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Our Glorious Future – Jonathan Brentner - https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/https/jonathan-brentner-g8fgsquarespacecom/config/2021/1/18/our-glorious-future
Perhaps you wonder why I’m writing about glory amid the turmoil swirling around us today that point to difficult days ahead for the followers of Jesus. The spewing of demonic hatred at the highest levels of our government and in the media toward President Trump and his supporters is something that should greatly alarm even those who do not like the President or his supporters. It spells trouble ahead for all of us who hold to the truths of Scripture. As I write, there are upwards of thirty thousand heavily armed soldiers and special forces in Washington, DC that have orders to use lethal force if necessary. Is this part of a last second plan by President Trump to restore our republic and keep America from falling into the hands of a Marxist regime via a stolen election? Or, is the military expecting something far greater than a domestic uprising? We just do not know. How do we deal with such uncertainty? At times, I do not respond well when I read about the vile and evil agenda that Biden plans to set in motion during his first days in office. I know all to well that it takes a steady dose of God’s Word, time in prayer, and the Holy Spirit keep us focused on our hope before us. And even then I blow it at times and find myself coming back to the Lord for mercy and strength to wait upon Him. I believe that a focus on the glory that awaits all of us who know the Lord as our Savior is something that can encourage us and even cheer our hearts regardless of what we face in the perilous days ahead for us in this world. WHAT DOES THE WORD “GLORY” SIGNIFY? We see or hear the word “glory” so often that we rarely stop to consider what it means or signifies. More times than I would care to admit, I gloss over the word without slowing down to consider its implications for my life or my future in eternity. A proper examination of the word “glory” would fill a large book, so this will be a brief discussion. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word denotes something weighty or someone who is worthy of great honor and reverence such as befitting a great king or God. Glory further depicts the luminous manifestation of the Lord’s presence, beauty, power, and character. When the Lord’s glory filled the temple, the priests could not enter it because of the dazzling brightness of God’s presence (2 Chron. 7:1-3). Creation also displays the Lord’s glory. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, / and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Today we know the universe above contains trillions of stars, all of which God named, and we see beautiful, stunning pictures of our universe via the Hubble telescope. God’s glory includes His matchless beauty and His power displayed throughout His creation. The Old Testament characterization of glory as God’s majesty, character, radiant presence, and exaltation carries over into the New Testament in the person of the Son. In John 1:14 we read, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus reveals the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and all the prophets to us. Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus “is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” Jesus is not only the One to whom all of the Old Testament points, He is the precise representation of God the Father and possesses all His glory. In John 14:9 Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” He showed us the character and power of God the Father during His first coming; when Christ comes for His church, we will see the full extent of His glory. THE REVEALING OF JESUS’ GLORY TO US So, what does God’s glory mean for us as followers of Jesus who face affliction, suffering, and uncertain days? Paul provides the answer in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” For the apostle, the anticipation of seeing the full display of God’s glory far outweighed his personal afflictions, which we know were severe and exceedingly painful. Despite the beatings and scourgings, he anticipated a future unveiling of God’s glory that would make all his intense sufferings in this life seem insignificant by comparison. Wow! I believe this great unveiling of glory starts with the rapture, as Paul refers to it later in the same passage (Rom. 8:23-25). Please stay with me as we go back to the Jesus’ words in the Upper Room as He spoke to His disciples as leaders of the church that would come into being on the Day of Pentecost. Jesus said this in John 14:3, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” The Lord is talking about a time when He takes us to “Father’s house” so that we might be where He is at now. In John 17:24, Jesus reveals a key reason for taking us to the “place” where He now resides, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” Jesus prayed that we would someday be with Him, where He is at in heaven, so that we would see the full extent of His glory. In 14:3, Jesus says He will take us to where He is at and in 17:24 He prays for this to happen so that we will see the glory He possessed before the world even existed. Jesus longs to take His bride to His Father’s house in heaven so we can see the glory He possessed before the creation of the world. We are not the only ones looking forward to the rapture. Don’t let the scoffers and naysayers deter you from your glorious hope in these troubling last days. We will someday, perhaps very soon, see Jesus in all His spectacular brilliance, power, and beauty. Notice the