The most important thing about Jesus is having Him in your heart; inviting Him in, giving Him full access to every room, talking with Him about everything, sharing all your secrets with Him, asking His advice on everything, and letting Him decorate how He wants to. Then constantly working on your private relationship with Him, figuring out how He speaks to you, so that you fully understand each other. This is going to be different for each person. He is not the author of fear or confusion. He will guide you through love if you let Him. The more you grow, the deeper your relationship with Him gets, the more you can share His love…
Whether you support or oppose Trump, this message urges Christians to examine the spiritual realities behind leadership, deception, and the coming judgment.
I wish I could claim credit for this writing, but it is a transcript from a YouTube video we saw.
God has always been in control of human history from the beginning of time. The rise and fall of nations, empires, and individual leaders has never happened by chance. We may see elections, political campaigns, and public opinion polls. But heaven sees providence, judgment, and divine orchestration.
The Bible is very clear. God raises up kings and he brings them down. He appoints rulers for His purposes, whether to bless or to judge, to guide or to expose. That truth should cause every Christian to take a step back and ask, “Lord, what are you saying through this moment in history?”
When we look at the figure of Donald Trump, we are not just looking at a political leader. We are witnessing the unfolding of God’s sovereign hand in real time. Some believe he was raised up to protect the church, defend conservative values, and fight for truth. Others believe he’s a deeply flawed man whose presence has caused division and moral confusion. But the truth lies not in the emotions of the people, but in the plan of God. And if God has allowed Donald Trump to rise, to fall, and perhaps even to rise again, we must ask ourselves what God is doing, not just what man is saying.
Go back to the Old Testament. Pharaoh was raised up not because he honored God, but because God wanted to show His power through Him. God told Pharaoh, “For this very purpose, I have raised you up that I might show my power in you.” Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan king, was called my servant by the Lord, not because of his righteousness, but because he was used to accomplish God’s judgment against Israel. Even Cyrus, the Persian king, was used to free God’s people, though he never truly followed the God of Israel. This pattern continues throughout scripture.
God does not need righteous men to fulfill righteous purposes. He uses whom He wills. So what about Donald Trump? Can God use someone with a morally questionable past, a prideful spirit, a divisive tone, and a strong personality to accomplish His purposes? Of course, he can.
But here’s the danger. Too many Christians mistake God’s use of a man as God’s endorsement of a man. And that’s where we must exercise biblical discernment. The fact that someone is in power or appears to be a defender of Christian values does not mean God is pleased with them. It may mean God is using them as a test for the nation, for the church, and for the individual believer. This is not the time to put blind trust in a man. It’s the time to open our eyes to what God may be doing through that man.
Sometimes God gives a nation the leader it asks for, not as a blessing, but as a consequence. Israel cried out for a king, and they got Saul. He looked impressive, spoke with authority, and won the people’s loyalty. But inside, he was disobedient, proud, and unfit to lead. God allowed it, not because Saul was the answer, but because the people had rejected God as their true king.
Could it be that Trump is not the solution, but the spotlight, revealing the heart of the church and the soul of the nation? The church must not be naive. Just because someone waves the Bible or uses religious language does not mean they walk in the fear of God. The scriptures tell us that Satan himself disguises as an angel of light. That means deception is not always obvious. It can look patriotic. It can sound moral. It can appear strong. But only those who walk close to Christ will recognize whether a leader is being used by God for redemption or for judgment.
We are living in prophetic times. Every headline, every courtroom decision, every election result is echoing what the spirit is already saying to the church.
Wake up.
Discern the times.
Don’t put your trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save.
If God has raised up Donald Trump in this hour, it is not for us to exalt him. It is for us to examine ourselves. One of the greatest tragedies in the modern church is how easily we exchange the glory of God for the excitement of politics. We are witnessing a generation of believers who are more passionate about defending a politician than proclaiming the gospel. That should deeply concern us. God never called His people to pledge their allegiance to a man, no matter how charismatic, bold, or seemingly conservative he may be. And yet what we’re seeing today is a disturbing shift in the hearts of many Christians where loyalty to Donald Trump has begun to eclipse loyalty to Jesus Christ. This isn’t about whether you agree with his policies or appreciate his leadership. This is about something much deeper, something spiritual.
When a man is talked about more in churches than the cross, when he is praised louder than Christ, when his critics are condemned more fiercely than sin itself, then we are no longer standing on the foundation of scripture. We are standing on the shaky ground of idolatry. And make no mistake, idolatry doesn’t always look like a golden statue or a carved image. Sometimes it looks like a political banner, a campaign slogan, or an unwavering defense of a leader who has become untouchable in the minds of the people. There’s a danger in elevating any human being to a level where criticism feels like blasphemy.
That is not how God has called us to think. The Lord is jealous for His glory. He will not share it. Not with a president, not with a party, not with a movement. And when the church begins to blur the lines between reverence for Christ and allegiance to a man, judgment always follows. Just look at Israel in the Old Testament. Time and time again, they placed their trust in kings and alliances, thinking they were securing peace and protection, only to find themselves under the hand of divine discipline.
Why? Because they forgot the one who delivered them in the first place.
We have to ask ourselves some hard questions. Are we more broken over the condition of our nation or over the condition of our own hearts? Are we more focused on what’s happening in Washington than what’s happening in the pulpits? Are we more committed to winning elections than winning souls? When the church becomes more energized by political victories than spiritual revival, we’ve lost our way.
God does not need a president to accomplish His will. He needs a holy church that fears Him more than it fears losing cultural influence. Let’s be honest. Some of us have defended sin in the name of strategy. We’ve excused arrogance, dismissed immorality, and explained away division because we believe the ends justify the means. But God never operates that way.
He never blesses compromise. He never uses darkness to achieve light without first exposing the darkness. And he never compromises without first exposing the darkness.
We must remember that truth is not optional. It is the sword of the spirit. And when we lay it down for political gain, we are disarming ourselves in a spiritual war. We can’t fight deception with deception. We fight it with holiness, humility, and the unfiltered Word of God. Now more than ever, we need discernment.
The enemy is not always outside the camp. Sometimes he walks right through the gates dressed like a savior. Satan doesn’t mind using someone who sounds conservative if it leads the church into complacency, pride, or blind loyalty.
That’s why God warns us over and over again, do not put your trust in princes.
Our hope is not in who sits in the Oval Office. Our hope is in the one who sits on the throne of heaven. So if God is sending a prophetic warning in this hour, it may not be about Trump alone. It may be about the condition of our worship. In other words, who do we praise? Who do we trust? Who do we follow when the world is burning?
If the answer is anyone other than Jesus Christ, then we have already traded truth for a lie, and God will not leave that unchallenged. It’s essential that we understand the difference between being used by God and being approved by God. That distinction may seem small, but it’s critical.
All throughout scripture, God has used individuals, some righteous, some wicked, to fulfill His divine purposes. But in no way did that usage mean he condoned their character or blessed their behavior. God can work through anyone, including deeply flawed people, but that doesn’t mean he endorses them.
We must never confuse God’s sovereignty with His approval. When we look at the figure of Donald Trump, we see a man who has undeniably shaken the political landscape and for better or worse disrupted the flow of how things have operated in America for decades. His boldness, his resistance to political correctness, and his stance on certain moral and national issues have attracted many Christians who feel like they finally have someone fighting for their values. In fact, we must face the fact that not everyone fights for their values. Some sects of a society have fallen because of it.
But here’s the danger. Just because someone fights for your values does not mean they walk in the spirit. And just because God uses someone to protect certain freedoms doesn’t mean we should blindly follow them. Let’s not forget that God used Pharaoh to demonstrate His power through the plagues. He used Balam’s donkey to speak truth when Balam himself was disobedient. He used Judas Iscariot to bring about the betrayal of Christ, fulfilling prophecy down to the detail. These people were all used by God, but they were not honored by God for their hearts. In fact, many of them were under judgment. And yet, they were instruments in the larger plan. That’s the sovereignty of God in motion. He uses all things, even those opposed to Him, to bring about His purposes. There are moments in history where God raises up a man not to bless the nation, but to expose it. Sometimes it’s not about building but about revealing. That’s what many have missed. We assume that if God is using someone, it must be a sign of divine favor.
But scripture reminds us that even the antichrist will perform signs and wonders. Even he will gather a massive following. Usefulness is not the test of righteousness.
Obedience, humility, and surrender to God’s word. That’s the true test.
And where those qualities are lacking, we must be cautious, not celebratory.
What we are witnessing may be a divine spotlight. Through Donald Trump, God may be revealing the idolatry in the church, the compromise in our pulpits, the shallowness of our discernment. If we support someone because they hold up a Bible, yet we never question how they live, what they promote, or how they speak, then we’ve lost sight of what matters. The enemy doesn’t always work by opposing the church. Sometimes he infiltrates it by offering a counterfeit champion, someone who looks like a defender but lacks the fruit of the spirit.
Now, this isn’t a call to political disengagement. Christians should care about truth, about justice, about the moral direction of our nation. But we cannot do so at the expense of our calling to be a holy, distinct, and Christ-centered people.
We are not here to serve an earthly kingdom. We are here to represent a heavenly one. And our witness becomes compromised when we excuse sin for the sake of influence or when we defend actions that contradict the very gospel we preach.
We need to step back and ask, are we following a man because we believe he is God’s chosen vessel? Or are we surrendering our discernment because it’s convenient?
Has our admiration become blind? Have we silenced the voice of the Holy Spirit in favor of loyalty to someone who, though used by God, may also be part of His judgment?
These are hard questions, but we must ask them because the health of the church depends on our ability to separate spiritual clarity from emotional allegiance. Just because someone is part of God’s plan doesn’t mean they are walking in God’s presence. We have to come to terms with something many don’t want to hear.
The turmoil in America right now is not just political unrest. It’s spiritual judgment. It’s not merely the result of policy failures, cultural shifts, or leadership flaws. This shaking we’re seeing across every level of society is not accidental. It’s not random. It’s divine.
God is not watching from a distance while a nation spirals into confusion. He is speaking through the chaos. And the question is, are we listening?
When you see a country torn in two, when truth is no longer welcomed, when corruption is celebrated and sin is normalized, don’t be fooled into thinking this is just another political season.
No, this is God removing the hedge. This is what happens when a people blessed beyond measure turn their backs on the One who gave them everything. America isn’t just declining. America is being warned. And sadly, many in the church are still asleep clinging to the hope that a politician or a party will fix what only repentance can heal.
There was a time when God would bless a land because of the righteous remnant within it. But there also comes a time when he allows a nation to be ruled by confusion, by lawlessness, by leaders who reflect the very heart of the people. When that happens, it’s not a glitch in the system. It’s a judgment from God. Read Romans 1. When a society rejects God, he gives them over to depraved minds. over to moral blindness, over to the very sins they celebrate. And when you look around at the state of this nation, it’s undeniable we are already under that kind of judgment.
Donald Trump didn’t cause all of this. Nor is he the solution to all of it. His rise to power was a symptom of something deeper, something brewing for decades. His fall from influence and return aren’t just headlines. They’re a divine mirror. Through his time on the world stage, God has exposed more than just political corruption. He’s exposed the hearts of men and women across the nation, including within the church. How quickly many traded conviction for convenience, traded discernment for loyalty, traded the fear of God for the favor of a man.
