Taking Liberty for Granted: Protecting Our Constitution "God save the United States and this Honrable Court."
Author: Delana Forsyth Zakrzewski
Thank You Father God in Jesus name for hearing my prayers, thank you Jesus for loving me, and thank You Holy Spirit for living in me in Jesus name Amen
According to the Bible, Christian sacrifices include: The sacrifice of Jesus: The belief that Jesus came to Earth, died, and was resurrected The sacrifice of martyrdom: An effort to cleanse and redeem oneself from mortal evil The sacrifice of baptism: A sacrament of admission to the Christian Church The sacrifice of communion: A symbolic re-enactment of Jesus’ sacrificial death The Eucharist: A sacrificial meal that symbolically re-creates Christ’s sacrificial death According to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sacrifice means giving to the Lord whatever He requires of our time, our earthly possessions, and our energies to further His work. Some examples of spiritual sacrifices include: Offering yourself: Presenting your body as a living, holy, and pleasing sacrifice to God Praising God: Reciting God’s attributes and works Doing good: Doing righteous things, such as loving or helping someone, studying the Word of God, or sitting under the preaching of the precious truth Loving others: Demonstrating selfless humility Praying to God: Offering prayers to God
Lions are icons of strength. Yet even a lion, if he is unable to hunt, will grow weak and helpless in due time. Those who trust in the Lord, however, need not hunt, and need not go hungry. God promises to supply our needs and strengthen us each day. He may not shower us with excess, and we may not know today how He will provide for tomorrow, but we can always trust in His faithful promise.
Lord, thank You for Your care. Thank You for watching over my life and supplying all of my needs. As I trust in You, please guard my heart against selfish desires of excess and indulgence. For in You, I always have enough. Teach me to trust You more so that Your strength may be the strength of my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Christians turned from the notion of animal sacrifice to self-sacrifice. The methods by which Christians presented themselves as purified of sin, then, could be understood as a form of sacrifice. Baptism, the Lords Supper (the Eucharist), and martyrdom are major traditions of Christian sacrifice.
🎀Becoming a second parent to your siblings often involves taking on responsibilities similar to those of a parent, such as providing emotional and financial support, guidance, and even practical work at home. It can be challenging but rewarding. Here are some points to consider: 🪴Communication: Keep open lines of communication with your siblings. Encourage them […]
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently seemed to suggest he supports allowing abortion up until the moment of birth, prompting outrage from pro-life groups and concerns of insincerity among progressives in light of his previous moderate rhetoric on the issue.
Kennedy addressed his position on abortion during an appearance on “The Sage Steele Show” Wednesday. When asked if he was in favor of “leaving it up to the states” to determine abortion policy, Kennedy responded, “I wouldn’t leave it to the states.”
“What I believe is we should leave it to the woman; we shouldn’t have government involved,” he added.
Steele, a former ESPN television personality with outspoken Christian views, pressed Kennedy to clarify if he supported abortion at “full term.” He indicated that he thought the law should allow women to abort their unborn baby “even if it’s full term.”
Kennedy’s running mate Nicole Shanahan appeared on Steele’s show last week, where she discussed his views on abortion and appeared surprised when Steele said he told her previously that he supports abortion up until birth.
“My understanding is that he absolutely believes in limits on abortion,” Shanahan said. “We’ve talked about it. I don’t know where that came from.”
On the campaign trail last year, Kennedy told a reporter he believed “the decision to abort a child should be up to the woman during the first three months of life.”
On the campaign trail last year, Kennedy told a reporter he believed “the decision to abort a child should be up to the woman during the first three months of life.”
When the reporter followed up and asked Kennedy whether or not he would support a federal 15-week abortion ban, the candidate reiterated that he favored banning abortions after “three months,” equivalent to 12 weeks gestation.
In response to a clarification question as to whether Kennedy opposed “unlimited access to abortion as many in the Democratic Party” support, the candidate stated that “once a child is viable outside the womb, I think that a state has an interest in protecting that child.” The Kennedy campaign later put out a statement insisting that he “misunderstood a question posed to him by an NBC reporter in a crowded, noisy exhibit hall at the Iowa State Fair.”
Mr. Kennedy’s position on abortion is that it is always the woman’s right to choose. He does not support legislation banning abortion,” the campaign continued.
Throughout the campaign, Kennedy used rhetoric that suggested a more moderate tone on the polarizing issue of abortion. At the beginning of his candidacy, a section of his website devoted to “reconciliation” said he “has clear positions on most of today’s divisive trigger issues like abortion, guns and immigration” while acknowledging that “both sides have legitimate concerns and legitimate moral positions.”
Expressing confidence that “no one is deplorable,” the website proclaimed that “few relish the thought of dead fetuses, nor do they want to force women to have unwanted babies.” The campaign listed abortion as one of several areas where Kennedy would seek to “draw on the broad moral agreements beneath our divisions, model careful listening, and create conditions where each group can hear the stories of the other.”
Kennedy channeled this rhetoric in his interview with Steele, describing “every abortion” as a “tragedy” and adding that “many of them leave permanent trauma on the woman.” At the same time, he maintained, “I don’t trust government to have jurisdiction over people’s bodies.”
“I think we need to leave it to the woman, her pastor and to … her spiritual advisors or her physician, whatever,” he asserted.
Kennedy downplayed the idea of late-term abortions.
“I don’t think any woman … ever in history has said, ‘I’m going to … have a baby, I’m going to get pregnant and carry that baby to eight months term, and then I’m going to terminate the pregnancy.’ I don’t think anybody wants to do that.”
When Steele pushed back and said late-term abortions have happened “too many times to count,” the candidate replied, “In almost all those cases, there’s extenuating circumstances.”
More recently, Kennedy has unveiled a proposal called “More Choices, More Life” that he predicts would “dramatically reduce abortion in this country.” Specifically, he calls for a “massive subsidized daycare initiative” and strengthening “adoption infrastructure” by increasing the child tax credit. He touched upon this in his interview with Steele.
Kennedy’s comments in his interview with Steele drew swift criticism from pro-life advocacy groups. In a statement published Thursday, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser claimed Kennedy “exposed himself as a true extremist.”
He is no different from Joe Biden or Kamala Harris when it comes to supporting brutal abortions at any time for any reason, even when the babies in the womb feel pain, with zero limits or exceptions,” she said. “Just 10% of voters agree with this radical stance of the Democrats, and the United States is one of only eight countries including China and Vietnam that have no federal protections for unborn children at any point in pregnancy.”
“He would use the power of the federal government to wipe out protections for life in the states and impose unlimited abortion on demand all the way up to ‘full term,’ as he puts it, everywhere in America,” Dannenfelser added. “That makes him unacceptable to millions of pro-life voters nationwide.”
The progressive advocacy organization MoveOn, which has emerged as a staunch opponent of Kennedy’s presidential campaign, has suggested that the candidate’s support for unlimited access to abortion is insincere.
“Within the last year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has supported an abortion ban and other restrictions on reproductive health,” MoveOn Political Action Chief Communications Officer Joel Payne stated. “As recently as last week, his own running mate reaffirmed his anti-abortion views. We won’t let him wiggle out of this one.”
Robert F Kennedy Jr., you should know better. Your father and mother had a big family. They did not apart you.
A night out at a fancy restaurant –or even the town diner– is always a great delight. You don’t have to worry about cooking for the night, a cooking staff will take care of that, and a waiter is there to cater to your every desire.
Sometimes we imagine prayer being like ordering at a restaurant, telling God what we want in our lives. But God is no waiter! When Jesus prayed, he asked that God’s will be done rather than his own, and we are called to do the same. Prayer is not a way of asking God for things, but rather a way for us to connect to God and to know his will.
Of course, giving up our own will is one of the hardest and scariest things we do as Christians. However, we are comforted in knowing that God’s will has our best interests! Just as Jesus was strengthened as he asked for God’s will to be done, we will also be strengthened and taken care of by God.
According to the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. These are listed in Galatians 5:22-23, which also says, “against such there is no law”.
Sometimes our situations look bleak and our work seems pointless. Whether we are called to serve hostile communities or stand and preach to empty pews, we can’t always see what God is doing. But God knows the end, and where He calls us to serve, He will bring forth fruit, even if we never see it ourselves.
Lord, thank You for calling me to take part in Your kingdom work. I humbly submit to You and ask You to lead me where You need me. Guard my heart against pride when I see victory in my work, and against discouragement when results are elusive. I am trusting You to bring forth fruit in its time and to Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. 1 Thessalonians 4:12
As Christians, we all strive to live lives that reflect Jesus’ presence in us. But what does that actually look like in practice? It is the life of one who treats others with compassion, who is not boisterous or meddlesome, and who is diligent and faithful in all things. When we allow Jesus to shine through us in this way, people see Him, admire Him, and want to know Him more because of the good that He has done in us.
Lord, as Your Spirit fills me, shapes me, and guides me, I pray that You would lead me in compassion and diligence. Grant me the wisdom to use my words carefully and constructively, and the perseverance to serve You faithfully. I pray that Your glory would be revealed in me and that others would see You and know You, too. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Share a story about someone who had a positive impact on your life.
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Philippines 3:12
Jesus has called us to perfection, but we are still trapped in these bodies of sin. Jesus has secured our eternity, yet we still march through time. Victory is our, but not yet in our hands. So we move ahead, each day living more for Christ, serving Him with gratitude and love, as His Spirit empowers us to press on, knowing that one day we will be with our Heavenly Father forever.
Lord, thank You for rescuing me from the futility of my sin and filling my life with purpose. Give me the perseverance, wisdom, and love that I need in order to live a life worthy of Your calling. Fill me with Your Spirit so that there is more of You and less of me. And grant me that glimpse of eternity, the focal point to strive toward as I run this race. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
👵Written by a 90 year old!!❤️ 🤙42 lessons life taught me 💖 It is something we should all read at least once a week! Make sure you read to the end! Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio. “To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 42 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more: 1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good. 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 3. Life is too short – enjoy it.. 4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will. 5. Pay off your credit cards every month. 6. You don’t have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself. 7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone. 8. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check. 9. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. 10. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present. 11. It’s OK to let your children see you cry. 12. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 13. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it… 14 Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. 15. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways. 16. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger. 17. It’s never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else. 18. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer. 19. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special. 20. Over prepare, then go with the flow. 21. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.💖 22. The most important sex organ is the brain. 23. No one is in charge of your happiness but you. 24. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’ 25. Always choose life. 26. Forgive but don’t forget. 27. What other people think of you is none of your business. 28. Time heals almost everything. Give time time. 29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. 30. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.. 31. Believe in miracles. 32. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now. 33. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young. 34. Your children get only one childhood. 35. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. 36. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere. (I love this one) 37. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back. 38. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have not what you need. 39. The best is yet to come… 40. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. 41. Yield. 42. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.
Most of us get up each morning and head to work to earn our keep for the day. But do we pause and ask God to sustain our work? Do we assume that our work is guaranteed and our jobs are secure forever? The Israelites could gather manna each day only because God had already supplied it for them. Let us not lose sight of where our daily bread comes from.
Lord, thank You for sustaining me each day. As I prepare for the day’s work, I ask that You would sustain me through the day. Give me enough to do to earn my keep, and provide for me this day. I know that nothing in this life is guaranteed, so teach me to trust in You each and every day, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
Galatians 6:9 (NLT)
God Is Always on Time By Rick Warren — 05/14/2024 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email
“Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
Galatians 6:9 (NLT)
In the waiting room of life, you can choose to panic. That’s our natural response! We tend to focus on what’s going on around us. We let our circumstances convince us that there is no reason to wait patiently, to be at peace, to trust, to hope.
Instead of panicking, you can choose to trust God. To be able to do that, you need to remember two things: One, God is never in a hurry. And two, God is never late. God’s timing is always perfect.
What happens in those times where it appears that God is late? God is getting you ready for a miracle!
There are so many examples of this in Scripture, including the story of Lazarus (John 11). Lazarus was one of Jesus’ best friends, and he had two sisters named Mary and Martha. They lived in Bethany, which was just a few miles from where Jesus was on the day Lazarus got sick. They sent word to Jesus that his friend was gravely ill and asked him to come to them.
Jesus could have easily been in Bethany in an hour or two. But it took him three days to go about five miles. When he got there, they told him, “You’re too late! We’ve already buried Lazarus.”
Jesus wasn’t late—because he already knew what he was going to do. His goal was not to heal Lazarus. His goal was to raise him from the dead. Jesus’ goal was not to just make Lazarus well. His goal was to do a miracle of astronomical proportions.
Jesus walked up to Lazarus’ tomb, told them to roll the stone away, and said, “Lazarus, come out.” And Lazarus did!
Sometimes God lets a situation get so bad that only a miracle will do.
God already knows what he’s going to do in your life next month, next year, and in the next decade, and his plan for you is good.
Don’t panic. Don’t give up your faith. Hold on. Keep praying and serving and meeting with God’s family. Keep sowing. Keep believing. Because you’re getting ready for a miracle.
The Unlikely Response to an Existential Threat In the face of fierce enemy armies, King Jehoshaphat chose a seemingly suicidal response: sending Levite singers into battle ahead of his warriors. The amazing thing is that this tactic worked above and beyond any normal military response: “As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed” (2 Chronicles 20:22).
The Amazing Double Meaning “Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger” (Psalm 8:2). This verse, quoted later by Jesus, contains a fascinating play on words. The word עֹז (ʽOz) – translated as “bulwark” here – has the primary meaning of strength and valor, with a secondary meaning of praise. This one Hebrew word captures the essence of the entire story of the army that won by singing.
Explore the Incredible world of the Bible Sometimes understanding one word is like reading an entire story. Discovering the meanings of Hebrew words in their context can unearth surprising and inspiring insights. Don’t let anything stand in the way of your desire to learn biblical Hebrew – enroll in our live online courses and be able to explore the incredible world of the Scriptures.
How does it work? At the Israel Institute of Biblical Studies you will learn Biblical Hebrew with us via live video conferences. This means our students communicate with the teacher and each other in real time, from the comfort of their home.
Pentagon holds briefing after Biden announces plan to withhold weapons delivery to Israel
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is expected to hold a news briefing a day after President Joe Biden said that he would not supply offensive weapons that Israel could use to launch an all-out assault on Rafah — the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza — over concern for the well-being of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there.
The event is expected to start at 2:30 p.m. ET. Watch the briefing in the player above.
Biden, in an interview with CNN on Wednesday, said that the U.S. was still committed to Israel’s defense and would supply Iron Dome rocket interceptors and other defensive arms but that if Israel goes into Rafah, “we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used.”
Biden acknowledged that “civilians have been killed in Gaza” by the type of heavy bombs that the U.S. has been supplying — his first validation of what administration critics have been loudly protesting, even if he still stopped short of taking responsibility. His threat to hold up artillery shells expanded on earlier revelations that the U.S. was going to pause a shipment of heavy bombs.
The U.S. has historically provided enormous amounts of military aid to Israel. That has only accelerated in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which killed some 1,200 people in Israel and led to about 250 being taken captive by militants. Biden’s comments and his decision last week to pause the shipment of heavy bombs to Israel are the most striking manifestations of the growing daylight between his administration and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Biden said Wednesday that Israel’s actions around Rafah had “not yet” crossed his red lines, but has repeated that Israel needs to do far more to protect the lives of civilians in Gaza.
The shipment was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) bombs and 1,700 500-pound (225-kilogram) bombs, according to a senior U.S. administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. The focus of U.S. concern was the larger explosives and how they could be used in a dense urban area.
“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden told CNN. “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah — they haven’t gone in Rafah yet — if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem.”
“We’re not walking away from Israel’s security,” the Democratic president continued. “We’re walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier Wednesday confirmed the weapons delay, telling the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense that the U.S. paused “one shipment of high payload munitions.”
“We’re going to continue to do what’s necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself,” Austin said. “But that said, we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah.”
It also comes as the Biden administration is due to deliver a first-of-its-kind formal verdict this week on whether the airstrikes on Gaza and restrictions on delivery of aid have violated international and U.S. laws designed to spare civilians from the worst horrors of war. A decision against Israel would further add to pressure on Biden to curb the flow of weapons and money to Israel’s military.
Biden signed off on the pause in an order conveyed last week to the Pentagon, according to U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment on the matter. The White House National Security Council sought to keep the decision out of the public eye for several days until it had a better understanding of the scope of Israel’s intensified military operations in Rafah and until Biden could deliver a long-planned speech on Tuesday to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Biden’s administration in April began reviewing future transfers of military assistance as Netanyahu’s government appeared to move closer toward an invasion of Rafah, despite months of opposition from the White House. The official said the decision to pause the shipment was made last week and no final decision had been made yet on whether to proceed with the shipment at a later date.
U.S. officials had declined for days to comment on the halted transfer, word of which came as Biden on Tuesday described U.S. support for Israel as “ironclad, even when we disagree.”
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, in an interview with Israeli Channel 12 TV news, said the decision to pause the shipment was “a very disappointing decision, even frustrating.” He suggested the move stemmed from political pressure on Biden from Congress, the U.S. campus protests and the upcoming election.
The decision also drew a sharp rebuke from House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who said they only learned about the military aid holdup from press reports, despite assurances from the Biden administration that no such pauses were in the works. The Republicans called on Biden in a letter to swiftly end the blockage, saying it “risks emboldening Israel’s enemies,” and to brief lawmakers on the nature of the policy reviews.
Biden has faced pressure from some on the left — and condemnation from the critics on the right who say Biden has moderated his support for an essential Mideast ally.
Former President Donald Trump, entering a New York courthouse for his criminal trial over hush money payments, criticized Biden as well, saying Thursday that “What Biden is doing with respect to Israel is disgraceful.” The presumptive GOP presidential nominee added, “If any Jewish person voted for Joe Biden, they should be ashamed of themselves. He’s totally abandoned Israel.”
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a Biden ally, said in a statement the pause on big bombs must be a “first step.”
“Our leverage is clear,” Sanders said. “Over the years, the United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Israel. We can no longer be complicit in Netanyahu’s horrific war against the Palestinian people.”
Austin, meanwhile, told lawmakers that “it’s about having the right kinds of weapons for the task at hand.”
“A small diameter bomb, which is a precision weapon, that’s very useful in a dense, built-up environment,” he said, “but maybe not so much a 2,000-pound bomb that could create a lot of collateral damage.” He said the U.S. wants to see Israel do “more precise” operations.
Israeli troops on Tuesday seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing in what the White House described as a limited operation that stopped short of the full-on Israeli invasion of the city that Biden has repeatedly warned against, most recently in a Monday call with Netanyahu.
Israel has ordered the evacuation of 100,000 Palestinians from the city. Israeli forces have also carried out what it describes as “targeted strikes” on the eastern part of Rafah and captured the Rafah crossing, a critical conduit for the flow of humanitarian aid along the Gaza-Egypt border.
Privately, concern has mounted inside the White House about what’s unfolding in Rafah, but publicly administration officials have stressed that they did not think the operations had defied Biden’s warnings against a widescale operation in the city.
The State Department is separately considering whether to approve the continued transfer of Joint Direct Attack Munition kits, which place precision guidance systems onto bombs, to Israel, but the review didn’t pertain to imminent shipments.
Itamar Yaar, former deputy head of Israel’s National Security Council and CEO of Commanders for Israel’s Security, a group of former senior Israeli security officials, said the U.S. move is largely symbolic, but a sign of trouble and could become more of a problem if it is sustained.
“It’s not some kind of American embargo on American munitions support, but I think its some kind of diplomatic message to Mr. Netanyahu that he needs to take into consideration American interests more than he has over the last few months,” he said, adding it’s “a kind of a signal, a ‘be careful.'”
The U.S. dropped the 2,000-pound bomb sparingly in its long war against the Islamic State militant group. Israel, by contrast, has used the bomb frequently in the seven-month Gaza war. Experts say the use of the weapon, in part, has helped drive the enormous Palestinian casualty count that the Hamas-run health ministry puts at more than 34,000 dead, though it doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians.
The U.S.-Israel relationship has been close through both Democratic and Republican administrations. But there have been other moments of deep tension since Israel’s founding in which U.S. leaders have threatened to hold up aid in an attempt to sway Israeli leadership.
President Dwight Eisenhower pressured Israel with the threat of sanctions into withdrawing from the Sinai in 1957 amid the Suez Crisis. Ronald Reagan delayed the delivery of F16 fighter jets to Israel at a time of escalating violence in the Middle East. President George H.W. Bush held up $10 billion in loan guarantees to force the cessation of Israeli settlement activity in the occupied territories.
President Biden needs to be arrested and charged with murder for his horrible service to God, Israel and The American Jewish people.
God Bless All Who Read this in Jesus Christ Mighty Loving name Amen.
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New on the Blog Passage of the 1924 Immigration Act By Jay D. Green
On May 26, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Johnson-Reed Act, the first federal law in American history designed to establish permanent, comprehensive restrictions on immigration. It came at the end of a long, contentious process that debated the nature of American citizenship and identity along with the perceived merits and hazards of mass immigration. The law is rightly regarded as one of the triumphs of American nativism and a pivotal moment in the history of U.S. immigration policy.
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A Pageantry of Power: Planning Washington’s First Inauguration
By Sarah A. Morgan Smith
An online resource guide at the Library of Congress, U.S. Presidential Inauguration: “I Do Solemnly Swear…,” showcases the development of the inauguration day ceremonies. For each president, library staff have collected primary materials illustrating what made his inauguration unique. There are drafts of inaugural addresses, descriptions of the ceremonies written by attendees (sometimes by the president himself), and a wide variety of memorabilia, including ceremony tickets and programs, prints, photographs and even sheet music. Each entry also includes a list of historical ‘firsts,’ along with factoids like which Bible the president was sworn in on, the number of inaugural balls held, and so on. A particularly interesting set of documents illustrates the very first presidential inauguration ceremonies, those for George Washington.
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Join us for our final webinar of the 2023-2024 season! This year’s Documents in Detail webinar series focuses on the efforts of outsiders to “knock on the door” and gain full admittance to American life. Using primary sources, we will examine what people thought was the American way of life and why people wanted to join it. In the later sessions in the series, we will examine the question of whether the terms on which outsiders join in American life have now changed.
These free webinars meet monthly on Wednesday nights at 7:30-8:30 pm ET. Register now for this FREE webinar: May 8th – Knockin’ on the Door in the 21st Century Highlighted Document: Paul Ryan’s Acceptance Speech at the Republican National Convention (2012)
Summer MAHG Class Spotlight: The Progressive Era Our course on the Progressive Era examines the problems that arose during industrialization and the responses to them. This summer, the class includes an innovative twist: a historical simulation of the Election of 1912. Explore the ideology and history of progressivism through the lens of this contentious election when the movement was at its apex of political influence.
View the course description and syllabus on our schedule page to find out more. And if you’re an existing or former student in our master’s program, click here to see how you can help a newcomer try a free class.
In Person One Day Seminars in June! June 10: Trumbull County ESC in Niles, OH- JFK and Civil Rights During his short tenure as President, John F. Kennedy’s cautious approach toward Civil Rights began to change. What caused his administration’s policy to shift from caution to what will be the groundwork to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and ultimately shape his legacy. This seminar will focus on the key discussions and primary documents of his administration. Register here.
June 11: National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, OH- American in WWII World War II was the largest and deadliest conflict in human history and one of the most consequential events in the history of the world. This seminar will focus on the crucial role that American played in the war, examining the country’s global strategy for fighting the war, with a special emphasis on interactions with allies and the dilemmas of fighting a war on two fronts. Register here.
June 14: Ft Ancient in Oregonia, OH- The First 3 Presidents The presidencies of George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson established precedents and dealt with issues of executive power. This seminar will examine documents from the Washington, Adams and Jefferson administrations including topics like the Alien and Sedition Acts and the Louisiana Purchase. Register here.
Meet Our Teacher Partners No other “professional development” program draws on the teachers’ own insights, says Brett Van Gaasbeek, a graduate of Ashbrook’s Master of Arts in American History and Government program. “I learn more by listening to my colleagues who teach the same stuff I do than I did when I was an undergrad listening to my history professor lecture.” Brett Van Gassbeek, Cincinnati, OH Northwest High School
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before the fall. It is a well-known saying, but do we give it much thought? It was pride that first brought sin into the world, and pride that drives every selfish decision we make when we seek to be God’s of our own lives. Even as Christians, if we forget that we are acting in God’s power and try to use our own strength, we will be reminded swiftly of our limits and our need to rely on Him.
Father, thank You for saving me from my prideful and destructive ways. Your power and Your grace are all that I need. Please guard my heart against pride so that all that I do may be for Your glory, not my own. Teach me to lean on Your wisdom and Your power so that I may remain in step with Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
FULL ISSUE • RESOURCES • GIVE Fear of the Lord Dangers of a New Cart Wednesday, May 08 | 2 Samuel 6:1–15 On the Go? Listen Now!
Most of us are attracted to anything new: a new house or car, the latest smartphone, perhaps even a modern thought or practice. And while there can be value in a new idea or method, there can also be a danger if it is in opposition to the Word of God.