words of Paul in Colossians 3:4, “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Do you really see what this verse tells us? When Jesus appears, we do not remain on the earth, but we “appear with him in glory;” we depart from this earth to be with Jesus, where He now resides, and witness His glory. This is the rapture! As one of the first disciples, John spent three and a half years with Jesus on earth. He saw Him on multiple occasions after His resurrection and watched Him ascend into heaven. So, what happened when John saw a vision of his glorious Savior on Patmos Island? John says, “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead” (Rev. 1:17). It never ceases to amaze me that one who knew Jesus so well on earth would respond that way when seeing Him in His glory. What will it be like when we see Jesus in all His glory? WE WILL EXPERIENCE GLORY FOR OURSELVES The news gets even better for us. There is a sense in which we will not only see Jesus’ in all His glory, but also experience it through our resurrected bodies. Romans 8:30 ends with this promise, “. . . and those whom he justified he also glorified.” I believe this relates to what the apostle wrote in Philippians 3:20-21, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” Until our faith becomes sight, we can bask in the wonder of the change we will experience when the Lord exchanges our perishing bodies for those that will never grow old or die and when we see Jesus in all the glory He possessed before the incarnation. “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:51-53). 1 John 3:2 says this about the moment Jesus comes for us, “. . . what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” Notice John’s reference to seeing Jesus “as he is.” We must not divorce the rapture from the Gospel; it’s the substance of our “blessed hope” (Titus 2:11-14) as so many do today. Our ultimate hope is not in earthly outcomes as desirous as they might be, but in the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus. The appearing of Jesus to take us to His Father’s house in heaven is the substance of the hope of the Gospel. The apostle Paul, in speaking of the the “redemption of our bodies,” the rapture, said, “For in this hope we were saved” (Rom 8:23-24). If the tremendous suffering and afflictions that the Apostle Paul experienced were “not even worth comparing with the glory” that Paul anticipated at Christ’s return for him, how much more should our hope of future glory comfort us during these most uncertain times? Regardless of what we experience in the coming days and weeks, we know that glory awaits us at the imminent return of Jesus to take us home. Sometimes I try to image what it will be like to suddenly set foot in glory with my resurrection body, see Jesus, reunite with family members who have gone before me, and see the place He has prepared for me. I am sure that my imagination falls far short of what life will actually be like in heaven, but it does help focus my mind on things to come. Trump’s Top Ten Achievements for Israel – Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - https://www.israel365news.com/164145/trumps-top-ten-achievements-for-israel/ He shall reign as king and shall prosper, and he shall do what is just and right in the land. Jeremiah 23:5 (The Israel BibleTM) As Joe Biden is busy announcing his plans, the White House produced a list of President Trump’s top achievements. And though the list tops at over 700, to many of his most ardent advocates, his term in office will be remembered as one of unprecedented love of Israel. Though the list is indeed impressive by any standard and well-worth perusing, this article will focus on his achievements that involved Israel. Under the heading, “Renewed our cherished friendship and alliance with Israel and took historic action to promote peace in the Middle East,” (which could be an accomplishment unto itself) the White House listed ten achievements. 1: RECOGNIZED JERUSALEM AS THE TRUE CAPITAL OF ISRAEL AND QUICKLY MOVED THE AMERICAN EMBASSY IN ISRAEL TO JERUSALEM The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 legislated that Jerusalem should be recognized as Israel’s eternal capital and the embassy’s location should reflect that. And though every president elected since the act was passed has promised to bring it about, in December 2017, President Trump became the first to have the courage to do so. His action was widely condemned by Democrats and other national leaders and earned him a negative vote in the United Nations as many warned that his action would lead to an apocalyptic war in the Middle East. Not only did the war fail to appear, but Trump has led the Middle East to unprecedented peace agreements. 2: ACKNOWLEDGED ISRAEL’S SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE GOLAN HEIGHTS AND DECLARED THAT ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS IN THE WEST BANK ARE NOT INCONSISTENT WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW In this achievement, the administration is selling itself short, listing two massive achievements, each spectacular in its own right, as one. In March 2019, President Trump signed a presidential proclamation making the United States the first country to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the vital region that was captured in the defensive 1967 Six-Day War and annexed in 1981. The move also helped tip the scales in Israel’s favor at a time when Iran was expanding regionally into Syria just across the border. In recognition of Trump’s largesse, Israel dedicated Trump Heights, the first community in Israel named after a sitting American president since Kfar Truman. 