I recently spent time at a well-known prayer retreat where believers gather to seek healing, repentance, and a closer walk with God. It was there where I met a fellow believer whose passion for repentance and obedience was unmistakable. Later, during fellowship in my own home, that passion collided with conviction.

What followed was not a calm theological discussion, but a raised-voice argument — one that escalated into a painful exchange in front of his wife. It was ugly. I regret letting it reach that point.

The issue at the center of the conflict was baptism — and whether a person who has never been baptized can truly be saved.

That experience forced me to step back, not just to reexamine the theology, but to ask a more sobering question: What happens when deeply held beliefs about obedience begin to eclipse grace—and fracture fellowship in the process?

Christians across Evangelical traditions agree on this much: baptism matters. Jesus commanded it. The apostles practiced it. The Church has cherished it as a public declaration of faith and identification with Christ.

Continued below.

Trump noted Maduro was guarded by the Cuban military, and Cuba's government announced Sunday that 32 Cubans were killed.
Trump noted there were no deaths and only minor injuries for American forces.
A battle where evil lost.

What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives? By God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as servants of God and of his righteousness (see Romans 6:1-23). This is not saying that we will never sin again (1 John 2:1-2), but that we should no longer be walking in sin, making sin our practice. But obedience to our Lord should now be our practice.

For we learn in 1 John 1-3 that if we claim that we have fellowship with God, but yet we walk in darkness (sin), we are liars. If we claim that we know God, but we do not obey his commandments, in practice, we are liars. For it is not the one who claims he is “in Christ” who is “in Christ,” but it is the one who has denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who is now walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in practice, and no longer in sin. We have the hope and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven.

For God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (See Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)

We are not righteous merely based on a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but we are righteous who practice righteousness in the power of God at work within us who have denied self, died to sin, and who walk in obedience to our Lord, in practice, by faith in Jesus Christ. For if we are truly born of God, by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, sin should no longer be what we practice. We should no longer be those who walk in the darkness. We should no longer be those who keep returning to our vomit (see 1 John 3:4-10).

Now God does not demand absolute sinless perfection of his followers, but he does “draw a line in the sand” whereby he makes it quite clear to us that if sin is our practice (what we keep returning to over and over again), and if righteousness, obedience to God, and holy living are not what we practice, that we will not inherit eternal life with God. For Jesus put our sins to death with him on that cross so that, by God-persuaded faith in him, we will now die with him to sin and walk in obedience to his commands, in practice.

But there are so many people who teach the Scriptures today who are teaching them out of context and who are teaching that we can “believe in Jesus” and now all our sins are forgiven, and heaven is secured us for eternity, but regardless of how we live; regardless of whether or not sin remains our “go to” and righteous and godly living are not our practice. But that is a lie from hell! Yes, we are not perfect people, but lack of perfection should never be used as an excuse for walking in the darkness (in sin).

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

And Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

So, cease to do evil, and learn to do good, and obey God, in practice.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

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If You Consent and Obey
An Original Work / January 5, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

Click to expand...

Unless i'm mistaking,
Jesus tells he is not good himself.
Please, how do you understand that ?

Indeed,
Unless i'm mistaking,
i'd say Jesus calling good the Father means it's He that provides with the growth of every being.
Yes, may be, but i fail to understand why (from Jn 1, 29)

(...) the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Click to expand...

is not good Himself, He that gives his own flesh

In youtube, you need to have paid subscription in order to watch at 4x speed.

I think the first question. Does anyone watch at 4x speed?

Personally, I often watch videos at 2x speed especially instructional videos and sermons.

Lately, I've been noticing some of the vids are slower than usual and looked if there is a 3x speed option and there's none! There's only 4x speed and 4x is paid, not free!

Luckily there are free browser extensions that allow you to increase playback speed to beyond 2x without having to pay anything.

