Prophecy Update Newsletter
May 18, 2017
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
Will Israel Ever Find Peace? - J.L. Robb -
http://www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=8443 It has been the dream of most US Presidents since the rebirth of Israel as a country, 69 years ago, to bring peace between Israel and Palestine. Most US Presidents have failed miserably. Thanks to the Balfour Declaration and the work of Christians around the world, May 14, 1948, Israel was reborn as an independent country. The Christians, who a few hundred years earlier hated the Jews, began to realize that if the Jews were the Chosen People as the Bible stated, Christians needed to get on board. God would mete out His own justice on the Jewish people and did not need Christians to help. We helped anyway via the Crusades and the Inquisition and the Holocaust. Finally, Christians began to understand that had the Jewish folk 2,000 years ago not insisted on the death of Jesus, then Jesus would not be the Messiah. His death at the hands of those Jesus came to save had been predicted hundreds of years before the actual event. In May, 1948, from Tel Aviv since Jerusalem was not part of the deal, Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, said this in his speech: "The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books. After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom." But Jerusalem, the City of David and capital of ancient Israel, was not part of the deal. Can President Trump, the deal-maker, accomplish the seemingly unachievable? "Over the course of my lifetime, I've always heard that perhaps the toughest deal to make is the deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Let's see if we can prove them wrong." President Donald J. Trump Like other U.S. Presidents before him, the quest for peace in Israel has been somewhat elusive. Their peace treaties have a history of Israeli tolerance toward multiple incursions and rocket attacks from Palestinians. The descendants of Ismael and the descendants of Isaac have been fighting for a long time. In President Trump's first foreign visit, he will be in Israel May 22, 2017. President Obama made it to Israel after four years; but President Trump is letting this great ally know that the United States, once again, has her back. President Trump begins his Religious Tour with a visit to Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican. Visiting the House of Saud and then Israel, makes sense according to strategists, at least in the world of Israeli Peace Treaties. If President Trump, who never says never, should manage a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians, it will be a first if successful. It would also be a huge feather in the Trump hat. The key word is successful. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter managed to negotiate the Camp David Accord. In that peace treaty, Israel's Arab neighbors agreed to stop attacking Israel if Israel would return the Arab land they captured in the previous Arab attack, including Jerusalem. The Arab-Israeli War was fifty years ago. In 1979 the Islamic Revolution was ushered in and Islamism has been different since. Carter was a one-term president. Then there is the Oslo Accord of 1993 under President Clinton. In this peace treaty, Israel again gave back land, which used to be called "war booty;" and the Arab lands would leave Israel alone. There have been thousands of Palestinian incursions and rocket attacks throughout this treaty. The Palestinians have had ample opportunities for a peace deal with Israel, but peace is difficult when Palestinians refuse to recognize Israel as a country with whom they would make peace. That is interesting, because in the real world, Palestine has never in history been a state, a country or had a capital city, though they claim Jerusalem is their capital of... something. If President Trump can weave a genuine peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians, a deal with no incursions, no rocket attacks, no driving-into-Jews attacks and no stabbings, then he will be the Mother of all Wheeler-Dealers. While Donald Trump was campaigning and everyone seemed to believe he would lose the election, he campaigned that he would move the recognized capital of Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. That would be a first and very controversial. While Trump is a deal maker, that would be a deal breaker. On April 24, 2017, Trump, who was labeled as an anti-Semite throughout his campaign, had this to say for Holocaust Remembrance Day. "On Yom Hashoah, we look back at the darkest chapter of human history. We mourn, we remember, we pray, and we pledge: Never again. I say it, never again. "The mind cannot fathom the pain, the horror, and the loss. Six million Jews, two-thirds of the Jews in Europe, murdered by the Nazi genocide. They were murdered by an evil that words cannot describe, and that the human heart cannot bear. "'If you will it, it is no dream that Israel is a great nation that has risen from the desert'. "We cannot let that ever even be thought." Most Arabs do not believe Jerusalem was ever a capital of Israel, there was no Holocaust and the Jewish God is really Allah. In the Koranic version, Muhammad replaces Jesus as the savior; though they proclaim to "believe in Jesus." Will Trump trump up a deal that is satisfactory for the Palestinians and the Israelis? Will he set up a peace treaty that appears successful? Will he go where others have failed to go? Probably not. Two weeks ago, the Palestinian terrorist group that helps run the Palestinian Territory, Hamas, dropped its call for the destruction of Israel, sort of. No successful peace until after the battle at Armageddon is also predicted. Had the reborn Israel finally accepted their Messiah, things would be much different. But that is not in God's Magnificent Play. That is why the 144,000 witnesses were predicted. 