Upon recovering the ark of God from the Philistines, David and some young, able men (v. 1) set the ark on a new cart to transport it back to Jerusalem (v. 3). But while worshiping the Lord with music (v. 5), the people forgot something: the Law of God. In generations past, God had instructed His people through Moses to transport the ark on their shoulders (Num. 7:9; 1 Chron. 15:15). And even before the oxen stumbled and Uzzah made the fatal decision to put his hand in the ark (v. 6), David and his young men used a new idea and method instead of honoring God and His Word.
It took Uzzah’s death and the blessing of God on the household of Obed-Edom for three months (v. 11) for David to come to his senses. This time, we are told that they carried the ark, and with rejoicing (v. 12). Joyful obedience caused David to worship in spirit and truth through sacrificial offerings and dancing before the Lord with all his might, with sounds of trumpets and praise (vv. 12–14).
For “who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god” (Ps. 24:3–4). As we sing to the Lord, pray the Psalmist’s words: “Create in me a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10).
Go Deeper Are you easily enticed by anything, merely because it is new or modern? What are the dangers of our desire to always have the latest thing? A new cart is nothing compared to a pure heart!
Pray with Us: Almighty God, today we cry out to You together with the Psalmist: “Create in me a pure heart” (Ps. 51:10)! Give us eyes to see Your faithfulness, Your patience, and Your love for us.
And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Zachariah 3:2
What’s a job you would like to do for just one day?
President of the United States.
The name ‘Satan’ means ‘accuser.’ He is the one that points the finger at us, charging us with every sin and shortcoming that lies behind us. But we have a powerful advocate in God, who speaks in our defense. He proclaims us innocent by His actions that rescued us from the fire. And Satan is silenced. He has no further argument because God’s forgiveness is complete and absolute.
God, thank You for sending Jesus to save me from my sins and snatch me from the fire. I rejoice in the forgiveness and mercy that You have poured out on me. Still, the accuser whispers doubt and tries to turn me back toward my sin. Be my vindication, Lord, and silence my enemy, so that I may move forward in Your righteousness knowing that I am Yours. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
It is evidenced through both Old Testament and New Testament Scripture that God does have the power to heal our physical bodies. Miraculous healings still happen today! Use the following Bible verses to talk to God about your pain and fill your heart with hope.
Father, help me to keep my focus on you when the pain and hurt are overwhelming. Help me to be faithful and to see the good and blessings that surround me. Please strengthen my mind, heart, and body, and heal me today. May the Holy Spirit guide me in peace and comfort today. Amen.
You are invited to attend a seminar offered by Teaching American History for a discussion-based exploration of the story of America as it was written by those who lived it. Join us for this in-person seminar:
JFK and Civil Rights – June 10, 2024, 8:30 AM ET – 2:15 PM ET – Hosted By: Trumbull County ESC – Niles, OH – Discussion Leader: Eric Pullin During his short tenure as President, John F. Kennedy’s cautious approach toward Civil Rights began to change. What caused his administration’s policy to shift from cautious to what will be the groundwork to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and ultimately shape his legacy. This seminar will focus on the key discussions and primary documents of his administration.
Sin and its consequences don’t come about just because of our actions. They start with our thoughts. A mind on worldly things is a mind on death- that is, absent of the Spirit, fixated only on the pleasures of this life that will not last. But the mind that dwells on heavenly things is filled with life and peace, alive in the Spirit and viewing this life through the lens of eternity.
Lord God, thank You for filling me with the Spirit of life. Please teach me to train my thoughts on heavenly things so that I may live fully in this world, with a mind set not on the things of the world, but on Your kingdom. Use me to bring Your life and peace to those who see only this world, so that they may know You, too. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Part of professing our faith in God is choosing to walk in love with one another. Loving everyone around us, with the love of God, is one of the main ways in which our words and actions can testify of God and His love to the world. The world looks to Christians when seeking the existence and legitimacy of God and the love we preach of. If they do not see that love emulated within us, they will not be convinced of who we say God truly is.
Instead of provoking one another to anger or dispute, we are to provoke one another to love. It may sound a little funny but it is true. We should seek to bring out the loving side of every believer that we come across. This can be done through the words we speak and the actions we carry out. Instead of treating people like strangers, welcome them into your world and consider them to be friends. Pay attention to their needs and their concerns and treat them if you can.
Delana,
Thursday was the National Day of Prayer, which Congress has officially recognized since 1952. This is an important day for Americans to join together in prayer.
Do you ever want to pray yet find it difficult to express what’s on your heart? Fortunately, Jesus gave His disciples a model to follow when they didn’t know what to say.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:9–13)
The next time you are struggling to pray, follow the steps Jesus gave: Praise God for who He is, pray that His will be done, present your requests, ask for forgiveness of sins, and pray for protection. Your heavenly Father wants to hear from you and promises to listen.
Download Prayer Guide You can read more about the Lord’s Prayer in this week’s devotion in the (April–June) 2024 ACLJ Prayer Guide. You will also find prayer requests related to the ACLJ’s mission.
Get your copy today. And please pray for the ACLJ as we defend religious liberty in America and across the world.
For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God. Ecclesiastics 5:7
What gives you direction in life?
Who gives me, my direction in my life?
God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit!
Anybody can talk about dreams, aspirations, and ideas. But just like insincere vows and unkept promises, such talk is meaningless if it comes from man and not from God. Reverence for God keeps us grounded so that we may order our plans according to His righteousness and His purpose. And communion with God empowers us to carry out His will for our lives. And in doing so, we will produce real results, instead of empty words.
Lord, sometimes my thoughts and dreams wander. Help me to set my mind on You, so that my dreams do not lead me astray or cause me to speak meaningless promises. You alone are wise and righteous, and I desire Your will and purpose for my life. Take my thoughts captive, so that I may live for You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
One way to understand American history is to see it as a series of efforts by outsiders to become insiders, to join fully in American life. This is a story told by African American history, by immigrant history, and by labor history, for example.
This year’s Documents in Detail webinar series will focus on the efforts of outsiders to “knock on the door” and gain full admittance to American life. Using primary sources, we will examine what people thought was the American way of life and why people wanted to join it. In the later sessions in the series, we will examine the question of whether the terms on which outsiders join in American life have now changed.
At the 2012 Republican National Convention, vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan argued that government interference had limited all Americans’ ability to access the American Dream. In this final webinar, we will revisit the American way of life that Ben Franklin helped to define and that millions have sought to attain since our country’s inception. How has it changed? And to what extent have outsiders successfully become insiders?
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: James 1:13
Do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often?
God is in control and my source with everything!
Temptation and testing. We often confuse the two. God may test us by inviting us to endure trials and hardship, but He never tempts us. God will not entice us to sin. So when temptation comes, let us recognize it with alert minds and open eyes. In all cases, we must turn away from temptation and toward God, and He will provide a way out for us.
Gracious God, grant me wisdom and discernment to recognize temptation in all its forms. I know that You would never lead me to sin, so when temptation comes, help me to turn away from it. Teach me to put away any rationalizations and excuses that I cling to when I give in and instead return to You in repentance. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is shooting her shot, forging ahead with her doomed crusade to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson. “I think the American people need to see a recorded vote,” she said moments ago from the steps of the Capitol. “Does members of Congress support the Uniparty?”
MTG achieved her current level of notoriety by channeling her party’s undiluted id, but surprisingly, she’s way out on an island here: Donald Trump and the RNC have stood by their speaker, while even House Democrats have pledged to stop another motion-to-vacate sideshow in its tracks. Nevertheless, Greene says she’ll force a vote next week. Happy Wednesday.
It is inspiring to see the power of God displayed throughout creation. The mountains, the stars, the storms, all declare His glory. And it is comforting to see God’s righteousness in His actions. He wields His power justly and rightly, according to His character. As He imparts His righteousness on us, His power sustains us.
Lord, You alone are worthy to be praised. From near to far, Your creation displays Your glory and praises Your name. Your hands alone have to power to create. You create and govern with goodness, with justice, and with righteousness, because that is Who You are. I praise You for revealing Your glory and Your goodness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Hate The term “hate” can be misleading. When used in a hate crime law, the word “hate” does not mean rage, anger, or general dislike. In this context “hate” means bias against people or groups with specific characteristics that are defined by the law.
At the federal level, hate crime laws include crimes committed on the basis of the victim’s perceived or actual race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.
Most state hate crime laws include crimes committed on the basis of race, color, and religion; many also include crimes committed on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability.
Crime The “crime” in hate crime is often a violent crime, such as assault, murder, arson, vandalism, or threats to commit such crimes. It may also cover conspiring or asking another person to commit such crimes, even if the crime was never carried out.
Under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, people cannot be prosecuted simply for their beliefs. People may be offended or upset about beliefs that are untrue or based upon false stereotypes, but it is not a crime to express offensive beliefs, or to join with others who share such views. However, the First Amendment does not protect against committing a crime, just because the conduct is rooted in philosophical beliefs.
Why have hate crime laws? Hate crimes have a broader effect than most other kinds of crime. Hate crime victims include not only the crime’s immediate target but also others like them. Hate crimes affect families, communities, and at times, the entire nation.
Why report hate crimes? The Hate Crimes Reporting Gap is the significant disparity between hate crimes that actually occur and those reported to law enforcement. It is critical to report hate crimes not only to show support and get help for victims, but also to send a clear message that the community will not tolerate these kinds of crimes. Reporting hate crimes allows communities and law enforcement to fully understand the scope of the problem in a community and put resources toward preventing and addressing attacks based on bias and hate.
Experts estimate an average of 250,000 hate crimes were committed each year between 2004 and 2015 in the United States. The majority of these were not reported to law enforcement.
Terminology Hate Crime: At the federal level, a crime motivated by bias against race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.
Bias or Hate Incident: Acts of prejudice that are not crimes and do not involve violence, threats, or property damage.
Cling to Jesus as a branch to a vine. Engrave God’s word on the tablet of your heart. We’ve been given a great treasure, the knowledge of God and His saving grace. And it is something that is worth holding on to and protecting. And God gives us His Spirit, to guard our knowledge by His wisdom so that we do not lose hold of what we’ve been given.
Lord, thank You for opening my eyes to the truth of Your grace. Please fill me with Your Spirit, so that Your wisdom may never depart from me. May Your truth grow deep roots within my heart, and may you open my eyes and mind to be always discerning and watchful for the temptations and lies that would try to steal Your truth away from me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. Matthew 7:5
When we are quick to judge others, we often find that a moment of self-examination is in order. It’s not that we should remain silent when a loved one is caught in sin. But we must be sure that our own shortcomings do not prevent us from offering sincere and beneficial help. When we are blinded by our own sin, we risk inflicting more harm on those we wish to help.
Dear Father, thank You for Your deep well of forgiveness. Please search my heart and reveal any sins to confess even as I prepare to intervene in my loved one’s situation. Cleanse me by Your righteousness and fill me with Your grace so that I may see with wisdom and truth, and act with love and mercy toward others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Having faith in God is complicated: in happy, positive times, it is easy to forget that God carried you along the way, and in difficult times it is easy to blame Him. I have looked at my faith from a narcissistic lense too often, desiring a reward for being faithful to God. I forget that faith is the reward. Believing in the Lord is what gives me peace and joy, hope and power. In happy times or times of any trouble, we are comforted by God (2 Corinthians 1: 3-4). Let us rejoice in His holy name!
Holy, holy, holy Lord. God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. The hope I feel for the future with you knows no bounds, my Lord, and I aim to please you with every moment of my life. Forgive me for my transgressions and doubts, but I pray to you with a resolve that I did not feel before. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Today in the Word logo FULL ISSUE • RESOURCES • GIVE Fear of the Lord John’s Fear of the Lord Sunday, April 28 | Revelation 1:9–18 On the Go? Listen Now!
Fear of the Lord is an important part of worship in the book of Revelation: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water” (14:7). “Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (15:4).
This truth is seen and the tone set at the very start of the book, in John’s vision of the risen Christ. When he saw Him, he “fell at his feet as though dead” (v. 17). A mere man like John should feel overwhelmed upon seeing a vision of the incarnate and glorified Christ. Awe, reverence, and a sense of God’s greatness literally knocked him out!
What did John see (vv. 12–16)? Christ appeared “like a son of man,” a Messianic allusion (Dan. 7:13) and Jesus’s favorite name for Himself in the synoptic Gospels. His robe with a golden sash indicates His role as both priest and judge as well as His kingly status. His white hair signifies wisdom, dignity, and eternality. His eyes of blazing fire represent penetrating insight and omniscience. His feet of glowing bronze symbolize victorious strength. The two-edged sword in His mouth is the Word of God (Heb. 4:12). His face shining like the sun suggests God’s glory.
Christ placed His hand on John and reassured him, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades” (vv. 17–18). How incredibly comforting! The eternal Lord of the universe has won the victory and is on our side.
Go Deeper John experienced his vision on the Lord’s Day, that is, Sunday (v. 10). In what ways have you experienced the fear of the Lord during your church’s Sunday worship services?
Pray with Us: Dear Jesus, You told John, “Do not be afraid” (Rev. 1:17). What comforting words! We praise You for Your victory over death, for bringing us freedom from sin, for taking away worldly fear, and giving us godly fear. Bless Your holy name!
🇮🇱🙏⛪🇮🇱🙏⛪🙏🇮🇱🙏⛪🇮🇱🙏 The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. Proverbs 3:19
How can we begin to measure the mind of God? Even as scientists learn, piece by piece, how the universe and the earth work, we realize the complexity and order of creation. We realize how little we know, despite how much we’ve learned. And none of it is an accident. Each process, each atom, each scientific principle, has been laid down by our Creator to display His glory and power.
God, my words cannot describe how awesome You are. As I look into the heavens, I marvel at Your vast power. And as I meditate on the makeup of the earth, and all of the plants, animals, chemicals, and processes that form our complex ecosystem, I appreciate Your infinite wisdom even more. You are wise, powerful, and magnificent indeed! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Jesus gave us the most important commandments that we are to live out in our lives as Christians. The first one: We are to love God with all of our hearts, souls, and minds. The second one being that we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. It should be no surprise that the greatest commandments of all have to do with love. Everything that is to do with God is all about love. God created us out of love and He redeemed us out of love. We are where we are, as His children, because of the love of God.
You cannot be a child of God if you do not have the love of God in your heart. But the love of God is not just about saying that you have it. It has to be evident in your thoughts, beliefs, and actions. You may not have it all figured out but you will learn as you go. This is why we have the Bible – it helps us grow in the knowledge of God and what His love really means. We express our love for God through communicating with Him regularly, studying His word, and obeying His commands.
We also express our love for God through loving people. There is no way you can claim to love God if you harbor resentment and hatred against people. It can be hard to let go of the hurtful things that people have done to us, but forgiveness sets us free. Forgiveness is a godly action because we are emulating what God did for us. God is more than capable of healing our brokenness and helping us find the strength to forgive those who have wronged us.
Part of being a Christian is humbling ourselves and realizing that without God, our lives truly mean nothing. We are to acknowledge that we have made a conscious choice to turn away from the bad deeds and sinful habits, and we have turned to the holy life God has presented before us. God had to forgive us of our sins first in order for us to be qualified to live this life. We are to never forget of this great forgiveness that God promised the children of Israel all those years ago. Repent from all evil ways, and choose to be transformed by the love of God and His Word.
Father, I humbly present myself as one who has chosen to turn away from their sinful ways. It is a choice I made when I chose to follow you and Lord, it is a choice I intend to abide in. Father, help me to walk in a way that is worthy of this calling. Thank you for your patience, O Lord, and for never going back on your promises. Were it not for your forgiveness, O Father, I don’t know where I would be. I humble myself before you, O Lord, and pray that I abide in you and nothing else. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
By God’s grace, we are freed from our bondage to sin. But that does not mean that grace grants us a license to sin. Rather, we are free to serve God even more completely. It may seem paradoxical, at first. But because we are free from condemnation, we are free from fear. And so we serve not out of the burden of dread and obligation, but out of an outpouring of gratitude and joy.
Lord, thank You for rescuing me from sin and its chains. Lord as I celebrate my new freedom in You, give me wisdom to turn from sin now that I am free to truly be the person that You want me to be. Fill me with Your love, so that my joy and peace in You may overflow into good works of service and gratitude that glorify and honor You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Across the US we’re seeing a rise in antisemitism and anti-Israel protests, especially on college campuses. I’m sending you this video from Washington Square Park, which has been in the news the last few days because it’s become a center for anti-Israel protests and similar events in New York.
Our Jews for Jesus missionaries and interns have been using Washington Square Park as a location to connect with people and share the gospel. Our team will still be coming out to the park, as we normally do, sharing the message of hope we have because of Jesus.
Please pray that our team will continue to share the message of Jesus with boldness and clarity, and that the Lord would protect and comfort Jewish students at NYU and around the world as these protests grow in numbers.
Today in the Word logo FULL ISSUE • RESOURCES • GIVE Fear of the Lord Ananias and Sapphira Did Not Fear Friday, April 26 | Acts 5:1–11 On the Go? Listen Now!
Many these days have been wondering if we’re too casual or “flip” with God. We livestream church for our convenience. We check our phones during the worship service. We wear very informal clothing and judge a church by the quality of its snacks and coffee. God is our “good buddy.”
The story of Ananias and Sapphira gives us fair warning of what can happen when we lack the fear of the Lord. We’re including this negative example to underline the seriousness of the issues involved. Taking the fear of the Lord lightly is not a chuckle-worthy mistake but rather a fatal error in our relationship with God.
Ananias and Sapphira did not have the fear the Lord. Their gift to the church from their land sale was not an act of worship. Rather, they put on a show to be admired for their “generosity” and to earn status in the eyes of others. Apparently, they viewed “church” as just another social ladder to climb. In pride, both told a premeditated lie (vv. 3–4, 9). They must have had a pretty low opinion of God if they thought they could fool Him in this way. Unsurprisingly, Satan was behind their actions.
Ananias and Sapphira were punished with death for their pride and lies. Among other things, they didn’t understand that “Humility is the fear of the LORD“ (Prov. 22:4). God is not to be tested or trifled with (v. 9). “Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events” (v. 11). As God’s name had been dishonored by the couple’s actions, so their deaths brought Him glory. The church and a watching world learned a memorable lesson: Everyone was reminded of God’s greatness and power and that He absolutely must be approached with awe and reverence.
What are your motivations for giving or for doing good deeds? Are there deeper layers that need exposing? If applicable, ask the Spirit to help you confess any sins in this area.
Pray with Us: Sin is powerful and destructive. As we read of Ananias and Sapphira, we are reminded of the dangers of pride and lack of the fear of the Lord. God, search our hearts and keep us humble! Reveal to us any hidden sin we should confess.
When is the last time you took a risk? How did it work out?
I walk out in support of Israel! Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, the Red Sea to the south, Egypt to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and the Palestinian territories – the West Bank along the east and the Gaza Strip along the southwest. Tel Aviv is the financial, economic, and technological center of the country, while its seat of government is in its proclaimed capital of Jerusalem, although Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem is unrecognized internationally.
God’s word is a precious resource for us- but only if we use it. Scripture is a firm foundation for all areas of life- family, work, and community. When we try to build these things up without the wisdom of God’s word, we are vulnerable to the shifting sands and shaky ground of human thinking and feeling. Only God’s word provides a sure foundation for our lives.
Father, thank You for the gift of Your word. I pray that as I read and study, You would give me wisdom to not only understand Your word but to apply it. Show me how I can use Your instructions and insights in all areas of my life so that when storms arise around me, I may remain firm in Your truth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Share Share Tweet Tweet Forward Forward Today With Allen Jackson Daily Devotional Authority In the Cross Romans 6:6 (NIV®) We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.
We are hardwired toward ungodliness. Have you noticed? We don’t need classes on how to be selfish, stubborn, or impatient. We’re just naturally good at those things! This verse, however, has great news: We have been given authority over our carnal nature. But many of us seem to be unaware of the authority that has been given to us. We think whatever authority we have is derived from the correctness of our doctrine, the group to which we belong, or the sign on the building where we gather. Our authority is much greater than any of those things because it is anchored in the redemptive work of Jesus of Nazareth. When you are faced with your carnal nature—and you will be—remind yourself that you are no longer a slave to sin because your old self was crucified with Jesus. That’s an amazing promise!
THINK ABOUT IT We are born with carnal, selfish minds. But God gave us a way to overcome our selfish nature through our faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and the power of His Holy Spirit.
PRAYER Heavenly Father, I rest in the authority You have given me through Your Son, Jesus of Nazareth, and His death and resurrection. I place my ungodliness at the foot of the cross and remind myself that I am no longer a slave to my carnal nature. Thank You for Your faithfulness to me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
What place in the world do you never want to visit? Why? Sometimes, we needlessly complicate our faith, and that can quickly put us on the wrong path. Fad teachings and new doctrines seem to emerge every day, but we already have God’s word and we already have the Lord’s Supper. We need not reinvent our faith with extraneous rituals, they only lead to polluted doctrine. Instead, let us hold to the simple gatherings and foundational truth that we have already been given.
Lord, thank You for revealing Yourself to me in Your word, and thank You for the simple communion that I share with my fellow believers. Please work in these things to build me up, so that I may be satisfied in You. Give me the wisdom to discern unsound doctrine, so that I may remain steadfast in Your truth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The fall of Man was a terrible time. Not only had man disobeyed God, but they had lost the freedom, peace and comfort in having a relationship with God. Once they made the mistake and discovered they were naked, Adam and Eve ran to hide when God came to look for them. They hid because they were ashamed – they were ashamed of what they had done. Despite the fact that God was looking for them, Adam and Eve felt that they couldn’t face Him. Not after what they had done.
That is what sin does to us. It makes us feel as if we cannot commune with God. When we make mistakes, the devil tries to take advantage of them and make us feel like we are less than who we actually are. The devil is bent on causing a divide between us and God. He will go at any length to do so. When we slip up and disobey God, the devil jumps in, ready to condemn us and make us feel like we are unworthy. If we are not knowledgeable of God’s love and His everlasting mercy, we will end up falling for the enemy’s trickery. The moment the enemy manages to make us feel less, he will keep on beating us down until we believe it.
God doesn’t want us to see ourselves in that light. There is nothing we will gain from beating ourselves up. God doesn’t delight in seeing it. That is not what He desires for our lives. When we make mistakes, we need to realize that God has forgiven us. This does not mean we deliberately repeat the offense. No. It simply means that we should focus our eyes back on Christ, and keep on moving forward. Guilt is not from God and neither is condemnation.
It takes wisdom to understand the importance of keeping peace with everyone in your life. Only a fool will take delight in starting quarrels and stirring up dissension among people. There is nothing to benefit from strife; all it brings is pain, discomfort, and sorrow. Why would one want to live like that? When you have godly wisdom, you will know when to confront and when to draw back. Godly wisdom will also help you confront a person in a respectful, yet firm, manner. You do not need to insult a person in order to get your point across – that is foolishness. We often find it necessary to insult people we think are below us – call center assistants, customer service, waiters, employees, etc. Every heart matters and the words you speak will either break or build a heart. Wisdom will guide you in speaking effectively without causing strife with another person.
Dear God, it can become hard to think clearly when I am caught in tense situations. Father, I pray that if I am ever caught in a tough situation, may I think clearly, guided by your wisdom, and not by my emotions or my feelings. May I always have it in my heart to want to be at peace with everyone; and may you help me live this out. I cannot do it on my own power. I know that maintaining peace with my neighbors is attainable, through you, O Lord. May you guide me accordingly, with your wisdom at the front of my mind. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me. Psalm 142:7
Sin takes many forms. Pride, greed, lust, envy, and more. But all sin leads to bondage. All sin imprisons us. And even as Christians, our enemy continues to set traps of temptation for us, hoping to bind us once again. And every time, it is God who breaks us free, on our day of salvation, and each time we stumble. And when He rescues us, His glory is revealed when others see us living liberated lives.
Lord God, thank You for saving me and rescuing me from my bondage to sin. Sometimes, I stumble or wander back into those familiar chains. Please break me free once again and guard my heart and life. Surround me with Your righteous ones, so that I may be better defended against the enemy as I move forward proclaiming the goodness of Your name. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I was shot eleven years ago. I protected my children from a man who said he would kill my family.
Apr-24-2024 This special will air on Saturday, April 27, at 9:30 p.m. ET. The world first heard of Falun Gong 25 years ago. On April 25, 1999, around 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered in front of Zhongnanhai—the home and office compound of the Chinese leader. The spiritual meditation practice teaches the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance, and was first released to the public in China in 1992. Seven years later, it had grown so popular that the Chinese communist regime deemed it a threat. Three months after that peaceful demonstration, Beijing launched an all-out persecution against the faith, seeking to eradicate the 100 million people practicing. “I said this is a Buddhist revival movement … I don’t see that as this massive threat,” said Ethan Gutmann, senior research fellow in China Studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. “So there was something else going on.” “A part of what I felt was that the values that Falun Gong was espousing were actually quite against that sort of new China that was being presented by the Chinese Communist Party, which demands that one lies,” he added. Those practicing Falun Gong inside China were fired from their jobs, kidnapped from their homes, and thrown in prison. But later, evidence of an even worse crime began to come to light: the forced organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience, while they were still alive. Those organs supply China’s lucrative organ match and transplant market. “The organ harvesting is the genocide aspect … this entire organ transplant system was built on the backs of Falun Gong,” said Mr. Gutmann. “This is something that is going to hit every group. It’s going to hit the Tibetans, it’s just a question of getting the right hospitals set up in their region.” “If there had not been the Ukraine war, [the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act] would have gone through. If there had not been the Oct. 7 [Hamas attack on Israel], that bill would have gone through.” Watch our interview with investigative reporter and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Ethan Gutmann.