I'm not sure about you all, but I've seen God working in my life many times over the years. He covers me daily and whatnot, but that is not the focus of this post; the focus is miracles. I personally had one in that I had Dilated Cardio Myopathy - a serious heart condition. My life wasn't great as a result. (For those unsure what this is, it's an enlargement of the heart and it makes itself known by making you tired fast as it's beating faster than what it should. Think of a car revving it's engine, all the time). The miracle happened when my friend, Bob, was on his way home and the Holy Spirit kept on him to come over and pray for me. He resisted like crazy but ended up giving in and shows up at my house telling me he has NO idea why he was there, LOL! I told him of the tests that I had upcoming for my heart. Side note - I've been living with this condition for a few years at this point, being treated for it, though I've unknowingly had it my whole life. Anyways, he prayed for me, for my heart and at the moment, my heart condition was healed, gone. I felt giddy, laughing when he prayed for me, it was UNREAL! Went to the doctor following this and did all the tests the doctor was looking for (because my condition seemed to have gotten worse, prompting more tests). After the tests, the doctor simply could not believe it. He lost all composure when reading the test results out loud, his disbelief was that bad. But, the tests, and how I felt was proof. I'm off the heart medications now and don't need them anymore. Thank you Lord!!!

I post this because I want you all to believe that God is still on the throne. He's still doing miracles. He's still in control. Have faith and keep following our creator, daily, hourly, and by the minute. Blessings all!!!

From an international perspective the removal of Maduro in Venezuela is a big development:

1) Is this a variation on the theme of the Monroe doctrine (Donroe doctrine) - basically China and Russia should back out of exploiting Venezuelan wealth in oil and rare earths.
2) Can this be done by remote control or will boots on the ground be required. After Afghanistan there is not much popular support for another land war
3) Is this posturing for the mid terms or a part of a long term agenda driven by old style oil politics?
4) Since Trump has not removed the regime despite their links with drug cartels and their corruption does he plan to work with them so long as they allow US Oil companies back into the country and allow them to take their profits (debt repayment) in exchange for updating Venezuelan capital investment.
5) Should the international community turn a blind eye to the US deposing the president of another country however corrupt and dictatorial he was?

How realistic is Trump's plan here and what are its chances of success. Given the rise in US oil company shares this morning and oil infrastructure companies like Haliburton it looks like the markets are betting on a win right now.

Shalom

May I share with you the family situation of our sister Andrea?

Her son Michael grew up in a children's home, is now an adult, and she longs for peace to return to the family and for healing to occur in Jesus' name, and of course, for him and her other children to find their way to the Lord Jesus in Jesus' name.

May the Lord richly bless you (Luke 6:38, Job 42:10) and may He bless Israel in Jesus' name. Amen!

To God alone be the glory.

This was a series of posts that I just did elsewhere.

For this, the physical and life sciences section, I would like for you to state whether you think this is a real possibility or not, and maybe why or why not. Or give me what you think might be the likelihood of the possibility if you think it's possible possibly, etc.

These were the series of posts:

The apparent on the surface at first glance contradictions between two opposing schools of thought/philosophies/viewpoints are there on purpose for us to use our powers of reason to figure out or discern the truth, or figure out how they can come together/be fully reconciled for us to know the balance/truth.

And a few keys to this that will only just only start you down this correct road is to know that Our Heavenly Father/Jesus Father that Jesus first introduced us to/spoke about is not God in the Old Testament, but that God in the Old Testament is/was actually lesser, and is God the Holy Spirit, or God in the Form of a Spirit, and Jesus of course is God in the Form of a man, but nobody knows the exact Form of God the/Our Heavenly Father Jesus spoke of, who has always been the Highest of All, including God the Son, and God the (Holy) Spirit.

The only one who started out with All Knowledge was only this Highest One Jesus first truly introduced us to or spoke of, and that One's only limitation with having All knowledge always was that One's ability to show Him/itself to us because of being the only One having all knowledge from the very beginning always, which created a need for another one or two to be able to make his heart/mind/will/emotions (personality/ways) known to us because he would naturally have an inability to show us these things due to having all knowledge about everything always, etc.

It required a certain amount of ignorance for that One to show us what he is like, because it would have to include a not all knowing beginning, then middle, and then eventually, full maturity, and/or and ending to that development/growth, and we would have to witness that process the entire way, etc. Not possible if you always know everything always, etc.

This whole universe is deterministic also, which is another part you are missing, etc.

This will only begin you down the path of reconciling everything that was said, or the two, at first glance contradicting/opposing thoughts/ideas/philosophies found in both the old and new testaments respectively, etc. None of them accurately knew about judgement, even though a lot of them only thought they did, etc. The key to that lies between the two opposing philosophies/schools of thought, that along with some of these other keys I have just given you, and with adding our God given powers of reason/deduction to the mix after that, allows us to know/discern/figure out the truth, etc.