Trump reaches Mid East trip under a grim probe -
http://www.debka.com/article/26059/Trump-reaches-Mid-East-trip-under-a-grim-probe US President Donald Trump's situation plummeted sharply in the 24 hours between Wednesday (May 17) and Thursday (May 18). In the five months since moving into the White House, he has struggled against daily firestorms ignited by his enemies in the political, media and intelligence establishments. Thursday morning, he was tossed into the flames when he learned that the Justice Department had appointed former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to "oversee a federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, including potential collusion between the president's campaign associations and Russian officials." After consistent denials had no effect, Trump's supporters and staff initially hoped that the appointment of this respected former spy chief would finally put a stop to the negative storm besetting his presidency, and let him get on with the health, tax, economic and other reforms he had set in motion. They were wrong, the adverse leaks to the media continued notwithstanding, and were clearly designed to steer the Mueller probe in a negative direction. A gravely troubled president therefore sets out on his first foreign trip - first stop Riyadh on May 22, followed by Israel on May 23-24, the Vatican and Brussels a day later. That trip was further shadowed by the press report Tuesday, May 16, claiming Trump had leaked classified information from Israeli intelligence to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his visit to the White House on May 10. This leak, consistently denied by the White House, was clearly aimed at sabotaging the president's plans to crown his visits to Riyadh and Israel by successful breakthroughs with America's foremost allies in the region. Foreign trips often serve harassed political leaders to escape their troubles at home and bask in the warm welcomes of friendly nations and colleagues. But Donald Trump was deprived in advance of this respite by the slur on his integrity in dealing with highly sensitive security and intelligence matters that was cast by allegations of betraying classified information from a foreign partner. The most pressing topic in the Middle East today is the expansion of the military-political-intelligence alliance of Russia, Iran and Syria to include Iraq. (debkafile revealed Wednesday, May 17 that an Iraqi military delegation had arrived in Damascus for the first groundbreaking visit in decades). However the Mueller probe, centering as it does on the president's associates' alleged interaction with Russian officials, ties Trump's hands on a vital foreign policy issue: the urgent need for US cooperation with Russia for resolving the Syrian and other burning crises afflicting the region. The impact of Trump's imposed inaction is already apparent in the conduct of some of the relevant leaders, such as President Vladimir Putin, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Egypt's Abdul-Fatteh El-Sisi, King Abdullah of Jordan and Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi. Each of those leaders plans to make hay from the policy void created by the Trump administration's grim situation; each is meanwhile striking out for alternative partners to lessen their dependence on Washington. Saudi King Salman and his Defense Minister Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman are nonetheless carrying on as though nothing is amiss. Possibly because they refuse to read the signs in Washington, they are forging ahead with arrangements for an historic summit, with invitations issued to some 50 Arab and Muslim rulers to meet the visiting US president in Riyadh. At his next stop, his Israeli hosts have still not received a detailed outline of his plans - only the times of his arrival and departure. The impression gained in Jerusalem is that the White House is too distracted by the mayhem surrounding the president to carry out its normal duties. 