This shaking is God’s megaphone. And it’s not just about America. It’s about the church. Judgment begins at the house of God. Before nations are held accountable, God looks to His people and says, “What have you done with the truth I gave you?
What did you do with my Word, my spirit, my son?” And right now, the answer many churches would have to give is sobering. We watered down the gospel. We turned a blind eye to sin. We embraced political platforms more than prophetic truth. We got comfortable in Babylon.
We must not miss what God is saying. If we keep interpreting spiritual warnings as political trends, we will miss the whole point. God is not interested in whether America swings left or right. He is interested in whether His people will humble themselves and repent. If you think a better economy or a stronger border or a louder voice in Washington is the solution, you’ve missed the crisis entirely.
The crisis is spiritual. And only spiritual surrender will heal it. It may be that the Trump era, whether past, present, or future, isn’t about a man’s leadership, but about God’s alarm clock to the church.
He is telling us to wake up, to stop idolizing leaders, to turn from sin, to return to Him. Because when God sends judgment, he always sends warning first. And what we’re experiencing right now may be the last call before the collapse.
The shaking in this nation is not a call to fight harder in politics. It’s a call to fall lower in repentance. We are living in a time when the church is being tempted to trade its prophetic voice for political power. The call to holiness, the urgency of the gospel, the clarity of truth.
These things are being pushed aside by a desperate desire to remain relevant, influential, and aligned with whoever promises to protect our interests. That’s not the mission God gave us. The church was never called to be a political machine. We were called to be a light in the darkness, a pillar of truth, a prophetic witness to a fallen world.
But somewhere along the way, we decided that if we just attach ourselves to the right people, the right policies, the right personalities, we can preserve our influence. And in doing so, many have compromised the truth.
Truth is not negotiable. It’s not something we bend or soften depending on who’s in office. The Word of God is not Republican or Democrat. It’s not American or European. It is holy, eternal, and unchanging. And when the church begins to adjust its message so it doesn’t offend the political figures it supports, that’s not wisdom. That’s disobedience.
We cannot afford to soften our preaching just to maintain political access. God doesn’t honor compromise, no matter how strategic we think it is. He honors obedience. And if our loyalty to a candidate prevents us from calling out sin, then we’ve already surrendered our authority.
What has happened in recent years is that many pulpits have gone silent, not because there’s nothing to say, but because speaking would cost them something. Churches are afraid to speak out on issues of integrity, pride, immorality, and division if doing so would reflect poorly on the politicians they support.
That’s not boldness. That’s cowardice. And it reveals where our trust really lies. Are we trusting in Christ or in political figures?
Are we depending on the spirit of God or on the power of earthly influence?
Jesus didn’t die so we could preserve a culture. He died to save sinners. He didn’t come to install a government. He came to establish a kingdom. A kingdom not of this world. And yet many believers are acting as if our mission is to defend a temporary system rather than proclaim an eternal truth.
We have confused preserving Christian comfort with fulfilling the great commission. And because of that, we’ve allowed ourselves to excuse behavior that under any other circumstance we would condemn.
We must be honest. If the same arrogance, dishonesty, or immoral behavior came from someone outside our political tribe, we’d call it out immediately. Because it comes from someone we believe is on our side, we justify it. We explain it away. We say, “Well, at least he’s fighting for us.” But friends, God never calls us to defend sin because it’s politically useful. He calls us to stand for righteousness regardless of the cost. And that’s the challenge in this hour.
Will the church be the church? Will we be a people set apart? Or will we become a religious extension of a political campaign? God has never needed a president to accomplish His will. He needs a people who fear Him more than they fear losing popularity.
He needs leaders who are willing to speak the truth even when it’s not convenient. Even when it offends their own base, even when it costs them influence and friends and maybe even their position.
We are in a moment of decision. Will we uphold the gospel with integrity, or will we dilute it for access? Will we honor Christ with undivided hearts? Or will we keep sacrificing the truth on the altar of political expedience?
Because one thing is certain. If the church refuses to speak truth now, we may find ourselves irrelevant when the culture finally crumbles. Silence in the face of compromise is not neutrality. It is betrayal.
There’s something stirring in the spirit of the age. Something that feels like a final warning. The events unfolding in the world, the chaos in society, the division in families, the upheaval in government. It all points to a deeper shaking.
And many believers sense it. They may not be able to explain it, but they feel it in their bones. We are not living in normal times. We are standing at the edge of something eternal. And the window of God’s mercy is beginning to close.
Donald Trump, for all the controversy and commotion surrounding him, may not be the main character in this unfolding drama. He may simply be one of God’s instruments to wake the church up before it’s too late. His unexpected rise, his unrelenting presence in public discourse. None of this is accidental. It’s part of a divine pattern.
God often uses disruptive figures to shake His people out of complacency. He will sometimes raise up someone who doesn’t fit the mold, someone who turns the system upside down. Not because that person is righteous, but because the people have grown numb to righteousness.
God sent prophets to Israel, not always to comfort them, but to confront them. And sometimes when they stopped listening to the prophets, he allowed kings and rulers to take the stage. Not to save, but to sift. What if the era we’re witnessing is not God exalting a man, but God exposing a nation? What if Trump’s time in power and the reaction to him is meant to reveal what’s truly in the hearts of Americans, especially professing Christians.
Look at what has happened. We’ve seen churches split, not over doctrine, but over politics. We’ve watched believers attack one another, not over sin, but over party loyalty. We’ve seen pastors compromise their message, Christians compromise their character and the world looks on in confusion because those who are supposed to represent Christ have gotten lost in a sea of slogans and campaign rallies.
If that doesn’t tell us something is wrong, we are beyond blind.
This moment is not about Trump. It’s about time. God is not measuring our faithfulness by how loudly we support a candidate. He is measuring our readiness by how urgently we repent, how deeply we obey, and how boldly we proclaim Christ.
The storm we’re seeing isn’t just cultural. It’s prophetic. It’s the sound of God warning His people that judgment is at the door and grace will not be offered forever. We are approaching the midnight hour and what we do in this season will echo into eternity.
If the church continues to sleep through the warning, if we keep arguing over temporary things while eternal souls hang in the balance, we will stand before God one day and answer for our silence. This is not the time to double down on our political strategies. This is the time to fall on our faces in repentance. God is giving us a window, a short one, to turn from idols, to turn from compromise, and to fix our eyes back on the cross.
We are being tested, not by the world, but by the Lord Himself. He is watching to see whether His people will awaken before the judgment fully descends. The shaking in the economy, the moral collapse in society, the hatred, the deception, the confusion. These aren’t just warning signs. They’re acts of divine mercy.
God always warns before He judges.
And this may be our last warning. Whatever happens in the future, it will not change what God expects from His people. He’s not looking for political warriors. He’s looking for spiritual worshippers, those who will not bow to the golden calves of power, comfort, or control, those who will stand for truth, preach the gospel, and live holy lives even when the world burns around them.
When the final trumpet sounds, it won’t matter who led the nation. It will only matter who truly followed Christ.
#1) The Antichrist will come in his own name and be accepted –
John 5:43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.
In this verse Jesus told the Pharisees, the religious leaders of his day, that although they rejected him, someone else would come in his OWN name and be accepted.
The Antichrist will not only arrive on the scene having already achieved worldwide fame, thus coming in his own name, but he will be widely beloved throughout Israel.
And in a dual fulfillment of this verse, many Christian religious leaders will also accept the Antichrist as being chosen by God and even tout him as savior.
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#2) The Antichrist has the mouth of a lion –
Revelation 13:2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
This verse is reinforced by Daniel 7:4, The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it, and the meaning is that the Antichrist will roar like a lion, letting everyone know that HE is the king of the beasts. The mouth of the Antichrist is one of his definitive qualities, and just like a lion, it is used to assert his dominance and defend his territory.
In an ironic twist to this prophecy being fulfilled, 1 Peter 5:8 describes Satan as a lion walking about seeking someone to devour.
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#3) The Antichrist is arrogant, and magnifies himself above others –
Daniel 8:25 “Through his cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his [m]rule; And he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; But he shall be broken without human [n]means.
This verse is reinforced by Daniel 11:36, “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done,
and both of these verses talk about the Antichrist as being extremely arrogant; someone who is filled with excessive pride about himself, and utter contempt for others.
His arrogance will be on full display whenever he speaks. He will denigrate others in order to elevate himself, and he will view himself as superior to those around him.
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#4) The Antichrist is extremely boastful –
Daniel 7:8 I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking [c]pompous words.
Revelation 13:5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to [c]continue for forty-two months.
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#5) The Antichrist will throw truth to the ground –
Daniel 8:12 Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.
The meaning of Daniel 8:12 isn’t just that the Antichrist will be a liar, but that truth itself holds no value to him. He casts it to the ground as if it was worthless or irrelevant.
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#6) The Antichrist will deny the Father and the Son –
1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.
By asking who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ, this verse is not only telling us that the Antichrist will deny the Father and the Son, but that he will do so not out of ignorance, but because he rejects the truth. He is a liar. He will KNOW that Jesus is our savior, but will deny him anyway.
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#7) The Antichrist will be a vile person –
Daniel 11:21 And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
Contrary to the popular belief that the Antichrist will be well-liked and charismatic, the bible says he is actually to be a vile person. Vile is defined as lacking class or decency. He’s simply repulsive – a sordid, crass, vulgar and despicable person.
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#8) The Antichrist will honor the god of forces –
Daniel 11:38 But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things.
Revelation 9:11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is [c]Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name [d]Apollyon.
This verse is telling us that the Antichrist, in his estate, shall honor the god of forces with gold, silver, precious stones and pleasant things. God of forces is translated as god of fortresses in versions other than the King James. So who is this god of forces? It’s a name we all know well.
During the 5th century BC, Apollo became known as the sun god, the symbol of which was often used in ancient battles to represent the god of forces. Apollo is also a derivative of the name Apollyon, who we see referenced in Revelation 9:11.
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#9) The Antichrist is connected to gold –
Revelation 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.
This famous verse about the number 666 is actually pointing us to another figure in the bible, and that figure is King Solomon. The reason it does so is because when Solomon was older he became a type of antichrist as his heart turned away from the Lord and toward pagan gods.
King Solomon was obsessed with gold, having hundreds of shields made out of hammered gold, all of his drinking vessels made out of gold, and to directly connect the number 666 in Revelation to Solomon, we read that he received 666 talents of gold in one year.
All of the pagan gods that Solomon worshiped in his later years are themselves variations of and subservient to the one pagan god that nearly every culture in history has placed above the others: the sun god. And over and over again the sun god is symbolized by one specific thing: gold.
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#10) The Antichrist is called the Little Horn –
Daniel 7:8 I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking [c]pompous words.
One of the more descriptive names given to the Antichrist is the “Little Horn”, which we read about in the book of Daniel. This is a reference to a shofar, which is literally a little horn, being made from the horn of a small animal, usually a ram. The shofar was an early version of our modern trumpet.
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#11) The Antichrist has a covenant with many –
Daniel 9:27 Then he shall confirm a [k]covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the [l]desolate.”
One of the more well-known prophecies involving the Antichrist is that he will put together a 7 year agreement between Israel and her neighbors, referred to as the covenant with many (perhaps even worldwide – peace treaty). Halfway through those 7 years the Antichrist will break the agreement, and enter the 3rd temple.