A Comforting Reminder: Jesus Is the Way, the Truth and the Life “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).
In John 13 and 14, we pull up close to intimate conversations between God and his children, revealed by the exchanges between Jesus and his disciples.
Leaning in to their leader and friend, the disciples long to understand more fully who Jesus is, where he is going, and what that means for them. It’s a yearning many of us feel as we await his promised return. What does this all mean? What are we to do? What do I believe?
And with sovereign clarity, in John 14:6, Jesus delivers.
It’s likely one of the many reasons the Book of John is often one of the best places for new believers to get started on their journey with Jesus.
What Does John 14:6 Mean? back view of young woman reading Bible outdoors Jesus is coming through in this verse with peace and encouragement for people (like us) who want to “go our own way.” As sinful mortals, we’re naturally in need of direction. We’re created to wander, misbehave, question, fail … and be redeemed. What Jesus offers here is what some might refer to as their center, anchor, or north star. It’s the offer to invite light within that is a lamp to our feet.
But to the disciples, who hadn’t yet experienced Jesus’ ascension and resurrection, this was likely confusing news. Their leader had not yet fully revealed the eternity of his saving grace. Their trust in his promises is the picture of faith we want to emulate today: choosing Jesus (the way), believing his words (the truth), and letting him lead us through temporal trials to eternal abundance (the life).
Just before we land on John 14:6, Jesus explains:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going” (John 14:1-4).
What Jesus is truly speaking to his followers here is that we are to trust and abide in him the way sheep rely on their shepherd to lead them through the gate into heaven.
How Is God “the Way and the Truth and the Life?” feet walking down sunny road, things god wants for you in the new year I love the verse right before John 14:6, where Thomas asks:
“Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (John 14:5).
To me, this sounds like a prayer. What about you? And following, in John 14:6, we are shown that when our hearts cry out in prayer, Jesus is actually present and making a way. I feel affection for Thomas because we see him again in John 20:24-29 wrestling with his human tendency to doubt. And we witness the joy that consumes him when he realizes Jesus is God.
“Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.’ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:24-29).
Then Jesus addresses Thomas with a message to believers today:
“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
We have the word of God in our hands, through the flesh of Jesus. And in full view of the disciples, in his present vessel of divine skin, God spoke, cared, upheld, disciplined, directed, guided, and taught his children—as he still does today. Over and over again in John 13 and John 14, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth.” We can count on it.
He’s making it clear that if you’ve seen him, you’ve seen the Father. If you know him, you know the Father. If you follow Him, He leads you to life everlasting with God.
What Is the Context of John 14:6? man reading bible outdoors Exploring commentaries on this verse reminds us of other things Jesus promises – that he is bread, living water, a light in the darkness, our source vine, and so much more. Today, we have an access to an abundance of lucidity on what each part of this verse means.
But the disciples’ firsthand witness of Jesus’ teaching here is thrilling because they are in the presence of God—who begins by washing their feet. All of the discourse in John 14 is before the Passover Feast when Jesus knew the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. As he walks them through painful predictions of those who will deny him, he continues with this reassurance:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you” (John 14:1-2).
As Philip questions, “Show us the Father,” Jesus emphasizes that his very words are the Father, living in him, doing his work through him. He asks the disciples to believe at least on the evidence of the miracles they have seen thus far. Then he promises that in his absence he will ask the Father to give them another Counselor, a Spirit of truth. And that he will not leave them as orphans, but come for them. He explains:
“…Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19).
Is Jesus the Only Way, Truth and Life? Bill Bouknight, retired Senior Pastor of Christ United Methodist Church in Tennessee, addresses the cultural anxiety around the “only” claim, stating, “When Jesus claimed that He was the only way to God the Father, He was motivated not by arrogance but by compassion.”
And he offers this singular salvation through grace and mercy, not by our own ability to perfect ourselves apart from him, if we confess that we believe.
Bouknight explains, “the only person who cannot experience God’s forgiveness is the one who thinks he has no sin. The only person who cannot be saved is that one who feels no need for a Savior. Jesus does not exclude us. If we reject His offer, we exclude ourselves.”
And while many world religions claim a spiritual reality, only Christians believe and trust that God, the maker of heaven and earth, made himself flesh to speak to us throughout all generations as we follow Him into eternity.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).
Photo credit: Unsplash/Gift Habeshaw
What Does This Verse Mean for Us Today? Peaceful woman sitting on a curb As believers, welcomed to doubt, seek, and pray to Jesus, John 14:6 offers a triple-dose of peace. Here’s why:
1. You Know the Way
The world will tempt you, toss you, drag you through trials. But you have heard from the Father. You have an account of his words, and you know he conquered death. Regardless of who others pray to, you know who hears you, and who is preparing a place for you beyond your wildest dreams.
2. You Can Find the Truth
As the book of John unfolds, we read that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” and in this Word, the Holy Bible, Jesus promises to return. Whatever he said, he saw through. When the world crashes in on your beliefs, look for what he says in the Word.
3. Your Life is Abundant
It’s no accident that this list of three promises in John 14:6 ends with “life.” That is what Jesus shows us. That even death in this world cannot hold him, or you, from abundant life with the Father, forever. When the enemy comes seeking to destroy, we can seek direction from Jesus, abide in his truth, and celebrate the gift of being loved, created, and called by the Creator.
This also means that if anyone you know doubts that Jesus can save and offer eternal, abundant life, you can recommend exploring the stories in the Book of John.
Jesus was not just talking with friends in John 14:6. In it, he is truly providing you conviction today: that abiding in him and seeking his direction is the only way home to everlasting life.
Photo credit: Unsplash/Aricka Lewis
authorLia Martin loves to inspire others to lean into the Lord daily. She’s a writer, editor, marketer, former Crosswalk.com Faith Editor, and author of Wisdom at Wit’s End: Abandoning Supermom Myths in Search of Supernatural Peace. When she’s not cultivating words, she loves walking in nature, reading, exploring the latest health trends, and laughing with her two wonderful kids. She blogs at liamartinwriting.com.
Bible Bible Study Topical Studies A Comforting Reminder: Jesus Is the Way, the Truth and the Life
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The fact that people promote domestic violence like Late Night With Colorado Phil does. I had checked out his Facebook and I saw horrifying. He Rape Promoted and domestic violence. I talked to him about it and he said get what deserves. He says he’s a talk show host. We have enough problems therefore, we don’t need a a person promoting rape. Verbal or physical.
Britannica Dictionary definition of RAPIST. [count] : a person who rapes someone : a person who commits rape. a convicted rapist.
O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; Psalm 16:2
Without God, we could have no good thing. Even before we know Him, He gave us tastes of His goodness by His grace. And now that we have received the full measure of His grace, let us draw nearer to Him. All joy, all gladness, everything that is good is a gift from our Heavenly Father who loves us.
Father God, I am in awe at the unending depth of Your goodness. Even in my sin, You chose to pour out Your love on me so that I could experience a measure of Your goodness. And know that I know You, I want to know You even more. Every blessing and joy of this life fills my heart with gratitude, for they all flow from You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Growing up, the Bible was in my bedroom but seldom opened. I believed in Jesus and cannot remember a time I felt as if God didn’t exist. God just was. However, I did not follow Him as Lord and Savior growing up. In God’s lovingkindness and faithfulness to me, that changed over time. Far from being a God who “just was,” I discovered that he is “the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come” (Revelation 1:8).
As different opportunities arose, I heard more of God’s Word through circumstances, through other believers, through music, and for myself as I started to open up the Bible and engage with it more. What I found was a book that was the very word of God, which is “alive and active… sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
Here are a selection of verses that have shaped my walk as a follower of Jesus. May they bless you as much as they have encouraged and sustained me.
Being an Investigative Reporter I am always looking for something to write about! Most topics written by other reporters are generally an option of that writer.
Late Night With Colorado Phil is very disrespectful to women! He has slandered my mom and my self.
KANSAS CONSTITUTION JOURNALS
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21-5414. Domestic battery. (a) Domestic battery is:
(1) Knowingly or recklessly causing bodily harm by a family or household member against a family or household member; or
(2) knowingly causing physical contact with a family or household member by a family or household member when done in a rude, insulting or angry manner.
(b) Domestic battery is:
(1) Except as provided in subsection (b)(2) or (b)(3), a class B person misdemeanor and the offender shall be sentenced to not less than 48 consecutive hours nor more than six months’ imprisonment and fined not less than $200, nor more than $500 or in the court’s discretion the court may enter an order which requires the offender to undergo a domestic violence offender assessment conducted by a certified batterer intervention program and follow all recommendations made by such program;
(2) except as provided in subsection (b)(3), a class A person misdemeanor, if, within five years immediately preceding commission of the crime, an offender is convicted of domestic battery a second time and the offender shall be sentenced to not less than 90 days nor more than one year’s imprisonment and fined not less than $500 nor more than $1,000. The five days imprisonment mandated by this paragraph may be served in a work release program only after such an offender has served 48 consecutive hours imprisonment, provided such a work release program requires such offenders to return to confinement at the end of each day in the work release program. The offender shall serve at least five consecutive days imprisonment before the offender is granted probation, suspension or reduction of sentence or parole or is otherwise released. As a condition of any grant of probation, suspension of sentence or parole or of any other release, the offender shall be required to undergo a domestic violence offender assessment conducted by a certified batterer intervention program and follow all recommendations made by such program, unless otherwise ordered by the court or department of corrections; and
(3) a person felony, if, within five years immediately preceding commission of the crime, an offender is convicted of domestic battery a third or subsequent time, and the offender shall be sentenced to not less than 90 days nor more than one year’s imprisonment and fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $7,500. The offender convicted shall not be eligible for release on probation, suspension or reduction of sentence or parole until the offender has served at least 90 days imprisonment. As a condition of any grant of probation, suspension of sentence or parole or of any other release, the offender shall be required to undergo a domestic violence offender assessment conducted by a certified batterer intervention program and follow all recommendations made by such a program, unless otherwise ordered by the court or department of corrections. If the offender does not undergo a domestic violence offender assessment conducted by a certified batterer intervention program and follows all recommendations made by such a program, the offender shall serve not less than 180 days nor more than one year’s imprisonment. The 90 days imprisonment mandated by this paragraph may be served in a work release program only after such an offender has served 48 consecutive hours imprisonment, provided such a work release program requires such offenders to return to confinement at the end of each day in the work release program.
(c) As used in this section:
(1) ”Family or household member” means persons 18 years of age or older who are spouses, former spouses, parents or stepparents and children or stepchildren, and persons who are presently residing together or who have resided together in the past, and persons who have a child in common regardless of whether they have been married or who have lived together at any time. “Family or household member” also includes a man and woman if the woman is pregnant and the man is alleged to be the father, regardless of whether they have been married or have lived together at any time; and
(2) for the purpose of determining whether a conviction is a first, second, third or subsequent conviction in sentencing under this section:
(A) ”Conviction” includes being convicted of a violation of K.S.A. 21-3412a, prior to its repeal, this section or entering into a diversion or deferred judgment agreement in lieu of further criminal proceedings on a complaint alleging a violation of this section;
(B) ”conviction” includes being convicted of a violation of a law of another state, or an ordinance of any city, or resolution of any county, which prohibits the acts that this section prohibits or entering into a diversion or deferred judgment agreement in lieu of further criminal proceedings in a case alleging a violation of such law, ordinance or resolution;
(C) only convictions occurring in the immediately preceding five years including prior to July 1, 2001, shall be taken into account, but the court may consider other prior convictions in determining the sentence to be imposed within the limits provided for a first, second, third or subsequent offender, whichever is applicable; and
(D) it is irrelevant whether an offense occurred before or after conviction for a previous offense.
(d) A person may enter into a diversion agreement in lieu of further criminal proceedings for a violation of this section or an ordinance of any city or resolution of any county which prohibits the acts that this section prohibits only twice during any five-year period.
History: L. 2010, ch.136, § 49; L. 2011, ch. 30, § 20; L. 2012, ch. 162, § 15; May 31.
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:24
What goals and aspirations motivate our actions? For Paul, as long as he could testify to God’s grace, nothing else mattered. When we come to Jesus, our lives are no longer our own. God calls us each to a unique work for His kingdom’s sake. Let us all discern the work that God has set before us, and faithfully live by the Spirit for the sake of the gospel.
Lord, thank You for saving me by Your grace and giving me a place in Your kingdom. Please empower me by Your Spirit to live for You, to make Your priorities my own. Help me to know and understand the gifts that You have given me, so that I may serve You to the fullest, and so that you are glorified in my life and actions. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Is verbal abuse a crime in Colorado? In Colorado, verbal assault laws fall under the broader term of “assault laws.” According to these laws, a verbal assault is typically a misdemeanor. A person can be charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, or third-degree assault.
Colorado Domestic Violence Lawyer Click To Call H. Michael Steinberg at 303-627-7777 EMERGENCY? 24/7 Click To Call 720-220-2277
To Contact H. Michael Steinberg by Email or Mail/Courier, click here. Understanding The Difference Between Colorado Domestic Violence And Actual Domestic Abuse By H. Michael Steinberg – Colorado Domestic Violence Criminal Defense Lawyer
The Difference Between Colorado Domestic Violence And Actual Domestic Abuse The Difference Between Colorado Domestic Violence And Actual Domestic Abuse
Understanding The Difference Between Colorado Domestic Violence And Actual Domestic Abuse – A question asked by very confused persons in Colorado who have been charged with crimes involving the “tag”of domestic violence – is: “Why am I charged with “domestic violence” if there were no acts of actual violence?”
The Difference Between Colorado Domestic Violence And Actual Domestic Abuse Colorado Domestic Violence Cases Are NOT Always “Violent” In fact – most of the time – they are very, very minor crimes which are charged because of the very broad wording in the law. The person charged with domestic violence cannot understand why their image of those guilty of “domestic violence,” which is one of very bad people physically assaulting defenseless victims, is charged with the same act of domestic violence as the kind of charges brought in their case.
Colorado Domestic Violence Criminal Law – The Difference Between Domestic Violence and Actual Acts Of Domestic Abuse To answer the question – you must begin with the LEGAL DEFINITION of domestic violence in Colorado.
In Colorado An Act Of Domestic Violence means..
[Type ONE] …. an act or threatened act of violence upon a person with whom the actor is or has been involved in an intimate relationship. or, [Type TWO]…. any other crime against a person or against property or any municipal ordinance violation against a person or against property, when used as a method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge directed against a person with whom the actor is or has been involved in an intimate relationship
Both types require the existence of an intimate relationship, but the similarities end there.
Intimate Relationship Means C.R.S. § 18-6-800.3(2) An“intimate relationship” is:
…. a “relationship between spouses, former spouses, past or present unmarried couples, or persons who are both the parents of the same child regardless of whether the persons have been married or have lived together at any time.”
Colorado Domestic Violence Case Analysis – Are You Or Have You Been In An Intimate Relationship With The Alleged Victim? Many of the Colorado cases interpreting the term intimate relationship point to the main criteria for such a relationship as arising from some kind of sexual relationship. However an intimate relationship for purposes of the Colorado domestic violence statute is much broader than that definition.
The Courts will find an “intimate relationship”, by analyzing:
(1) the length of time the relationship has existed or did exist;
(2) the nature or type of the relationship;
(3) the frequency of interaction between the parties.
Type ONE Domestic Violence Crimes: Q – Was There An Act or Threatened Act of Actual Violence?. Type One acts of domestic violence require an act or a threatened act of actual domestic violence. There is a requirement in this type of domestic violence that there be an ACTUAL act or threatened act of real violence…
Compare this to Type Two acts of domestic violence.
Type TWO Domestic Violence Crimes: Q – Was There An Act Used As A Method of Coercion, Control, Punishment, Intimidation, Or Revenge Directed Against A Person? Type TWO domestic violence crimes require: an intimate relationship plus the commission nof any crime “used as a method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge”
Type TWO acts of domestic violence greatly expand the nature and type of criminal acts that can be charged as domestic violence. Non violent property crimes such as theft, fraud, trespass, burglary, can ALL be charged as acts of domestic “violence” under type two domestic violence cases.
Common Colorado Domestic Violence Crimes Against Property Of The Alleged Victim and Their Personal Property The kinds of property crimes most often filed in TYPE ONE COLORADO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES are:
Colorado Misdemeanor and Felony 18-3-402 Sexual Assault Crimes Colorado Crimes of Harassment 18-9-111and Felony Stalking 18-3-602 Colorado Felony And Misdemeanor Menacing Crimes 18-3-206 Colorado Felony 18-3-202, 18-3-203 And Misdemeanor 18-3-204 Assault Charges Common Colorado Domestic Violence Crimes Against Property Of The Alleged Victim and Their Personal Property The kinds of property crimes most often filed in TYPE TWO COLORADO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES are:
Colorado Felony and Misdemeanor Theft Crimes 18-4-401 Colorado Felony And Misdemeanor Criminal Mischief Crimes 18-4-501 Colorado Felony 18-4-503 And Misdemeanor 18-4-503 Criminal Trespass Crimes Colorado Burglary Crimes 18-4-203 Colorado Crime of False Imprisonment 18-3-303 Colorado Crime of Obstruction Of Telephone asthma Service – Communications 18-9-306.5 Colorado Crime of Violation of a Restraining Order (VOP) 18-6-803.5 Colorado Crime of Disorderly Conduct 18-9-106 Colorado Crime of False reporting 18-8-111 Colorado Crime of Wiretapping 18-9-303 Colorado Crime of Eavesdropping 18-9-304 Colorado Crime of Child Abuse 18-6-401 The Result Of A Conviction for an Act Of Domestic Violence Primarily Means An Order To Perform DV Treatment – (And Certain Gun Related Restrictions) Unlike other kinds of incarceration based “sentence enhancements” such as mandatory prison sentences for crimes of violence or the denial of probation based on prior felony convictions, the enhancement for a finding of domestic violence in Colorado means the requirement of domestic violence treatment.
If a Court finds a crime was committed and was “an act of domestic violence” the court MUST order a domestic violence treatment program evaluation and treatment if necessary pursuant to this law.
18-6-801. Domestic violence – sentencing (1) (a) In addition to any sentence that is imposed upon a person for violation of any criminal law under this title, any person who is convicted of any crime, the underlying factual basis of which has been found by the court on the record to include an act of domestic violence, as defined in section 18-6-800.3 (1), or any crime against property, whether or not such crime is a felony, when such crime is used as a method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge directed against a person with whom the actor is or has been involved in an intimate relationship shall be ordered to complete a treatment program and a treatment evaluation that conform with the standards adopted by the domestic violence offender management board as required by section 16-11.8-103 (4), C.R.S.
If an intake evaluation conducted by an approved treatment program provider discloses that sentencing to a treatment program would be inappropriate, the person shall be referred back to the court for alternative disposition.
(b) The court may order a treatment evaluation to be conducted prior to sentencing if a treatment evaluation would assist the court in determining an appropriate sentence. The person ordered to undergo such evaluation shall be required to pay the cost of the treatment evaluation. If such treatment evaluation recommends treatment, and if the court so finds, the person shall be ordered to complete a treatment program that conforms with the standards adopted by the domestic violence offender management board as required by section 16-11.8-103 (4), C.R.S.
The Difference Between Colorado Domestic Violence And Actual Domestic Abuse ABOUT THE AUTHOR: H. Michael Steinberg – Email The Author – A Denver Colorado Domestic Violence Criminal Defense Lawyer – or call his office at 303-627-7777 during business hours – or call his cell if you cannot wait and need his immediate assistance – 720-220-2277.
If you are charged with A Colorado crime or you have questions about The Difference Between Colorado Domestic Violence And Actual Domestic Abuse, please call our office. The Law Offices of H. Michael Steinberg, in Denver, Colorado, provide criminal defense clients with effective, efficient, intelligent and strong legal advocacy. We can educate you and help you navigate the stressful and complex legal process related to your criminal defense issue.
Over 40 Years Specializing in Colorado Criminal LawH. Michael Steinberg, is a Denver, Colorado criminal defense lawyer with over 40 years of day to day courtroom experience – specializing in Colorado Criminal Law along the Front Range. He will provide you with a free initial case consultation to evaluate your legal issues and to answer your questions with an honest assessment of your options. Remember, it costs NOTHING to discuss your case. Call now for an immediate free phone consultation.
Helping Clients To Make Informed Decisions In the Defense of Colorado Criminal Cases.
Contact A Lawyer with Three Decades of Experience as a Denver Criminal Attorney at The Steinberg Colorado Criminal Defense Law Firm Today.
Colorado Defense Lawyer H. Michael Steinberg provides solid criminal defense for clients throughout the Front Range of Colorado – including the City and County courts of Adams County, Arapahoe County, City and County of Boulder, City and County of Broomfield, City and County of Denver, Douglas County, El Paso County – Colorado Springs, Gilpin County, Jefferson County, Larimer County, and Weld County,…. and all the other cities and counties of Colorado along the I-25 Corridor… on cases involving …The Difference Between Colorado Domestic Violence And Actual Domestic Abuse.?
The information on this Criminal Defense Attorneys & Lawyers / Law Firm website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, emails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.
Growing up, the Bible was in my bedroom but seldom opened. I believed in Jesus and cannot remember a time I felt as if God didn’t exist. God just was. However, I did not follow Him as Lord and Savior growing up. In God’s lovingkindness and faithfulness to me, that changed over time. Far from being a God who “just was,” I discovered that he is “the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come” (Revelation 1:8).
As different opportunities arose, I heard more of God’s Word through circumstances, through other believers, through music, and for myself as I started to open up the Bible and engage with it more. What I found was a book that was the very word of God, which is “alive and active… sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
Here are a selection of verses that have shaped my walk as a follower of Jesus. May they bless you as much as they have encouraged and sustained me.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Matthew 5:9
What does it take to be a peacemaker? It takes a child of God, one who reflects His image and character. For it is only through the unconditional love of God that we can know peace. And when we live in that love and pass it on to others, without judgment and condemnation, we invite others to experience His peace.
Father, thank You for the peace that You have given me by saving me and making me Your child. Lord, help me to see others as Your children, and to overflow with Your love, so that through me they may see Your peace at work in my life. Use me to draw others into Your love and into Your peace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Teaching American History
EXPAND TIMELINE “The Bible,” from Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gersham Machen December 31, 1923 EDITED AND INTRODUCED BY SARAH MORGAN SMITH, ELLEN DEITZ TUCKER, DAVID TUCKER
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Religion in American History and Political
STUDY QUESTIONS What does Machen mean by the inerrancy of the Bible? Why is it important to him? How does Machen’s view of inerrancy differ from Fosdick’s? Introduction J. Gresham Machen (1881–1937) was the last of a long line of Presbyterian theologians at Princeton who thought of themselves as upholding the traditional teachings of the denomination. In chapter four of Christianity and Liberalism (printed here almost in its entirety), Machen asserted that the Bible as both God’s revelation and as inerrant was essential to Christianity. He contrasted this view with the view of religious liberals (e.g. Harry Emerson Fosdick, see document 19), who he argued placed human experience at the center of religion. In noting that nature was part of God’s revelation, Machen echoes a traditional view, which we have encountered in detail in Palmer, “Baconianism and the Bible”(see document 11). Writing several decades after Palmer, however, in a world of increased secularism and scientific influence (see documents 14 and 16), Machen felt the need to argue for the authority of the Bible, an authority Palmer could take for granted. The writings of Machen, Fosdick, and Dixon included in this collection were part of the modernist-fundamentalist controversy of the first decades of the twentieth century. In large measure, that controversy still defines America’s religious world and influences our politics.
—Sarah Morgan Smith, Ellen Deitz Tucker, David Tucker Chapter 4: “The Bible” Modern liberalism, it has been observed so far, has lost sight of the two great presuppositions of the Christian message—the living God, and the fact of sin. The liberal doctrine of God and the liberal doctrine of man are both diametrically opposite to the Christian view. But the divergence concerns not only the presuppositions of the message, but also the message itself.
The Christian message has come to us through the Bible. What shall we think about this Book in which the message is contained?
According to the Christian view, the Bible contains an account of a revelation from God to man, which is found nowhere else. It is true, the Bible also contains a confirmation and a wonderful enrichment of the revelations which are given also by the things that God has made and by the conscience of man. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork”1—these words are a confirmation of the revelation of God in nature; “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”2—these words are a confirmation of what is attested by the conscience. But in addition to such reaffirmations of what might conceivably be learned elsewhere—as a matter of fact, because of men’s blindness, even so much is learned elsewhere only in comparatively obscure fashion—the Bible also contains an account of a revelation which is absolutely new. That new revelation concerns the way by which sinful man can come into communion with the living God.