Donald Trump's Ambitious First Foreign Trip Features Three of World's Biggest Religions - by Charlie Spiering -
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/05/18/donald-trumps-ambitious-first-foreign-trip-features-three-worlds-biggest-religions/ President Donald Trump leaves for his first foreign trip of his presidency Friday, highlighting three of the world's biggest religions with visits to Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the Vatican City. "I'll meet scores of leaders, and honor the holiest sites of these three great religions," Trump said during a speech on Wednesday, previewing his trip to Coast Guard graduates. Despite the political chaos in Washington, White House officials have been working steadily behind the scenes planning the logistics of Trump's travel to four countries over eight days, despite concerns from skeptics that the trip is too big and too ambitious. "No president has ever visited the homelands of three of the of the world's great faiths in the same trip before, faiths which are professed by millions of Americans," a White House official told Breitbart News, pointing out that the president was "very excited" to make the trip. In Saudi Arabia, Trump will help inaugurate a center committed to fighting extremism online and in public while promoting a moderate vision of Islam. While visiting with over 50 leaders of the Muslim worlds, he will deliver a tough speech, challenging them to tackle radical Islamic terrorism. "He'll talk about what unites us in uplifting terms, but he'll also be very blunt in talking about the need to confront extremism and the fact that many in the Muslim world have not only not done enough, they've actively abetted this extremism, even as some of them have talked a good game on the surface but in quiet, continue to fund extremism," a White House official said, previewing the president's speech. Trump also plans to seek defense and trade agreements with the Saudi's, helping them deter Iran and promote jobs and investments in the United States. In Israel, Trump will continue boosting his friendship with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, after eight years of the relationship deteriorating under former President Barack Obama. The president plans to be the first serving U.S. president to visit the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in the Jewish faith. The White House is aware of reports that an American diplomat refused to allow Netanyahu to join Trump on the visit, but an official cautioned that the reported comments did not reflect the president's views. Trump will visit the Wall with the Rabbi of the site, something that a White House official described as "completely appropriate" due to the spiritual nature of the site and the visit. First Lady Melania Trump will be with the president for part of the trip, including visit to Israel and the Vatican, according to WH official In the Vatican, Trump will meet with Pope Francis, recognizing the importance of Catholics around the world. "We think that there's a lot of common ground there between the pope and the president and between the Vatican," a White House official noted. The biggest news surrounding Trump's visit to the Vatican surrounds the lack of a U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, a process that remains ongoing. Officials have still not confirmed reports that Trump has selected Callista Gingrich to serve in the position. A White House official cited a "dizzying amount of bureaucratic paperwork" for slowing the process, but promised an update soon. 
Major Demographic Shifts Indicate Israel Will Soon Redivide Into 12 Tribes - By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz -
https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/88316/explosive-population-growth-proves-prophesied-third-inheritance-israel-imminent/#KLlzWLhJWDzcgFUf.97 "And ye shall know that I am Hashem when I shall bring you into the land of Yisrael into the country which I lifted up My hand to give unto your fathers." Ezekiel 20:42 (The Israel Bible™) As Israel's population increases, manifesting God's promise to Abraham, the scales are tipping and very soon the majority of the world's Jews will be living in Israel. Not only does this in itself fulfill prophecy, it will bring about the conditions that Jewish law states are the prophesied Third Inheritance of Israel, creating a new, end-of-days reality in the Holy Land. When Abraham made a covenant with God, he was promised him that his offspring would be numerous as the stars. And He brought him forth abroad, and said: 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if thou be able to count them'; and He said unto him: 'So shall thy seed be.' Genesis 15:5 Technically, God's promise has long been fulfilled, as most estimates place the number of visible stars by the naked eye in the night sky at approximately 9,000. However, this verse notes the blossoming of Abraham's offspring as a sign of God's covenant, a sign clearly making itself evident in the modern State of Israel. In the census results released just before Israel Independence Day one month ago, Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics announced that Israel's Jewish population is close to exceeding 6.5 million, far more than the nighttime stars. This figure is even more remarkable when considering that in 1947, the approximately 630,000 Jews living in the British Mandate represented less than 6 percent of the global Jewish population. While the Jewish population in Israel has increased more than tenfold in 70 years, the global population of Jews outside of Israel has actually decreased from 10.5 million in 1945 to approximately 9 million today. Israeli Jews now represent over 43 percent of the global Jewish population, and that number is growing. Very soon, the balance will shift, and the majority of the Jews in the world will be found inside the borders of Israel. This statistic not only emphasizes the growing importance of Israel, but also denotes a major turning point in the Messianic process. Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the spokesman for the nascent Sanhedrin, explained the prophetic and practical implications of the demographic changes. "In July, the Sanhedrin ruled that the conditions exist to establish that Israel is now in the prophesied third inheritance of the land, the first being by Joshua, the second after the Babylonian exile," Rabbi Weiss told Breaking Israel News. The third inheritance refers to the prophesied return of the Jews from the exile that followed the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE. Jewish tradition holds that this return will usher in the building of the Third Temple, the return of the Davidic Dynasty, and the messianic era. Unlike the returns from the previous exiles, the third return is supposed to be final. There is much debate among the Jews as to whether the modern State of Israel represents the fulfillment of this prophecy. The Sanhedrin's previous ruling was that we are currently in that third return, but the majority of Jews are not yet in Israel. When that eventually happens, it will mean a major shift in the observance of Jewish law. "For this reason, the Sanhedrin initiated the Biblically mandated commandment of counting the Jubilee," Rabbi Weiss said. "But when the situation changes and most of the Jews are in Israel, as the statistics seem to indicate will happen shortly, many more aspects of Judaism will change. "Possibly the biggest change will be the redistribution of land and the return of Jewish tribal identity," explained Rabbi Weiss. "When most of the Jews live in Israel we will be required to divide the land into tribal territories." He cited Ezekiel to illustrate that this is a necessary part of the prophesied redemption. And it shall come to pass that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you and to the strangers that sojourn among you Ezekiel 47:21-22 This may seem an impossible task since most Jews have lost the tradition of identifying them as part of a specific tribe. Rabbi Weiss explained that not only is this possible without divine help, but it will be a legal requirement incumbent upon the rabbis to assign tribal territories, as was done in the time of Joshua. "We are required to have twelve tribes," Rabbi Weiss said. "The land will be divided according to the Biblical territories. Every Jew living in that territory will receive an inheritance and be considered as if he is from that tribe." Babylonian Ways - Nathele Graham - [email protected]
Babylon is synonymous with paganism and evil. It had its beginnings soon after the Flood of Noah when evil once again began to take hold in the hearts of men. Nimrod was the leader among those people who were easily led away from God. These heathens wanted to build a tower in Babel to reach to heaven. "And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." Genesis 11:4. God saw what was happening and confused their language in order to stop this united force that tried to build a tower to Heaven. There are many Babylonian practices that remain in our culture today, and Christians need to separate from them. The way to do that is to know God's word and hold it in authority over the way we live. God confused the langue and people were scattered, but rebellion against God continued. There were a few people who honored God, but others embraced idol worship, false gods, pagan lifestyles, human sacrifice, and other abominations. In the southern part of Babylonia was a city called Ur, which was a center of moon worship. Pagan ways abounded there and the voice of the one true God was obscured. Ur is where a man named Abram, later known as Abraham, lived. His family was a part of the idol worship that took place there, but God called him out of that pagan culture to establish the nation of Israel. "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Genesis 12:1-3. Before Abraham could be of any use to God he first had to leave the pagan culture behind and move away. The same is true of us today. How many who claim to be Christians cling to pagan ways? You can be of no use to God while you embrace Babylonian ways. Are you living a life of sexual immorality? Is it more fun to have friends who smoke a little marijuana and party rather than attend worship services? Like Abraham, you need to leave friends and family who reject God. Repent and turn away from the sins you embrace and then allow God to accomplish great things through you. Abraham would eventually have a son named Isaac, and through him the nation of Israel came to be. If Abraham had continued to embrace Babylonian ways he couldn't have fulfilled God's perfect plan. Abraham's grandson, Jacob, had twelve sons who established the twelve tribes of Israel. In time, Jacob and his family faced a famine and were forced to relocate to Egypt where they found food and prospered. Egypt wasn't in Babylon, but the same paganism abounded there. They had a god for this and a god for that and it was a heathen culture. God had changed Jacob's name to Israel, which means "God prevails". God always will prevail. As time passed, the Israelites grew in numbers and became a threat to Pharaoh. His way of limiting the Israelites number was to kill male Hebrew children. God did prevail and preserved Israel. A male child was hidden and was found by Pharaoh's daughter who raised him as her own. Moses was raised in the pagan Egyptian culture and schooled in their