Incidentally, some teach that Daniel 9:27 is a reference to Jesus, but that is impossible because its covenant lasts for only one week, whereas the New Covenant is everlasting. So the fact that the covenant with many lasts only one week is telling us that it’s the false covenant from the Antichrist.
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#12) The Antichrist will disguise himself as an angel of light –
2 Corinthians 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
For those who believe the Antichrist will be Islamic or an atheist or clearly anti-Christian, the bible says to expect just the opposite. As one of Satan’s ministers, he will in fact be transformed into or disguised as an angel of light.
Thus, rather than being clearly anti-Christian – the bible is teaching us that we should expect the final Antichrist to come on the scene as a strong supporter of Christianity and of Israel. He will masquerade himself as a force for good, and as a defender of Christian values.
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#13) The Antichrist will love money as it’s the root of all kinds of evil –
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
It’s noteworthy that the Bible doesn’t make such a proclamation about any other sin as being at the root of all kinds of evil. Not murder, not lying, not stealing, not lust, nor anything else. It’s specifically the love of MONEY that’s referred to as the root of all kinds of evil.
This love of money can best be defined as greed – an overwhelming desire to possess more than what we need, especially with respect to material wealth. This greed for money is the root cause of so much sin, and there’s a specific reason why.
You see, the love of money, and all that money brings, is at its heart, a desire for the things of this world. And because of that, the love of money is describing the predominant character trait of the Antichrist. He is all about loving money and possessing the things of this world.
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#14) The Antichrist is revealed by the falling away –
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of [b]sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
A remarkable and yet often overlooked meaning behind this verse is that the “falling away” – or those that leave the faith – will be tied in with the revealing of the man of sin. In other words, these two events are related, as those who fall away from the faith will fall TOWARDS the man of sin.
Thus, it is the falling away that reveals the Antichrist, as we simply need to look at those who have fallen away from the faith and see WHO they are gravitating towards. It’s not simply a falling away for the sake of leaving the faith, but a falling away FROM Jesus Christ and TOWARDS the Antichrist.
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#15) The Antichrist has the ultimate ego to call himself God –
2 Thessalonians 2:4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits [c]as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
In this remarkable verse, we are told that the Antichrist will be so full of himself, will magnify himself in his heart to such a degree, and will possess such an out of control ego, that he will actually proclaim himself to be God.
Perhaps this proclamation will come in the form of announcing that he is the savior of the world, since after all, the Antichrist is not only anti-Jesus Christ, but he also looks to replace Jesus Christ.
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#16) The Antichrist is named the Man of Sin –
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of [b]sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
In this verse we find the Antichrist referred to as the Man of Sin, or to put it another way, sin incarnate. The sins that the Bible refer to over and over again are those are related to vanity, to dishonesty, to lust, to greed, to envy, and to wrath.
The Antichrist will not only live an extremely sinful life by the Bible’s standard, but he will actually brag about his lust, his greed, his desire for vengeance.
The Antichrist will not only be an extraordinarily sinful man, he will even take pride in his sinning. He will seemingly view his character flaws as badges of honor, as if each sin of the Bible were on his personal bucket list waiting to be checked off.
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#17) The Antichrist is named the Lawless One –
2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
In this verse the Antichrist is described as not being constrained by ANY law, whether the laws of man or the laws of God. It’s not that he’s simply a lawbreaker – but that he considers himself to be above the law, or a law unto himself.
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#18) The Antichrist does as he pleases –
Daniel 11:36 “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done.
In this verse the Antichrist is described as doing whatever he wishes, and it expands upon him being the Lawless One. He will not feel restrained by law.
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#19) The Antichrist works deceitfully –
Daniel 11:23 And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people.
This verse is reinforced by Daniel 8:25, and these two verses together tell us that the Antichrist’s modus operandi – or habits of working – are filled with deceit. Deceptiveness is simply part and parcel of how he operates.
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#20) The Antichrist understands dark sentences –
Daniel 8:23 “And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce [k]features, Who understands sinister schemes.
This verse gives us one key insight into the intelligence of the Antichrist: he understands “dark sentences.” Other translations render this verse as “understanding sinister schemes”, and it’s a window into the innate intelligence of the Antichrist.
He is a master of intrigue. Intrigue is defined as machination, which is a scheming or crafty action intended to accomplish some usually evil end.
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#21) The Antichrist attains the kingdom by flatteries –
Daniel 11: 21 And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
Some translations render this verse as intrigue, reinforcing Daniel 8:23’s reference to “dark sentences”, but the context of this verse goes in a bit of a different direction.
Looking at Strong’s Concordance, we see that the word used for “flatteries” in Daniel 11:21 more closely means smoothness, slipperiness, or fine promises, which tells us that the Antichrist will attain the kingdom because of his scheming with a small group of people, as Daniel 11:23 references.
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#22) The bible speaks of nationalism –
Matthew 24:7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines,
One of the more famous bible verses about the end times speaks of nation rising against nation and kingdom and kingdom. Nation versus nation is the inevitable result of nationalism, which has swept the world in recent years.
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#23) The Antichrist will amaze the world –
Revelation 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.
This verse tells us that that the Antichrist will be such a unique person, that the entire world will be amazed by him. They will wonder after him, asking who is like he is?
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#24) The Antichrist will succeed in all that he does –
Daniel 8:24 His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy [l]fearfully, And shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.
This verse gives us background on John 5:43, which says that the Antichrist will come in his own name. In short, it tells us that the Antichrist will arrive on the scene having already been a worldwide success.
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#25) The Antichrist has a stout look –
Daniel 7:20 and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke [i]pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.
This verse gives us an intriguing description of the physical appearance of the Antichrist, saying that he looks more stout than his fellows. Stout is defined as haughty, full of oneself, and even heavyset.
Haughty, of course, is an absolutely perfect description for the Antichrist – as it describes someone who is scornfully and condescendingly proud, and also arrogant and overbearing. He is full of himself to an extreme, as Daniel 8:25 also stated.
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#26) The Antichrist sows discord –
Proverbs 6:14 Perversity is in his heart, He devises evil continually, He sows discord.
Proverbs 6:12-15 A worthless person, a wicked man, Walks with a perverse mouth; 13He winks with his eyes, He [g]shuffles his feet, He points with his fingers; 14Perversity is in his heart, He devises evil continually, He sows discord. 15Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; Suddenly he shall be broken without remedy.
Commonly referred to as “The Wicked Man”, Bible scholars generally consider the descriptions in these verses as a reference to the Antichrist.
Verse 14 tells us that one notable trait of the Antichrist is that he will sow discord. The inference being that he is intentionally dividing one person or one group against another for his own benefit. He isn’t simply divisive, but he purposely sows divisiveness to reap the rewards.
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#27) The Antichrist is a unique, unstoppable force that can’t be fought against –
Revelation 13:4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
This verse tells us not only of how incredibly singular the Antichrist is, “who is like unto the beast”, but it also tells us that he is a literal force of nature: no one is able to fight against him.
The Bottom Line
There’s a reason that the bible has given us this many descriptions of the Antichrist, and that reason is so that we are NOT deluded by him, and we don’t end up following him down the road to perdition.
If we simply pay attention to what the bible says, we may learn that there might be someone on the world scene right now who matches those descriptions.
Discover the Book Academy is a free resource to study books of the Bible, helping us to understand God’s Word more clearly through courses and lessons. This study is presented by John Barnett, a gifted teacher and minister. His historical studies background surpasses most others who teach. We have found this resource to be invaluable as we share the love of God with all of you.
You trapped me in a box till my arms and legs outgrew that absurdly tiny space
That tension made me explode into fractions of the minutest pieces all over the place
It has been taking me years to find them and pick them up
How dare you!
Who do you think you are?
To rape me incessantly
Bleeding me to the core
Jeering and misleading me once more
Your wicked plans strapped close to your chest
As you imagine more ways of torturing me undetected
How dare you!
Who do you think you are?
To speak abominations
Of hollow empty promises
Dangling the shadow of hope in your hands
Deceiving me into oblivion
Giving me the drink of darkness in the soul
How dare you!
Who do you think you are?
To shame me in the court of the multitude
As you plant those seeds of doubt and discontent
In the secret fields of my solitude
Your weeds have been crowding my mind
How dare you!
Who do you think you are?
To pollute my well of purity
With evil intentions and belligerent energies
The silent waters that once ran deep have been stirred like a hornet’s nest
Stinging me with pain unbearable
I numbed myself in silence
How dare you!
Who do you think you are?
To parade me in my innocence
Before throngs of unrecognizable faces
Invading my space and bringing me to the guillotine
Avoiding my gaze and pleas for help
You fed me to the pack of wolves
How dare you!
Who do you think you are?
To snuff out all my brilliant ebullience
You extinguished the optimistic flame within
And turned it into the raging fires of rage
Yet trapped inside my inner world
Twisting every right to express myself
How dare you!
Who do you think you are?
To blind me to the true beauty of creation
Making me look at all the lack
By imposing the narratives of your turbulent past
Stealing my joy robbing my purest gratitude
Forcing entry into my world by hurling your ugly world into mine
How dare you!
Who do you think you are?
To mock me and hurl insults on my humanness
You made me fear your judgement and all the daggers that you threw my way
I kept running away from you to save my soul and yet I kept running back to you seeking your approval
How dare you!
Who do you think you are?
A chemist of unbelievable proportions
Concocting decisive manipulation
In ways that hide beneath the sheets
The clues of neglect have been mixed with sugar and spice but nothing that was nice
Leaving so much distaste
Yet taking away all other options on the menu
I was left with nothing to eat but garbage
How dare you!
Who do you think you are?
To stunt my growth in every imperceptible way
Making me second guess myself
Casting a hurricane of disbelief
Tormenting me with the fear of failure and rejection
Addicted to the image of perfection
How dare you!
Who do you think you are?
To play me over and over again
An unwilling participant in your torturous game
Pressure on me to defend my inner child
Revelling in my anguish
Never putting an end to my cries
How dare you!
Who do you think you are?
To goad me into the sunken levels of your bane existence
Frying my emotions and pulverizing my identity
Pushing me to monster-like tendencies
Stop projecting your vile nature unto me
How dare you!
Who do you think you are?
Questioning my life
After trampling on me unnoticeably
In the silence of the crowd
You hid your lifetime abuse with all the gravel of your words
But your actions betrayed you
They revealed your abyss of pain and dysfunction
Till you could no longer live the layers of lies
As your manipulations chased you
How dare you!
Who do you think you are?
You are not me.
Do not fool yourself into thinking that we are one and the same.
Deal with your thoughts. Deal with your emotions. Deal with your choices. Deal with your lies. Deal with your manipulations. Deal with your cruelty. Deal with who you are and the path that you have chosen.
This is the healing end of all the abuse.
This is the end of the tale you tried to weave.
This is the end of the horror you tried to heap.
This is the end of the sick game you trapped me into playing.