If we were all-knowing, then we would be completely deviod of any kind of real personality, and feelings, unless we were faking it, or were somehow deceiving others probably, and would have no real way to show ourselves to any others in any kind of meaningful way that would cause us to be able to become known to or by any others. It is probably the one and only limitation of full omniscience. That's why we have the others, and why God is a Trinity, etc. Just not the Trinity in the way that we have all been classically taught probably, etc, and good luck in trying to get the rest of the churches to accept this BTW. They think it's blasphemy, etc.

The other two are the Bridge, and truly are the only way we can even get close to being able to quote/unquote "see" the God, our "Heavenly Father", etc. Jesus figured all this out, and told us to our faces, and did not lie, it's all in his words, etc. And he was the first, and the rest of us can only know this because of what he did, and because of his words, and his finding this out first, etc. He said many would come after him though, etc.

Take Care/God Bless.


First off, their were two different races, that I think were even completely different species of humans, one specially created at the height of hubris by God the Spirit (but not God the Heavenly Father Jesus spoke of) (because that One actually created him/them, etc) (The Holy Spirit and his Angels, etc) but and/or anyway, in the region of ancient Mesopotamia around 7-8 thousand years ago in a small local region in the area (Garden of Eden) around 7-8 thousand years ago when that region was one of the most fertile places on the entire planet before a localized flood that turned the area into a desert where almost nothing would grow after that, etc. (Rain water got mixed with some sea water with salt in it, etc).

These specially created ones done at the height of hubris of God the Holy Spirit and his Angels I like to call "homo-divinus", and were probably about 12 feet tall or so, and were genetically superior to the homo-sapiens that had come through natural evolution in the earth up to that point, etc.

The original plan was for a ruling kingdom/nation with these specially created ones that would rule over all other species on the planet, including the much more smaller, much more genetically inferior, homo-sapiens that had come up on the earth through natural evolution up to that point, if they kept their species/race pure that is, and did not mix with any others up to that point, etc. But of course, after Eden, they eventually started running into these evolved ones, and started to have sex with them, that produced some hybrid children that was an "abomination" to God the Spirit that had made them, etc. They had also become exceedingly wicked much more beyond that, so that God the Spirit declared that he had regretted that he had made them, etc.

And that of course was when he got angry enough to wipe almost all of them out with a local flood that would forever change that entire region as far as plant life goes, etc. The remaining ones after that would eventually have no other choice than to breed with the evolved ones, and whom were now much more numerous than the few homo-divinus that were remaining after that, and needless to say, their species became diminished to almost non-existent in a relatively very short period of time, except for some hybrid children that some cultures would try to keep for a while after that through selective breeding after that, etc.

Anyway, it's a real world possibility that can't be disproven yet, as it contradicts nothing in evolution or science or the earth's age/history up to that point.

It's important to note also that the creation account in genesis perfectly parallels evolution if each "day" is a long age, etc. And the first chapter of Genesis should have ended at Chapter 2 verse 4 instead of where they decided to end it, etc, as Genesis 2:4 reads that everything stated up to that point was a very, very short summary of any entire earth's/planets lifespan/creation/history from beginning to end. Chapter 2 verse 5 instantly takes us to very, very late on day 6, which is still where we are at right now until day 7 starts when Jesus comes back, etc, and that too, will be a very long "day" until this whole entire earth is about to be done away with, and then it's either Heaven, or a new earth after that, etc.

Anyway, these are some of the other possibilities that you might not be considering, etc.

Oh, the sun and the moon were not "created" on day 4, but were "revealed/uncovered" (volcanic dust and ash) to the rest of the surface of the planet after that, etc, that allowed more complex plant life to start evolving and getting much more complex after that, etc. Then came the Sea creatures (day 5) and then the land creatures after that (day 6) (that we're still on, etc) (but day 7 is coming, etc)

I know I'm still leaving out a lot, but hopefully this will be enough to get you started in at the very least considering or entertaining this possibility for a little while, etc.

God Bless.

As some of you know, I’m a fan of old Hollywood and the older Sci-fi 50s stuff. I got to see the movie mentioned in the title for the first time. It was surprisingly good. Come to find out it was part of a double feature in the 50s. The other feature was ‘The Blob’. I thought ‘I married a Monster From Outer Space’ was much better than ‘The Blob’. Go figure. *shrug* Anyway, for those of you that like this genre, I thought I’d let you know. I tend to get these movies out in October or Saturdays nights when the mood strikes.