3: REMOVED THE UNITED STATES FROM THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL DUE TO THE GROUP’S BLATANT ANTI-ISRAEL BIAS In June 2018, Nikki Haley, Trump’s indomitable ambassador to the UN, announced that the US would be ending the farce of participating in the woefully misnamed United Nations Human Rights Council. “I want to make it crystal clear that this step is not a retreat from human rights commitments,” Haley told the media in the announcement. “On the contrary, we take this step because our commitment does not allow us to remain a part of a hypocritical and self-serving organization that makes a mockery of human rights.” The decision could easily have been based on the hypocritical record of many of its 47 member states, as Haley called the council a “protector of human-rights abusers, and a cesspool of political bias,” and said that “America should not provide it with any credibility.” But she made it clear that the withdrawal was due to the council’s “chronic bias against Israel.” Established in 2006, George W. Bush withdrew from the council over its spotty record but that decision was reversed by Barack Obama who was clearly not as concerned about the humanitarian abuses or the anti-Israel bias. 4: BROKERED HISTORIC PEACE AGREEMENTS BETWEEN ISRAEL AND ARAB-MUSLIM COUNTRIES, INCLUDING THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, THE KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN, AND SUDAN Making peace in the Middle East has long been a metaphor for an unachievable and amazing political achievement but Trump made this a reality by brokering the Abraham Accords. The agreements normalized relations between Israel and several of its Muslim Arab neighbors in the Gulf. Trump and his team achieved this by rejecting the “conventional wisdom” that the key to peace was an agreement with the “Palestinians” and the creation of a Palestinian political entity inside Israel’s borders, ethnically cleansed of Jews and with its capital in Jerusalem. The agreements have caught on surprisingly fast since they were based on a mutual interest in controlling Iranian expansionism that was fueled by a catastrophically flawed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) commonly referred to as the Iranian nuclear deal that was brokered by President Obama. President-elect Biden is already negotiating to re-enter the agreement that Trump was wise enough to pull out from. 5: BROKERED A DEAL FOR KOSOVO TO NORMALIZE TIES AND ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL In September 2020, Israel and Kosovo agreed, as part of negotiations for the Kosovo and Serbia Economic Normalization agreements, to mutually recognize each other. The decision was difficult for Israel and put it in a difficult position with several other countries but, with the support of its powerful ally in the White House, the Israeli government signed peace with the Muslim majority nation. 6: ANNOUNCED THAT SERBIA WOULD MOVE ITS EMBASSY IN ISRAEL TO JERUSALEM There have been open relations since Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008. In September 2020, under a deal brokered by the United States, Serbia and Kosovo agreed to normalize economic relations. This agreement included normalizing relations with Israel and Serbia agreed to move its embassy to Jerusalem. 7: FIRST AMERICAN PRESIDENT TO ADDRESS AN ASSEMBLY OF LEADERS FROM MORE THAN 50 MUSLIM NATIONS, AND REACH AN AGREEMENT TO FIGHT TERRORISM IN ALL ITS FORMS In May 2017, President Trump addressed the 54 Arab and Muslim member nations of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Saudi Arabia. The visit included meetings that culminated in several arms deals that were lucrative for the US and also were intended to offset the growing regional threat of Iran. Though the summit did not explicitly include issues concerning Israel, Iran’s expansionism poses an existential threat to Israel as does Islamist terrorism. It is interesting to note that the channels of communication opened at the summit may have paved the way for the Abraham Accords. 8: ESTABLISHED THE ETIDAL CENTER TO COMBAT TERRORISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SAUDI ARABIAN GOVERNMENT One of the practical results of the summit in Riyadh was the establishment of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, also known as “Etidal”, a global center in Riyadh tasked with fighting extremism. The center aims to combat extremism using modern technology. With the goal of combating rational, media and statistical extremism and supporting peace and tolerance between nations by strengthening Islamic moderation principles in the world, it is hoped that Israel, the number one target of Islamic extremism, will benefit. 9: ANNOUNCED THE VISION FOR PEACE POLITICAL PLAN – A TWO-STATE SOLUTION THAT RESOLVES THE RISKS OF PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD TO ISRAEL’S SECURITY, AND THE FIRST TIME ISRAEL HAS AGREED TO A MAP AND A PALESTINIAN STATE. The Trump peace plan, officially titled “Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People”, is a proposal by the Trump administration to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict unveiled in January 2020. Dubbed “the deal of the century,” it allowed for the creation of a Palestinian state inside the borders of Israel. Immediately rejected by the Palestinian Authority, it put to rest the myth that their government was open to a negotiated peace agreement. 