Rosh (ancient Sarmatians known as Rashu,Rasapu,Ros and Rus) RUSSIA Magog (ancient Scythians) Central Asia (Islamic southern republics of the former Soviet Union with a population of 60 million Muslims) Meshech (ancient Muschki and Musku in Cilicia and Cappadocia) Turkey Tubal (ancient Tubalu in Cappadocia) Turkey Persia (name changed to Iran in 1935) Iran Ethiopia (ancient Cush, south of Egypt) Sudan Libya (ancient Put, west of Egypt) Libya Gomer (ancient Cimmerians from seventh century to first century B.C. in central/western Anatolia Turkey Beth-Togarmah (Tilgarimmu between ancient Carchemish and Haran) Turkey
“And now go and tell his disciples, andespecially Peter, that he will go ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.”
Mark 16:7, CEV
Poor Peter. Despairing over his personal darkness he has become completely undone. His wound is beyond any human remedy. No one can help him at this point. We do well to mark the fall of the ‘Rock.’ Peter is now how we understand our Father’s love.
Jesus had called him, the ‘Rock.’ This would become a bestowed nickname of a future transformation. We use granite and marble when we want something to last for ages. It is as permanent as we can make it. Peter is definitely a work-in-progress. His character is sand. He really doesn’t measure up.
Visiting a working quarry, you’ll find large machinery. Men scale the walls with heavy drills. At just the right spot they begin to bore a hole. It is hard and intense work, but they are persistent. The rock is unyielding, but they work relentlessly.
Soon they take the hole to the proper depth. Explosives are hauled up, and the hole is carefully packed with dynamite. The word used in the New Testament is the word “dunamis.” It is translated from Greek into English as “power.” Our word for “dynamite” is also a translation of that word.
Peter needs the dynamite power of the Holy Spirit. It is explosive.
“But you will receive dynamite when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
Jesus looks after each disciple before his resurrection. He kindly gazes at Peter. Especially Peter. He will need this new power to overcome his weaknesses. The dynamite of the Spirit will explode all over the Upper Room. Shifty Peter us about to become a rock.
His disciples, in just 50 days are going to meet the Holy Spirit.
Peter was so transformed on Pentecost he would preach and 3,000 would believe and be baptized. He went from cowardly denier to bold preacher. The dunamis of God changed him that day (Acts 2).
As a broken believer, I see the image of Peter morphing into my own face. I have denied Him before others. I am ashamed of what I have done. My depression flares up and my heart goes down in a downward spiral. I must have the Holy Spirit’s authority to be free.
I kept skipping over this video, thinking, “Ugh! Here we go. Another pushy video that’s gonna tell me what to think, what to feel, how to vote, ad nauseum!!!”
But, today, I was drawn to watch it, anyway.
And, now, for the first time in my many adult years, always scrambling for words that describe how I grew up being indoctrinated to follow the “Republican”, “Christian”, “right way to do things” mentality, Frank Schaeffer said it for me.
So, I encourage you to watch this video, and be prepared to have an exercise in positive thinking.
Maybe it’s time to do a quick checkup on our love? If we hate anyone, we go against Jesus’ command to love with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind.
Someone once told me they couldn’t love a particular kind of person. I told them about Jesus’ command, also saying God didn’t ask us to like or love people’s behavior, but that we should love the person and pray for that person. It’s important to know the difference and act accordingly.
So I repeat the question, do you love? Completely?
When Iran attacked the nation of Israel last night, prophecy bolted forward and there will only be one escalation after another just as the Bible says.
Look through the lens of prophecy as you watch world news.
In Jesus’ name and love, we pray that those who have eyes to see and ears to hear will open hearts to Him who loves us and gave Himself on the cross so that we may live.
Youtube has a lot of videos, some good, some not so good. Brandon Robbins is a pastor/teacher who freely shares deep spiritual insights on a myriad of subjects. This video was one that we thought very helpful in learning ways to further study the Bible accurately. Hope you gain something that will encourage you in your study.
It is of utmost importance to pray for discernment from God to confirm what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Then, we should make the habit of keeping our minds centered, through Jesus, and think about those things. If we think of things that are negative, then our minds are not centered on what God wants us to think about. sharinHislove.com
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Genesis 2:16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—
17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” (New Living Translation) God gave Adam responsibility for the garden and told him not to eat from the Tree of Conscience. Rather than physically preventing him from eating, God gave Adam a choice, even though Adam may choose wrongly. God still gives us choices today, and we, too, often choose wrongly. These wrong choices may cause us pain and irritation, but they can help us learn and grow and make better choices in the future.
Living with the consequences of our choices is one of the best ways to become more responsible.
Why would God place a tree in the garden and then forbid Adam to eat from it?
God wanted Adam to obey, but He gave him the freedom to choose. Without choice, Adam would have been a prisoner forced to obey.
The two trees presented an exercise in choice, with rewards for choosing to obey or consequences for choosing to disobey.
(Unless otherwise stated, parts of this series of studies on Obedience have been taken from The Living Life Application Bible by Tyndale)
No one likes to learn that there may be errors or falsehoods in their religions, traditions, churches, or personal beliefs. We should find ways to determine the accuracy of our research, use those that we trust, and seek to understand what religions teach or believe to accurately discuss or write concerning those subjects.
—
An article How to Identify Reliable Information, addresses this topic:
“Whether you are a journalist, researcher writer or someone in the professional fields, it is important to know how to identify real information and use it accurately. That is our real challenge in the 21st century – Lee E Krahenbuhl, Communication Studies Program Coordinator
With the infinite amount of information online, it can be difficult to decipher what is true and accurate and what is not. Once you know the trick to identifying reliable information, you can quickly determine if what you are reading is accurate or not.
What is reliable information?
Reliable information must come from dependable sources. According to UGA Libraries, a reliable source will provide a “thorough, well-reasoned theory, argument, based on strong evidence.”
Widely credible sources include:
Scholarly, peer-reviewed articles and books
Trade or professional articles or books, magazine articles, books, and newspaper articles from well-established companies
Other sources like websites and blog posts can be dependable but require further evaluation.
You may be asking yourself, “what source is best for me?” Depending on the type of information you need, your sources may vary. Look at journal articles and research-based reports. This is because those types of sources typically include more information on the topic at hand.
How to identify reliable sources
What makes the source reliable?
To determine whether a source is reliable or not, you must look at certain criteria. That criteria are as follows:
Authority:
Who is the author?
What are their credentials?
Do they have knowledgeable experience in the field
What is their reputation?
Accuracy: Compare the author’s information to that which you already know is dependable.
Are there proper citations?
Is the information biased?
If so, does it affect research conclusions?
Coverage: Is the information relevant to your topic and does it meet your needs? Consider what you need such as statistics, charts, and graphs.
Currency: Is your topic constantly evolving? Topics in the news require sources that are up to date.
The importance of reliable information
The Internet is scattered with biased, misleading, and altogether incorrect information and that is why it is important to follow the above criteria. The importance of using reliable sources truly boils down to effective communication. If your knowledge is based on unreliable information, you will not be a trustworthy asset.
Credible communication is key in discussing a subject. That is why you should not just grab any information off the Internet. Using unreliable sources results in negative consequences.
Credibility is especially important because using unreliable data can cause questions that may undermine your reliability and may cause others to rely solely on their own opinions rather than factual data.
Using credible sources for information will increase your reputation and trustworthiness. An article by the Ivy Business Journal supports this idea by expressing that trust is a key factor in building loyalty, increasing credibility, and supporting effective communication. It is important to develop your skills in identifying reliable resources, because it will help you become an effective communicator, reader, and/or writer.
With all that is going on all over the world, listening to others, watching tv, or receiving information from a myriad of sources, it is often difficult to determine what is “truth”.
It is very important to ask God for guidance of our every thought, words, and actions.
If we choose the way of personally accepting Jesus (which is the decision to do everything through love, and as a result gives us a new heart-set), then we don’t ever have to go down the road of destruction that the other decision leads to.
5 God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.
Adam and Eve got what they wanted:An intimate knowledge of both good and evil.
But they got it in a distorted and painful way. satan had twisted their thinking by telling them they could know the difference between good and evil by doing evil.
We sometimes have the illusion that “freedom” is doing what we want. God says true freedom comes from Obedience and knowing what NOT to do.
The restrictions He gives us are for our own good, showing us how to avoid evil.
We have the freedom to walk in front of a speeding car, but we don’t need to be hit to realize that it would be a foolish thing to do.
Don’t listen to satan’s temptations to experience evil in order to learn more about life.
satan used a sincere motive to tempt Eve–“you will be like God, knowing both good and evil”
To become more like God is the highest goal of humanity.
It is what we are supposed to do.
But satan misled Eve on the right way to accomplish this goal.
He told her that you become more like God by defying God’s authority, by taking God’s place and deciding for yourself what is best for your life.
You become your own god.
But scripture clearly states that to become like God is not to be God Himself.
Rather, it is to reflect His characteristics and recognize His authority over your life.
Like Eve, we often have a worthy goal but try to achieve it in the wrong way.
It’s like paying off an election judge to be voted into office. Serving the people is no longer the highest goal.
The ultimate goal of self-exaltation is rebellion against God.
As soon as we begin to leave God out of our plans, we are placing ourselves above Him, which is exactly what satan wants us to do.
Today’s social media and internet chat platforms have become tantalizing playgrounds for those who enjoy stirring up arguments. But the Bible has nothing good to say about a person who sows discord: “A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger, with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord; therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing” (Proverbs 6:12–15, ESV).
In Proverbs 6:14, “discord” is translated from the Hebrew (madan), meaning “strife, bitter conflict, heated and often violent dissension.” “Sowing” discord implies spreading conflict or scattering it widely. The passage reveals that an individual who sows discord is corrupted by sin and afflicted with a perverted heart. Solomon repeated the sentiment in Proverbs 16:28: “A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.” In Proverbs 6:16–19, he listed seven things the Lord hates, and “one who sows discord among brothers” (ESV) was one of them.
Solomon pointed to a dangerous heart problem as the root issue for someone who sows discord. Jesus said the same: “But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander. These are the things that defile a person” (Matthew 15:18–20, CSB). According to Proverbs 10:12, hatred, as opposed to love, dwells in the heart of those who stir up conflict. Hateful people delight in breaking up friendships and spoiling peace and harmony between brothers and sisters.
The Bible is clear that sin provokes quarrels and disagreement: “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division” (Galatians 5:19–20, NLT; cf. James 4:1). The apostle Paul counseled believers to stay away from “people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught” (Romans 16:17, NLT).
“Anyone who loves to quarrel loves sin,” stated Solomon (Proverbs 17:19, NLT). Believers cannot walk in the light of God’s love and continue spewing hatred and sowing discord: “If anyone claims, ‘I am living in the light,’ but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness” (1 John 2:9–11, NLT).
Paul warned believers against involving themselves in arguments and fights, even about spiritual matters: “These things are useless and a waste of time. If people are causing divisions among you, give a first and second warning. After that, have nothing more to do with them. For people like that have turned away from the truth, and their own sins condemn them” (Titus 3:9–11, NLT).
“Any fool can get himself into a quarrel,” stated the wise old teacher, but “honor belongs to the person who ends a dispute” (Proverbs 20:3, CSB). Solomon compared people who sow discord to troublemakers who go around lighting fires: “As charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife” (Proverbs 26:21, CSB). Fires leave death and destruction in their wake. Proverbs 6:15 explains that the consequence of such foolish and evil behavior is sudden “calamity,” which literally refers to “a crushing weight.” A person who continually and actively sows discord is pursuing a life of sin, and such a life is destined for destruction (Romans 6:23; James 1:15).