ways, but God would use him to lead the Hebrews from captivity. First, Moses had to leave Egypt. He had to leave the pagan ways behind and travel to where he was able to hear the voice of God. Moses fled Egypt because he had killed an Egyptian and he ended up in Midian, located in the desert north of the Arabian peninsula. There he married the daughter of Jethro and he tended his father-in-law's sheep. In this land, far from the pagan culture he was raised in, Moses heard God's voice call from a burning bush. "And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I." Exodus 3:4. God knew his name and who he was, but Moses could only come to know God after he left Egypt. With God's help he led the Israelites out of captivity and eventually they entered the land that God had promised to Abraham. Both Abraham and Moses had been raised in very pagan circumstances, but they left the evil behind and followed God. If you call yourself a Christian then you need to leave the paganism of our culture behind and cling to God. After the nation Israel entered the Promise Land, time passed and they became a great nation. There were times over the years when they turned away from God and He judged them. One of those judgments came at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, who besieged Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and took many captives. Nebuchadnezzar had ordered that certain children be taken to the kings palace, and a youngster named Daniel was one of them. "Children in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans." Daniel 1:4. Daniel was schooled in Babylonian ways and could have chosen to embrace the pagan life there, but even at a young age he loved God. Instead embracing the evil of Babylon, Daniel chose to be separate from them and he bowed and prayed towards Jerusalem daily. He did this in spite of the fact that the Temple had been destroyed. Because he didn't embrace the pagan lifestyles and pagan worship, Daniel was able to serve God by interpreting dreams, reading mysterious handwriting on the wall, and he was given an amazing prophecy describing the end times which will soon come to pass. Daniel lived in Babylon, but didn't allow Babylon to live in him. We can learn a lot from studying Daniel's life and seeing how he put God Almighty above all else. This is what every Christian should do. We have the Bible to guide us and the Holy Spirit indwelling us so there should be no room in our life for Babylonian ways. Paganism didn't stop in the Old Testament. Most of the letters contained in the New Testament were written to congregations located in pagan cities, such as Ephesus and Corinth. These letters encouraged the Christians there to stand firm in their faith and reject the pagan practices around them. The Corinthians seem much like Christians of today. Instead of following the strait and narrow path they tolerated sin and that sin was corrupting the congregation. We live in a pagan world ruled by the prince of the power of the air, but like Daniel we can't allow the pagan ways to live in us. "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" 2 Corinthians 6:14. The answer is "none". If you yoke yourself in partnerships or friendships with non-believers you embrace pagan ways. "And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?" 2 Corinthians 6:15. Belial means "worthless or wicked" and is another name for Satan. If you claim to be a Christian then you should never enter into any partnership with non-believers. If you've entered these relationships prior to you becoming a Christian then you need to stand firm on Christ and not allow compromise of your faith." And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 2 Corinthians 6:16. The Holy Spirit indwells Christians and if you're yoked with Babylonian ways then you're taking God with you into sin. "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:17-18. Yes, brothers and sisters, come out from among them. We are living in the last days and as we draw ever nearer to the Rapture, Satan tries harder to deceive people. Times are getting perilous. "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." 2 Timothy 3:1-5. This sounds a lot like today and it will get worse. As we draw near to the end of time the Babylonian ways grow stronger by the day. Instead of honoring God, Christians are becoming more tolerant of sin and evil because most don't even know what the Bible says. They are schooled in Babylonian ways, but not in God's ways. God's word isn't an outdated book of rules and regulations, but a guide to a way of life that pleases God. We have God's word to teach us to judge between His ways and Babylonian ways, so don't let anyone accuse you of being judgmental. Sin is to be rejected and the sinner is to be witnessed to in order to bring them to Christ. Don't yoke yourself with sinners but stand firm upon God's word. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matthew 7:13-14. If you follow God's ways then you're on the right path. We make a choice whether to follow the strait and narrow road or the broad path that leads to destruction. The broad path follows Babylonian ways. Whether we live in Babylon, Egypt, Rome, or the United States of America we choose which path we follow. When God is rejected, Babylonian ways are embraced and that leads to eternal destruction. God bless you all, Nathele Graham [email protected] www.straitandnarrowministry.com [email protected] Ron and Nathele Graham's previous commentaries archived at http://www.raptureready.com/featured/graham/graham.html All original scripture is "theopneustos" God breathed. If you'd like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries just drop me an email and let me know. 