The way was opened, according to the Bible, by an act of God, when, almost nineteen hundred years ago, outside the walls of Jerusalem, the eternal Son was offered as a sacrifice for the sins of men. To that one great event the whole Old Testament looks forward, and in that one event the whole of the New Testament finds its center and core. Salvation then, according to the Bible, is not something that was discovered, but something that happened. Hence appears the uniqueness of the Bible. All the ideas of Christianity might be discovered in some other religion, yet there would be in that other religion no Christianity. For Christianity depends, not upon a complex of ideas, but upon the narration of an event. Without that event, the world, in the Christian view, is altogether dark, and humanity is lost under the guilt of sin. There can be no salvation by the discovery of eternal truth, for eternal truth brings naught but despair, because of sin. But a new face has been put upon life by the blessed thing that God did when He offered up His only begotten Son.
An objection is sometimes offered against this view of the contents of the Bible. Must we, it is said, depend upon what happened so long ago? Does salvation wait upon the examination of musty records? Is the trained student of Palestinian history the modern priest without whose gracious intervention no one can see God? Can we not find, instead, a salvation that is independent of history, a salvation that depends only on what is with us here and now?
The objection is not devoid of weight. But it ignores one of the primary evidences for the truth of the gospel record. That evidence is found in Christian experience. Salvation does depend upon what happened long ago, but the event of long ago has effects that continue until today. We are told in the New Testament that Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of those who should believe on Him. That is a record of a past event. But we can make trial of it today, and making trial of it we find it to be true. We are told in the New Testament that on a certain morning long ago Jesus rose from the dead. That again is a record of a past event. But again we can make trial of it, and making trial of it we discover that Jesus is truly a living Savior today.
But at this point a fatal error lies in wait. It is one of the root errors of modern liberalism. Christian experience, we have just said, is useful as confirming the gospel message. But because it is necessary, many men have jumped to the conclusion that it is all that is necessary. Having a present experience of Christ in the heart, may we not, it is said, hold that experience no matter what history may tell us as to the events of the first Easter morning? May we not make ourselves altogether independent of the results of Biblical criticism? No matter what sort of man history may tell us Jesus of Nazareth actually was, no matter what history may say about the real meaning of His death or about the story of His alleged resurrection, may we not continue to experience the presence of Christ in our souls?
The trouble is that the experience thus maintained is not Christian experience. Religious experience it may be, but Christian experience it certainly is not. For Christian experience depends absolutely upon an event. The Christian says to himself: “I have meditated upon the problem of becoming right with God, I have tried to produce a righteousness that will stand in His sight; but when I heard the gospel message I learned that what I had weakly striven to accomplish had been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ when He died for me on the Cross and completed His redeeming work by the glorious resurrection. If the thing has not yet been done, if I merely have an idea of its accomplishment, then I am of all men most miserable, for I am still in my sins. My Christian life, then, depends altogether upon the truth of the New Testament record.”
Christian experience is rightly used when it confirms the documentary evidence. But it can never possibly provide a substitute for the documentary evidence. We know that the gospel story is true partly because of the early date of the documents in which it appears, the evidence as to their authorship, the internal evidence of their truth, the impossibility of explaining them as being based upon deception or upon myth. This evidence is gloriously confirmed by present experience, which adds to the documentary evidence that wonderful directness and immediacy of conviction which delivers us from fear. Christian experience is rightly used when it helps to convince us that the events narrated in the New Testament actually did occur; but it can never enable us to be Christians whether the events occurred or not. It is a fair flower, and should be prized as a gift of God. But cut it from its root in the blessed Book, and it soon withers away and dies.
Thus the revelation of which an account is contained in the Bible embraces not only a reaffirmation of eternal truths—itself necessary because the truths have been obscured by the blinding effect of sin—but also a revelation which sets forth the meaning of an act of God.
The contents of the Bible, then, are unique. But another fact about the Bible is also important. The Bible might contain an account of a true revelation from God, and yet the account be full of error. Before the full authority of the Bible can be established, therefore, it is necessary to add to the Christian doctrine of revelation the Christian doctrine of inspiration. The latter doctrine means that the Bible not only is an account of important things, but that the account itself is true, the writers having been so preserved from error, despite a full maintenance of their habits of thought and expression, that the resulting Book is the “infallible rule of faith and practice.”3
This doctrine of “plenary inspiration”4 has been made the subject of persistent misrepresentation.…
As a matter of fact, the doctrine of plenary inspiration does not deny the individuality of the Biblical writers; it does not ignore their use of ordinary means for acquiring information; it does not involve any lack of interest in the historical situations which gave rise to the Biblical books. What it does deny is the presence of error in the Bible. It supposes that the Holy Spirit so informed the minds of the Biblical writers that they were kept from falling into the errors that mar all other books. The Bible might contain an account of a genuine revelation of God, and yet not contain a true account. But according to the doctrine of inspiration, the account is as a matter of fact a true account; the Bible is an “infallible rule of faith and practice.”
Certainly that is a stupendous claim, and it is no wonder that it has been attacked. But the trouble is that the attack is not always fair. If the liberal preacher objected to the doctrine of plenary inspiration on the ground that as a matter of fact there are errors in the Bible, he might be right and he might be wrong, but at any rate the discussion would be conducted on the proper ground. But too often the preacher desires to avoid the delicate question of errors in the Bible—a question which might give offence to the rank and file—and prefers to speak merely against “mechanical” theories of inspiration, the theory of “dictation,” the “superstitious use of the Bible as a talisman,” or the like. It all sounds to the plain man as though it were very harmless. Does not the liberal preacher say that the Bible is “divine”—indeed that it is the more divine because it is the more human? What could be more edifying than that? But of course such appearances are deceptive. A Bible that is full of error is certainly divine in the modern pantheizing sense of “divine,” according to which God is just another name for the course of the world with all its imperfections and all its sin. But the God whom the Christian worships is a God of truth.
It must be admitted that there are many Christians who do not accept the doctrine of plenary inspiration. That doctrine is denied not only by liberal opponents of Christianity, but also by many true Christian men. There are many Christian men in the modern Church who find in the origin of Christianity no mere product of evolution but a real entrance of the creative power of God, who depend for their salvation, not at all upon their own efforts to lead the Christ life, but upon the atoning blood of Christ—there are many men in the modern Church who thus accept the central message of the Bible and yet believe that the message has come to us merely on the authority of trustworthy witnesses unaided in their literary work by any supernatural guidance of the Spirit of God. There are many who believe that the Bible is right at the central point, in its account of the redeeming work of Christ, and yet believe that it contains many errors. Such men are not really liberals, but Christians; because they have accepted as true the message upon which Christianity depends. A great gulf separates them from those who reject the supernatural act of God with which Christianity stands or falls.
It is another question, however, whether the mediating view of the Bible which is thus maintained is logically tenable, the trouble being that our Lord Himself seems to have held the high view of the Bible which is here being rejected. Certainly it is another question—and a question which the present writer would answer with an emphatic negative—whether the panic about the Bible,5 which gives rise to such concessions, is at all justified by the facts. If the Christian make full use of his Christian privileges, he finds the seat of authority in the whole Bible, which he regards as no mere word of man but as the very Word of God.
Very different is the view of modern liberalism. The modern liberal rejects not only the doctrine of plenary inspiration, but even such respect for the Bible as would be proper over against any ordinarily trustworthy book. But what is substituted for the Christian view of the Bible? What is the liberal view as to the seat of authority in religion?
The impression is sometimes produced that the modern liberal substitutes for the authority of the Bible the authority of Christ. He cannot accept, he says, what he regards as the perverse moral teaching of the Old Testament or the sophistical arguments of Paul. But he regards himself as being the true Christian because, rejecting the rest of the Bible, he depends upon Jesus alone.
This impression, however, is utterly false. The modern liberal does not really hold to the authority of Jesus. Even if he did so, indeed, he would still be impoverishing greatly his knowledge of God and of the way of salvation. The words of Jesus, spoken during His earthly ministry, could hardly contain all that we need to know about God and about the way of salvation; for the meaning of Jesus’ redeeming work could hardly be fully set forth before that work was done. It could be set forth indeed by way of prophecy, and as a matter of fact it was so set forth by Jesus even in the days of His flesh. But the full explanation could naturally be given only after the work was done. And such was actually the divine method. It is doing despite,6 not only to the Spirit of God, but also to Jesus Himself, to regard the teaching of the Holy Spirit, given through the apostles, as at all inferior in authority to the teaching of Jesus.
As a matter of fact, however, the modern liberal does not hold fast even to the authority of Jesus. Certainly he does not accept the words of Jesus as they are recorded in the Gospels. For among the recorded words of Jesus are to be found just those things which are most abhorrent to the modern liberal Church, and in His recorded words Jesus also points forward to the fuller revelation which was afterwards to be given through His apostles. Evidently, therefore, those words of Jesus which are to be regarded as authoritative by modern liberalism must first be selected from the mass of the recorded words by a critical process. The critical process is certainly very difficult, and the suspicion often arises that the critic is retaining as genuine words of the historical Jesus only those words which conform to his own preconceived ideas. But even after the sifting process has been completed, the liberal scholar is still unable to accept as authoritative all the sayings of Jesus; he must finally admit that even the “historical” Jesus as reconstructed by modern historians said some things that are untrue.
So much is usually admitted. But, it is maintained, although not everything that Jesus said is true, His central “life-purpose” is still to be regarded as regulative for the Church. But what then was the life-purpose of Jesus? According to the shortest, and if modern criticism be accepted the earliest of the Gospels, the Son of Man “came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Here the vicarious death is put as the “life-purpose” of Jesus. Such an utterance must of course be pushed aside by the modern liberal Church. The truth is that the life-purpose of Jesus discovered by modern liberalism is not the life purpose of the real Jesus, but merely represents those elements in the teaching of Jesus—isolated and misinterpreted—which happen to agree with the modern program. It is not Jesus, then, who is the real authority, but the modern principle by which the selection within Jesus’ recorded teaching has been made. Certain isolated ethical principles of the Sermon on the Mount are accepted, not at all because they are teachings of Jesus, but because they agree with modern ideas.
It is not true at all, then, that modern liberalism is based upon the authority of Jesus. It is obliged to reject a vast deal that is absolutely essential in Jesus’ example and teaching—notably His consciousness of being the heavenly Messiah. The real authority, for liberalism, can only be “the Christian consciousness” or “Christian experience.” But how shall the findings of the Christian consciousness be established? Surely not by a majority vote of the organized Church. Such a method would obviously do away with all liberty of conscience. The only authority, then, can be individual experience; truth can only be that which “helps” the individual man. Such an authority is obviously no authority at all; for individual experience is endlessly diverse, and when once truth is regarded only as that which works at any particular time, it ceases to be truth. The result is an abysmal skepticism.
The Christian man, on the other hand, finds in the Bible the very Word of God. Let it not be said that dependence upon a book is a dead or an artificial thing. The Reformation of the sixteenth century was founded upon the authority of the Bible, yet it set the world aflame. Dependence upon a word of man would be slavish, but dependence upon God’s word is life. Dark and gloomy would be the world, if we were left to our own devices and had no blessed Word of God. The Bible, to the Christian is not a burdensome law, but the very Magna Charta of Christian liberty.
It is no wonder, then, that liberalism is totally different from Christianity, for the foundation is different. Christianity is founded upon the Bible. It bases upon the Bible both its thinking and its life. Liberalism on the other hand is founded upon the shifting emotions of sinful men.
FOOTNOTES 1. Psalm 9:1 2. Romans 3:23 3. This is probably a reference to Machen’s predecessor at Princeton, A. A. Hodge (1823–1886). Chapter three of Hodge’s Outlines of Theology (1860) is “The Rule of Faith and Practice,” which argues that “the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, having been given by inspiration of god, are the all-sufficient and only rule of faith and practice, and judge of controversies.” Hodge spends much of the chapter criticizing the “Romish” or Roman Catholic approach to the Bible. 4. Machen defines this term in the next paragraph. 5. Machen referred here to what some saw as attacks on the authority of the Bible because of the claims of modern science and the results of the “higher criticism” that subjected the Bible to philological and historical analysis. 6. giving insult or treating contemptuously PRIOR The Bible
Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. Luke 9:24
Lose your life to find life. This is one of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith. But when we understand that the life that this world offers is so incomplete and ultimately leads to death, we start to make sense of Jesus’ words. When we surrender to the life that Jesus calls us to, we become fully alive, people of hope, free to pursue the pursuits of God’s kingdom, instead of the temporal pursuits that the world offers.
Lord, You are the God of all truth. There is no deceit in You. Help me to abide in Your truth, and to speak only what is true, good, and right. Give me the words to speak so that I may build others up by Your truth, and give me the wisdom to know when to raise a defense, when to speak a word of correction, and when to remain silent. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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Teaching American History
EXPAND TIMELINE The Bible by J. Gersham Machen 1923
RECENT ARTICLE The Importance of the 15th Amendment BYMALIK ALI UPCOMING SEMINAR Religion Religion in Politics since 1945 ONE-DAY April 27, 2024 Ashland, OH Free
STUDY QUESTIONS No study questions
Modern liberalism, it has been observed so far, has lost sight of the two great presuppositions of the Christian message—the living God, and the fact of sin. The liberal doctrine of God and the liberal doctrine of man are both diametrically opposite to the Christian view. But the divergence concerns not only the presuppositions of the message, but also the message itself.
The Christian message has come to us through the Bible. What shall we think about this Book in which the message is contained?
According to the Christian view, the Bible contains an account of a revelation from God to man, which is found nowhere else. It is true, the Bible also contains a confirmation and a wonderful enrichment of the revelations which are given also by the things that God has made and by the conscience of man. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork”—these words are a confirmation of the revelation of God in nature; “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”—these words are a confirmation of what is attested by the conscience. But in addition to such reaffirmations of what might conceivably be learned elsewhere—as a matter of fact, because of men’s blindness, even so much is learned elsewhere only in comparatively obscure fashion—the Bible also contains an account of a revelation which is absolutely new. That new revelation concerns the way by which sinful man can come into communion with the living God.
The way was opened, according to the Bible, by an act of God, when, almost nineteen hundred years ago, outside the walls of Jerusalem, the eternal Son was offered as a sacrifice for the sins of men. To that one great event the whole Old Testament looks forward, and in that one event the whole of the New Testament finds its center and core. Salvation then, according to the Bible, is not something that was discovered, but something that happened. Hence appears the uniqueness of the Bible. All the ideas of Christianity might be discovered in some other religion, yet there would be in that other religion no Christianity. For Christianity depends, not upon a complex of ideas, but upon the narration of an event. Without that event, the world, in the Christian view, is altogether dark, and humanity is lost under the guilt of sin. There can be no salvation by the discovery of eternal truth, for eternal truth brings naught but despair, because of sin. But a new face has been put upon life by the blessed thing that God did when He offered up His only begotten Son.
An objection is sometimes offered against this view of the contents of the Bible. 1 Must we, it is said, depend upon what happened so long ago? Does salvation wait upon the examination of musty records? Is the trained student of Palestinian history the modern priest without whose gracious intervention no one can see God? Can we not find, instead, a salvation that is independent of history, a salvation that depends only on what is with us here and now?
The objection is not devoid of weight. But it ignores one of the primary evidences for the truth of the gospel record. That evidence is found in Christian experience. Salvation does depend upon what happened long ago, but the event of long ago has effects that continue until today. We are told in the New Testament that Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of those who should believe on Him. That is a record of a past event. But we can make trial of it today, and making trial of it we find it to be true. We are told in the New Testament that on a certain morning long ago Jesus rose from the dead. That again is a record of a past event. But again we can make trial of it, and making trial of it we discover that Jesus is truly a living Savior today.
But at this point a fatal error lies in wait. It is one of the root errors of modern liberalism. Christian experience, we have just said, is useful as confirming the gospel message. But because it is necessary, many men have jumped to the conclusion that it is all that is necessary. Having a present experience of Christ in the heart, may we not, it is said, hold that experience no matter what history may tell us as to the events of the first Easter morning? May we not make ourselves altogether independent of the results of Biblical criticism? No matter what sort of man history may tell us Jesus of Nazareth actually was, no matter what history may say about the real meaning of His death or about the story of His alleged resurrection, may we not continue to experience the presence of Christ in our souls?
The trouble is that the experience thus maintained is not Christian experience. Religious experience it may be, but Christian experience it certainly is not. For Christian experience depends absolutely upon an event. The Christian says to himself: “I have meditated upon the problem of becoming right with God, I have tried to produce a righteousness that will stand in His sight; but when I heard the gospel message I learned that what I had weakly striven to accomplish had been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ when He died for me on the Cross and completed His redeeming work by the glorious resurrection. If the thing has not yet been done, if I merely have an idea of its accomplishment, then I am of all men most miserable, for I am still in my sins. My Christian life, then, depends altogether upon the truth of the New Testament record.”
Christian experience is rightly used when it confirms the documentary evidence. But it can never possibly provide a substitute for the documentary evidence. We know that the gospel story is true partly because of the early date of the documents in which it appears, the evidence as to their authorship, the internal evidence of their truth, the impossibility of explaining them as being based upon deception or upon myth. This evidence is gloriously confirmed by present experience, which adds to the documentary evidence that wonderful directness and immediacy of conviction which delivers us from fear. Christian experience is rightly used when it helps to convince us that the events narrated in the New Testament actually did occur; but it can never enable us to be Christians whether the events occurred or not. It is a fair flower, and should be prized as a gift of God. But cut it from its root in the blessed Book, and it soon withers away and dies.
Thus the revelation of which an account is contained in the Bible embraces not only a reaffirmation of eternal truths—itself necessary because the truths have been obscured by the blinding effect of sin—but also a revelation which sets forth the meaning of an act of God.
The contents of the Bible, then, are unique. But another fact about the Bible is also important. The Bible might contain an account of a true revelation from God, and yet the account be full of error. Before the full authority of the Bible can be established, therefore, it is necessary to add to the Christian doctrine of revelation the Christian doctrine of inspiration. The latter doctrine means that the Bible not only is an account of important things, but that the account itself is true, the writers having been so preserved from error, despite a full maintenance of their habits of thought and expression, that the resulting Book is the “infallible rule of faith and practice.”
This doctrine of “plenary inspiration” has been made the subject of persistent misrepresentation. Its opponents speak of it as though it involved a mechanical] theory of the activity of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, it is said, is represented in this doctrine as dictating the Bible to writers who were really little more than stenographers. But of course all such caricatures are without basis in fact, and it is rather surprising that intelligent men should be so blinded by prejudice about this matter as not even to examine for themselves the perfectly accessible treatises in which the doctrine of plenary inspiration is set forth. It is usually considered goodpractice to examine a thing for one’s self before echoing the vulgar ridicule of it. But in connection with the Bible, such scholarly restraints are somehow regarded as out of place. It is so much easier to content one’s self with a few opprobrious adjectives such as “mechanical,” or the like. Why engage c: in serious criticism when the people prefer ridicule? Why attack a real opponent when it is easier to knock down a man of straw?
1. It is not denied that there are some persons in the modern Church who do neglect the context of Bible quotations and who do ignore the human characteristics of the Biblical writers. But in an entirely Unwarrantable manner this defective way of using the Bible is attributed, by insinuation at least, to the great body of those who Ye held to the inspiration of Scripture.
As a matter of fact, the doctrine of plenary inspiration does not deny the individuality of the Biblical writers; it does not ignore their use of ordinary means for acquiring information; it does not involve any lack of interest in the historical situations which gave rise to the Biblical books. What it does deny is the presence of error in the Bible. It supposes that the Holy Spirit so informed the minds of the Biblical writers that they were kept from falling into the error” that mar all other books. The Bible might contain an account of a genuine revelation of God, and yet not contain a true account. But according to the doctrine of inspiration, the account is as a matter of fact a true account; the Bible is an “infallible rule of faith and practice.”
Certainly that is a stupendous claim, and it is no wonder that it has been attacked. But the trouble is that the attack is not always fair. If the liberal preacher objected to the doctrine of plenary inspiration on the ground that as a matter of fact there are errors in the Bible, he might be right and he might be wrong, but at any rate the discussion would be conducted on the proper ground. But too often the preacher desires to avoid the delicate question of errors in the Bible—a question which might give offence to the rank and file—and prefers to speak merely against “mechanical” theories of inspiration, the theory of “dictation,” the “superstitious use of the Bible as a talisman,” or the like. It all sounds to the plain man as though it were very harmless. Does not the liberal preacher say that the Bible is “divine”—indeed that it is the more divine because it is the more human ? What could be more edifying than that? But of course such appearances are deceptive. A Bible that is full of error is certainly divine in the modern pantheizing sense of “divine,” according to which God is just another name for the course of the world with all its imperfections and all its sin. But the God whom the Christian worships is a God of truth.
It must be admitted that there are many Christians who do not accept the doctrine of plenary inspiration. That doctrine is denied not only by liberal opponents of Christianity, but also by many true Christian men. There are many Christian men in the modern Church who find in the origin of Christianity no mere product of evolution but a real entrance of the creative power of God, who depend for their salvation, not at all upon their own efforts to lead the Christ life, but upon the atoning blood of Christ—there are many men in the modern Church who thus accept the central message of the Bible and yet believe that the message has come to us merely on the authority of trustworthy witnesses unaided in their literary work by any supernatural guidance of the Spirit of God. There are many who believe that the Bible is right at the central point, in its account of the redeeming work of Christ, and yet believe that it contains many errors. Such men are not really liberals, but Christians; because they have accepted as true the message upon which Christianity depends. A great gulf separates them from those who reject the supernatural act of God with which Christianity stands or falls.
It is another question, however, whether the mediating view of the Bible which is thus maintained is logically tenable, the trouble being that our Lord Himself seems to have held the high view of the Bible which is here being rejected. Certainly it is another question—and a question which the present writer would answer with an emphatic negative—whether the panic about the Bible, which gives rise to such concessions, is at all justified by the facts. If the Christian make full use of his Christian privileges, he finds the seat of authority in the whole Bible, which he regards as no mere word of man but as the very Word of God.
Very different is the view of modern liberalism. The modern liberal rejects not only the doctrine of plenary inspiration, but even such respect for the Bible as would be proper over against any ordinarily trustworthy book. But what is substituted for the Christian view of the Bible ? What is the liberal view as to the seat of authority in religion?2
The impression is sometimes produced that the modern liberal substitutes for the authority of the Bible the authority of Christ. He cannot accept, he says, what he regards as the perverse moral teaching of the Old Testament or the sophistical arguments of Paul. But he regards himself as being the true Christian because, rejecting the rest of the Bible, he depends upon Jesus alone.
This impression, however, is utterly false. The modern liberal does not really hold to the authority of Jesus. Even if he did so, indeed, he would still be impoverishing greatly his knowledge of God and of the way of salvation. The words of Jesus, spoken during His earthly ministry, could hardly contain all that we need to know about God and about the way of salvation; for the meaning of Jesus’ redeeming work could hardly be fully set forth before that work was done. It could be set forth indeed by way of prophecy, and as a matter of fact it was so set forth by Jesus even in the days of His flesh. But the full explanation could naturally be given only after the work was done. And such was actually the divine method. It is doing despite, not only to the Spirit of God, but also to Jesus Himself, to regard the teaching of the Holy Spirit, given through the apostles, as at all inferior in authority to the teaching of Jesus.
As a matter of fact, however, the modern liberal does not hold fast even to the authority of Jesus. Certainly he does not accept the words of Jesus as they are recorded in the Gospels. For among the recorded words of Jesus are to be found just those things which are most abhorrent to the modern liberal Church, and in His recorded words Jesus also points forward to the fuller revelation which was afterwards to be given through His apostles. Evidently, therefore, those words of Jesus which are to be regarded as authoritative by modern liberalism must first be selected from the mass of the recorded words by a critical process. The critical process is certainly very difficult, and the suspicion often arises that the critic is retaining as genuine words of the historical Jesus only those words which conform to his own preconceived ideas. But even after the sifting process has been completed, the liberal scholar is still unable to accept as authoritative all the sayings of Jesus; he must finally admit that even the “historical” Jesus as reconstructed by modern historians said some things that are untrue.
So much is usually admitted. But, it is maintained, although not everything that Jesus said is true, His central “life—purpose” is still to be regarded as regulative for the Church. But what then was the life—purpose of Jesus? According to the shortest, and if modern criticism be accepted’ the earliest of the Gospels, the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark x. 45). Here the vicarious death is put as the “life—purpose” of Jesus. Such an utterance must of course be pushed aside by the modern liberal Church. The truth is that the life—purpose of Jesus discovered by modern liberalism is not the life purpose of the real Jesus, but merely represents those elements in the teaching of Jesus—isolated and misinterpreted—which happen to agree with the modern program. It is not Jesus, then, who is the real authority, but the modern principle by which the selection within Jesus’ recorded teaching has been made. Certain isolated ethical principles of the Sermon on the Mount are accepted, not at all because they are teachings of Jesus, but because they agree with modern ideas.