Jesus said, “God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9, NLT). But wicked mischief-makers who sow discord can expect to experience devastating distress and severe suffering. If they stubbornly refuse to listen to God’s warning and accept correction, they will be broken and ruined beyond all hope of healing (Proverbs 29:1). The Scriptures issue no light word of caution on this matter. Having a heart perverted by evil is a matter of life and death. The aftermath of such wickedness cannot be reversed.
The angel that came to Daniel in the pit did not kill the lions he simply closed their mouths and stood with him in the midst of terrible danger.Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego were not saved from the fire they stood in the midst of it with their savior. Moses and the Israelites did not have the Red Sea removed from in front of them it was simply parted for them to walk through. Silver is refined in the refiner’s fire and it’s only finished once the Refiner’s reflection can be seen in the silver. Grapes are crushed under foot to produce the sweetest wine, and olives are pressed in order to extract the purest oil.What makes you think that we are any different? We will walk through this tribulation, many will fall away because they stand on sand not the Cornerstone, Yeshua and scriptural truth, The WORD.
Once a person is saved are they always saved? Yes, when people come to know Christ as their Savior, they are brought into a relationship with God that guarantees their salvation as eternally secure. To be clear, salvation is more than saying a prayer or “making a decision” for Christ; salvation is a sovereign act of God whereby an unregenerate sinner is washed, renewed, and born again by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3; Titus 3:5). When salvation occurs, God gives the forgiven sinner a new heart and puts a new spirit within him (Ezekiel 36:26). The Spirit will cause the saved person to walk in obedience to God’s Word (Ezekiel 36:26–27; James 2:26). Numerous passages of Scripture declare the fact that, as an act of God, salvation is secure:
(a) Romans 8:30 declares, “And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.” This verse tells us that from the moment God chooses us, it is as if we are glorified in His presence in heaven. There is nothing that can prevent a believer from one day being glorified because God has already purposed it in heaven. Once a person is justified, his salvation is guaranteed—he is as secure as if he is already glorified in heaven.
(b) Paul asks two crucial questions in Romans 8:33-34 “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? No one will, because Christ is our advocate. Who will condemn us? No one will, because Christ, the One who died for us, is the one who condemns. We have both the advocate and judge as our Savior.
(c) Believers are born again (regenerated) when they believe (John 3:3; Titus 3:5). For a Christian to lose his salvation, he would have to be un-regenerated. The Bible gives no evidence that the new birth can be taken away.
(d) The Holy Spirit indwells all believers (John 14:17; Romans 8:9) and baptizes all believers into the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). For a believer to become unsaved, he would have to be “un-indwelt” and detached from the Body of Christ.
(e) John 3:15 states that whoever believes in Jesus Christ will “have eternal life.” If you believe in Christ today and have eternal life, but lose it tomorrow, then it was never “eternal” at all. Hence, if you lose your salvation, the promises of eternal life in the Bible would be in error.
(f) In a conclusive argument, Scripture says, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39). Remember the same God who saved you is the same God who will keep you. Once we are saved, we are always saved. Our salvation is most definitely eternally secure!
(Forgive typos…Today has been long. Well, this year has been long.) So much is weighing heavy on the hearts of others. This week I listened to those who grieve the loss of identity, the loss of love, the loss of faith, and the loss of purpose. So many questions that have so few answers or at least answers that satisfy and calm their fears. They feel aimless and stuck. Maybe you feel similar. Maybe it is your job, the future, a relationship. You simply feel stuck by not knowing what decision is the “right” decision so you make no decision at all. Maybe you are nursing scars no one see. Maybe you are bleeding from wounds that do not bleed crimson and bandages do not help. The running theme of many who are experiencing this level of pain is that they do not want to burden another person with their “stuff”. Sadly, they suffer in silence and feel totally alone. Think for a moment. Have you ever seen a lone goose? A solitary, Canadian, turd dropping, Christmas goose flying all by their lonesome? My guess is that you haven’t. If you do, that is one lost goose. They are most always in a flock. They take turns with the burden of leading. They encourage by those obnoxious honks. They rest often. They have a destination, but it is often arrived at in the company of others. They will fly despite the clouds and gloom around them. They will fly at times in the rain, but they seek shelter together. They do not feel the need to do anything singularly. Why then do we believe we have to do anything by ourselves? We are called to bear one another’s burdens. So, I’m calling my brothers and sisters in Christ to help those around them. Sit with them. Eat with them. Shelter with them. Listen to their story. Encourage them with hope. But more than anything, fly with them through their clouds of depression, anxiety, abuse, loss, hopelessness, and failure. We all are more likely to fly on, fly farther, and fly with purpose when we have others behind us despite the dark clouds hanging over us. Quit saying, “If you need me, I’m always here.” They will almost never call you. If we want the world to know we love Jesus, we must intentionally bear the burdens of others by vulnerability and loving one another.
Beware of any Christian movement that acts as though the world is full of enemies to be destroyed rather than full of neighbors to be loved. – Rev Benjamin Cremer
Starting our day with prayer, reconnecting after a good night’s rest, thanking God for His amazing presence in our lives
Hearing the words “I love you” spoken sweetly to me over and over again
Hearing encouragement and affirmation of how wonderful my husband thinks I am
Winding down our day with prayer to our Lord who has guided us through safely and tenderly.
Once more, holding hands, reciting our feelings of eternal love for each other
Oh my, that was 6, but each day brings into focus the growth of our relationship to each other and to the sweetness of our closeness with our Lord Jesus
Welcome to Mental Health Monday where we take a look at music that brings light to mental health issues. This week I bring you Alessia Cara’s song titled Scars To Your Beautiful.
This beautiful song evokes feelings of hope. It’s very powerful in it’s lyrics and I adore it. Not only is it powerful, but it’s upbeat and pretty catchy. I highly recommend giving this a listen if you haven’t heard it before.
I’ve created a playlist of my previous Mental Health Monday posts if you’re interested. You can find them allhere. Enjoy the art of music.
Music Video
Lyrics
She just wants to be beautiful She goes unnoticed, she knows no limits She craves attention, she praises an image She prays to be sculpted by the sculptor
Oh, she don’t see the light that’s shining Deeper than the eyes can find it Maybe we have made her…
“You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.”
Romans 2:1, NLT
One of the spiritual diseases endemic to the Christian believer is “fault finding”. For some reason, (and I’m still trying to figure out why), is we have a strong inclination to pass a judgement on people (those whom Christ died for!) We don’t throw stones (far be it from me)– however, we certainly do and will point fingers. And perhaps we feel that its our religious duty, or maybe even our ministry (!).
Almost always, there a sense of certain and attainable righteousness. or our generated holiness involved. This should not be dismissed or overlooked. Because I believe I am right, and have religious grounds, I put all of the “evil sinners” on trial, and then I pronounce my verdict. (And they certainly deserve whatever I decide.)
Much of the same type of thinking was used in Romans 2. Paul castigates those who were judging others. He goes on a scathing and sizzling rebuke directly at those who were destroying others by their overly-righteous attitude.
” And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. 3 Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things? 4 Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?.”
Romans 2:3-4
Without a doubt this whole subject is highly complex and nuanced. Hundreds of verses should be worked through. But this blog is not that place. However, I will advance this– I read this written by the Desert Fathers.
“Correct and judge justly those who are subject to you, but judge no one else. For truly it is written: ‘Is not those inside the church whom are you to judge? God judges those who are outside’.
Macarius of Alexandria, 296-393 AD
A Simple Poem of a Quiet Wisdom
Pray, don’t find fault with the man who limps Or stumbles along the road Unless you have worn the shoes that hurt Or struggled beneath his load There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt, Though hidden away from view Or the burden he bears, placed on your back, Might cause you to stumble, too.
Don’t sneer at the man who’s down today Unless you have felt the blow That caused his fall, or felt the same That only the fallen know. You may be strong, but still the blows That were his, if dealt to you In the self same way at the self same time, Might cause you to stagger, too.
Don’t be too harsh with the man who sins Or pelt him with words or stones, Unless you are sure, yea, doubly sure, That you have no sins of your own. For you know perhaps, if the tempters voice Should whisper as soft to you As it did to him when he went astray, ‘Twould cause you to falter, too.
So much going on right now all over the world. It would be easy to be tempted to lose our faith. But that’s not going to be an option, is it?
I found this message on a facebook site and I was having one of those moments, primarily because I’m trying to spread the love of God around a lot of places today, and my computer is acting up…even while trying to post this. So I’m going to put a Ha Ha to Satan, and keep going.
When was the last time your suffering led others to Christ? Ever since I scribbled these words, they continue to stare me in the eye—expecting a response.
The truth is I don’t know if I’ve ever prompted anyone to step closer to the Lord by how I handled sorrow. Pain tends to compel the crabby in me – enough to blame someone else for my suffering.
I doubt I’m alone. When in pain, it seems only human to default to finger-pointing—including at God.
“Are you heartless, or are you just incapable of healing my chronic pain, God?” “If the store had posted a warning sign, I wouldn’t have slipped on the wet floor.” “We got into the accident because you ran the red light!”
Jesus modeled suffering in a radically different way. The Son determined to live and die by glorifying the Father, even while enduring crucifixion and its excruciating pain. Jesus carried Himself with such dignity, it forced a handful of witnesses to face their own day of reckoning.
More on this later.
As a Christian, I aspire to emulate Jesus in every way—including during life’s harrowing moments. Don’t you?
The good news is learning to suffer Jesus’ way is doable. If it wasn’t, the Bible wouldn’t have recorded the following five principles He demonstrated while crucified:
Non-Defensive When those around Jesus did nothing but revile Him, He didn’t defend Himself. Neither did He attack them back (1 Peter 2:23). Jesus stayed silent (Isaiah 53:7). By doing so, He fully exhibited trust that God would avenge Him without having to do so Himself (1 Samuel 24:12).
Do you know how hard it is to clamp your mouth when you’re being assailed? I do. As a therapist, I strive to not defend myself if something I say riles up my client. It doesn’t matter how innocent my intentions might have been. If there’s a part of the client who finds my words offensive, my job is to listen and process that experience with the client. Defending ourselves is improper for therapists to do because that’s hardly what any client needs. Ever.
Like Jesus, you and I don’t need to engage in self-defense even if someone decides to harass us in our pain. The Lord is still the most powerful Avenger there is (Psalm 94:1). The One who sees everything will make things right in due time (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
No Pity Party Every group of people surrounding Jesus mocked Him mercilessly:
Passersby (Matthew 27:39-40), Spiritual leaders (Matthew 27: 41-43, Luke 23:35), Roman soldiers (Luke 23: 36-37), And the two criminals condemned to death alongside him (Matthew 27: 38, Matthew 27: 44, Mark 15:32). But even though their derision must have hurt, what might have stung even more was the roaring passivity of Jesus’ own loved ones. A tiny band of followers, including His mother, a few other women, and the apostle John, all witnessed Jesus’ abuse and humiliation—but none of them said a peep (John 19: 25-27).
If it were me bleeding on the cross? Hearing vicious sneers, coupled with my support system’s sustained silence, would’ve easily triggered a serious self-pitying episode.