Biting The Hand That Feeds You - By Grant Phillips - http://www.raptureready.com/2017/05/17/biting-the-hand-that-feeds-you/
What follows does not apply to everyone of course, but let us take the opportunity to examine ourselves to see if it applies to us. Let's start with children, and realizing that many children don't have the luxury of living in a 'normal' family household. Materially, the parents provide clothing, schooling, transportation, meals, medical needs, a place to sleep, a clean house, laundry services, and much more. They also provide the most important things of all; love, loving discipline and security. The expected response the parents would appreciate is gratitude; shown by love, obedience and respect. (Notice I said "expected response" for those of you who are not parents.) This does happen, but ... as the child grows something happens in many households ... rebellion. It has also been called "growing pains." They begin biting the hand that feeds them. Now this attitude can be anything from mild to very severe, but it does happen. The parents ask, "Why don't they appreciate what we do for them?" The answer I suppose is that they don't see it. They have become so accustomed to everything being furnished for them, it is expected. In marriages, adults can be the same way. After a while what is provided by one spouse can be taken for granted by the other. It would make a healthier marriage if both husband and wife would occasionally really consider all the little things their spouse provides for them. However, how often do we not see the blessings because we have grown accustomed to them? Now let us consider the following passage. "For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God." (Romans 1:20 NLT) Children spend many years in the household of their parents and become very familiar with all that is provided, even to the point of having eyes but not seeing. The same is true with adults. As has already been mentioned, how often we get so used to our relationship; we fail to see the blessings provided by the one who loves us. Is it possible we may be guilty of taking all the blessings that God has provided us for granted? Concerning our own body God provides us; eyes to see, ears to hear, a nose to smell, the sense of touch, a mind to think, legs and feet to carry us, arms to hug, and that's just a few things to think about among so much more. In our home life He provides a spouse to compliment us, children to brag about and emulate us, grandchildren to spoil, a roof over our head, food for our belly, transportation, a job to support us, and much more. He has given us the beauty of flowers to behold and smell, trees for oxygen, water to quench our thirst, the moon for romance, the sun to keep us warm, a universe that doesn't explode or implode, and this is only the beginning. The greatest gift of all is God's grace He freely gives. We all rebelled in the Garden of Eden. Along with Adam and Eve, we died spiritually. We are all born with what is called, "an old sin nature." We deserve nothing but eternal death. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:23) "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Have you ever been in a situation where someone you love was in serious trouble? Maybe you're thinking of your child. Perhaps someone you love with all your heart was suffering physically. You have said, "If only I could go through that for them. If only I could take it away." But then there is God's grace. Even though we are born a sinful people; rebellious and unappreciative, God chose to take our place. Probably all of us at one time or another has desired to take the place of our loved one who is suffering. We can't do that because we're tainted with sin. God can, because only He is holy and without sin. Therefore, He did. God came into this world, born of a virgin, truly God and truly man. On a Roman cross He bore all our sins. Then three days later He rose from the tomb where they buried Him. Through this act of infinite love God has taken our judgment upon Himself. All He requires of us is to believe it and accept it. He says, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18) and, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) That is God's grace. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. We can't take the hurt away. We can't take the judgment away. But God can, when we put our trust in His Son, Jesus Christ. Even though God's grace is available to all, many continue to ignore all that He has done to provide us all we need. He has provided us everything we need materially, and spiritually, and it is all through His Son. Going back to our first verse in Romans 1:20, if we take the blinders off and look around us the "individual qualities," "eternal power," and "divine nature" of God is self-evident. Now we must ask, "Do I see now all that He has provided?" Grant Phillips Email: [email protected] Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com Rapture Ready: http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html 