Marge (Gloria Talbott) is worried about her husband, Bill (Tom Tryon). Ever since they got married, he has acted oddly, almost without emotion. When he leaves to go for a walk one night, Marge follows him and discovers that the man she married isn't a man at all, but an alien replacement of her love. Not only that, most of the men in her small town have been replaced by aliens as well, and they're marrying the women of the town in hopes of using them to repopulate their species.

John Emmett

Artwork created through the use of artificial intelligence.

I like Jesus' saying about how his yoke is easy and burden light. I was watching a homily from a priest whose parish I attend often, and he insinuated that we no longer have the type of discipline that the Orthodox do when it comes to fasting because of V2, and I did some searching for Pre-V2 practices of the laity and I don't think I could have handled it

• Meat was banned throughout Lent.
• Dairy products were not allowed.
• Eggs were restricted.
• Meal portions were strictly limited.
• Midnight fast before Communion
• Fasting on Ember Days
• Fasting on Vigils before major feasts

I know, I know, some will chide me and say how this was wonderful and how we should all go back to this but does this mean I wasn't meant to be a Catholic if I couldn't have handled Pre-V2 disciplines?

I could tell he was not a believer because someone mentioned demons and he said, "Aren't you a little old to still be believing things like that?"

It's like he was saying if you believe in the Devil then you are childish and immature. His words, not mine.

I've heard people like him speak before, these "science is god and so is evolution" type people, but what he said still bothers me because my faith is central to my life. I love Jesus so much. I know the Devil is real. I've been attacked by him before. It wasn't pleasant.

I mean, I try not to let the negative speech of unbelievers get to me, but sometimes I can't help it...I'm sensitive and I feel things deeply...

After U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Saturday, Pope Leo expressed deep concern over the situation. Global reactions to the developments are split.

• Pope speaks: Pope Leo XIV urged prayer and respect for human rights in Venezuela at Sunday Angelus, saying "the good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration."
• U.N. convenes Monday: Security Council will meet at 10 a.m. after Colombia requested emergency session, backed by Russia and China. U.N. chief calls U.S. operation "a dangerous precedent."
• Global reactions split: European leaders stressed international law while China expressed "deep shock." Venezuelan bishops called for prayer and unity as Maduro awaits Monday arraignment in New York.

Pope calls for prayer, respect for human rights in Venezuela​

Continued below.

As Adventist, we were taught that the first beast of Rev. 13, is the Papacy, and the second beast from the earth is the US. This I assume you believe, which I believe to be incorrect based on a valid interpretation of apocalyptic prophecy.

Our early founding fathers believing in the return of Christ in 1844, believed that all of Revelations prophecies had to be fulfilled. We as Adventist have owned up to the fact that our founding fathers were wrong in believing the return of Christ in 1844, but are reluctant to reconsider other prophetic interpretations that were excepted based on the same bias.

One hundred and eighty two years have passed since the great disappointment, did that mark the end of any progressive truth from on high, or are we to believe that God will reveal more light as needed as we draw nearer to closing events. I believe in the latter, since creation God has continued to reveal more of Himself according to His timing and will continue to do so throughout eternity.

Since our earlier interpretation of Revelation was excepted, God has revealed greater light as to the laws of interpretation He built into apocalyptic prophecy and has made these know to those who have ears to hear, and likely to experience their actual fulfillment, for their salvation will depend on weather they except or reject the “Mark of the Beast”. Therefore, it is most important that we understand Revelation correctly, in which valid laws of interpretation are essential.

Please consider the following laws;

Rule one: Each prophecy has a beginning point and an ending point in time, and the events within each prophecy occur in the order in which they are given. This chronological behavior may sound simple, but it has profound ramifications. Consider the results of violating this behavior. If the events given within a particular prophecy do not occur in the order given, who has the authority to declare the order of events? Does anyone other than God have the authority to change the order that He created? When the fulfilled elements in Daniel and Revelation are aligned with widely published historical records, the validity of Rule One proves true every time! The prophecies in Daniel began unfolding more than 2,600 years ago. Some of the prophecies in Revelation began unfolding 2,000 years ago. These lengthy periods of time contain a sufficient sample to validate the four rules that spring from Daniel’s architecture.