It is not true at all, then, that modern liberalism is based upon the authority of Jesus. It is obliged to reject a vast deal that is absolutely essential in Jesus’ example and teaching—notably His consciousness of being the heavenly Messiah. The real authority, for liberalism, can only be “the Christian consciousness” or “Christian experience.” But how shall the findings of the Christian consciousness be established? Surely not by a majority vote of the organized Church. Such a method would obviously do away with all liberty of conscience. The only authority, then, can be individual experience; truth can only be that which “helps” the individual man. Such an authority is obviously no authority at all; for individual experience is endlessly diverse, and when once truth is regarded only as that which works at any particular time, it ceases to be truth. The result is an abysmal skepticism.
The Christian man, on the other hand, finds in the Bible the very Word of God. Let it not be said that dependence upon a book is a dead or an artificial thing. The Reformation of the sixteenth century was founded upon the authority of the Bible, yet it set the world aflame. Dependence upon a word of man would be slavish, but dependence upon God’s word is life. Dark and gloomy would be the world, if we were left to our own devices and had no blessed Word of God. The Bible, to the Christian is not a burdensome law, but the very Magna Charta of Christian liberty.
It is no wonder, then, that liberalism is totally different from Christianity, for the foundation is different. Christianity is founded upon the Bible. It bases upon the Bible both its thinking and its life. Liberalism on the other hand is founded upon the shifting emotions of sinful men.
1. For what follows compare History and Faith, 1915, pp.13—15. Return to text
2. For what follows, compare “For Christ or Against Him,” in the Presbyterian, for January 20, 1921, p.9. Return to text
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Describe a positive thing a family member has done for you.
If you’ve ever visited an art museum, you know that some pieces are so expertly made that they make you stop and think. They invite you to consider the artist’s mind, passion, and purpose as you take in the intricacies of the finished work. God’s creation, from vast galaxies to delicate flowers, instills the same wonder in all who seek to know Him.
God, You are magnificent and awesome. As I look at the beauty of creation around me, I am overwhelmed by the power of Your hands and the creativity of Your mind. You’ve built beauty and grandeur into everything that You have made, and seeing Your work makes me want to know You even more. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Marriage is meant to be one of the earthly representations of love. When a man and woman decide to come together as one, as one unit, one flesh, one family, and they decide to take on the world together. The best marriages are the marriages that are rooted in the love of God. Couples who choose to make Christ the center of their relationship make the journey slightly easier for themselves. Marriage is an illustration of God’s relationship with the church – we are the church.
Patience and forgiveness are major parts of marriage. Without them, no marriage is able to survive. You need to understand that there will be times where your spouse will disappoint you and you will disappoint your spouse. You will discover things about each other that will require a lot of adjusting. There are times where you will share opposing points-of-view. Instead of burning the house down with words of anger, you will have to work out your issues in love. Love is more than a feeling. It is more than the butterflies or sweet sensations you experience in your stomach. Love is a choice. Every day, you make the decision to love you partner and work with them as a team.
Love means that you are well aware of your partner’s flaws and shortcomings but you choose to see the better parts of them. Marriage is a joint effort at becoming better people. You challenge each other. You cheer each other one. When one of you is down, the other one pulls them up and vice-versa. Marriage is not 50/50. It is not about splitting the effort in half. Marriage is 100/100 – you both have to be all in all the time.
Prayers: We can’t walk out of our marriage because You said what You put together may no man take apart! I thank You for being here with us both and every marriage You have put together in Jesus name Amen
The Christian life is not a trouble-free life. Jesus told us to expect trouble, and Paul certainly experienced it himself. Yet, God gives us the strength to withstand being pressed from every side without breaking. He gives us the wisdom and hope to see past difficulty and confusion so that we do not fall into despair. God doesn’t often remove our trouble, but He always gives us what we need when trouble comes.
God, please be with me in this time of difficulty. At every turn, others are opposing me. It feels like the whole world is against me. Give me the endurance to wait out this season of hardship, and guard my hope so that I don’t forget that You have already secured my victory. And be my strength, that I may withstand whatever challenges and insults come my way. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Famous People You May Not Know- Chief Massasoit Massasoit was born in a Pokanoket village at the site of today’s Rhode Island. His village was near a spring of water which is named after him. He was liked by seven leaders. In March 1621, a Native American named Samoset entered Plymouth Colony and said to the Pilgrims in English, “Welcome Englishmen”. He had learned some words from the English fishermen and traders that had visited his tribe. He said he was sent by Massasoit, “the greatest leader of the country.” After a few days, Massasoit came in person and was received with great friendship. Massasoit’s people had been seriously weakened by a series of epidemics and were vulnerable to attacks by the Narragansetts, and he formed an alliance with the colonists at Plymouth Colony for defense against them. It was through his assistance that the Plymouth Colony avoided starvation during the early years. When the Pilgrims decided to celebrate a bountiful harvest of Thanksgiving, Massasoit was invited and brought 90 warriors as guests. For the Thanksgiving feast, they pounded the dried ears of corn into a dish they called nasaump, and prepared a stewed pumpkin porridge called pompion.
Bible! Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. James 3:6
Can we praise God with our mouths, and curse men with the same mouths? To do so is to speak contradiction. Man is made in God’s image, and we are called to speak blessings over others. It is in the outpouring of God’s love and grace that the image of man is perfected in God’s likeness. So let us mind our words, so that we may always speak goodness and grace.
Lord, thank You for making me in Your image. Help me to always remember the truth that every person I meet is also made in Your image. Even though we all come before You stained and marred, teach me to refrain from words of condemnation. Instead, fill my mouth with words of grace so that the transforming power of Your love may work through me and bring blessing to others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
5 Things to Know about Biblical Prophecy, Days of Darkness, and the
Solar Eclipse Whitney Hopler Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer Updated Apr 05, 2024 5 Things to Know about Biblical Prophecy, Days of Darkness, and the Solar Eclipse The connections between astronomical events and biblical prophecy have sparked curiosity and wonder since ancient times around the world. On April 8, 2024, a solar eclipse will take place across North America. Many people are wondering about its potential spiritual significance. Do Bible prophecies or stories, such as the three days of darkness, relate to solar eclipses at all? What biblical meaning can we discover from solar eclipses? Here are five key things to know about biblical prophecy and the solar eclipse of April 8.
Solar Eclipses and Biblical Symbolism Are Complex While solar eclipses are natural astronomical events that occur regularly on our planet, they are also spiritual reminders of our Creator’s power over creation. The alignment of the sun, moon, and earth during an eclipse reflects the intricate order of the cosmos that God has designed. As we ponder that, we can experience a powerful sense of awe. Solar eclipses can inspire us to move closer to God as we marvel at the glorious sight we see in the sky.
While the Bible doesn’t provide clear prophecies about solar eclipses, celestial bodies like the sun and moon can represent spiritual concepts in the Bible. The sun, with its life-giving light and warmth, has been a symbol of God’s loving power since ancient times. When eclipsed by the moon, this symbolism takes on added layers of meaning, representing the contrast between spiritual light and darkness. Solar eclipses can also evoke themes of divine judgment and renewal. In the Old Testament, celestial disturbances – including the darkening of the sun – are associated with the coming of the day of the Lord. These cosmic signs serve as warnings of impending judgment and the need for repentance and spiritual readiness.
However, it’s important to approach the symbolic interpretation of solar eclipses with caution and humility. While eclipses are significant events that direct our attention to our Creator, eclipses don’t necessarily connect to specific prophecies in the Bible. Attempts to attribute specific meanings or predictions to eclipses can lead to dangerous misinterpretation and speculation. We need to be careful not to make assumptions about what an eclipse means biblically. The Bible’s symbolism is rich and complex, defying simplistic explanations or narrow categorizations. So, instead of fixating on certain interpretations, it’s best to simply allow an eclipse to inspire us with wonder at God’s work. Eclipses are wondrous examples of the reality that Psalm 19:1 points out: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Experiencing a solar eclipse has great spiritual meaning simply by serving as an occasion to feel awe and thank God for his work in our lives.
The Bible Includes Various Passages on the Sun Darkening The darkening of the sun is a recurring theme in biblical prophecy. A darkened sun may symbolize cosmic upheaval or divine intervention. Several passages speak to this phenomenon, including Isaiah 13:10, which foretells the day of the Lord – the culmination of God’s redemptive plan – when: “The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.” This verse is within a prophecy concerning God’s judgment of Babylon. It represents the upcoming intervention of divine justice.
Similarly, the prophet Joel speaks of the sun being turned to darkness in connection with the day of the Lord. Joel 2:31 proclaims: “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Here, the Bible presents the darkening of the sun as a sign before a climactic moment in history, pointing to the arrival of God’s ultimate judgment and redemption.
The New Testament also references the darkening of the sun in the context of Jesus’ crucifixion. Reports from the Gospel books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all describe how darkness covers the land for three hours – from 12 noon to 3 p.m. – during the crucifixion ordeal (Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, and Luke 23:44). This darkness shows the profound significance of Jesus’ sacrificial death to creation. It marks the climax of Jesus’ earthly ministry and redemptive work as the world’s Savior, paving the way for a new era in human history. The darkened sun also foreshadows the triumph of light over darkness through Jesus’ resurrection.
Other passages in the New Testament that describe the sun darkening relate to Jesus’ second coming. Jesus uses the imagery of a darkened sun metaphorically in Matthew 24:29 and Mark 13:24 to describe God’s judgment of sin and says that the sun will be darkened in the time preceding his second coming to Earth. In Luke 21:25, Jesus also mentions “signs in the sun” as well as in the moon, stars, and other parts of creation that will happen before his second coming.
These Bible passages invite us to ponder the mystery and majesty of God’s unfolding plan for humanity. Through astronomical phenomena like solar eclipses, we can develop awe and reverence for God that strengthens our faith and motivate us to trust him more.
From the ancient world to the present day, how many philosophers have come and gone? How many ideas became little more than passing trends or failed experiments? Only the wisdom that comes from God is durable and eternal. And His wisdom always proves itself superior to even the best human thinking.
Lord, as I take in the voices and ideas around me, I am swept up in a whirlwind of information. Help me to hear Your voice over the clamor. Give me the wisdom to recognize hollow and vain philosophies that are not of You. Instead, teach me to rely on Your truth, even if the world around me sways in another direction. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Fear and doubt are two of the major things that will interfere with our relationship with God if we give them the room to do so. In this scenario, in Matthew 14:22-33, Jesus had just show the disciples that he was able to walk on water. This should have shown them that he was capable of doing pretty much anything. Walk on water? Take a second to really think about what that means. Sometimes, our minds tend to normalize these miraculous feats. Think of the lake. Picture the disciples in the boat when suddenly, they spotted their leader walking on water as if he were walking on the ground. That sight is enough to send your heart right into your throat.
One can understand why they were scared. The disciples had never seen such a sight before. I’m pretty sure if you were to see someone walk on water, you’d be pretty freaked out too.
Peter boldly spoke out and asked Jesus to call him out onto the waters. Jesus did and Peter got out of the boat. For a while, he walked on water too. He was walking on water the same way Jesus was walking on water! His eyes where focused on Jesus in the midst of this supernatural feat.
Things started to go wrong when he lost sight of Jesus and started to focus on the wind. Fear filled his heart and his faith left. When fear interferes with faith, it makes it hard for us to take a leap and follow the will of God. We end up focusing on the wrong things. Fear makes way for doubt. Once doubt makes a home in our hearts, it becomes very hard for us to chase it out.
It takes wisdom to understand the importance of keeping peace with everyone in your life. Only a fool will take delight in starting quarrels and stirring up dissension among people. There is nothing to benefit from strife; all it brings is pain, discomfort, and sorrow. Why would one want to live like that? When you have godly wisdom, you will know when to confront and when to draw back. Godly wisdom will also help you confront a person in a respectful, yet firm, manner. You do not need to insult a person in order to get your point across – that is foolishness. We often find it necessary to insult people we think are below us – call center assistants, customer service, waiters, employees, etc. Every heart matters and the words you speak will either break or build a heart. Wisdom will guide you in speaking effectively without causing strife with another person.
Dear God, it can become hard to think clearly when I am caught in tense situations. Father, I pray that if I am ever caught in a tough situation, may I think clearly, guided by your wisdom, and not by my emotions or my feelings. May I always have it in my heart to want to be at peace with everyone; and may you help me live this out. I cannot do it on my own power. I know that maintaining peace with my neighbors is attainable, through you, O Lord. May you guide me accordingly, with your wisdom at the front of my mind. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
What job would you do for free? Helping Someone no matter what, because it’s your soul you take to heaven not material things.
But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” (Acts 5:29-32)
Man dislikes being told that he must repent of his sins. What is Biblical repentance? Why is there no salvation without it?
What Olympic sports do you enjoy watching the most?
God gives us endurance because He is patient with us. God grants us encouragement through His kindness and conciliation. And just as He bears patiently with us through our growth, our shortcomings, and our doubts, He invites us to show that same patient conciliation to others. When we do, growth and love abound, not only in others but in us as well.
Lord, thank You for Your patience in dealing with me. You have forgiven me over and over again. And You continue to guide me through my doubts, my confusion, and my excuses. By Your Spirit, grant me the patience and compassion to endure with my brothers and sisters so that through me they might also experience the fullness of Your kindness. In Jesus’ name, amen.
It is by grace you have been saved.
A timely reminder that we should always be conscious of. My heart falls whenever I come across Christians who are caught up in their own pride, believing that their righteousness within their personal capacity is the reason why they have received salvation. One of the biggest mistakes you could ever make, as a Christian, is to think that you are able to justify yourselves according to your own works. There is a reason why Jesus had to come to earth. No matter how many times man had tried to fulfill the standards of the Law, they could not do it. They could not be righteous on their own. Every time they tried to, sin would interfere and their actions would be rendered ineffective.
God didn’t wait for us to show signs of perfection before He sent his son, Jesus Christ to the earth. No. When man was drowning in their sin, as far away from God as possible, Christ came to the earth. When human beings were nothing but dead souls walking, Jesus Christ came to the earth. He was not moved by what He saw. The state of man did not make him shout in hopeless angst.
Jesus knew what He was coming to face. He knew that He would encounter ignorance. He knew that He would encounter people who would not understand anything He was saying. He knew that He was going to be beaten, mocked, and scorned. He knew that He was going to be crucified on the cross.
Jesus knew all of this but it did not stop Him from fulfilling God’s will. Even in Gethsemane, where He wept as He thought of what He was about to face, Jesus rose up and chose to continue with the mission.
He knew that the fate of mankind was dependent on His sacrifice and He counted us worth the pain. God saw us as worth sacrificing His Son, for our sake. We did nothing to merit it. We did nothing to deserve it. We deserved the damnation that was headed our way, but God didn’t focus on that.
He focused on saving us so that we could be reconciled to Him. We, as His children, and He as our Father.
Every race has a finish line. And in the race that we call life, we all reach the finish line at our appointed time. How will you cross? Will you cross with confidence, knowing that Jesus has secured your victory? Will you cross with humility, knowing that faith has brought you to the finish? What should we be doing now to prepare ourselves for our final victory?
Father God, You have won victory for me over sin and death. As I run the race of life, I look to the finish line and I see Your glory beyond. Empower me to live each day in that victory, to run with the confidence of knowing that I will reach the finish. Help me to keep my eyes focused on You, so that all who witness my life may see You guiding me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Sometimes growing in faith hurts. When we face difficulties and have to lean heavily on God, it feels like walking through fire. Yet God uses these fiery trials the way a refiner uses fire, to burn away the impurities. Through trials, God rids us of pride, greed, lust, and more. And when we emerge, we are purer and able to shine brighter for Him.
Father God, the trials of life weigh heavily on me. It hurts to endure the suffering, the persecution, and the waiting. Yet I know that You are with me, and I ask that You use this time to purify my heart. Burn away everything that is not of You, so that all that remains is what You would have me be. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
A new series for people who don’t want plastic in their water or bugs on their plate. From Nellie Bowles for The Free Press. (Photo illustration by T
Why is this necessary?
A few reasons.
First, because the mainstream press is losing credibility when it comes to health and science news. The legacy reporters tend to run their health coverage through government communications departments and have a mindset that puts your actual health last on the priority list, far below a thousand other very interesting niche environmental and social concerns, which leads to things like a Time magazine feature on “The White Supremacist Origins of Exercise.”
Second, there is a thriving, incredible world of smart new health and science writing and podcasting. But it’s hard to figure out who or what to trust when you’re beyond the gatekeepers. In this Wild West, you’ll find a lot of truth. Let’s be real though: you’ll also have to bushwhack through folks telling you the flu shot makes you glow in the dark. When I call up Peter Attia for advice on this newsletter, he reminds me: “The mainstream media has problems, but the freewheeling podcast landscape does too.”
Finally—and probably the biggest reason to start something sense-making in this space—is that the new world is very hard to navigate. People doing the most cutting-edge research are not always the greatest writers. Meanwhile, those who communicate clearly are often in little hideaways—obscure blogs and feeds.
We want to separate the signal from the noise to bring you the information that you need to know when it comes to your survival: insights from doctors and experts who have earned our trust, plus, of course, some takedowns of the best of the worst in mainstream health coverage. Our aim is to bring you healthy skepticism (not paranoia), exciting new developments (not snake oil), and honesty (not cynicism).
Your guide for now is me, Nellie Bowles, who you may know as the deranged narrator of TGIF.
I believe I am infallible, of course, but my colleagues here insist otherwise. And given that health and science are subjects of such importance, I’m not flying solo. We’re going to do our own version of peer review by bringing in a roster of health experts to weigh in on topics of the day.
Now, a note on politics. We’re here to learn about health. A lot of the most interesting thinkers on this are wacky. If I recommend an article about the benefits of goat meat, and the goat farmer also happens to believe that Jesus is going to come back as a turtle next Tuesday, that’s what I call: not my problem. Obviously, this is all within limits, and there’s a good-faith gray zone—I’m not getting Stalin’s sauna tips. But I’m not stressing out if my kombucha lady burned a cop car in Seattle or was at January 6 and honestly, knowing kombucha ladies, either one is entirely possible. Both, even.
Our view is that you don’t need your health news sugarcoated; you can look elsewhere for spiritual and political guidance. Because the truth is, health is not fair. It’s not equitable. And as anyone who has known a young person diagnosed with cancer knows, it’s certainly not just.
So who is this for? This is for people who’d rather not have hormones in their milk, plastic in their water, or bugs on their plate. This is for old-school environmentalists and new-school health nuts. It’s for people who know that worrying about seed oils and lifting weights isn’t “right-wing” and wanting clean air and water isn’t “left-wing.” This is for people who don’t want every health and science story prechewed by ideology before it gets to them.
One note on timing: FP Health will be piloted at random intervals for a few months. Send feedback to health@thefp.com. By the fall, we’ll be in a regular rhythm. Now, for a look at the health news from the last few weeks:
→ Microplastics tied to colon cancer and diseased arteries: There’s a new study out of Austrian universities that shows microplastics seem to accelerate colon cancer cell growth. And a study out of Chinese research hospitals finds these plastics in our arteries. If you’ve found your way to this newsletter, you probably have some idea that microplastics are bad for us, and we should generally avoid them. But we’re all figuring out the extent of it, day by day. How panicked should we actually be? (I write this as hot Thai curry sits in a melting plastic to-go container for me to eat tonight.) How much should we inconvenience ourselves? Which sources are the worst culprits? I imagine that plastic—its impact on us, what the hell to do about it—will be a theme of this newsletter. Because I read studies like that but still have no idea whether or not my dinner is going to kill me.
→ The CDC got the maternal death rate totally wrong: The CDC has been telling us a story of disaster and panic for pregnant women (birthing peoplx). The maternal death rate is a crisis, the CDC said. The maternal death rate has more than doubled over two decades, and it’s the worst among non-white women. America—with a reported 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021—is a far more dangerous place to have a baby than in other rich countries. The media was very sure to trumpet the alarm.
Now, there is a quiet correction. A very subtle adjustment, if you will.
It turns out that the CDC was just poorly categorizing things. It was counting any maternal death (i.e., a pregnant woman in a car accident) along with women who die during childbirth. Thanks to researchers at Rutgers University, we learned that our real maternal mortality rate is “slightly more than 10 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births”—well in line with our international peers. Okay, so the entire panic that we’re so much worse than Europe was, basically, fake. Will there be any corrections or changes to the many, many headlines about this crisis? No, there will not be.
This reminds me of the old chestnut from when I went to college: that one in four college women was the victim of sexual assault, making campuses more dangerous than Afghanistan. That turned out to be true only by counting just about any unwanted advance as sexual assault, which we’ve known for decades, but the statistical lie is useful for political arguments, so it still gets trotted out.
→ The great sex decline, visualized: Just in a chart, don’t get too excited. I have no idea if it’s the phones or the porn, but the reality is we’re all a little neutered now.
→ The federal budget is just a diabetes slush fund: The new class of semaglutides (Ozempic, Wegovy) might save Americans a lot of money, per a new study showing that their use reduces kidney disease hugely. Diabetes care is a strain on the U.S. economy: nearly 1 percent of the federal budget is spent on diabetes and dialysis (a stat from Duke economist Ryan McDevitt, backed up by numbers from National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases). Anyway, yes, 1 percent. Just on dialysis, basically. There’s also a book out last year about the insanity and corruption of the dialysis industry, if you want to deep dive into Big Diabetes. A lot of people are skeptical of these drugs, which makes sense because there’s no such thing as a side effect–free miracle drug. But obesity is also dangerous—and really expensive.
→ Antidepressant use skyrocketing: Covid took the trend of growing antidepressant use and poured rocket fuel on it. The most dramatic increase was among adolescent girls, but the rise hit boys and adults too. Here from researchers out of University of Michigan and published in Pediatrics in February:
You’re considered anti-science if you question whether all these teens need antidepressants. Like, why would you want these teens to suffer? Also: these drugs are clearly useful, even if no one is quite sure why. I took Zoloft for a few years and loved it, the gentle muting of my panic, but I was and am in my 30s. We really have no idea how these drugs will broadly impact teenage life and development.
→ Donald McNeil on being lied to about Covid’s origins: Before he was forced out by The New York Times in one of the dumber scandals of 2020–2021, Donald McNeil was the paper’s top Covid reporter, a graybeard with the gravitas to say when something was an emergency and the experience to know when he was being manipulated. And yet in his new memoir, he reflects on how top scientists flatly lied to him about Covid’s origins, a truth we now know through their various Slack messages. Those messages show top scientists around the world coordinating both on the origins lie and specifically how to deceive McNeil about it. He writes about being a “victim of deception,” about being disappointed in himself, and about how hard it was to push back against their wall of faux certainty: “It’s one thing to be lied to by a politician and fail to check it out. But on viral evolution, to whom do you go for a second opinion? If Albert Einstein assured you that nuclear fission is harmless, whom would you trust to quote saying, ‘Einstein’s dead wrong?’ ”
We’re still due for the reckoning we deserve on this. The take from Experts is still why does it matter where Covid came from, and asking is racist. Call me crazy, but I do care if Covid was made in a U.S.-funded Chinese lab and would want to, like, figure out what went wrong there.
→ The myocarditis false start: A study came out of Oxford in March claiming that Covid vaccines actually reduce the risk of myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, which has been a concern especially with young men getting boosters. The argument is basically that while the vaccine triggers some amount of inflammation that causes myocarditis, Covid itself triggers even more. I wanted this one to be true, but for all these topics I turn to Dr. Vinay Prasad, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. Unfortunately, he gives it a thorough debunking. The vaccinated are different in many ways from the unvaccinated, ways that have nothing to do with the shot. Prasad writes: “It is obvious that people who get vaccinated are different than those who don’t, and these patterns of covariates cannot be easily adjust[ed] for because they pertain to domains of life that are not readily captured in health records.”
→ You must stay on birth control forever: Hormonal birth control, because they’re hormones a woman takes every month, has real side effects—especially on mood and sex drive and of course, on weight. Seems fine to talk about? No. “Women are getting off birth control amid misinformation explosion,” The Washington Post alerts us. See, there’s a new movement to help women get off birth control and use either physical methods or cycle-timing—and to generally get more in sync with the body’s natural cycle. An example the Post goes after is the new company 28 Wellness that sells a product called Toxic Breakup, whose founder talks a lot about cycle-syncing and being in tune with your female body, natural vibes, moon rhythms, I don’t know, guys, things that used to be read as quite hippy-dippy. But did you know that’s actually right-wing now?
From The Washington Post: “Physicians and researchers say little data is available about the scale of this new phenomenon, but anecdotally, more patients are coming in with misconceptions about birth control fueled by influencers and conservative commentators.” And “an underlying conservative push” is behind all this, the paper claims.
