may be nearing a famine. That same New York Times article pointed out that things are particularly dire in eastern Africa… About 90 million people are facing severe hunger in Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen. These countries, unfortunately, have their own histories of severe food shortages, but the world has never witnessed all of these countries descending toward mass starvation at the same time. I am not the one that used the term “mass starvation” to describe what is happening in eastern Africa. This is the New York Times that we are talking about. Even they are admitting that this crisis has started to spiral out of control. Here in the United States, there is still enough food to go around, but supplies of food have been getting tighter. According to the Farm Bureau, the U.S. actually lost more than 140,000 farms during one recent five year period… Between 2017 and 2022, the number of farms in the U.S. declined by 141,733 or 7%, according to USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture, released on Feb. 13. Acres operated by farm operations during the same timeframe declined by 20.1 million (2.2%), a loss equivalent to an area about the size of Maine. And the size of the U.S. cattle herd is now the smallest that it has been in 73 years… Not many ranchers active today will remember the last time the U.S. cattle industry was this small. On January 1, 2024, the All Cattle and Calves inventory was 87.15 million head, the smallest total inventory since 1951. The All Cattle and Calves inventory is 1.9 percent smaller year over year and is the fifth consecutive year of declining cattle inventories, a total decrease of 7.65 million head or 8.1 percent since the most recent peak in 2019. The 2023 calf crop was 33.6 million head, down 2.5 percent year over year and the smallest calf crop since 2014. Meanwhile, the bird flu continues to spread all over the country, and this has pushed up egg prices dramatically in recent months… Data from the United States Department of Agriculture shows that Grade A egg prices per dozen jumped 40% from $2.13 to $3 between November and February. Of course just about everything has been getting a lot more expensive since Joe Biden entered the White House. Here are some more examples… Boneless chicken breast has increased in price 26%, from $3.26 per pound in January 2021 to $4.11 per pound in February 2024. White bread per pound is 30% more expensive, up to $2.01 per pound in February vs. $1.55 per pound in January 2021. And white sugar has increased cost per pound from $0.68 to $0.98 in the last three years, a 44% increase. I always warned my readers that the way that the global food crisis would initially manifest itself in the United States would be through much higher food prices. And now I believe we are reaching a tipping point for certain commodities. Just look at what is happening to cocoa prices. They just continue to shoot up at an exponential rate… May ICE NY cocoa (CCK24) today is up +381 (+5.42%), and May ICE London cocoa #7 (CAK24) is up +377 (+6.55%). The May NY and London cocoa futures contracts today both rallied sharply to new contract highs on continued concern about tight cocoa supplies from West Africa. Lower cocoa production in the Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer, is a major bullish factor for cocoa prices. Monday’s government data showed Ivory Coast farmers shipped 1.22 MMT of cocoa to ports from October 1 to March 10, down -29% from the same time last year. The Ivory Coast cocoa regulator said last Thursday it expects the Ivory Coast mid-crop, which officially starts in April and is the smaller of two annual harvests, to fall -33% to 400,000 MT from 600,000 MT last year. Trader Ecom Agroindustrial projects Ivory Coast 2023/24 cocoa production, which ends in September, will fall -21.5% y/y to an 8-year low of 1.75 MMT. I know that I have said it before, but I will say it again. If you love chocolate, stock up now while you still can. The same thing could be said for many other food items as well. During a recent interview with Fox News, prepping expert James Nelson explained that most Americans are woefully unprepared for any sort of a major supply chain disruption… Nelson calculated that if a freezer goes out, people will only have that food for three days. If the power goes out, Americans are now reduced to five days of food in their homes. A local suburban or urban area will also have about two weeks of food and has generators if the power goes out, but when people are dependent on storefronts, they will quickly be emptied out. “In the event of even a temporary supply chain collapse, most homes are within two weeks of being entirely dependent on handouts from a government entity or non-government organization,” Nelson said. “Anybody who doesn’t have 3 to 6 months of basic staples and food within your home, and the ability to grow a garden. Then what’s your plan? I mean, these are not weird concepts to talk about,” he added. He is right. Our world is rapidly approaching a time of unparalleled chaos, and most of the population is completely and utterly unprepared for it. If you plan to get prepared, now is the time. Because it appears that the black horse of famine is getting ready to ride, and it won’t be too long before it finally gets released. There Is a Problem In The