10: RELEASED AN ECONOMIC PLAN TO EMPOWER THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE AND ENHANCE PALESTINIAN GOVERNANCE THROUGH HISTORIC PRIVATE INVESTMENT As part of the Deal of the Century, the economic plan would have brought the “Palestinian” people into the 21st century and allowed them to be equal partners economically with Israel. Unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority rejected Trump’s vision. Nearing Midnight: A De Facto Dictatorship – Todd Strandberg - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/ “I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.” – Thomas Jefferson “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” -George Washington As the laws currently stand, America is still a free nation. In the practical operation of government, I think it is incorrect to say we have one “of the people, by the people and for the people.” Democratic systems are fragile in nature, and they can be easily broken. The left has reached a point where they are so powerful, they can now set all the rules. Anyone who holds a view that disagrees with the leftist mob is labeled as an enemy and quickly exiled. Alexis de Tocqueville gave a perfect description of the type of oppression people are now facing: “Tyranny in democratic republics does not proceed in the same way, however. It ignores the body and goes straight for the soul. The master no longer says: You will think as I do or die. He says: You are free not to think as I do. You may keep your life, your property, and everything else. But from this day forth you shall be as a stranger among us. You will retain your civic privileges, but they will be of no use to you. For if you seek the votes of your fellow citizens, they will withhold them, and if you seek only their esteem, they will feign to refuse even that. You will remain among men, but you will forfeit your rights to humanity. When you approach your fellow creatures, they will shun you as one who is impure. And even those who believe in your innocence will abandon you, lest they, too, be shunned in turn. Go in peace, I will not take your life, but the life I leave you with is worse than death.” – end quote President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen managed to go a step beyond by prostrating himself before his persecutors. He hoped by bad-mouthing Trump, he will regain his freedom. After calling Trump a “pathological narcissist” a hundred times, Cohen’s services are no longer needed. Because he will never be able to remove the smell of Donald J. Trump from his hide, it’s unlikely he will be declared rehabilitated and welcomed back into society. By betraying his attorney-client privilege, something that should have prevented him from getting in trouble in the first place, Cohen should now realize he deserves his own fate. The destruction of the social media site Parler is a most troubling event in relation to freedom of speech. The company’s only sin was it wanted to be an open platform for all people. Parler was banned because it wasn’t part of the cabal. Amazon removed Parler from the servers of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Apple and Google deleted the site’s app from their app stores, and a host of other companies cut ties with Parler. There is another site called gab.com that could take the place of Parler. It manages its own servers, so AWS can’t pull the plug on it. The left has already labeled gab.com as a dangerous site, and they are trying to destroy it. Just when Ford said you can have any color of car as long it is black, the media will collectively say you can have any social site as long as it is leftist in its political ideology. We are in the very early stage of what I fear is going to be a repeat of the terrors of the French Revolution. I did a web search for a company that sells guillotines capable of chopping heads, and I couldn’t find any. I’m sure some greedy entrepreneurs will sense the need and invest in guillotine technology. In more ways than one, they will make a killing in the coming years. It baffles me how these people don’t realize they are doing the devil’s work. They get individuals fired for using the wrong pronoun because they are simply too stupid to matter. A growing number of them honestly think it’s okay to take children out of your home for voting for the wrong party. The great danger in the cancellation culture is the chance of people being caught in the trap they intend for their enemies. In the future, many will be saying, “but I’m on your side,” as they face their doom. I think all Christians need to be praying constantly for the Lord Jesus to come and take his bride home. If the Son of God doesn’t come for us soon, the demonic-controlled people of this planet will arrange for us to arrive in heaven by unpleasant means. “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Revelation 3:10). God’s Pure Grace - By Dennis Huebshman - https://www.raptureready.com/2021/01/16/gods-pure-grace-by-dennis-huebshman/ There is a story that I saved in one of my older files that seems very relevant for today. It starts out by saying it’s a true story about a pastor named George Thomas, from an unnamed small New England town. (any emphasis mine) One Easter Sunday morning, Pastor Thomas came to the church carrying a rusty, bent, old birdcage and set it up on a stand by the pulpit. Everyone looked at the cage with obvious questions on their minds. Pastor Thomas gave the message below, which had an obviously deeper meaning. “I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this birdcage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked what he had. He replied, ‘just some old birds.’ When I asked what he was going to do with them, he said he was going to have ‘fun’ with them. He intended to tease them and pull out their feathers, and eventually feed them to some cats. I asked the boy how much he would take for the birds. The boy said they weren’t pretty, couldn’t sing, and were good for nothing. I again asked how much, and the boy said $10.00. I gave the boy the $10.00, and took the cage to a tree in a grassy spot and set them free – they were saved.” At this point, the pastor told a story of why he had brought that cage to church. One day, Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and with an evil laugh, said he had set a trap and caught the people there. He said he used “bait” that they could not refuse. Jesus asked Satan what he was going to do with the people, and Satan said he was going to have “fun” with them. He was going to have them marry and divorce each other; learn to drink and smoke and curse; and then teach them to make weapons to kill each other. Jesus asked what Satan would do when he was done with them, and Satan said he would kill them all, including all offspring. Jesus asked Satan how much he wanted for them. Satan laughed and said that Jesus didn’t want them because they’re totally no good. He said they would turn and hate Jesus, spit in His face, and kill Him. Once more, Jesus asked, “How Much?” Satan told Him, “All your blood, tears and your life. Jesus simply said, “Done,” and paid the price. At this point, Pastor Thomas picked up the birdcage, and without another word, left the church. Granted, we are not in the Easter season, but rather Christmas when many celebrate the Birth of our Savior. What we need to understand is that Jesus was destined to come as our Messiah from the very beginning of creation when there were no holidays. Though God cursed the serpent, and therefore put a curse on Satan (Genesis 3), He knew from that time forward what was to take place right up to the very end of the existence of this present earth. He knew that humans could never save themselves, and they must have someone to offer the perfect sacrifice they could take hold of and be rescued. First, Grace is being given blessings we do not deserve. Second, Mercy is not being given the punishment we do deserve. Our Lord and Savior gave us the absolute greatest gift we could ever have. For His gift to be effective, we must receive and accept it. Otherwise, it would be like leaving a present under the tree and then throwing it out when the tree is removed, never having opened it. As humans with a sin-nature that has been passed down from Adam and Eve to every person born or that will be born on this earth, we deserve no less than to be condemned by our Heavenly Father. He is a perfect God, our Creator, and cannot tolerate any sin, large or small. Only with the proper “sacrifice” to atone for our sins can we have any Hope of an eternal life with Him. The only sacrifice that He could possibly accept would be to offer a part of Himself in our place. Jesus did not come into existence with His human birth here. He has always been with God, and is, in fact, God. (John 1:1-4) Prior to the human birth of Jesus, God allowed temporary measures that had to be repeated often as a sign of repentance and submission. The blood of animals and birds could never satisfy His requirement of pure, sinless blood. Jesus led a sinless life while He was here, and His Blood met all requirements of the Father at Calvary. Now, when anyone becomes a part of the Savior’s flock, they meet the criteria of Psalm 103:11-12, which states, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.” The blood of Jesus was so pure that it reached all those who, prior to Calvary, were in God’s will, and will reach all from Calvary to the end of the Millennium that will call on Him to be their Savior. He paid completely to satisfy the Heavenly Father for us. At the same time, all who were disobedient prior to the Cross, and all who will refuse to call on Jesus and accept His gift, will appear at the Great White Throne of Revelation 20:11-15. This is not a “rewards” judgment, and all who are there will be given what degree of punishment they will suffer forever. There is no pardon there, and it will be too late to call on Jesus to be saved. Eternity is a long time to make this mistake. God also realizes that we are humans, and we will slip and sin. As long as we have His Son as our Shepherd, He will forgive us when we confess and ask for His forgiveness (1 John 1:8-10), As humans, we can never fully understand the total scope of God’s love for us, but by faith, we know He is absolutely true to His word. When we are saved (Romans 10:9-13), our past is just that – behind us. For those who will not be saved, their past will be paid for, in full, by them in the Lake of Fire that was originally made for Satan and his demons (Matthew 25:41). This world is full of false prophets and antichrists that are doing everything possible to fulfill Satan’s wishes. The Father knows that more will accept this world than will accept Jesus, but He stands ready to receive and forgive all who truly repent and call out to be saved. If you haven’t asked Jesus to be your Savior and to forgive you all your sins, right now would be a great time to do so. We do not know the day or hour that He will come to call for His flock, but it could be any time now. God does not want us to fail but will not force anyone to accept His Son. Those who do will spend all eternity in forever, imperishable, immortal, pain-free bodies with Jesus. It’s a gift we did not earn (Grace), and without the punishment we deserve (Mercy). Jesus is the only way to the Father (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), and we cannot buy or earn our own Salvation. Being “good enough” doesn’t cut it and is not an option as we are all lost sinners (Romans 3:23). We deserve death for all we have done (Romans 6:23), but we will receive the “free gift” promised by asking Jesus