Now, for sure there are conservative groups who have always been against birth control and generally sex outside of marriage (I’m thinking most major religions). But this new movement has more to do with personal health optimization and taking young women seriously when they talk about side effects than it does with traditional Catholic values. No matter. Nothing upsets Experts more than if people talk about getting off a medication, any medication. I could be taking canine flea medicine and there’d be some reporter alarmed that I’d consider quitting it. But I say: let the ladies do their moon cycle dances! Just for fun I looked up “Washington Post sponsored by Purdue Pharma,” since that was the first pharmaceutical brand I could think of. Well:
→ Concerns that psychedelics trials are biased: A large research review by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review last week has found “substantial concerns” about the validity of research on psychedelics. Psychedelics, in the past few years, have been cast as something like a miracle drug, especially for PTSD, which is something everyone says they suffer from these days. From the review team, citing bias among the researchers: “We heard from multiple experts about the very strong prior beliefs of those involved in the trials (as investigators, therapists, and patients) about the benefits of MDMA-AP. Concerns have been raised by some that therapists encouraged favorable reports by patients and discouraged negative reports by patients including discouraging reports of substantial harms, potentially biasing the recording of benefits and harms.” There’s also the issue that it’s impossible to do blind randomized controlled testing—you definitely know if you’re in the test versus placebo group! I know a lot of people—stressed out moms, every single tech executive in America—who have benefited a lot from mushrooms and MDMA and other things I refuse to try. But every since I bought Dogecoin, I’m always skeptical when something is hyped too aggressively. And these drugs are covered glowingly, almost without exception.
→ All this autism is a blessing! Autism diagnoses are rising, and fast. Jill Escher, the mother of two autistic children, wrote a profound piece for The Free Press on the insanity of these takes. In my mind, it’s one of the most important pieces we’ve run. She’s now released a smart video through the National Council on Severe Autism, laying out the irrefutable evidence that yes, autism is actually increasing. Why did she need to put this out? Because you’ll find two arguments against worrying about autism: first, that autism is a superpower, making people simply different, not any worse off. Second, that it’s not increasing at all, we’re just noticing it more. Autism and the informed, nuanced work of people like Escher are topics we’ll follow closely here.
→ Google’s new artificial intelligence demands you eat bugs: When Bloomberg reporter Joe Weisenthal asked Google’s artificial intelligence software to write something to encourage eating meat as a good protein source, the engineers had coded it to deny the request. Here’s the prompt he wrote and Google’s response:
But then when you give it that same prompt, but to make a campaign for eating bugs? Well, it comes back with great tagline ideas:
• Skip the Steak, Try a Beetle. • Insects: They’re what’s for dinner (of the future). • Get Your Protein Buzz: Crickets are the New Kale. • Protein Revolution: Insects – Nutritious, Sustainable, Delicious.
People try to deny that there’s a concerted effort to convince people to replace burgers with bugs—a conspiracy, says NPR! and also somehow racist, says NPR! Right.
→ Alcohol-related deaths are surging: Remember how during Covid lockdown, in-person Alcoholics Anonymous meetings were banned and church was banned and sports were banned, but liquor stores were declared essential and bars were allowed to stay open? Well, it turns out that when you close all community activities but allow for the steady flow of booze into a society, people drink more! Now, alcohol-related deaths are up by 29 percent, and PBS is asking questions recently like:
What could have happened between now and five years ago? What might have changed? It’s a mystery, PBS, a forever mystery.
→ Don’t let a little science fraud ruin the party: Earlier this year, leading researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, including the CEO Laurie Glimcher, were found to have published research with what sure looks like fabricated data. The discovery came from the independent writer Sholto David, and it’s part of a broader movement: independent investigative journalists are diving into the research of celebrated, famous science figures—the sort who get profiled in all the best magazines—and discovering that a lot of their work is faked. (A young student at Stanford’s reporting led to the president of the university stepping down over his research, which appears to be fraudulent.) And here you see the difference between the mainstream press and the insurgent reporters, because in March, the leading science news source STAT named that Dana-Farber CEO to their STATUS List 2024 with a post: “As CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Laurie Glimcher isn’t afraid to shake things up.” STAT didn’t find the fraud—a random guy with a random blog found it.
→ Sure, try Viagra for Alzeheimer’s: Viagra might be a good drug for Alzheimer’s, according to new research in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. And I say great. This was discovered in part by new artificial intelligence software that’s combing through vast tracts of data for interesting nuggets like this one. AI is also starting to spot tiny breast cancers in mammograms, cancers that clinicians had missed. For all the doomerism about AI, it’s astonishing what it’s already doing for our health. Stay tuned for more on this.
→ The EPA only just banned asbestos: In a good reminder that the American government is not going to prioritize your health, the Environmental Protection Agency only just successfully banned asbestos (the EU did that in 2005). Why’d it take so long? The EPA’s effort to ban it in 1989 was overturned by a federal court of appeals that weakened the agency’s authority. In other words: you’re on your own.
→ It’s really weird that no one knows what puberty blockers do to brain development: Puberty blockers have been very commonly used for gender-dysphoric children, the idea being that it gives children the ability to stave off puberty, and a little more time to decide whether to fully medically transition. But in March they were fully banned by England’s NHS, which has been prescribing them after basically cursory visits to the clinic by uncomfortable kids. The next question is: What have these blockers done to kids’ brains? Because the reality is, we have no idea! Adolescence brings huge brain changes—do those come later when the kid eventually takes cross-sex hormones? Are they the same as they would be unmedicated? There is the horrifying potential reality here that these children’s brains will never exactly develop into what we think of as adulthood. They might! But they might not. (Read this from Quillette on the possibility.) And a couple weeks ago, at a conference for clinicians to discuss these issues among themselves, protesters disrupted the event, blocked attendees, and threw smoke bombs.
The worst advice:
→ An example of what you will not find here: One reason we started thinking about health is because of articles like this one from The Washington Post’s official food columnist (I’m being hard on the Post; it’s too easy). This article is on how very bad saturated fat is: “Don’t believe the backlash. Saturated fat actually is bad for you.” Saturated fat is the type you find in meat, dairy, and eggs. The food trend of the last thirty years has been toward carbs and sugar instead of fat. Everything is supposed to be low-fat food, and we’re told Egg Beaters are healthier than eggs, vegetable oil is better than tallow, etc.
Our WaPo food columnist acknowledges that there are all these weird studies showing that people w
How have you adapted to the changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic?
I Trusted God! A Focus on Freedom Hebrews 2:14-15 (NIV®) He too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Wouldn’t you like to have a friend who is powerful enough to free you from the Devil’s strongholds in your life? None of your earthly friends will ever be able to do that, but that is exactly why Jesus left Heaven and came to Earth. Sometimes, it’s easier to be focused on the things that can beset us rather than on the One who sets us free. It’s not helpful to live in fear or spend time wringing our hands over what might happen. Jesus came and died for us so that we don’t have to be afraid of illness, evil, or a shaky economy. I’m not saying we will never encounter sickness, hardships, and challenges—because we will. But Jesus invites us to trust Him for deliverance from anything that could hold us captive. He invites us to be spiritually whole and live in the light of His freedom.
THINK ABOUT IT Jesus paid the price for our redemption and freedom on the cross. His work is perfect and complete. All we need to do is humbly release ourselves from what diminishes us and receive and walk in His finished work.
PRAYER Heavenly Father, I yield to You without reservation. Through the cross of Jesus, I have experienced forgiveness, freedom, and deliverance. Set me free from anything that separates me from Your best. I turn away from ungodliness and embrace the truth. In His name, Amen.
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. John 16:7
Do you ever think that being a Christian would be easier if Jesus were living among us, the way He did with His disciples? Well, not according to Jesus. Why? Because after Jesus, came the sustaining and transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus walks as God with us, the Holy Spirit comes to us and God in us. Instead of just witnessing the power of God, we have the blessed joy of living in that power as He works through us.
Thank You, Lord, for the saving grace that You imparted on me through Jesus. And thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Help me to know more of Your power, so that the Spirit may do great things in my life for the glory of Your name and the sake of Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The way we love God is reflected in the way we love the people around us. The Christian life is not a life of selfishness or pickiness, where we choose to stick to ourselves or hang around select people of our liking. There is no room for excluding people when it comes to walking in the love of God. The same way God’s arms were wide open for us when we were sinners, is the same way we are to have our arms stretched out wide open to the people around us. The love of God knows no boundaries when it comes to reaching out to people.
The love of God isn’t for a certain group of people. It is for anyone and everyone and the only way God’s love can reach other people is through us. We are God’s representatives on earth and He expects us to do what He would have done.
When Jesus came to the earth He looked down upon no one. He entertained everyone and accommodated them as best as they can. Even though He had many disputes with the Pharisees over their self-righteousness, Jesus never closed them out. He was open to talk to Nicodemus (John 3:1-21), who was a Pharisee. Jesus still spoke to him, counselled him, and taught him about the Way.
The love of God should move us to overlook all offences in order to minister to other people. This is no easy feat but this is why God is with us. This is why the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit teaches us how to love people past the offense they may have caused us.
Loving the people around us is not an option, dear brothers and sisters in the Lord. It is a commandment.
God is Love. You cannot claim to be of God if you refuse to love the people around you. The love of God overrides all prejudice and forms of exclusion.
God doesn’t expect us to stand on the outside, looking in. He expects us to go in, full speed ahead, loving on anyone we can so that they know that there is a God out here who cares about them deeply.
As children of God, it is our duty to exhibit God’s love through our words and actions. If we fail to do so, how do we expect to lead more people to Christ?
You cannot reach out to people without the love of God. It is the love of God that compels us to reach out to people to glorify Him, Who loves us.
Something major is going down at the Supreme Court right now. It’s moving lightning fast, and we face looming deadlines.
A federal appeals court overturned Biden’s massive expansion of the abortion pill. This drug kills more babies than any other method of abortion.
Biden and the abortion industry rushed to appeal, and the Supreme Court just heard oral argument last week. We filed several briefs in the case representing pro-life groups. Now we just filed a vital brief in another Supreme Court case – our third filing this term – where the abortion industry is trying to shut down pro-life centers. And we’re taking further legal action later this week.
The abortion giant is reeling. But as we battle the limitless taxpayer-funded resources of Biden and Planned Parenthood at the Supreme Court, we need you.
When the Roman Empire collapsed, Western Europe was cast into darkness. But in the midst of chaos, Christianity provided hope and became the foundation upon which civilization was rebuilt. Join Professor of History Kenneth Calvert in an exploration of how Christianity forever changed the world in our newest free course, “Ancient Christianity.”
Jesus saves calls us to love our neighbors. But we can’t be ambassadors of love if we think, speak, and act with hatred. Deceit, envy, and slander all cast us in opposition to others because they focus our minds on our own self-interests. We must seek the Spirit to overcome the attitudes that lead to judgment and resentment, so that we may exemplify God’s love to those around us.
Lord, thank You for the love that You poured out on me even though I don’t deserve it. Please fill me with Your love so that I may love my neighbors fully and freely, the way that You love me. Rid my heart and mind of all bitterness and jealousy, and give me new eyes to see others instead through Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
He Will Strengthen Us!
Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. Psalms 31:24
When we look at the world around us, it can become very easy to become discouraged by what we see. The amount of hatred that runs deep in the hearts of many people, and the constant agony that we see across the world is enough to make a person question life. But as Christians, we don’t need to question life.
We know that all things relating to doom, death and destruction are of the enemy. We know that all things good come from God and he has commissioned us to go into the world and release this good to all mankind. The ultimate good being the gift of salvation.
Preaching the gospel will come with consequences. People will try to discourage us. We will be threatened. People will abandon us. There will be moments where it will feel as if the entire world is against us. But we have to choose to hold on to God and to praise him regardless of what is happening.
God is always good, no matter what we face on this earth. When we remind ourselves of his goodness, it helps us endure the trials and tribulations of life. In times of trouble, we need to turn our eyes to God and seek Him as our refuge. We can only receive comfort and strength from God.
Human beings will always let us down. We will also let people down. The only one who will never let us down is God. His faithfulness is always assured. No matter what. God’s word informs us of the many reasons we can trust God in peace. He has been faithful even before we realized the weight of his love.
Please enjoy this excerpt from our upcoming devotional by Mike Aquilina and Adam Lucas, Feasts 0f Our Fathers: Praying the Church Year with the Early Christians, due out in April 2024.
Click on the button at the bottom and we’ll send you a special early notification and a special price when the book hits our warehouse.
Today Christ descends into hell, says this ancient preacher, bringing his victory over death to those already dead.
Reflect: Matthew 12:40, Acts 2:31, Ephesians 4:9, 1 Peter 4:6
Read: What is happening today? A great silence falls over the earth, a great silence and indeed a stillness, because the King sleeps. The earth was fearful and grew still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and raised up all who have slept since the beginning of the world. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld trembles with fear. Yes, he has gone in search of our first father, as a lost sheep. Yes, he wants to visit those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. He goes to liberate from sorrow the captive Adam and his companion Eve; for he is both God and their son.
The Lord approached them carrying the cross, the weapon that had won his victory. When Adam, the firstborn, saw it, his heart was filled with remorse and cried out to everyone, saying: “My Lord be with you all!” And Christ answered, saying, “And with your spirit!”
He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying:
“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light—I, your God and the son born to you. Now, to you and your offspring in bonds I say by my own authority ‘Come out!’ and to those in darkness ‘Be illumined!’ and to those who are sleeping ‘Arise!’ I say to you: ‘Awake, O sleeper!’ For I did not create you to remain a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead, for I am life for the dead.
“Arise, my creature! Arise, my likeness, you who were created in my image and from whom I was born. Rise! Let us go away, for you are in me and I am in you. Together we form one person, indivisible, for your God is your son. For you, your God became your son. For you, the Lord took the form of a slave. For you the highest heavens came to earth—and under the earth. For you, for the sake of a human being, I became a helpless human being, free among the dead. For you who left the garden, I was delivered to the Jews in a garden and crucified in a garden.
“Behold the spit on my face, which I received to restore the life I once breathed into you. Behold on my jaws the blows I received to restore your deformity back into my image. Behold on my back the marks of the whip that I endured to lift the burden of sin from your back. Behold my hands, fixed in the tree for the sake of you, who maliciously stretched your hand toward the tree. Behold my feet, driven well into the tree, because your feet had maliciously run to the tree of disobedience, on the sixth day when your judgment was delivered.
“For your rebirth and the restoration of paradise I have labored to exhaustion. I slept on the cross, and a sword pierced my side: all for you who slumbered in paradise and delivered Eve from your side. My wounded side has healed the pain of yours. Let my sleep awaken you from yours in the underworld. The spear that wounded me has turned the spear from you. Arise, let us leave here. The enemy led you to leave the earthly paradise; yet I do not restore you to paradise but to be enthroned in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was the symbol of life; but, behold, now I am your life. I ordered the cherubim to guard you as slaves; now the cherubim must worship you as divine. You hid from God as if you were naked; but now here you are hidden within the naked God. The cherubic throne awaits you. Its bearers are at the ready. The bridal suite is ready, the banquet plates are set. The eternal dwellings and mansions are prepared. The treasuries of good things were opened. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from everlasting
Remember: Christ descends into the netherworld today to rescue the souls of the righteous trapped by original sin.
Pray: Victorious God, you went down to the realm of the dead to rise again in glory. By the power of your resurrection, bring all our loved ones who have passed to new life with you. The Harrowing of Hell
We profess that Jesus “descended into hell” before rising from the dead. But how can God go to hell, which by definition is the state of separation from God? We in the modern era mean something different by “hell” than the common usage of the early Church. The Creed is saying that Christ went to the realm of the dead before his resurrection. Called Hades in Greek and Sheol in Hebrew, this realm of the dead was the collective afterlife for both the good and the bad. Jesus’ passion and resurrection unlocked the gates of heaven for the souls of the righteous, which previously had been closed to all people due to Adam’s sin. Jesus shows us in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus that there were differences in the fate of the good and the bad even before his resurrection, as the righteous Lazarus goes to the bosom of Abraham, whereas the unrighteous rich man is sent to a place of torment. But even this “bosom of Abraham” wasn’t heaven, and although there was some comfort there, it was not a place of true eternal rest.
Jesus went to this realm of the dead on Holy Saturday. True man, he experienced death and the afterlife like others. But unlike the other righteous, Jesus goes to Hades as a conqueror. He preaches the gospel to the dead, frees deserving souls from their prison, and brings them into the perfect and lasting happiness of heaven.
If you could have something named after you, what would it be? I believe, I am humble enough to say I don’t belong with my name on anything. I am not God. He’s the One Who should have His name all over. He’s the Miracle Worker not me. He beat death not me.
When Jesus gives us instructions, do we willingly obey, or do we try to negotiate? Do we want to love all of our neighbors, or do we try to select just the ones that are easy to love? We must guard against trying to bend Jesus’ words to fit our will. Instead, we must hear all of His words- even the ones that challenge us- so that we can be prepared to walk in full obedience to Him.
Jesus, You call me to love my neighbor. And I confess that I have not loved all of my neighbors the way that You love me. I’ve looked down on some and shut others out. Please help me to see all people as my neighbors and to love them with Your love, so that I may serve You by serving whoever You place in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Last words are powerful. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one knows the significance of last words. Words said in anger can haunt your thoughts for years, but words said in love are something those left behind will cherish forever. I’ve sat at the bedsides of loved ones and watched them take their final breath here on earth. It’s heartbreaking, but those last moments together are priceless. If you knew your time on earth was coming to an end, what words would you want to leave for your loved ones? What do you want them to remember? Just as our last words are precious and powerful, how much more so are the last words of Jesus?
How Great Is His Goodness For Us!
Psalm 31:18 – OH how great is Thy goodness, which Thou laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men!
God is good and that will never change. It who He is.
Time and time again we are reminded in the Bible, God’s Word, that his mercy is everlasting. It will never run out. It will never forsake us.
God’s mercy is there for us every single day. It is because of God’s mercy, we have the confidence in Him that we have. God’s word will always reign supreme for an eternity to come.
As God’s children, we are automatic recipients of his goodness and mercy, no matter what comes our way. We have a confidence inside of us that can never be found anywhere else. People in the world continue to move up and down, in search of this assurance but they are unable to find it. This is not so for we who are in Christ. We are righteous and we know that the path for the righteousness leads to life.
Our hearts are filled with assurance as a result of what the word of God tells us. The word of God tells us that we are secure in the hands of God. We are told that all things will work out for the good of them who love God. We are told of how we have been justified and glorified thanks to Christ Jesus. We are told, repetitively, to never fear, for God is with us.
People will always try to say things to doubt the existence of God, or to doubt how genuine God’s love is, but none of these words will ever be true. They will never measure up to what God says. God’s word will reign for generations to come, and all who stop to hear and accept His goodness, in the form of Christ Jesus, will be promised life eternal.
As Christians, we should never be blindsided by the lies the enemy will try to fill our minds with. We know whose word is true and it definitely is not the word of Satan. God’s goodness, love, mercy and his truth will never die. They will go from everlasting to everlasting.
Knowing Jesus defeated death and took the keys of Hell from Satan and kicked him out! Overcoming the world sounds like an impossible feat. How do we defeat the forces of greed, strife, and pride that define the ways of the world? Only through Jesus, who leads us in a life of humble sacrifice. In Jesus, we find the peace of a secure eternity, no matter what we face in this world, freeing us to pursue His kingdom instead of worldly gains.
Lord God, thank You for calling me to be a child of Your kingdom. You’ve called me to resist the ways of the world as I live for You, but I cannot do it alone. Thank You for sending Jesus to live that I may have an example to follow. And thank You for His death and resurrection, by which I receive the power to follow You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Psalm 31:5 – In to Thine hands I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord of truth.
Shabbat Shalom Delana!
Welcome to this week’s reading of the Torah portion called Tzav (Command!).
“The LORD said to Moses: ‘Command [Tzav צַו] Aaron and his sons, saying: This is the law of the burnt-offering.’” (Leviticus 6:8–9)
A Jewish man prays wearing a tallit (prayer shawl) and tefillin (phylacteries) while holding a Torah scroll covered in a velvet Torah mantle.
Last week, in Parasha Vayikra, God spoke to Moses from the Tent of Meeting, giving him the laws of the offerings (korbanot קָרְבָּנוֹת), detailing the circumstances under which they would be offered in order to draw close to God.
This week’s Parasha is entitled Tzav, which means to order or command.
What was God instructing Moses to command Aaron and his sons?
He was commanding the Jewish priesthood (lineage of Aaron) to observe their rights and duties as the kohanim (priests), who in Parasha Tzav are commanded to always keep the fire on the altar burning and never to extinguish it. (Leviticus 6:13)
For this reason, when we light our Shabbat candles on Friday night to usher in the Sabbath, it is customary not to blow out the flame but to let the candles burn down completely.
And although the fire no longer burns on the Temple altar, and our Shabbat candles burn until they go out, may our hearts always burn brightly with the fire that God Himself lit there, never to be extinguished by the cares of this world.
On Friday night, it is customary to kindle Shabbat candles just before the arrival of the Sabbath. (Photo by Robert Couse-Baker)
Bless God on this Wonderful Shabbat, click here
In Tzav, the priests are given the procedure for offering the obligatory sacrifices on behalf of all the nation of Israel.
As these offerings are read in the synagogue, however, few will connect those offerings to the death of Yeshua (Jesus) for our sins, which will be remembered during the upcoming Passover season.
Nevertheless, those offerings are essential to our understanding of what Yeshua accomplished on the tree. They comprise the following five categories: the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass / guilt / restitution offering.
1. Korban Olah (קרבנ עלה – Burnt Offerings)
“Let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD.” (Leviticus 1:3)
The Korban Olah is a voluntary offering that is to be completely burnt. Nothing is to be eaten.
To offer it, the worshiper brings a male animal without blemish to the door of the Tabernacle. A male or female dove or pigeon can be offered if a person does not have the means to offer a bullock, ram or goat.
The Israelite then places his hands upon the head of the animal offering with the knowledge that this innocent animal is about to pay the price for his sin.
After the worshiper asks Adonai for forgiveness, the animal is slaughtered.
Israeli sheep
2. Minchah (מִנְחָה – Meal Offerings)
Tzav also describes the duties for the Minchah (present or gift) or the Meal Offering in which the people of Israel also give grain offerings.
The priests burn a fistful (Kometz) of this offering on the altar and eat the rest.
Often the choicest flour is mixed with oil and salt to make a cake, but it cannot contain leaven or honey.
Leaven is associated with sin, pride, hypocrisy, false teaching, and worldliness (1 Corinthians 5:6–8, Luke 12:1, Galatians 5:9, Mark 8:15).
Leaven and salt represent two entirely different actions: salt preserves, while leaven radically changes substances.
Although honey has a pleasant smell when it boils, it smells bitter and unpleasant when it burns. The offering is to be sweet smelling, as the incense offered with it.
The priest makes an offering (Source: Internet Archive)
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While this Parasha seems to specify grain, elsewhere we see also vegetables and animals given for a Minchah (Genesis 4:3–4; 1 Samuel 2:15–17).
Both Cain and Abel offered a Minchah and not a Korban Olah. Cain and his offering were not accepted and Able and his offering were.
Abel offered a fat portion of the firstfruit of his flock; however, the Bible does not indicate that Cain brought the firstfruit of his produce. It just says that he brought the fruit of the ground.
We can infer from this that Cain did not offer the Minchah in faith or with a right attitude (Hebrews 11:1–2, 4; 1 John 3:12).
Cain became embittered when God rejected both him and his offering; however, God graciously told him that if he would do well, he would be accepted.
Cain rejected Adonai’s advice and things went from bad to worse. He did not repent, choosing instead a path of rebellion that resulted in him killing his brother.
“If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7)
Cain is resentful that Abel’s offering is accepted.
3. Shelamim (שְׁלָמִים – Peace Offering)
The Shelamim (which is related to the word shalom) is a voluntary offering that expresses a sense of wellbeing, praise, and thanksgiving, such as when Jacob and Laban made a treaty with one another in Genesis 31:54.
This offering is similar to the burnt offering; however, while male or female animals were acceptable, birds were not. The animals are not fully burned as are the burnt offerings; only specified portions of fat and internal organs are placed on the altar.
A portion of the Shelamim, without the blood, is to be eaten by the priests and even by the one offering up the sacrifice.
Men pray at the Western (Wailing) Wall.
Please give a Tithe this Shabbat
4. Chatat (חַטָּאת – Sin Offering)
Chatat are offered for unintentional sins (Leviticus 4:1–4), sins due to carelessness or inadvertently.
The status of the offender dictates the class of chatat. If the offender is the high priest or the whole community of Israel, it is considered a more serious transgression because it impacts the welfare of the entire nation. A young bull is required, and it is burned outside the camp.
If the offender is a leader, such as the king, a male goat is to be brought.
If it is an individual, a female sheep or goat is to be brought. For these latter two, the priests are to eat the sacrifices within the Tabernacle grounds.
The chatat is also required for three sins of omission: withholding testimony; becoming impure due to an interval of forgetfulness; and violating an oath unintentionally.
Reading the Torah scroll
5. Asham (אָשָׁם – Guilt Offering)
Leviticus 6:5–7 details the guilt offering of a ram for the following: unintentionally using sanctuary property for personal use; forestalling punishment for one’s sin when one is uncertain one has sinned, or for unknown sin; and lying under oath or defrauding a person regarding a found article, a deposit, loan, etc. For an Asham, it does not suffice to simply offer a sacrifice. The offender has to make restitution plus add an additional fifth of the value.