Not Jesus. Never once did He pull a psalm-style lamentation of how long will you let these guys pummel me like this, Lord, when I did nothing to provoke them? Scour every book in the Bible, Old and New Testament combined, and you’ll find zero mention of Jesus crying on the cross. None.
Crucifixion is likely the most painful way to die ever invented, yet the Son of God shed no tears. Why?
Because Jesus refused to indulge in a pity party.
Self-pity sucks all of the attention to ourselves—This hurts so bad! Why hasn’t anyone checked up on me? Does anyone even care? Because the whining in self-pity repulses everyone else, pity partiers tend to cry all by themselves. Their act makes it impossible for others to respond with compassion.
Let’s resolve to ban any pity party even if our suffering feels unjust.
Selflessness Because Jesus squelched the temptation to pity Himself, He allowed the love of God to fully commandeer His attention.
Even though breathing—let alone speaking—would’ve wrecked His body with more unimaginable pain, Jesus intentionally did the following. He spent the energy to instruct His disciple, John, to care for His mother, Mary, from that point on (John 19:26-27).
Such selfless love!
A friend demonstrated how striking it is when we mimic Jesus’ winsome attitude. This fellow believer suffers from pancreatitis. She spent three weeks at the hospital for a major surgery. She has steadily lost weight and has to eat through a feeding tube for six months—yet, despite all the mental and physical pain she has to endure, she cares enough to ask how I’m doing.
Anytime we attend to another person, regardless of the intensity of our pain, we’re gently leading that person closer to our Father. That’s because only God’s love can inspire us to exhibit the unselfish love of 1 Corinthians 10:24—including in the midst of our suffering.
In this me-first world, such outrageous benevolence creates an unforgettable impression. It may even compel the recipient to investigate, “why are you so kind?”
At which point we can smile and explain: Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1: 27).
He Sought Proper Help There’s another reason I cherish the friend I mentioned above: she recognizes her limits. She didn’t conceal her need due to pride. Instead, she reached out to me and confided in me about her medical struggles. And when I offered to intercede, she gladly received my prayer.
How many are too proud to disclose our needs to each other?
My friend sought appropriate assistance because she needed it. In doing so she modeled after Jesus, who also appealed for help while on the cross.
On the surface, it seems as though Jesus’ words to the Father conveyed a son’s protest for his dad’s abandonment (Matthew 27:46). However, notice that Jesus directed His plea to God in a transparent and respectful manner. Contrast this attitude to many who, in their pain, give God the silent treatment or curse Him instead—like Job’s wife, for instance (Job 2:9).
The Lord will never forsake anyone who seeks Him (Psalm 9:10). So, if you want your suffering to count, never abandon the God who has loved you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). Then, seek proper help—in the spiritual, physical, as well as emotional realm.
He Forgave Fiercely Forgiveness benefits the forgiver. We don’t forgive for the sake of those who wronged us, but for our own (Matthew 6:14-15, Luke 6:37). But if this truth is applicable to humans, then it applies to Jesus, too, given his status as fully God and fully human (John 1:1, John 1:14, Philippians 2:7).
I once had a profound moment with a boy in fourth grade. I gave some words of encouragement to young boys about how the Lord has a purpose for every man of God. I told them that they were special and had a unique calling to be men one day. Afterward, one young man came up and said thank you because he had two sisters and his mom who were always watching female-empowering shows and movies. He wanted to be encouraged too. Today we are going to study some of the main characteristics of a man of God.
What Is the Meaning of the Phrase ‘Man of God’?
1 Timothy 4:8 says, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
When I think about men around me who have dedicated their lives to Christ, I think of humility, courage, and leadership. They may not always be the quarterbacks or the CEO types, but they are faithful to the Lord no matter what their personalities and giftings include. When I was praying for my husband, I prayed specifically that he would be a man of God. What I meant by this, was a man pursuing the Lord, who surrendered His life to Christ. I think of men who acknowledge that they are sinners, but still, choose to live by the Spirit and not by their flesh (Galatians 5:16).
The phrase, “A man of God” is used in the Bible 35 times. Aaron Brown from Crosswalk says, “Being a man of God is not something to be condemned but rather encouraged. For any boy becoming a man, or men trying to commit themselves more thoroughly to God, there is an answer to the question.” A man seeking to know Jesus more and living like Him more is a man of God. He is not a perfect man, but he is a godly one. A man of God admits he is not able to represent the Lord without the help of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). He will be strong through Christ and seek Him each day (Psalm 105:3-4).
What Are Some Key Characteristics of Men of God?
There are some qualities of a Christian man that are the same in a Christian woman. Everyone who has Christ has the Holy Spirit and can live a godly life. So what are some specific characteristics in which men of God obtain?
Gentle
This might sound like an interesting trait to begin with, but it reminds me of the word gentleman. In the book “Gentle and Lowly” by Dane C. Ortlund, he describes that Jesus Himself describes his heart once in the Bible as “gentle and lowly” (Matthew 11:29). When someone thinks of a manly man by the world’s standards, he might imagine a physically tough guy who shows no weaknesses, gets angry, and has no fear. This is not an accurate depiction of biblical manhood. Gentleness is a character trait that does not come naturally but reveals the interworking of the Lord to enable men to be slow to anger and quick to listen. It leads to great patience and steadiness.
Courageous
One of the main qualities described when discussing a man of God is courage. Nelson Mandela once said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Men have fear, but God gives them the strength to walk in the midst of that fear and have victory through the Lord. Men many times are called upon to be brave. Bravery could look like anything from killing a spider to sharing about a struggle in a men’s group. It could be carrying a heavier load because of the gift of physical strength. Courage is even the great faith in the Lord it takes to lead a family and point them to Christ (Joshua 1:9).https://2132aa14c9f9630258fbcb5475bfd650.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
Honest
Cole Douglas Claybourn from Crosswalk says, “Men have been trained and socialized to avoid and ignore knowing their insecurities, which is one of the reasons they are less verbal than women about their insecurities, Vierra said. ‘This results in less being known and understood about them.’” A man of God is not beyond sharing his thoughts and feelings. He pushes past the “macho man” mentality and can step into vulnerability (2 Corinthians 8:21).
A man who follows the Lord takes responsibility. He pursues Christ and follows Him with boldness. He does not sit back as Adam did in the garden when Eve was sinning. He stands up for what is right and takes action. He is reliable and loyal. You can trust that he is who he claims to be to others (Colossians 3:23).
Who Are Examples of Men of God in the Bible?
Some specific men who were given this title of honor in Scripture include, Moses, David, Elijah, and Elisha.
Moses—Deuteronomy 33:1 “Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death.”
David—Nehemiah 12:36“and his kinsmen, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them.”
Elijah—1 Kings 17:18 So she said to Elijah, “What do I have to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!”
Elisha—2 Kings 5:8“It happened when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, ‘Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.’”
What Does a Man of God look like in the 21st Century?
Bible Study Tools shares it beautifully, “While the world tends to tell men to hide their emotions and act tough, God’s Word is filled with men who passionately and whole-heartedly sought God with their heart, mind, and soul! God has a special calling for men to be strong, courageous leaders, and His Scripture can provide the inspiration you need to take daily steps towards your calling.”
Men of God in the 21st century represent Christ. No matter what a man’s denomination is or culture, he represents biblical manhood when he models loving God and loving others. He is not boxed in by a world definition of a man having power and prestige. He is confident in his personal identity in Jesus. He knows who he is and walks daily with God. He is willing to admit his wrongs and has the strength to try again when he fails. He is unashamed to share his heart with others and to step up to the plate to be brave. This is not in his own power, but the strength of the Holy Spirit within him.
A man cannot force anyone to be a man of God, but he can model it and show others how to live for Christ. The men in my life do this so well in their own ways. We can pray and speak words of encouragement to the young boys and young men in our homes and communities. We can give the same motivation to the men as the women. We are all created in the image of the Lord. He made us male and female. Our Great Creator has perfect plans for how he made us and loves us. If you are a man or know a man, remember that men have a wonderful calling and a purpose on this earth. Let us celebrate the men of God in this world.
There are many, many promises of God in Scripture. In each promise, God pledges that something will (or will not) be done or given or come to pass. These are not flippant, casual promises such as we often make; these promises of God are rock-solid, unequivocal commitments made by God Himself. Because God is faithful, the recipients of the divine promises can have full assurance that what God has pledged will indeed be realized (Numbers 23:19).
Here are just a few of the promises that God has made:
Promises of God in the Old Testament.
God promised to bless Abraham and, through his descendants, the whole world (Genesis 12:2–3). This promise, called the Abrahamic Covenant, pointed to the coming Messiah for whom Abraham looked (John 8:56).
God promised Israel to be their God and make them His people (Leviticus 26:12–13). Old Testament history is teeming with examples of God fulfilling this promise.
God promised that if we search for Him we will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29). He is not playing hard-to-get. “Our God is near us whenever we pray to him” (Deuteronomy 4:7).
God promised protection for His children (Psalm 121). He was the vigilant watchman over all Israel.
God promised that His love will never fail (1 Chronicles 16:34). He is faithful in every way.
God promised Israel that their sin could be forgiven, their prosperity restored, and their nation healed (2 Chronicles 7:14). Repentance opened the road to fellowship and blessing.
God, under the terms of the Mosaic Covenant, promised prosperity to Israel for obedience and destruction for disobedience (Deuteronomy 30:15–18). Unfortunately, Israel eventually chose to disobey, and the nation was destroyed by Assyria and Babylon.
God promised blessing for all who will delight themselves in His Word (Psalm 1:1–3). Simple faith has its rewards.
Promises of God in the New Testament.
God promised salvation to all who believe in His Son (Romans 1:16–17). There is no greater blessing than the free gift of God’s salvation.
God promised that all things will work out for good for His children (Romans 8:28). This is the broader picture that keeps us from being dismayed by present circumstances.
God promised comfort in our trials (2 Corinthians 1:3–4). He has a plan, and one day we will be able to share the comfort we receive.
God promised new life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Salvation is the beginning of a brand-new existence.
God promised every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). Whereas, in the Old Testament, Israel had the promise of physical blessing, the church today has been promised spiritual blessings “in the heavenly realms.” Our inheritance is reserved for us (1 Peter 1:4).
God promised to finish the work He started in us (Philippians 1:6). God does nothing in half measures. He started the work in us, and He will be sure to complete it.
God promised peace when we pray (Philippians 4:6–7). His peace is protection. It will “guard your hearts and your minds in Christ.”
God promised to supply our needs (Matthew 6:33; Philippians 4:19). Not that we get everything we want, but our needs will be taken care of. We are more valuable than the birds, and our Heavenly Father feeds them (Matthew 6:26).
Jesus’ promises in the Gospels.
Jesus promised rest (Matthew 11:28–30). Burdens are lifted at Calvary.
Jesus promised abundant life to those who follow Him (John 10:10). Following Jesus brings us more spiritual fulfillment than we could have anticipated. We leave boring behind.
Jesus promised eternal life to those who trust Him (John 4:14). The Good Shepherd also promised to hold us securely: “No one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28).
Jesus promised His disciples power from on high (Acts 1:8). In this power, they “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6, ESV).
Jesus promised that He will return for us (John 14:2–3). From then on, we will be with Him always.