Church Today: Slumbering, Self-Serving, Christian Leaders – By Dean Dwyer - https://harbingersdaily.com/there-is-a-problem-in-the-church-today-slumbering-self-serving-christian-leaders/ There is a problem in the church today. But it isn’t a problem unique to the church. This is a problem which existed at the time of the prophet Isaiah also. The problem I am referring to relates to the action or, rather, inaction of many Christian leaders. Before we get to that, let’s understand Isaiah’s description of slumbering, self-serving spiritual leaders. Isaiah 56:9-12 reads: “All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.” Spiritual leaders are “watchmen” who must be awake to the dangers that threaten God’s people. The watchman’s task was not confined to mere observation, but extended to sounding the alarm, alerting the inhabitants of a city to the imminent danger they faced. This was a heavy responsibility. In fact, you could say that the role was characterized by these five important qualifications:
The spiritual leaders that Isaiah spoke of were not hailed as courageous watchmen, but dumb dogs that stayed silent when danger approached. Israel was in a perilous situation, but the watchmen were completely unaware of those things that should have gripped their attention. Sound familiar!? We live in the most exciting time of church history. Yet, many Christian leaders couldn’t be less interested, even as we clearly see shadows of the Tribulation Period! Israel’s leaders were wakeful enough when it came to seeking their own desires, but because they dreamt that all was well, they could not discern the danger all around them. What a powerful lesson for the modern church! Directing attention to one’s desires leads to danger and lack of discernment. Does this not accurately describe the spiritual leaders of many Laodicean churches today!? What use are blind watchmen who are like dumb dogs and cannot bark? They are not able to warn the sheep or scare away the wolf. What they do is fundamentally the opposite – they make no opposition to the wolf and end up worrying the sheep! When Isaiah describes them as “sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber,” they weren’t overcome by sleep because they were fatigued from working – they were asleep because they desired to be asleep. But Isaiah 56:11 confirms that not only are they dumb dogs, they are greedy dogs which never have enough. As Ecclesiastes 5:10 says: “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance, with increase.” These irresponsible leaders don’t feed the flock – they fleece it. All they are interested in is themselves. Every one of them is looking to his own way, minding his own private interests and in so doing, they have no regard for the welfare of the flock at all. It was like what Paul said in Philippians 2:21: “For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.” Regarding the leaders Isaiah spoke against, they sought profit, ease, safety, pleasure, and satisfaction – that was their goal. The role of a watchman was too demanding for them, so they sought the pleasures of the world. And so, repeating Isaiah 56:12: “Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.” This was the final nail in the coffin. Not only were they blind, mute, asleep and greedy – they also became willfully intoxicated. In so doing, their hearts were hardened and their wickedness put on full display. Worse, their actions sealed the fate and direction of the people. In a city, if the people saw that the watchmen were drunk and feeling secure, what was there to worry about? Everything must be fine. The people may have even felt led to participate in the revelry. You see, this story takes place under the backdrop of judgement. But because they were very secure and confident of the continuance of their prosperity and ease, they did not give any thought at all to their own sin, frailty and mortality. They had no dread of the judgements of God and in fact, they were daily provoking Him through their actions. In Ezekiel 34, the Lord also gave a strong warning against the irresponsible shepherds of Israel. This is a figurative expression referring to kings and other political and religious leaders and in verses 1 to 3 God says: “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.” J Vernon McGee said that he used to get many letters from church committees asking him for a recommendation for a pastor. He said most of them listed qualifications of what they wanted and the top priority was a good personality! McGee said they never asked if the man accurately and boldly communicated God’s Word. This experience tells us that as long as the candidate is friendly, they could care less whether they have a mute dog in the pulpit. Even though we are deeply concerned about the condition of the church, let us also be thankful for those wonderful remnant pastors, preachers, teachers, and believers who know the sheep, feed the sheep, lead the sheep, and protect the sheep. Daily Jot: The Farm Chronicles: Tadpoles in the spring - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com Every spring in Ohio was like a new day dawning. The air had a crispness to it. It was warming up after a usual cold winter. The ground was soft and spongy from the heavy snow and abundant bone-chilling rain. There was always new birth. I remember holding