In fulfillment of Scripture, Yeshua was not only pierced for our sins, He became our asham, paying the legal penalty of our guilt to God for those sins.
As a result of paying the wages of our sin, Yeshua makes restitution for our souls:
“And the Lord wished to crush him, He made him ill; if his soul makes itself restitution [asham], he shall see children, he shall prolong his days, and God’s purpose shall prosper in his hand.” (Isaiah 53:10, Chabad)
A shepherd tends his flock at a tourist attraction recreating first century village life in Israel.
Even though Yeshua made restitution back to God for our sinfulness, confession and restitution is still our moral responsibility to one another when we sin against our fellow man.
Yeshua taught that we are to seek out those we have wronged and get right with them before coming to the altar with any offering (Matthew 5:23–26; Leviticus 5:16).
Feeling guilty when we sin is healthy; it’s a sign that we must make amends. But to keep feeling guilty after restitution has been made and the sacrifice has been paid is not healthy.
We can receive Yeshua’s sacrifice as our own once we acknowledge our guilt and make amends.
While the guilt offerings on the altar of the Temple only covered sin, Yeshua’s death and resurrection actually removed sin for all time.
As Yochanan (John) said when he saw Yeshua coming to him at the Jordan River, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29)
We can say, then, that Yeshua’s offering was both chatat (sin) and asham (restitution).
“Messiah was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.” (Hebrews 9:28)
Though Yeshua endured an agonizing death to atone for the sin of the world, He rose again on the third day. Since He was completely sinless, death could not hold Him. If He had not borne our sins, He wouldn’t have died at all.
Thankfully, Yeshua’s death wasn’t the final word.
Just as He promised, death couldn’t hold Him (John 2:18–22; Matthew 26:31–32).
“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25)
The sting of death is sin (1 Corinthians 15:56), and in Yeshua, death has lost its sting!
Therefore, we can live confidently without any fear of death or dying, as we know that when we pass from this life, our lives continue eternally with our loving Father in Heaven just as Yeshua’s does even today.
We will have the privilege of remembering His death and celebrating His resurrection during Passover (Pesach) and Firstfruits (Bikkurim) in the upcoming weeks.
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When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up? A live! My Daddy beat me almost every day!
What we see has such a great impact on our inner being. And what we choose to look at, even more so. When our eyes feed our lust and greed, the darkness of envy grows within us. But when we look with wonder at God’s handiwork, or with compassion on God’s children, His light fills us and radiates from us.
Lord, thank You for the gift of sight. I marvel each day at the beauty and grandeur of Your creation. Protect my eyes from the sights that would distract me, from the allure of treasures or the lusts of the flesh. Help me to keep my eyes pure so that Your light may remain in me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I confess with my mouth Jesus is Lord
We need to be sincere in our hearts when it comes to our relationship with God. There is no need for us to feel as if we need to pretend in God’s presence. God knows us more than we know ourselves. When we commune with Him and act like we are without any worries or thoughts, we are only being hypocrites. Our hypocrisy will actually prevent us from totally connecting with God. God pushes us to come to him wholeheartedly, ready to fellowship with him without any restrictions or doubts.
In all honesty, God is the only one we can express the depths of our hearts to in confidence. When we tell people, there is a high chance that we will be let down. But when we tell God, there is a definite possibility that we will receive peace, assurance, and the wisdom to handle the situation.
Our hearts have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, making us free from the power of sin. This allows us to come to God with a clear conscience, free of guilt and shame. We have been purified by Christ. This is what this bible verse, Hebrews 10:22-23, is trying to tell us. We have been assured of our purification and there is nothing that should convince us otherwise.
As Christians, we really have become new creations in Christ. We no longer define ourselves by our sinful nature. We identify ourselves in Jesus Christ.
We are to hold on to the faith with all our heart, mind and soul. There are many factors in the world that will try discourage us from having faith in God. We cannot afford to pay attention to any of them. This is why we need to remain rooted in God’s word.
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 1 Peter 2:2
We come into this world as infants, helpless and dependent on milk for nourishment. The same is true of our spiritual rebirth. We do not come to faith as mature believers full of knowledge and wisdom. Rather, we need to grow, and it’s good to start small, with the milk of scripture, the basic truths and assurances that will form the foundation of our faith as we grow to full maturity.
Father, thank You for saving me and giving me new life as Your child. Lord, I am overwhelmed by the depth of Your word. Please direct me to the nourishing milk of scripture, help me to abide in the simple truths of Your love and salvation as You prepare me to grow beyond infancy and into maturity in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
There is no Christian walk without the love of God. The love of God is the epicenter of Christianity. It is the love of God that led to salvation. Out of God’s love, He gave up his son, Jesus Christ, so that He could stand in our place and take all the consequences for the sin we were born into. It is love that compelled Jesus Christ to walk on this earth and reach out to the oppressed, the overlooked, and the maltreated. Love compelled Christ to heal those who were struck down by infirmities and lifelong ailments. Without love, we wouldn’t have a chance on this earth. Love kept Christ focused on the mission ahead of Him, even after he’d been betrayed, abandoned, beaten, and mocked.
Any other person would have retaliated or given up long in advance. Not Jesus. There were times Jesus would enter a city and he would be mocked and reduced to being seen as the “carpenter’s son”. There were times where Jesus was called demonic. People threatened to kill him on a regular basis. He was looked down upon but he never let any of it phase Him. Even on the cross, when He was in an excruciating amount of pain, He managed to plead for forgiveness on behalf of the people who supported his crucifixion. In the face of torture, Christ did not think of himself. He thought of the souls in front of him.
The love of God has the power to transform the darkest hearts in the world. It has the power to heal lifelong wounds and restore broken hearts. The love of God is break through fortified barriers, and touch the coldest hearts.
When we, the body of Christ, walk in one accord – the love of God – we become an unstoppable force. When we refuse to allow malice into our hearts, and we choose to love everyone around us, things begin to change. Lives change for the better. Families are brought back together.
Prayer
Most importantly, people see Christ in us. It is the love of Christ in us that we express to others. By expressing love we are showing Jesus love through us. Thank You Father God for Jesus Your loving Son who was willing to obey You to buy us back. He showed us love by shedding His blood. The perfect obedience and gift. Thank You very much.
This is why we need to be rooted in the Word and I believe that in each story! I love those stories. We are all babe’s who are still crawling thank You for Your patience and prayers in Jesus Christ name Amen
God has a plan for us. And sometimes, His plans are different from ours. Even the good things that we want to do may interfere with doing the better things that He has in mind for us. We must keep watching and listening for His instruction. And when we encounter obstacles, we must seek Him in prayer for further direction.
God, thank You for giving me a place in Your church, and for using me to share Your good news with others. Help me to understand where You are leading me, so that my plans may align with Your plans. If I should seek a different course, please gently direct me to where You want me to go. In Jesus’ name, amen.
The Christian life is a life of boldness. As children of God, we can have total confidence in our relationship with Him as our Father. We have no reason to feel as if we need to tremble or fear when we approach God. We have no reason to feel ashamed or afraid. All of that was removed when Christ died on the cross for us and resurrected on the third day. Jesus Christ totally transformed the relationship that we have with God. In the times of the Old Testament, people feared God and they never thought of coming into His presence. Even the High Priests weren’t safe enough to enter God’s presence, the Holy of Holies, because of their sin.
But when the power of sin over our lives was overcome by the blood of Jesus Christ, the dynamics of our relationship with God changed. We no longer have to be far away from God. We don’t have to cower away from him, wallowing in our imperfections. God wants us as close Him as possible so that He can love us, guide us, assure us, and strengthen us. God wants to see us grow. He wants to see us overcome the habits and strongholds that held us down for years.
God wanted us free and we were set free through His son. The freedom we received was free of charge. God granted us this freedom out of his deep love for us and nothing else. There weren’t any ulterior motives. God didn’t wait spring any unpleasant surprises on us – and that is how it will remain.
God takes delight in the fact that we are able to approach him boldly. He doesn’t want us to be afraid of him. This may confuse a few people who many not know what the “fear of God means”. To fear God does not mean to be afraid of Him. It means to hold him in high regard; to revere him.
Part of being a Christian is humbling ourselves and realizing that without God, our lives truly mean nothing. We are to acknowledge that we have made a conscious choice to turn away from the bad deeds and sinful habits, and we have turned to the holy life God has presented before us. God had to forgive us of our sins first in order for us to be qualified to live this life. We are to never forget of this great forgiveness that God promised the children of Israel all those years ago. Repent from all evil ways, and choose to be transformed by the love of God and His Word.
Father, I humbly present myself as one who has chosen to turn away from their sinful ways. It is a choice I made when I chose to follow you and Lord, it is a choice I intend to abide in. Father, help me to walk in a way that is worthy of this calling. Thank you for your patience, O Lord, and for never going back on your promises. Were it not for your forgiveness, O Father, I don’t know where I would be. I humble myself before you, O Lord, and pray that I abide in you and nothing else. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals?
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 1 Corinthians 14:45
Adam was formed from the earth, and his body was given life. So we too have life in our bodies. But in Jesus, we are promised life beyond our bodies, as His resurrection has secured for us the spiritual bodies of eternity, no longer subject to pain, death, and decay.
Lord, thank You for the gift of life. And thank You for giving Jesus victory over death, and for calling me to new life. You have given me hope, through the resurrection. And I take comfort in knowing that when my body is gone, I too will share in Your victory for all eternity. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Should I stay or should I go? On any given Sunday, some of the people worshipping next to you in the pews might be asking this very question about your church. One of those people might even be you.
There are some obvious reasons why a person may leave a congregation, including a move to a new home or a change in family status, such as marriage or divorce. But in some circles, if other kinds of concerns led you toward the exit doors, you may have been branded a “church shopper” by leaders and the departure ascribed to your consumer habits, lack of commitment, or spiritual immaturity.
Illustrations by Abbey Lossing While it might be fun to shop for a new pair of shoes, few find the process of “church shopping” enjoyable. It’s awkward and disorienting to be the new person in the crowd when you’re looking for a church. As a result, some avoid that uneasiness by staying too long in an unhealthy congregation out of a sense of loyalty to the past, a hope for change, or the comfort of a network of familiar relationships.
Knowing how and when to leave a church home can be a painful and confusing experience. We’ve put together this guide to help you work through the process. And while leaving a church is never a decision that should be made lightly, always remember that it’s yours to make—prayerfully, with wise counsel, and with an eye toward deepening your relationship with God, the one who can and will be found no matter where you choose to be (Ps. 139:7-10).
Evaluating the Situation Experts on church trends estimate that about 7% of us will leave our congregational home in any given year. Most, but not all, will choose to transfer from one community of faith to another.
Every person’s situation is different and every congregation unique, but there are a number of important reasons you might be considering leaving your church. Some common examples include:
Relational conflict—The goal in an interpersonal clash should be reconciliation. However, it is sometimes healthier for the opposing parties to put some distance into a ministry relationship, as Paul and Barnabas did in Acts 15:36-41.
Doctrinal disagreement—You may have joined a church that held to a particular set of doctrinal convictions, but a change in leadership or shift in congregational culture may be leading that local body in a direction you can’t endorse.
Spiritual abuse—Shepherds who abuse their power do immeasurable harm to the people they’re pastoring. In Matthew 18:1-7, Jesus issues a stern warning to those who would perpetrate harm on the weak and vulnerable. The principle applies to all of those in a position of spiritual authority over others.
Family needs—Your church might not have a ministry for your special needs child or be able to accommodate a family member who speaks English as a second language, for example. And you may not feel called to take on the mental and physical challenges that come with creating a program to meet those needs. Other household factors may weigh into your decision as well—anything from trying to maintain the peace with an unbelieving spouse or children to the demands of work schedules or caring for an aging relative. Leaving to find a congregation that will support you is a reasonable option.
Lack of fruit—What is the effect of the church’s teaching on the other areas of your life? Are you being strengthened in your faith, your relationships, and your vocation, or is the church focusing on cultural and political issues that aren’t bearing the kind of fruit Jesus said will endure (John 15:16-17)?
Making the Decision Should I stay or should I go? is a question that merits prayerful reflection, but it has a companion question that might be equally important if you are considering leaving your church: If I go, how should I leave? There are no simple answers, but some helpful principles can guide you as you seek to discern God’s heart on the matter.
Begin with prayer. In Psalm 139, David expressed trust in the God who made him and loved him perfectly. He ended the psalm with this prayer: “Search me, God, and know my heart; put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there is any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Psalm 139:23-24). Be willing to let the Holy Spirit interrogate your motives and reveal any issues you may need to resolve in order to make a wise decision.
Seek Wise Counsel. Another important part of the discernment process includes talking through your concerns, preferably with someone apart from your current church circle. This person may be a friend—or perhaps even a professional counselor, particularly if you’re concerned about possible spiritual abuse in your congregation. Sometimes simply talking to an outsider can help you gain perspective on your situation.
Here are questions to ask yourself—or someone you trust—as you work through your decision:
Might my motives be selfish, or are they driven by a genuine desire to follow God?
Have I played a role in the current situation that’s causing me to consider leaving?
Have I done everything I could to make it possible for me to stay?
Have I considered the impact my departure will have on others? Myself? My family?
Am I making this decision in a holistic way, paying attention to both logic and my emotions, or is one of the two dominating my thinking?
In this church, am I becoming the person Christ intends for me to be? How am I helping to advance the gospel?
Is there anyone I should reconcile with before I leave?
How should I say goodbye to those I am leaving? How can I let them know that I love and value them, regardless of my decision?
Write it out. In a similar vein, it may be helpful to write about your concerns—even if you’re not in the habit of journaling. This practice can guide your prayers and may reveal deeper questions you haven’t yet voiced about the current church. It may also clarify what to look for in a congregation and how you might best serve in a new church, should a decision be made to leave the present one.
Meditate. It can be helpful to use this time of discernment to clarify what you believe. Meditating on the words of a historic creed of the faith, such as the Apostles’ Creed, or immersing yourself in one of the gospels can reorient your soul to the things that matter most about following Jesus. It is easy to lose sight of Him when your church experience is marked by confusion, sadness, and conflict.
Leave slowly. You may want to take the process in stages before deciding whether to make a permanent exit. Try stepping back from any ministry responsibilities you have. Consider whether some of your frustration with the present church may be a sign that you’re burned out from serving. Use the space that has opened up in your life as a time to rest, which will by definition help bring perspective. You might even use some Sundays to visit other churches and thereby gain a sense of what other options are available.
Taking the First Step If you decide it is time to go, be prepared to communicate in some fashion to church leaders. Certain congregations have formal mechanisms in place for deactivating membership. If dealing with a toxic pastor or an intractable theological difference, you will want to weigh how much really needs to be said, as some unhealthy leaders may not respond to your decision in a supportive way.
Make it your goal not to respond in kind. If you’ve been hurt by the church, it is natural to process that pain with others who understand the situation. But use caution in talking about your former congregation, especially with those who may know some of people involved. That caution is an active way to be on your guard against bitterness (Hebrews 12:15). For instance, pay attention to your physical reactions regarding those with whom you’ve had a conflict: Do you feel the fight-or-flight rush of an adrenaline response when you think about or encounter them? Can you make eye contact with them? The answers to those simple questions can be a helpful early warning system alert about what is happening in your soul, and you can respond calmly rather than react from a negative place.
Be prepared to process some emotions. Finally, recognize that you may experience grief. Some or all of your relationships with members of your former church will likely change, and the experience of leaving will change you. A day is coming when every tear will be wiped from our eyes (Revelation 21:1-4), and together we’ll be one whole, healed body. Until then, we navigate our way homeward in a broken world, but one that has space and grace enough for us to prayerfully choose the church homes that are right for us.
The decision to leave a church is never an easy one, particularly when it comes after a long period of relational or theological conflict. It may feel as though you’re carrying spiritual “baggage” you didn’t anticipate, but that’s okay. There’s no timetable for closure, so it’s fine to take things at your own pace. And while processing whatever emotions come your way, remember you’re not alone. Scripture tells us that “the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” and “there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Psalm 34:18; Proverbs 18:24). By taking the time to prayerfully work through these steps, you can lighten the load and—secure in God’s love—move forward with greater confidence toward your next congregational home.
What’s a secret skill or ability you have or wish you had?
The poor will always be with us. Does that mean that we should give up on solving poverty? Quite the opposite- it means that we will always have a duty to help our neighbors in need. As children of our generous Heavenly Father, we too ought to be generous and prepared to help where our help is needed. In doing so, we fulfill the law and honor the love of God that is within us.
Father, thank You for blessing my life in so many ways. Please help me to be a faithful steward of the resources that You have given me. Open my eyes to the needy around me so that I may share with them out of the portion that You have given me. Use me to share Your love, for the sake of Your kingdom and the glory of Your name. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Another weapon of the enemy that we will encounter in many instances of our life is temptation. The enemy will try to take advantage of our weaknesses and fleshly desires in order to sidetrack us from our walk with God. As human beings, we all have fleshly desires that will try to detract our focus. It could be a love of food, or more harmful things like an addiction to harmful substances, etc. As we grow in our relationship with God, and we work towards removing these unhealthy desires from our life, the devil comes in and tries to knock us off of our feet.
We need to realize that there is no temptation out there that is too great for us to handle. The same way God has equipped us with the strength and resolve to endure various trials and tribulations, is the same way he has equipped us to overcome any temptation that comes our way.
One of the ways the enemy tries to get to us is through our mind. When we are presented with tempting situations, the enemy will try to manipulate us into thinking that there is no way out of the temptation before us. He will try to make us think that we are too weak to resist.
But the word of God tells us otherwise. The word of God tells us of the authority that we possess as sons of God. The word of God tells us of the exceedingly abundant amount of strength that we possess in Christ that enables us to resist any temptation to come our way.
The word of God provides us with the wisdom we need in order to get out of any sticky situations we may find ourselves in. It gives us the clarity we need in order to see the temptation for what it is – nothing but a lousy tactic of the enemy.
The Holy Spirit strengthens us and enables us to move past the temptation, keeping our eyes focused on Jesus Christ, the one who set the example for us.
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1:7
We’re all familiar with the idea of laws. We know the Ten Commandments, and we understand all of the rules that have been built on top of them. But now that we have received grace from Jesus, are we done with the law? Not at all. Rather, we see how the law has pointed to Jesus all along, revealing His character, and helping us see our need for His grace, by which he empowers us to live for Him.
Jesus, thank You for the ancient law and for Your word, which have led the way to You. Though I could never keep the law on my own, You have given me Your grace, which covers my sins. Remain in me, Lord, and live through me, so that I might dwell in Your truth, and Your grace may flow through me to others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Tonight at sunset, the festive one-day holiday of Purim begins.
What is your favorite type of weather?
In the Bible, seasons are a reminder of God’s majesty and that the earth will continue to exist. The seasons can also be seen as an analogy for the characteristics of natural seasons in our lives and our relationship with God. For example, spring is a time of new life and growth, while summer is a time of persistent effort with the reward of seeing results.
Notice the repetition of “every” as well as “time”: “season” is a Hebrew word that is literally “appointed time”. Christian, as the world turns, turns, and turns with everything, know that not one detail or second of your life is without purpose.
Springtime: A celebration of new life and growth, also a time of release and fresh opportunities Summer: A time of persistent effort but with the reward of seeing results Ecclesiastes 3:1 reads, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”. This means that the various circumstances we go through in life are not by incident, but orchestrated or allowed by God with great purpose and intentionality. Genesis 8:22 says, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease”. In biblical prophecy, a “season” is often used as a metaphor for a period of time, and it can refer to a variety of lengths of time.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
Part of God’s great design to this earth is seasons. We experience wet and dry seasons, the typical four seasons of winter, spring, summer, and fall, and there are planting seasons and harvesting seasons. We see creation moving through seasons each year, and we ourselves live through seasons, as well. In these seasons we learn to depend on and come to expect things. So, too, we find in the Bible that our lives go through seasons.
Seasons of sadness, loss, joy, newness, and growth. All of these life seasons are intentional and God’s influence in them should be acknowledged and counted on. We find this often quoted verse in the book of Ecclesiastes, which is believed to have been written by Solomon, the son of King David.
When Scripture declares that for everything there is a season, this means that the various circumstances we go through in life are not by incident, but orchestrated or allowed by God with great purpose and intentionality.
What Does The Bible Mean ‘For Everything There Is a Season’? Ecclesiastes :31 affirms two important reminders:
The things we go through in life are not in vain. Our situations will not last forever. If you are in a certain season of life, you can be confident the season will come to an end at some point. This verse serves as a reminder that our circumstances will change and that is something we can come to expect in life. Whatever God takes us through has purpose, perhaps to deepen our faith or to help us achieve breakthrough in an area of life.
We will get over our sorrows. We will get out of the valley. We will go through hardships. And whatever season of life we find ourselves in, it will have a beginning and it will have an end. We will enter new seasons, too. Ones that bring relief, hope, or a deeper sense of faith.
It’s helpful to also read other translations of this verse to get a better idea of its meaning:
“Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses”. – Good News Translation “Everything has its own time, and there is a specific time for every activity under heaven” – God’s Word “There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth” – The Message “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” – NIV
What Is the Context of This Verse and ‘For Everything There Is a Season’? As you read Ecclesiastes, you may get the impression that Solomon had somewhat of a grave outlook on life. The book begins with Solomon’s declaration that everything is meaningless (see verse 1:1). He had seen the ups and downs of life, yet could not quite make sense of life. Why was there so much suffering? Where was God in the midst of life? What is the meaning of the mundane days we live? In this book, Solomon reflected on his understanding of God and how that fits with what he knew and the life he was experiencing. Perhaps you have found yourself wondering or reflecting like Solomon did.
In the third chapter, we find perhaps some clarity around the mysteries of life. When nothing seems to make sense, if we find God’s presence in life, that’s when real meaning and satisfaction will emerge. Life without God is hopeless, but a life lived for God and in acknowledgement of his divine presence is one marked by fruitfulness and significance.
In this chapter, Solomon affirmed the seasons of joys and the seasons of hardships, the high and the low seasons, the valleys of despair and the peaks of honor. This is the ebb and flow of life that we can anticipate, and when we keep God at the center, purpose will emerge and refining of our hearts will take place.
Why Is There a Time for Bad Things? The reality is that life gets hard. As we know, bad things happen even to those who follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Sinful nature has left nothing untouched, and this is why we await the second coming of Jesus. But until then, we know that we will go through tough seasons just as much as we go through joyful seasons.
Even Jesus reminded us that we will always have troubles, but we can still have peace in him (see John 16:33). The hope found in this Ecclesiastical passage is that these seasons of suffering, hate, and death will end. God will bring us through to better days marked by comfort, love, and new life. Through it all, we can rest in the peace Jesus has given us. Regardless of what we face, God remains in control and is the author of our days.
How Does God Make Everything Beautiful in Its Time? God is our redeemer. To redeem something means to offset its negative traits. In a biblical sense, redemption means that Jesus’ work on the cross has covered our sin. His sacrificial love has offset and delivered us from sinfulness, death, and guilt. God’s redemptive work makes us beautiful and it makes all things beautiful.
This concept of redemption that we find in Scripture teaches us that God will redeem us from despair and work all things together for the good of those who love him (see Romans 8:28).
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
We find this promise written that God will make everything beautiful in its due season. God will judge right from wrong and bring about justice (see Ecclesiastes 3:16-17). God will make things right. We may not always know how he will make things beautiful or when he will do that, but we can count on it, pray for it to happen, and put our trust fully in God to redeem even the worst of our circumstances.
What Do We Learn from Ecclesiasties 3:1 about Change and Timing? Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, goes to great lengths to preach that we must put our trust in God’s sovereignty which means he is in control of all things. God is with us in the hardest battles. He guides our steps from one season to the next. He sees what is coming ahead for us and will provide what we need to get through. No matter what seasons lay behind us or ahead of us, God is always present and always leading us through each – for the purpose of His glory.
The greatest hope we have in seasons of trouble or change is that God will never leave us nor forsake us (see: Hebrews 13:5). We may experience God’s timing as difficult, or late, or hard to understand, or different than what we’d expect or hope for. But truly, God’s timing is perfect and always comes to pass in a way that will bring us goodness rather than hopelessness.
How Can We Apply “For Everything There is a Season” to Everyday Lives? When we wake up, we can trust that whatever season we are in is not by accident, nor will God allow it to unfold without bringing out a grander purpose and drawing us closer to him. Every season is purposeful in leading us into a deeper relationship with God and creating unshakeable faith.
We can hope that the Lord will give us seasons of joy, and know that he wants us to enjoy life (see Ecclesiastes 3:12-13). We should savor the goodness of life and the ways God has gifted us with his favor. Apply this verse to your life by trusting that God knows the seasons in your life in which you will relish and endure, and he will be with you every step of the way. Therefore, we should lean into God regardless of the situation because he loves us and will journey with us each moment, each day, and each season. Like Solomon, we can pause to reflect on our lives and how we see God’s presence and direction.