There are many more promises of God that could be listed. All of them find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, “the radiance of God’s glory” (Hebrews 1:3). “No matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Today you woke up alive, you got another 24 wonderful hours of life to live; shouldn’t you feel special? You may not find anything special or worthy about it, but what if you don’t woke up next morning. What if you don’t get the opportunity to fulfil your plans you planned last night? What if you find yourself dead? Think over it now. This is the time to thank God for the blessings He has showered on you by giving you such a precious life.
Every day I feel is a blessing from God. Consider it a new beginning. Be true to yourself, help others make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, and drink deeply from good books, thank God everyday for the blessings he gave and seek guidance from Him.
In some parts of the world, students are going to school every day; it is their…
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
As we all know, 2020 was not a walk in the park; it was emotionally, physically and for some financially draining. For most of us, it also felt and perhaps was a spiritually battle not having clarity where God’s hand was leading our nation/world and i personally still feel that way in a way but yet…
Jesus Christ performed many of them. He taught His disciples, and those who would follow, to heal the sick and afflicted. This is a real part of the Gospel, and it’s the definite work of his Kingdom.
I’ve personally seen legs lengthened and fevers ‘broken’ on several occasions. Obviously it changes life for the sick person, certainly! But it can also boost the faith of those who witness these miracles. I truly believe the Holy Spirit still works these wonders today. We must let him do these things. That isn’t an option.
Somehow though, there is the ‘understanding’ that in order to be healed you must have sufficient faith. Those who are not healed are the people who have a weak faith, they’re missing out somehow on a miracle because their faith didn’t measure up. I wonder though, how much faith was…
I’ve studied prophecy since I was 12 years old, so to find something NEW is very exciting. This video is a fresh and distinct approach. I, personally, am unable to verify the calculations that are revealed here, but they are sufficiently presented in continuity to certainly give pause and reflection to them.
(NOTE) Jesus as the teacher, had the best interests of His students at heart; always, the subject of His teaching was the absolute and unchanging truth of God. We also have the best interests of our readers at heart. However, as we seek to share, we do not claim that we are qualified to be called teachers per se.
Having been given the gift of the desire to teach, doesn’t qualify us to state that we are teaching the absolute and unchanging truth of God. It is our hope, and intention, however, to be as accurate as humanly…
“A rule I have had for years is: to treat the Lord Jesus Christ as a personal friend. His is not a creed, a mere doctrine, but it is He Himself we have.”
~D.L. Moody
Friendship with God can be a liberating secret. It releases us from the terrible bondage of religion and ritual with all its negative connotations. Intimacy with our Lord will carry us beyond creed or doctrine to the place of true communion.
It’s not that the Law is bad, but in the intense light of God’s grace it’s a poor substitute. We value legalism, and that is precisely what we believe when we bypass the relationship. Doctrine is a good servant, but a poor master. Grace always trumps legalism.
We evangelicals talk big about “a personal relationship.” That is indeed crucial. But few be the believers that walk in a daily friendship with their Savior. That is truly a tragedy.
“I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.”
John 15:15, NLT
Friendship with Jesus will bring true guidance. He shares secrets and wisdom to his friends. We are brought into a true knowledge of the Kingdom through the relationship of friendship with the King. We are not slaves– or drones, slavishly serving out of slavish fear.
We are His friends.
Jesus wants to confide in us; sharing mysteries hidden by time and sin. And his kingdom is full of amazing perplexities! He is looking to bring us into a willingness of a daily communion.
He will heal our wounds, and forgive all our sins. He is truly our savior as well as our friend.
Friendship comes with a price. It means we are now tethered to the Lord. That can get old, especially when I want to do my own thing. I will continually have to lay things down, and choose to accept tether and follow Him.
God’s people have always had to wrestle with the things from the dark. As believers, the Bible tells us that we’re in a permanent state of war against Satan. There has never been an armistice or treaty signed to my knowledge. Each one of us is on the front lines. The devil has been practicing with a deadly form of “spiritual terrorism.” And he terrorizes many with his posturing and manipulation.
Life can get quite dark, and desperately bleak. No one needs to educate us about the dark nightmare that is now active. Over a couple of millennia, God’s covenant people have been harmed and harassed. Enemies are constantly manipulating and twisting God’s Word. As disciples, we’re under steady surveillance by the dragon.
Sometimes heaven is silent. But I believe it is never, ever disinterested.
But He certainly has not overlooked us. As we read our Bible, our faith becomes like Teflon. Nothing can stick to you; even though so much is thrown at us. When life is really dark or terribly bleak, we can protect ourselves and others. There are times when we can sense nothing.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
We are not theologians, we are just simple disciples. He knows this. I believe He simplifies things in order to help us understand. God has little reason to complicate things for us.
I believe that we are “surrounded” by saints of all ages. They see in us a faith that justifies us. And I must admit, that helps me. I am part of a continuum. I now know that my simple faith must always pass the test of discouragement.
But now the torch is passed, and now you must run with it faithfully and honestly. And when all is so dark, and things seem far too quiet, I still intend to hold up that torch and carry it all the way to my Father’s house.
“There was a castle called Doubting Castle, the owner whereof was Giant Despair.”
I feel the most unsettled when I’m uncertain about the future.Many of you are also probably facing circumstances that have left you feeling caught off guard and unsure about what tomorrow holds. So many times I find myself bracing for impact when I check my daily news feed. If there’s one word that seems most certain to describe the times we are living in, it’s “uncertain.”There are thousands of scenarios that evoke these feelings of uncertainty, fear and exhaustion from life not being like you thought it would be.Whatever your situation, you probably feel like you can’t change it, but you still have to live through the realities of what’s happening right now. Sometimes you just have to walk in your “I don’t know.” The Lord makes it clear in His Word that things will not always go as we wish they would in this life. The crucial detail for us to have peace in the middle of everything we face is to stay close to the Lord. We think we want comfort in the “I don’t know” times of life. But comfort isn’t a solution to seek; rather, it’s a byproduct we’ll reap when we stay close to the Lord.I wish I could promise you that everything’s going to turn out like you’re hoping it will. I can’t, of course. But what I can promise you is this: God is close to us even in our “I don’t knows.” God has lessons for us that are crucially important for our future, and we’re learning them in the middle of our “I don’t knows.” God has a strength He must prepare us with, and the training ground is here in the “I don’t know.”This time isn’t a waste, and it’s definitely not pointless when we are walking with God. Let’s cry out to God, declaring that this hard time will be a holy time, a close-to-God time. And let’s choose to believe there is good happening, even in these places. We can rest in the knowledge that wherever God is, good is being worked.-What difficult “I don’t know” season are you walking through today?
Promise #124: I gently formed you in your mother’s womb.
Psalm 139:13 (WEB) For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
The New International Version Bible says Psalm 139:13 this way… For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. The New Living Translation says… You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. No matter what translation you prefer, this is a gentle picture of God’s loving creation process.
You were not blasted into creation, but gently formed in your mother’s womb by a loving God who took the time to delicately knit all your inward parts together. May the revelation of your creation bring a sense of well being to your soul. You were not a mistake. God planned you before the foundation of the world and He determined the exact time of your birth.
One of the greatest tragedies in this world today is the feeling that our lives were a mistake. Some people were even told that by their parents. The truth is that no life was ever a mistake. Each person ever created, was created with intention by the One who is love itself.
God gently formed you in your mother’s womb and He is the One who brought you forth on the day you were born. (Psalm 71:6) There is absolutely no doubt about it!
Clarence L. Haynes Jr. is a speaker, Bible teacher, author and co-founder of The Bible Study Club
How do you approach God and people when your faith is small, when you can’t believe and when you wonder if God is even listening?
That’s why I want to encourage you today to pray broken prayers. Consider this passage in Luke:
“While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ And immediately the leprosy left him” (Luke 5:12-13).
There was something about this man that I think you can relate to. He was broken by life because he was a leper. We are not sure how he caught leprosy, but nevertheless he had it and it was a terrible disease. To be a leper in those days was to be an outcast. I will spare you the details of the horror of this disease, but beyond the physical pain and suffering there was the mental pain and suffering because no one wanted to be around you. Lepers were shunned and people thought they were cursed by God and their leprosy was a result of their sin. Some scholars say a leper couldn’t come within six feet of any other Israelite and within 150 feet if there was an east wind blowing (I guess this was the original form of social distancing).
In our story, this leper comes to Jesus. He was sick, probably in pain, and shunned by the outside world. In one word he was broken. In his place of brokenness he cried out to Jesus for help and Jesus responded.
How Does This Apply to You?
There are usually two ways we end up in positions of brokenness or helplessness. In one instance you are doing everything right. You are living right. You are giving right. You are serving. You are following God, obeying his word and doing everything you are supposed to do – and all of a sudden you get hit with life, leading you to a broken place.
On the flip side, maybe you are doing everything wrong. You’ve made a series of bad decisions and choices and your life feels like it’s falling apart. Everything is breaking down around you and you don’t know what to do. You too are in a broken place.
You see, it does not matter how you got there, you end up just like the leper. Whether it’s by your own fault or no fault of your own, you are in this place of desperation and brokenness. What do you do?
The Power of the Broken Prayer
What I love about this story is the way the man came to Jesus. He came and threw himself at his feet. He came humble. He came honest and he came broken. He didn’t even pray what would be considered a faith-filled prayer. He said Lord, if you are willing. In essence he was saying I know you can, I just don’t know if you will.
His prayer was not coming from a place of expectation, it was coming from a place of desperation. In other words, he came to Jesus just as he was. Unclean, rejected, desperate, broken and out of this place he cried out to Jesus. He was offering what I would consider a broken prayer, yet this prayer had much power in it.
Lessons from This Broken Prayer
1. Come to Jesus Just the Way You Are
Too often we make the mistake of thinking we have to come to Jesus with everything right. The same mask we wear into church on Sunday morning we take into prayer and into the presence of God. If I could encourage you with one thing let it be this. Stop thinking you have to always have it all right. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have to have your faith right, your worship right, you have to pray the right words and when you do then God will hear you. That is not what God responds to.
You can come to Jesus just as you are, broken and all, with the mask off and pour your heart out to him. Broken prayers aren’t perfect prayers, but they come from a place of humility and honesty and that is exactly what God wants.
Psalm 51:17 – “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”
2. God Doesn’t Only Respond to Our Faith, He Also Responds to Our Brokenness
There is something amazing in this story of Luke that if you read too fast you will miss. Before Jesus healed him, he touched him. Remember this was a man who was shunned by society. Who knows how long it had been since someone had touched this man?
Before Jesus addressed his obvious physical need for healing, he addressed the less obvious emotional need to be touched. We already mentioned earlier that this man did not pray a prayer of great faith, yet Jesus responded. This tells me that God not only responds to your faith, he responds to your brokenness as well. Jesus could have healed the man first and then touched him, but he didn’t – he touched him first.
That is why it’s ok to come just as you are. Don’t worry about having everything all neat and buttoned up, God will respond to your broken condition.
3. When You Touch the Heart of God, It Will Move the Hand of God
Luke 5:13b – “’I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ And immediately the leprosy left him.”