lambs in my lap while sitting on the register in the kitchen floor blowing the hot air from our fuel oil furnace, warming the lamb and me from the chill of the morning. We had one register in the hallway upstairs heating all three bedrooms. It was usually really cold up there during the winter. Especially, when you had to jump up early to do the chores. My feet, warmed from layers of blankets, hitting that cold linoleum floor always experienced a true wake up call. March was usually still pretty cold. The morning ice was thawing after freezing nights as the sunrise brought with it some sense of warmth. Footsteps on the way to the barn were crunching through the crust of water mixed with mud, each footprint filling with cold muddy water after our calf-high rubber barn boots moved on to the next step. The barn door didn’t slide, it had to be pulled open, often yanking against the ground which had swollen up and frozen overnight. The horses and cows inside would welcome us with a “moo” or “whinny,” probably more of a reminder that they were hungry and expecting to be fed than a “happy to see you” greeting. Along the latter part of March or early April, the creek would start to flow. And the swampy area just East of the house and barn would start to come alive. By the end of April and early May, new life was springing into full gear. My buddy Sonny and I spent a lot of time out by the pond looking for turtles and frogs. We would build little rafts or river boats out of pieces of wood and float them with the current down the creek out back, using sticks to keep them from getting caught up on limbs or rocks. The one thing that we always had an eye out for was any kind of water life. There were rarely any fish in the creek. If so, they were minnows. But there were always frogs, frog eggs, salamanders, snakes. A virtual amphibious heaven for two young pioneers. We were fascinated with gathering up tadpoles in fruit jars and watching them over the weeks to grow legs, lose their tails and become frogs. In the Ohio springtime, there were a lot of large mudpuddles and somehow those tadpoles would end up in those as well. Every year we would hunt for tadpoles and every year we were just as spellbound watching them mature. It was a science project before we even knew about having science projects. New life in the spring. Lambs and calves and foals and tadpoles were part of the new life. It’s kind of like putting off Old Man Winter and, as in Colossians 3:10, “have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” God’s creation is amazing and marvelous. On the farm, we were often reminded through the smallest of things. Daily Devotion: Complete Access - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” —Romans 8:15 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/complete-access/ - Listen Years ago when I was first getting to know Billy Graham, I addressed him as “Dr. Graham.” But he said, “Don’t call me Dr. Graham. Call me Billy.” That was hard for me to do. It felt too personal. But I finally got around to calling him Billy. His children, though, had a more intimate name for him: Daddy. And his grandchildren called him Daddy Bill. Only his children and grandchildren had the right to address him that way. It was because of their relationship with him. As followers of Jesus Christ, we have a relationship with the Creator of the universe. And we have complete access to Him through prayer. We are God’s children, and He loves us. He wants to hear from us. He wants to talk to us and spend time with us. It’s never a drudgery; it’s always a delight. And the same should be true for us when we spend time with Him. We know from the Scriptures that He is a good Father. For instance, in the story of the Prodigal Son, Jesus presented God the Father as a dad who missed his wayward son and longed for his return. Then, when his son made his way back home, he ran to him and threw his arms around him. He said, “We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found” (Luke 15:23–24 NLT). This is your Father in Heaven. He’s a father who always will be there, a father who listens, a father who loves you. In addition, Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” (John 14:9 NLT). Therefore, if you want to know what the Father in Heaven is like, then look at Jesus. Jesus was approachable. Little children were drawn to Him, and He blessed them. Tears streamed down His face as He stood at the grave of His friend Lazarus. In the upper room, He got down on His hands and knees and washed the feet of His disciples, including the feet of Judas Iscariot. Maybe you’re thinking, “He’s the Father in Heaven, but Heaven is so far away. I need someone on earth.” God is omnipresent, which means that He is present everywhere. And is Heaven really that far away? Perhaps, in a sense, it is. But in another sense, Heaven is closer than we may realize. Heaven is another dimension. It’s a supernatural realm. Thus, for the Father in Heaven to step into our world is nothing to Him. Remember, when Jesus was teaching the disciples to pray, He began His model prayer by saying, “Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9–10 NLT). God is deeply involved in and deeply concerned about what you’re facing right now. If it concerns you, then it concerns Him. 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