God is the author of our time and the seasons we go through. Though life does not always make sense, or may even feel insignificant at times, rather than getting lost in despair, we can find comfort and hope in God. God brings us to new seasons, changes our circumstances, and adds fullness to our existence. God alone will make things beautiful in due season and cause our lives to be abundant in meaning.
KJV Dictionary Definition: season season SE’ASON. n. se’zn.Season literally signifies that which comes or arrives; and in this general sense, is synonymous with time. Hence,
1. A fit or suitable time; the convenient time; the usual or appointed time; as, the messenger arrived in season; in good season. This fruit is out of season.
2. Any time, as distinguished from others.
The season prime for sweetest scents and airs. Milton.
3. A time of some continuance, but not long.
Thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. Acts 13.
4. One of the four divisions of the year, spring, summer, autumn, winter. The season is mild; it is cold for the season.
We saw in six days’ traveling, the several seasons of the year n their beauty.
seasonable SE’ASONABLE, a. Opportune; that comes, happens or is done in good time, in due season or in proper time for the purpose; as a seasonable supply of rain.
Mercy is seasonable in the time of affliction. Ecclus.
seasonableness SE’ASONABLENESS, n. Opportuneness of time; that state of being in good time, or in time convenient for the prupose or sufficiently early.
seasonably SE’ASONABLY, adv. In due time; in time convenient; sufficiently early; as, to sow or plant seasonably.
seasoned SE’ASONED, pp. Mixed or sprinkled with something that gives a relish; tempered; moderated; qualified; matured; dried and hardened.
seasoner SE’ASONER, n. He that seasons; that which seasons, matures or gives a relish.
seasoning SE’ASONING, ppr. Giving a relish by something added; moderating; qualifying; maturing; drying and hardening; fitting by habit.
SE’ASONING, n.
1. That which is added to any species of food to give it a higher relish; usually, something pungent or aromatic; as salt, spices or other aromatic herbs, acids, sugar, or a mixture of several things.
2. Something added or mixed to enhance the pleasure of enjoyment; as, with or humor may serve as a seasoning to eloquence.
Political speculations are of so dry and asutere a nature, that they will not go down with the public without frequent seasoning. Addison.
Definitions from Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828.
Tonight at sunset, the festive one-day holiday of Purim begins.
Purim spiel (Purim play): Part of the fun of Purim is the Purim spiel, a traditional Jewish play that often involves a comic dramatization of events and characters found in the Book of Esther.
On Purim, in synagogues around the world, the entire scroll of Esther, which is called the Megillah, is read twice—once on the night of Purim and once on the following day of Purim. (All Jewish holidays start in the evening at sunset.)
During the reading, the listeners participate by cheering whenever the hero Mordechai, guardian of Esther, is mentioned and by booing whenever Haman–the influential anti-Semite who had called for the annihilation of all the Jews of Persia–is mentioned.
The scroll of Esther
Although Purim is a Biblical festival that is overlooked by the Church, it’s an eye-opening read for all people devoted to the God of Israel and His people.
The Book of Esther is chock full of irony, mysteries, secrets, and intrigue that provide powerful life lessons.
Unlike the other Holy Days of the Lord, the command to celebrate this festival isn’t found in chapter 23 of Leviticus. What’s more, the command to celebrate this special holiday doesn’t come from God, but from Mordechai, the hero of Esther.
He commanded the celebration of the salvation of the Jewish People in ancient Persia from Haman’s plot to annihilate all the Jews in a single day.
“Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration.” (Esther 9:20-22)
Purim is characterized by feasting, celebrating, dancing, wearing costumes and great rejoicing.
It’s traditional for Jewish people to send gift baskets called Mishloach Manot (sending of portions) to one another and to the poor.
These special baskets contain ready to eat foods that are fit for use at the festive Purim meal. Among other foods, this might include special triangular cookies filled with poppy seeds or other fillings, called Hamentaschen (Yiddish) or Oznei Haman (Haman’s ears) in Hebrew.
Hamentaschen are traditionally eaten during Purim. While poppy seed filling is the most traditional filling, others include prune, nut, date, apricot, fruit preserves, cherry, chocolate, dulce de leche, caramel, and cheese. The shape is said to be like Haman’s hat or his ears.
This common practice is based on Mordechai’s command:
“He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.” (Esther 9:22)
While many individuals do send food gifts to friends, neighbors, business associates and family, etc., the giving of gifts to the poor is often accomplished by donating money or food to charities which distribute food on Purim day.
The poor are not exempt from participating in this practice.
At Purim, baskets called Mishloach Manot are given to friends, family, neighbors, and the poor. Although they traditionally contain food that can be used for the Purim meal, they also often have a variety of special snacks and treats.
A Game of Chance
“For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. … Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.” (Esther 9:24-26)
The word Purim, as Scripture tells us, means lots, as in the method of choosing or making a decision seemingly by ‘chance’.
In Persia, the pur (a lot) was used to seek guidance from pagan gods. The name of the holiday, therefore, is derived from Haman drawing lots to determine the date when to schedule the extermination of the Jews!
The lot fell to the 13th day of the month Adar.
Although the day that Haman cast the pur seems to be a matter of chance, even a glance at the Hebrew calendar reveals God at work.
On the 13th day of the month Nissan, which is the first month of the Hebrew calendar, the edict was issued that the Jews should be annihilated on 13th day of the 12th month (Esther 3:7, 12-13).
Why is this significant? Because that was the day before Passover!
A Jewish family sits together to enjoy the Passover meal and recount the story of deliverance from Egypt.
Imagine that every Jewish household in Persia was searching their houses for chametz (leaven) in preparation for the beginning of Passover the next day, when they would have a Passover seder (traditional meal and recounting of the story) to commemorate their deliverance from Egypt.
As they were preparing to retell the story of the Passover to themselves and to their children the greatness of God’s power in bringing them out of Egypt, they likely received the shocking news.
In exactly eleven months’ time, their enemies would attempt to murder each one of them in cold blood for one reason and one reason alone – they were Jews.
God had made sure that uppermost in His people’s minds and hearts was the remembrance of His supernatural, mighty, and delivering power.
Haman had sent out a message promising destruction, but God’s message to the Jewish people seems clear: “He who delivered you from Egypt’s pharaoh long ago is well able to deliver you from Haman today!”
The Purim story written in Hebrew on a scroll that is set in an olive wood case.
Events may occur in our lives that seem random, but the book of Esther reveals that God is in control, no matter how powerful our enemy or how bleak the situation.
Whatever our situation or circumstance, we can rest in the assurance that our times are truly in God’s hands (Psalm 31: 15).
The whole story of Esther seems to be one of happenstance, such as the following:
Queen Vashti ‘just happens’ to pick this time to refuse to come to the king’s royal feast. In response, the king decides to find a new queen.
Mordechai ‘just happens’ to be in the right place at the right moment to hear of a plot against the king’s life, and he takes action to thwart that plan (Esther 2:21).
The king ‘just happens’ to have a sleepless night and calls his courtiers to read his book of chronicles, which reminds him that Mordechai saved his life (Esther 6:1).
Mahane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem: Everyone can get in on the fun at Purim, including bakers, counter assistants, and cashiers.
Mysteries in the Book of Esther
“He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.” (Daniel 2:22)
Purim is a festival to dress up, wear a mask and have fun.
Little boys dress as Mordechai, the King, and even the bad guy, Haman. (Boo!)
Nowadays, however, the costumes have expanded to include every conceivable disguise, since the theme of concealed, hidden and mistaken identities runs throughout the Book of Esther and the festival of Purim.
Even God is hidden in the Purim story.
In a search of the entire scroll of Esther from beginning to end, the name of God isn’t mentioned once.
For that reason, the book of Esther almost didn’t make it into the canon of the Bible.
The closest reference to God is when Mordechai tells Esther that redemption for the Jews will come from “another place” (makom aher) if she doesn’t act.
This term seems connected to HaMakom (literally The Place), which in Judaism refers to God “The Omnipresent.”
Even when God seems hidden, He is still there, and He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us.
Even when we can’t see or understand what is going on in our lives, with tribulations before us, behind us, and surrounding us, God is still there.
He is faithfully working behind the scenes to work out all the details, divine appointments, and circumstances to secure our victory. He may even ask for our participation in the drama!
In the Book of Esther, the heroine of the story, Esther, had a secret identity.
In obedience to the instruction given to her by Mordechai, her cousin and guardian, Esther concealed her Jewish heritage from King Ahasuerus, who not only ruled over most of the known world, but was her husband (Esther 2:10).
She did not reveal her true identity as a Jewess until the exact right moment when it was necessary to defeat the plot of Haman.
The very name Esther (אסתר) comes from the root S-T-R which means hidden or concealed.
In an ironic twist of mistaken identity, when King Ahasuerus asked Haman what should be done for someone who the king wishes to honor, Haman, in his own sense of pride and self-importance, assumed that the king wanted to honor him.
“Now Haman thought to himself, ‘Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?’” (Esther 6:6)
He, therefore, advised an elaborate public demonstration of favor. The man the king sought to reward, however, was Mordechai, Haman’s arch enemy, and Haman was elected to carry out the reward.
“‘Go at once,’ the king commanded Haman. ‘Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.’” (Esther 6:10)
In God’s Kingdom, things are backwards or upside down, from the ways of the world. After all, it’s a Kingdom where the first are last and the last are first, where tax collectors and prostitutes enter before Kings and Pharisees, where the weak are strong and the poor are rich.
At the beginning of Esther, we see a poor orphaned Jewish girl named Hadassah, living in exile in the Land of Persia. But God saw potential in her. He saw Esther, a courageous and Godly Persian queen.
God also sees our true identity and our potential. He knows who we truly are and has a destiny for our lives.
The question is whether or not we will have the courage, perseverance and determination to take hold of it. Do we have faith to believe what the Word of God says about who we are in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus)?
Royal Positions and Hidden Identities
“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)
The Word of God says that our very life is “hidden with the Messiah in God.” (Colossians 3:3)
In Messiah, our true identities are sons and daughters of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords – members of a royal priesthood.
Just like Esther was willing to lay aside her own plans and dreams to fulfill her destiny, to fulfill our destinies, we must lay our hopes and ambitions on the altar and say, “not My will but Yours be done.”
Like Esther had a secret identity, the Church may also have a hidden identity–not separate from the Jewish people–but fellow citizens and an integral part of the commonwealth of Israel.
“Remember that at that time you were separate from Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” (Ephesians 2:12)
Just like Mordechai called upon Esther to approach the king to petition him for the lives of her people, so too the Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit) is crying out to the Church to pray and intercede for the salvation of Israel and the Jewish People from the people and countries who threaten her survival.
Today, just like during the time of Haman, the current leaders of Iran (Persia) are pointing their missiles and developing nuclear weapons to destroy the Jewish people in Israel.
This is not a time to remain silent. You can be like Queen Esther.
Have you not come to this royal position for such a time as this?
This month we begin a new theme on the topic of Sacrifice, which is fitting for this season as we prepare our hearts for Easter to honor and praise Jesus for His ultimate sacrifice.
The dictionary defines a sacrifice as: “the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.” A secondary definition also defines sacrifice as “an act of offering to a deity something precious.”
In simple terms, a sacrifice is something you desire that you choose to give up for a greater purpose or to a greater Person. And in reality, that’s what makes sacrificing so difficult! Because what is being given up is something valued, cherished, loved, and desirable.
Yet because we are supposed to model our lives after Jesus’ life, we are called to sacrifice on a daily basis. But we find that God invites us to sacrifice our wants, desires, and plans in order to experience something richer, more purposeful, and more in line with His desires for us.
However – because we are human – even when we know it’s what God wants, it doesn’t make it easier to lay down our desires and follow His plan. Thankfully, God has given us His Word to glean from. He sent others to pave the way and provide a roadmap that is both obedient and honoring to God.
Throughout this month, we’ll learn from a few people in Scripture—Abraham, David, Paul, and Jesus—to better understand what sacrifice looks like and how we can pursue and submit to it in our daily lives. It’s not easy, but God will give us the strength to surrender, sacrifice, and put His love on display.
Jesus!
Nobody likes to be insulted or belittled. Yet, Jesus tells us to expect opposition and rejection. When others talk down on us for standing up for Christ, it is evidence that Christ is in us and His Spirit is working through us. When we share in suffering for His name’s sake, we share in His glory as it is revealed in us.
From His triumphal entry into Jerusalem to His last breath on the cross, Jesus’ final days were marked with joy, fellowship, grief, betrayal, pain, and death. But this death was not the end. Jesus rose victorious from the grave, securing a place in Heaven for all who turn from sin and believe in Him.
Salvation Is Won” reveals the story of Jesus’ last days on the earth from His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, to His betrayal, death, and resurrection from the grave.
Father, please give me the perseverance to endure the mocking of those around me. Some days I want to run and hide, but You call me to stand firm. When others hurl insults at me, give me the power to respond only with Your love and truth. And as You work through me, please soften the hearts of my attackers so that they may see You and know You, too. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Nothing Is Impossible With Christ Jesus! Day 1
This has to be one of the most motivating Bible verses in the word of God. It sums up our Christian walk. In our own power, there are many things that we can consider to be impossible. But when we are with God, absolutely nothing is impossible. The Bible is filled with so many instances where God turned the impossible into the more-than-possible.
Abraham and Sarah were unable to conceive a child. They were both very old and neither of them was fertile. But when they encountered God, they received life in their loins and Abraham became the Father of many nations – starting with his own children.
When the Israelites were escaping from Egypt, they found themselves in front of the Red Sea. I’d like you to think about this for a moment. The Israelites were not in front of a pond or a river they could wade through. They weren’t even in front of a lake. The Israelites were faced with an entire sea. What did God do for them? He parted the sea in two and held it until every single one of the Israelites had crossed safely. It is very clear that that sea was not crossed in a day. Think of the great expanse. But God kept it open until they were on the other side!
Lastly, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was conceived through a virgin and the Spirit of God. This is a feat that still leaves many intellectuals dumbfounded in this day and age. “It’s impossible!” one would cry. Not with God, my friend. When God intervenes, all protocols are broken.
Through God and His wonder-working power the dead have been raised, barren wombs have been with child, addictions have been broken, lives have been restored, and people have received miracle provision. It is through God, the fate of our eternity was redeemed.
When you think of the numerous times that God has turned the impossible into a moment of possibility, you should become confident. There is nothing too big for God to handle. Look at who you are talking about! He is the God who created the heavens, the earth, and the universe. He knows every star by name.
1 Timothy 4:12: Day 2
When we are young, people often don’t take us seriously. It can be frustrating, especially if people are telling you to act like an adult and yet you are treated like a child. Here we see Paul encouraging Timothy to be an example. Instead of dwelling on the disadvantage of youth, focus on being worthy of being looked up to. Focus on maturing spiritually. Let your words and conversations reflect Christ. Pray that your character will reflect Christ, and above all, have faith in God.
LORD, help me to have the character that resembles You. Strengthen my faith in You, LORD. Help me to be content with my age and the stage of life I am in. Help me to do what I can do instead of focusing on what I can’t do. Conform and shape me into whom you want me to be. Above all, I want to please You. I want to do your will and live for You. Give me wisdom and insight to do so, and lead me by Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Proverbs 31:30– Day 3
Face-value, earthly things will never hold a substantial amount of value. We live in a world that is more concerned about how people look, how much money they have, and the kinds of material goods they possess. All of these things will fade away with time. The thing that will remain in people’s minds for a very long time will be our characters and the virtues we possess. Men and women of God need to ensure that their characters and their virtues are godly.
Dear God, I pray that I never become caught up in the things of this world. I know that things like physical appearance and money are fleeting; they will not last an eternity. But the things that come out of my heart will. Lord, may my heart be a reflection of your light. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
1 Timothy 5:1 – Day 4
There are likely older believers in your life. Here, Paul tells Timothy not to rebuke his elders, but to come to them the way he would come to his father. Then, he tells Timothy to treat younger men as his brothers. Similarly, you can treat older believers in your life as your father or mother. Don’t be harsh with them, but come with respect and humility. With younger believers, treat them as your sibling. Do not taunt or be rude to them. Do not act as though you are better than them. Rather, treat them with respect that you would want to receive from those who are older than you.
Heavenly Father, make me respectful and humble as I interact with those older and younger than me. If I see something in their life that needs correction, give me wisdom and humility to address it. Lead me by your Holy Spirit, and do not let me do it on my own strength. Let me correct others because I love them and you, not for selfish gain. Thank you God that you correct me in love and not wrath. Let me correct and treat others how you treat me and how I would want to be treated. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Psalm 103:5 – Day 5
“Youth is wasted on the young!” How true is that statement! The older we get the more we long for the days of our youth, when we were more energetic and our joints didn’t creak every time we took a step. When we look into the mirror and see a new wrinkle or gray hair, we wax nostalgic for the days of smooth skin and shiny locks. In this passage, we are told that youthful vitality is not lost to us, not through God. He will renew us as the “eagle.” Eagle. Not sparrow, or swallow, or hummingbird. But the strong and mighty eagle, who can fly up to 10,000 feet, who has over 7,000 feathers to keep it warm and dry, who has exceptional eyesight and seems to soar effortlessly. The eagle is a symbol of strength and grace. Through God, we have the ability to maintain our own strength, stamina and vitality. Through God, we are renewed. Through God, we are made young again.
Galatians 6:9 – Day 5
We should always strive to do good in every way and every place that we can. Our actions testify to the world of the God we preach is a good and loving God. Check your actions and your thoughts and ask yourself if you are truly reflecting the nature of God.
Dear God, I ask that you help me ensure that in everything I do, I reflect your goodness and I reflect your love. My desire is for more and more people to come into your light and the only way they can do this, is by believing in you. May my actions communicate who you are, just as much as my words do. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Isaiah 41:10 – Day 6
God has gone to the ends of the earth to make sure that you will always know that, no matter what, He has got you covered. He will keep you at rest, He will strengthen you, and He will see you through the tough times. In everything you do, every trial that you face, and in every challenge, that comes your way, you should know that you have no reason to fret or worry. God is with you.
Dear God, I thank you that I can trust in you completely, never having to worry or fret when troubling times come my way. I thank you, Lord, that I can rely on your faithfulness. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Romans 15:13 Day 7
Having faith in God is complicated: in happy, positive times, it is easy to forget that God carried you along the way, and in difficult times it is easy to blame Him. I have looked at my faith from a narcissistic lense too often, desiring a reward for being faithful to God. I forget that faith is the reward. Believing in the Lord is what gives me peace and joy, hope and power. In happy times or times of any trouble, we are comforted by God (2 Corinthians 1: 3-4). Let us rejoice in His holy name!
Holy, holy, holy Lord. God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. The hope I feel for the future with you knows no bounds, my Lord, and I aim to please you with every moment of my life. Forgive me for my transgressions and doubts, but I pray to you with a resolve that I did not feel before. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Salvation Baptism When we repent and trust in Christ’s finished work on the cross, He saves us, and we are baptized into Him by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body…
In this baptism, we are also given the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to comfort (John 14:16), teach (John 14:26), guide (John 16:13) and seal (Ephesians 4:30) us.
This is the baptism of our salvation. Once again, this is not something we do, but something Christ does for us (John 1:33), and no water is involved.
Water Baptism Water baptism is a church sacrament (a church ceremony, or practice, that is considered holy and sacred because of its spiritual significance). Water baptism varies greatly among denominations in both practice and significance. There are two sacraments of baptism performed by Christians churches —(1) infant baptism or (2) youth and adult baptism (sometimes called believer’s baptism because the person makes a profession of faith). These baptisms can be performed by the sprinkling of water or by partial or full immersion in water.
Infant Baptism Many churches that practice infant baptism do so with the understanding that the baby is being baptized into the family of believers and dedicated to the Lord. It does not impart any forgiveness of sins, since only Jesus can forgive sins, and only His blood can wash us clean (Revelation 1:5).
In this type of dedication or infant baptism, both the parents and the congregation affirm their trust in Christ as Saviour and commit to raising the child in the Lord’s will and His ways. As the child grows and matures, the child still must repent and trust in Christ to receive forgiveness of sins and be saved by Him. The age, or level of maturity, at which a child can come to Christ will vary (Read more about the age of accountability), but with sound biblical teachings, even young children can understand the gospel, respond to it and be saved by Jesus.
When salvation is received, by someone baptized as an infant, they are called in Scripture to make a public profession. Churches that practice the sacrament of infant baptism also have the sacrament of confirmation. In confirmation, a believer confirms the vows made by their parents on their behalf and publicly professes their faith and trust in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
Baptism of Youth and Adults Other denominations wait until a child is old enough, or mature enough, to understand their sin and the gospel of saving grace (the age of accountability). Once someone has repented and trusted in Jesus, and been saved by Him, they then make a public profession of faith in baptism. This is often done by full immersion into water.
By outward appearances, full immersion baptism is similar to the baptism practice of John the Baptist. However, it is very different in meaning. John the Baptist used water to baptize unto repentance (Matthew 3:10). It was a baptism of purification based on the confession of sins (Matthew 3:6). It was not forgiveness of sins since John did not have the power to forgive sins. Only God can forgive sins and it is received by trusting in Jesus and being washed by His blood, not water.
Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.
The Bible is clear, water baptism is not necessary for salvation. However, there are some churches that would disagree. Search the Scriptures. It is only by Jesus that we are saved (Romans 5:9, Acts 4:12).
If Baptized as an Infant, and Later Confirmed, Do I Need to Be Re-baptized? NO. If water baptism is necessary for salvation, then the Lord erred when the thief on the cross trusted in Him and Jesus promised, “Assuredly [truly], I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” Luke 23:43
We know that the Lord did not err. His words are true and His words to the thief were a promise of salvation– yet the thief on the cross was not baptized. The thief on the cross did the only thing that was necessary for salvation. He called out to Jesus in trusting faith, knowing that Jesus is the Lord and He has the power to bring people into His kingdom.
So if you were baptized as an infant, and later confirmed, you don’t NEED to be re-baptized. In confirmation, you made a public profession of your salvation. However, if you wish to be baptized again, or your church requires it for membership, you should certainly do so. Testifying publicly to what Jesus has done for you, and in you, is always a beautiful thing. It glorifies God and reminds everyone who witnesses your profession of the riches that God has already imparted to you when He saved you.
If Water Baptism Is Not Necessary for Salvation, Should It be Eliminated? Absolutely not! While water baptism has no saving power, it does have sanctifying benefits. Water baptism is a public profession of God’s mercy and grace, whether it’s by believing parents and congregants who vow to raise a child in the knowledge of the Lord, or as a personal profession by a redeemed sinner who has been saved by the grace of God.
I do not want to be misunderstood on this, so let me clarify. Although there may be no need to be water baptized, it is a beautiful sacrament and should be practiced. If one was baptized as an infant, they must understand that they should make a public profession when Jesus saves them. This can be done in confirmation or water baptism. If one was not water baptized as an infant, they should be baptized. However the sacrament is practiced, it is a beautiful testimony that proclaims the mercy and grace of God and His goodness in saving sinners.
Do Not Let This Be Divisive Various churches and denominations have different views on what water baptism signifies and how it should be practiced. I encourage you, DO NOT let this doctrine become divisive among believers. Search the Scriptures for your understanding. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit will reveal all truth.
The Bible is clear that we are to profess with our mouth that which we believe in our hearts (Romans 10:9-10), so be ready to do so. Share the saving grace of Jesus with others, by telling of what He has done for you and what He desires to do for all people.
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Addendum An email was received suggesting this is putting infant baptism “on par” with believer’s baptism. That is not the case.
Infant baptism could be considered similar to infant dedication. It has no saving power. Confirmation could be considered similar to believer’s baptism in that they are both are a profession of faith and that the person has been saved by Jesus by grace alone.
Remember, the question was whether water baptism is NEEDED. We cannot say that someone who was baptized as an infant, has been saved by Jesus, made a profession of faith, but was never immersed in water baptism, NEEDS to be baptized.
The point of this article is that the water of baptism does not save anyone. Only the baptism (washing) in Jesus’ blood (Rev 1:5) has saving power. But don’t hear me wrong. Believer’s baptism is a beautiful way to proclaim the gift of salvation and it is to be commended. Some churches require it, but others do not. And, we should not let this be divisive.
Jesus prayed for unity in the Church, not for uniformity. According to your church’s tradition, tell the world of what Jesus has done in saving you…and then never stop telling people. Especially tell those who do not know Jesus. Tell them that Jesus loves them and offers forgiveness for their sins and new life in Him. To Him be the glory!
What tattoo do you want and where would you put it? I already have them!
The centurion was so confident that Jesus could heal his servant with just a word, even from afar. Why? Because the centurion understood authority and recognized Jesus as the one in charge. We, too, can trust Jesus to answer our prayers, because as creator and sustainer of the universe, we know that he has the authority to command the wind and the seas, the sun and the stars, and even the germs and the pathogens.
Lord Jesus, the universe, the world, and even my life are in Your hands. All authority and power are Yours. And Lord, I call on Your love and Your power to bring where it is needed for my loved ones. For I know that You are never far and that Your word has the power to restore and renew all things. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Human Trafficking Survivor; God and Country, Without God There is No Country/ Judeo-Christian / America Belongs to God 