Daily Jot: The politics of lies - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com
Vladimir Lenin is quoted as saying, "A lie told often enough becomes the truth." Hitler's propaganda man Joseph Goebbels seemed to perfect it with his explanation, "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State." In America today, the "State" is the extreme left that has infiltrated all influential segments of society. There are some big lies being told. The watchdog of lies, the free press, is part of the machine that cranks out lie after lie without seeking the truth. The truth has become such a moving target that it is only what each individual perceives as the truth. One person's truth may be different than another's truth. And neither may be true or one may be true or both may have parts of the truth. A little bit of truth makes a better lie. Psychology Today, in its article "Top Ten Secrets of Effective Liars," says the hardest lies to catch are the ones that tell the truth, but in a way that leaves a false impression. Like Goebbels and Lenin, politicians and their handlers know how to make lies stick. There is a great amount of lies and deception hovering over America these days. People don't know what the truth is. And with so many negative stories bombarding us repeatedly every minute of every day, it is very difficult to get your bearings. There is a new story every minute that distracts from the previous one. The vast majority of them tell a little bit of truth to leave the impression that the author wants. The rest of the story may just be opinion or even propaganda. Themes repeated over and over again become as if they are truth, and they begin to shape opinions favorable to the lie. The "narrative," as it is called, is a controlled repetition of the lie-maker's craft aimed at winning the point. Anything that the target of the lies does that reduces trust only gives more life to the lies. Case in point, is President Donald Trump's responses in social media and his lack of "polish" in what he says. His words are his personal enemy that continuously feed the cacophony surrounding his every move. Eventually, if left unchecked with no counterbalance, a line will be crossed where Trump will be rendered ineffective and what ever he does or says will be demeaned, even by his own supporters. We have a crisis on our hands here in America. This needs prayer and supplication, a miracle. I write this as Proverbs 22:21 says, "That I might make you know the certainty of the words of truth; that you might answer the words of truth to them that send unto you." Pray. Act. Speak truth. Change the narrative. 
Daily Devotion: Created for Worship - Greg Laurie -
www.harvest.org "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created." -Revelation 4:11 Everyone, no matter who they are, worships someone or something. Certainly we don't all worship the true God in Heaven. Some worship a god of their own making. Others worship the true and living God. Some people worship people. They worship sports heroes, actors, or musicians. Some people worship themselves. Some people worship possessions. But everyone worships someone or something. Every person everywhere worships, because worship is the fundamental drive of life. God created us with a drive, with a sense there is something more to life than what we experience on this earth. The Bible says that God has placed eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). That simply means there is a recognition and a sense there is something more in life. In reality, our ultimate purpose in life is not to attain success, fame, or even happiness, per se. Our ultimate purpose in life is to know the God who made us. And until we enter into that relationship, we are falling short of what is possible and attainable to us. By the way, I'm a great animal lover. I love all types of animals. But I also recognize that as wonderful and as intelligent as they are, they are a different type of creation altogether. The Bible clearly teaches that God uniquely created man in His own image. God has not placed eternity in the heart of a bird, a cat, or a dog. He has not placed eternity in the hearts of animals; He has only placed it in the hearts of human beings. And that causes people everywhere to worship. The true God, the living God, the only God, the God of the Bible, is the One to worship. We were created to bring pleasure to God. We were created to worship the Lord. 
FROM THE HEART
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