I believe the reason why Jesus moved in this man’s situation is because this man touched his heart. When you touch the heart of God, it will move the hand of God. You must also be mindful of something. When you pray broken prayers, sometimes God will change the situation instantly which is what happened here. However sometimes the situation may remain the same, but he will change you instantly. At the place of brokenness, you are laying it all down and asking God to move on your behalf as he sees fit. The beauty of the broken prayer is that you may come to God broken, but you will walk away whole.
If you are sick you may walk away healed, but even if God doesn’t heal you, walk away whole.
If you are discouraged you will walk away encouraged.
If you come with no faith you walk away believing God to do great things in your life.
If you come with no joy you walk away with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
If you come with no peace you walk away with peace that passes all understanding, even in the midst of brokenness.
The beauty of the broken prayer is that God takes it, strengthens you and gives you the confidence to know that God is going to bring you through.
Final Thought
I don’t know what feels hopeless, broken, or desperate in your life today. I do know that if you will pour it out humbly and honestly, God is waiting to touch you, heal you and restore you. You are reminded from Scripture to cast all your cares upon him because he cares for you. The situation you are in today matters, and Jesus is waiting with open arms to touch all the broken places in your life. However, it begins when you take the mask off and begin offering up those broken prayers.
New International Version Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
New International Version For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Read at Bible Gateway Read all of Jeremiah 29
New International Version Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. Read at Bible Gateway Read all of Proverbs 17
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
New International Version“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Paul’s teaching about why a society degenerates into unrestrained, debauched, destructive evil is unlike any analysis you would read today. One of the reasons for this is that when a society is sinking into moral decay, one of the traits of that decay is the inability to see what is happening. The social mind becomes so defective in the moral decadence that it doesn’t have the categories or the framework to recognize evil for what it really is.
We do live in such a day. The inability to render sound moral judgments is evident almost wherever you look. Which makes this passage of Scripture one of the most relevant and needed texts in all the Bible for our day — precisely because it seems so foreign. Today, if something doesn’t seem spiritually or morally foreign, it is probably part of the blind and decadent atmosphere we breathe, and therefore of no real use to us, no matter how good it makes us feel.
What we need is a word from outside our defective world and our depraved thinking. We need a word from God. And we may certainly expect such a word to be very strange, because we have become strangers to the reality of God in a very self-absorbed age.
What we have in today’s text is a list of twenty-one ways of sinning or twenty-one kinds of evil. And what I think we should do is notice, first, why Paul gives us this list and where such evil comes from. Then we should look at the list itself and ask why it’s here. Then we should ask what the solution is to these kinds of things.
Why Do We Have to Deal with Evil?
So, first, where do the evils listed in verses Romans 1:29–31 come from? It all started back in verse 18 where Paul gave the reason for why the gospel of the gift of God’s righteousness is so desperately needed. You recall that he said in verse 16 that the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
“We need the righteousness of God because it is the only thing that can protect us from the wrath of God.”TweetShare on Facebook
Why? Verse 17: “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘But the righteous shall live by faith.’” In other words: The gospel is the power of God to save believers because in it God gives us what we need and could never produce on our own, namely, his own righteousness. The righteousness that he demands from us he freely gives to us, if we will trust him. This is the great biblical truth of justification by faith.
Then in verse 18, he tells us why this gospel of the gift of God’s righteousness is so desperately needed: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” We need the righteousness of God because it is the only thing that can protect us from the wrath of God. And we need to be protected from the wrath of God because we are unrighteous by nature and suppress the truth of God. By nature we don’t like God and we don’t want him in our lives. I tremble just to say it.
The Effects of Suppressing the Truth of God
So what Paul does in the following verses is describe for us the effects of suppressing the truth of God. He wants us to see all the evil of the world as a river that flows from this spring. Reject God, suppress God, distort God, recreate God in your own image to your own liking, and the effect is worse than we expect. And the thing that is worse than we expect is that God joins our crusade against God, as it were, and delivers us into the debasing effects of our own rebellion against him.
We’ve seen it three times. In verse 23, we exchange the glory of God for images, and verse 24 says, “Therefore God gave them over to the lusts of their hearts.” In verse 25, we exchange the truth about God for a lie, and verse 26 says, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions.” And today in verse 28 we see it again: “They did not see fit to acknowledge God (or literally: they did not approve to have God in their knowledge), [therefore] God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.”
This is what Paul means by the wrath of God being revealed (verse 18): God’s wrath is being revealed against the world, as human beings all over the world set their affections on other things more than on God. God’s response to this worldwide disloyalty and treason against our Creator is not, first, to send us to hell, but to see that we sink into the swamp we have chosen.
This is what I was referring to at the beginning when I said that Paul’s teaching about why societies often degenerate into unrestrained, debauched, destructive evil is unlike any analysis you would read today. Today you might hear someone say: “Okay, America, you have built your bed of secular, God-belittling relativism and amorality, so now sleep in it.” But that is not what Paul says here.
He says something far more horrifying about God’s wrath. He gives us his analysis of our situation in four steps. Just take verse 28 from today’s text to see all four. First, he says that the root problem is that we don’t like having God in our knowledge. “They did not see fit to acknowledge God.” That is the fundamental problem in the world. That is the essence of the human condition. We don’t want God. We want self-determination and self-exaltation. That was the first sin in the garden. And that is the root of all evil today. We do not want to know God or have him in our lives.
The Depth of our Sin Deserves Divine Judgment
The second step of God’s analysis is that God, in an act of judgment (recall the revealing of “wrath” in verse 18), withdraws his common restraints on our rebellion and gives us over to sink in the swamp we have chosen. This is what you will not hear in any social analysis today. Who today has the God-centered realism to say: The depth of our sin does not just deserve divine judgment, it is divine judgment? That is what Paul says. You can’t really understand America (or any other country) today without this revealed truth. Even if we tried to boast over God that at least we have our self-determination in rebelling against God, God would answer, “You think so? Think again.”
“Wherever we are sinking in sin, it is because we have jumped off the rock of the glory of God.”TweetShare on Facebook
The third step in Paul’s analysis (in verse 28) is that the effect of God’s giving us over and removing his common restraints (see Genesis 20:6) is that we are imprisoned by a “depraved mind.” “God gave them over to a depraved mind.” Our minds become more and more defective in sin. Not only do we use them to sin, but we can’t even think clearly about sin. We can’t recognize it. It’s as if we turned away from God and fell in love with the African black fly that carries the roundworm that causes river blindness, and then God gave us over to the fly and the worm — and the blindness — so that all we can do now is fondle the fly (of sin!) and keep trying to convince ourselves that it’s a precious tuft of velvet.
The fourth step of the analysis (in verse 28) is that our defective mind produces all kinds of evils. Paul goes on to list twenty-one of them as samples. So now we have our answer to the first question, namely, where does such evil come from? It comes from: (1) our desire not to have God in our knowledge; and (2) from God’s judgment on mankind to give us over to sink in the swamp we love; and (3) from the depraved or defective mind that we sink into.
Failure to Love God Breeds Evil
So now we can ask the question: What is this list of evils? What are we to make of this long list and why is it here? Let’s read it again. Verse Romans 1:28–31:
God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful.
Of course, a person could raise an objection against Paul here: This is not the way all unbelievers are. Some are very conscientious, law-abiding, philanthropic, courteous, decent people. Yes, that’s true, and Paul knew it was true. He was quite aware, for example, of the Stoics of his own day — people like Seneca and later, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, who prided themselves in not being like this list of evils, and yet, who were not Christians.
Downward Spiral
No, the point of this list is not to say that every society that refuses to love the true God will look just like this. We know this because, in verses 26–27, Paul says that homosexual desire is also a result of not loving God above other things, and being handed over by God, and yet Paul clearly does not think that every unbeliever has homosexual desires.
Similarly, here in verse 28–31, when he says that all these sins are the result of refusing to acknowledge God, and he doesn’t mean that every unbeliever, or group of unbelievers, has all these sins or in the same measure. Instead, these are samples. They are the sort of thing that comes from rejecting God, and the more God gives a people up to their own unrestrained depravity, the more their society will have these sins in greater and greater measure.
Sunk in Sin
So what’s the point of listing all these sins? The point, I think, is to give us enough examples to show that virtually every form of evil has to do with God and comes from failing to know him and approve him and love him above all things. In other words, he gives us a sweeping array of evils to awaken us to the fact that the ruin of any area of life is owing to the abandonment of God. Verse 28: they did not want God in their knowledge, therefore . . . and then he gives his list of evils.
In other words, the point of the list is to connect God with every sin in the world. And we’ve seen that the connection is twofold: every sin is rooted in our preferring something else to God; and every sin gets worse as God takes away his restraints and gives us up to sink in the swamp we have chosen.
If America has the highest murder rate in the western world, it has to do with God. If our executives are greedy, it has to do with God. If our politicians are deceitful, it has to do with God. If we gossip about each other behind the back, it has to do with God. If our talk show hosts are insolent and boastful, it has to do with God. If our children are disobedient to parents, it has to do with God. If we are untrustworthy and don’t keep our marriage vows, it has to do with God. If we are blind to obvious wrongs and are unloving and unmerciful, it has to do with God.
That’s the point of this list. Wherever we are sinking in sin, it is because we have jumped off the rock of the glory of God.
How Do We Battle Destructive Evils?
Which brings us finally to the third and last question: What is the solution? How shall we battle back against these destructive evils in our own lives and in our culture? The answer is what the whole book of Romans is about. But let’s close by looking at three great reversals.
We need the reversal of God’s wrath against our unrighteousness.
We need the reversal of God’s handing us over to a depraved mind.
We need the reversal of our mind’s moral decay so that it can be renewed for right and proper use in God’s service.
The good news is that God has provided every one of those reversals. You do not have to sink any further if you will embrace God and his provision. The key verse for the reversal of God’s wrath against us is Romans 1:17: In the gospel of Christ, “the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”
In other words, the righteousness that God demands from us, he freely gives to us, if we will turn back to him and trust him to be our greatest Good. And if you have the righteousness of God, you are not under the wrath of God anymore — a very happy reversal!
God Grants Righteousness
The key verse for the reversal of God’s handing us over to a depraved mind is Romans 6:17: “Thanks be to God that, though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were handed over [same word as Romans 1:28].”
“The righteousness that God demands from us, he freely gives to us.”TweetShare on Facebook
This is the exact reversal of the handover in Romans 1:28. Here it is to a form of teaching that is true and holy, not false and dirty. And notice that it is God who does it. “Thanks be to God,” Paul says, that you became obedient to this teaching. God gives us over to truth and righteousness as much as he once gave us over to sin.
Finally, the key verse for reversing the defectiveness of our minds is Romans 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Receive the Reversal
When God has given us his righteousness by faith in Jesus, and when he has handed us over to a new teaching of truth and begun to make us obedient to it, then, little by little, we are transformed in the renewing of our minds and the long list of sins in Romans 1:29–31 becomes shorter and weaker to the glory of God.
This is the key to life. This is the message that we take to the neighborhood and to the nations. I call you and urge you to receive these three reversals from the hand of God by faith: (1) the reversal of God’s wrath through the gift of God’s righteousness; (2) the reversal of being handed over to depravity through being handed over to truth; and (3) the reversal of a depraved mind through the transformation of a renewed mind.John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books, including Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist and most recently Providence.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8 NIV
sharin' His love & Prophecy Unfolding 