into our lives, to be there forever. Call on Jesus; develop a relationship with Him through Bible reading and prayer. Just talk to Him, nothing formal or rehearsed. He’s listening 24-7, and it gets more natural each time to talk to Him. If you’ve never read the Bible, be sure to get a true version you can understand from a reputable Christian source, and start with the book of John. From there, go to Romans, and then go to the very beginning – Genesis – and read from there on. Before long, you too will rejoice that we have a Savior and God that loves us and didn’t leave us to Satan’s evil plan. We have a wonderful option of a Heavenly Home, and He’s coming soon to take us there. Please don’t miss the call. Ahava B’Shem Yeshua! (Love in the Name of Jesus) [email protected] Daily Jot: In whom do you trust? – Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com The guiding light of freedom so dearly exemplified by the United States of America’s free elections and peaceful transfer of power will be hidden behind chain-link fences, razor wire and armed combat military on inauguration day. This signals to the world that the torch of liberty is not so bright as it once was, the hope of self-rule on the decline. What once separated America from other nations has deteriorated to the appearance of either having to protect authority for fear of a coup d’état or having to defend authority because of a coup d’état. What a horrible optic for the inspiration of freedom around the world to be under military lockdown for the “peaceful” handover from one president to another. The extremists on both sides of the political spectrum are getting what they want. The Capitol Hill riot of Wednesday, January 6 gave the Democratic Party self-justification to lock down the capitol city and display immense authority and power not only to American citizens but to the rest of the world. They are demonstrating that no domestic terrorist, translated as anyone who disagrees with their agenda or political religion, has any right to dissent and that they do so at their own peril. The DC lockdown emboldens the conservative delusionists that the outgoing Administration will invoke the Insurrection Act, declare martial law, and arrest the traitors–defined as anyone who disagrees with their agenda. Both rely on tyranny as the means to their end. One is based on the historical evolution of socialism and communism to a military state as catalyzed by some form of crisis. The other based on conspiracy propaganda sowing false hope and confusion that the socialists will get their due. Now, the left, through the Mayor of Washington, DC, is telling people to shelter in place and the conservative side is warning its loyalists to stand down and stay inside their homes because something big is going down. Either way, the result is the same for all–citizens are being locked down, their freedom suspended by force or by suggestion. And the big thing going down is that we are all being conditioned to accept a new normal of Liberty Lost. Now Washington DC is under military rule for the inauguration. Those on both sides of the extremes–by fueling anger, advocating conspiracy theories, proffering misinformation and media lies–have created such distrust and animosity that America looks like a third-world military state while transferring power from one president to the next. Irrespective of what happens on Inauguration Day, we as citizens, especially Christian citizens, of this nation have much self-examination ahead of us. Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” Who do we really trust? If we choose God, then we need to live in such a way to inspire and attract others to do the same, that our way of life might be preserved and proven acceptable unto the Lord. Daily Devotion: But First the Bad News - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns! —Isaiah 52:7 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/but-first-the-bad-news/ - Listen A few years ago, Dr. Erich Voigt, an ear, nose, and throat surgeon, was watching a reality television program when he noticed something. A woman on the show had a lump on her neck that concerned him. When his efforts to contact her failed, he posted a message on Facebook with a screenshot of her on the program. A family friend saw it and passed along Dr. Voigt’s message. Soon the woman was undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer, thanks to the eagle-eyed surgeon. It can be that way with sharing our faith. Sometimes people don’t want to hear about Jesus. But let’s say, for instance, that we were on a plane that was about to make an emergency landing, and I wanted to tell you where the emergency exits were. I think you’d be interested in what I had to say. In the same way, when I share the gospel, I’m trying to warn people and help them. The word gospel means “good news.” But before we can fully appreciate the good news, we first have to know the bad news. Here’s the bad news: We’re all sinners. We all have fallen short of God’s standards, and there’s nothing we can do personally to make this right. And because of our sin, we’ll face judgment one day. The good news is that God loved us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, on a rescue operation to Planet Earth. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, lived a perfect life, died a perfect death, and then rose from the dead. He stands at the door of your life and knocks. And He’s saying that if you’ll hear His voice and open the door, He will come in. You don’t have to be crippled by your past. You can put it behind you and be changed today by Jesus Christ. ![]() FROM THE HEART
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