Rule Two: A prophecy or prophetic element within a prophecy is not fulfilled until all of the specifications are met. This includes the order of the events given within the prophecy. (Fulfillment)

Rule Three: Apocalyptic language can be literal, symbolic, or analogous. To reach the intended meaning of a passage, the student must consider (a) the context, (b) the use of parallel language in the Bible, and (c) a relevant text that defines the symbol if an element is thought to be symbolic. (Language types)

Rule Four: The presence or absence of the Jubilee Calendar determines how God measures time. If a prophetic time period occurs during the operation of the Jubilee Calendar (1437 B.C. - 1994), time is translated as a day for a year; otherwise, translation is not permitted. (Timing)

The main pillar which our early church fathers believed in support of the “ Mark of the Beast” being Sunday worship was that the first beast of Rev. 13 was the papacy. Using what I and others consider to be valid laws of interpretation which God has since revealed, I will explain why I think that interpretation is incorrect.

First let me show you that we as Adventist do not understand rule one, that chronology within apocalyptic prophecy “is a law, thus it has no exceptions.” The following quote is taken from our SDA Bible Commentaries, vol., 7, pg. 787. Pertaining to Rev. 8: 3-5. “According to the view that Seventh-day Adventists have favored, the cessation of the angel’s ministry at the altar of incense is symbolic of the end of the ministration of Christ for mankind, the close of probation. The voices, thunderings, lighting, and earthquake that ensue when the angel cast the censer into to the earth describe events to take place at the end of the seventh trumpet…”

Please bear with me for it is critical that we understand what will happen when this prophecy is fulfilled in the future. The services conducted daily at the alter of incense in the earthly tabernacle pointed back in time when Jesus stepped between His Fathers wrath to destroy Adam and Eve the very day they ate of the forbidden fruit. (Gen. 2: 16, 17) On that day Jesus agreed to the Father’s plan of salvation, which if He, Jesus were to fulfill all that the Father required of Him, Jesus could save Adam and Eve and their offspring from eternal death. Since that day Jesus has been standing between the Fathers wrath and sinful mankind, corporate atonement, for our fallen world . Likewise (Jh. 3:16) is a corporate reference of God’s love for mankind. While corporate atonement is ongoing we as individuals have our life span to choose to either worship God or not. However, (Rev. 8:2-5) informs us that when the service at the altar of incense in heave ceases then the Fathers wrath will be poured out upon the earth. The Good news is probation does not close for individuals. Just as it was in the time of the earthly sanctuary, as the final day of probation was drawing to a close for Israel each year on the Day of Atonement, trumpets sounded morning and evening throughout the camp to warn the living that now was the final moments to get right with God, least they be cut off from the camp.

Therefore, when the chronology of Rev. 8 is correctly understood as it is given, and is being fulfilled in the future, corporate atonement ends, before the trumpets sound, and the Fathers wrath will follow immediately with the seven trumpet judgements, a time when the living will be judged, will they choose the salvation of Jesus or not, for by the end of the seventh trumpet probation closes.

But how will people know when this corporate atonement ends? Because God being merciful, has linked heavenly events with earthly events so that students of prophecy can understand what is taking place in heaven should they witness the earthly events linked to them. When the censor is case down to the earth, prophecy reveals there will be a chronological order of world wide events, as all must be informed. There will be literal voices, thunderings, lightning, and an earthquake. Has these literal world wide events been recorded to date in historical journals. No! Therefore, corporate probation has not ended, nor has the trumpet judgements begun, as our founding fathers believed.

However, the Millerites believed that the trumpets of Rev, 8 and 9, must be fulfilled before 1844, researched historical records to find events that seemed like logical fulfillments. These fulfillments we hold to this day. They believed that the first trumpet sounded between 395-419 A.D. and the seventh opened in 1844. Does this interpretation harmonize with the earthly sanctuary model, in which the trumpets sounded nine days prior to the day of atonement, the close of probation? No. Have billions of people since the sounding of the first trumpet in 395 A.D. been made aware that salvation was soon to close? No. So what purpose has the trumpets served based on the Millerites interpretation????

Now consider the effects the trumpets judgements will have when they sound in their proper chronological order within Revelations story, during the final days of probation. First trumpet: meteorite shower that burns up a third of the earth. Second trumpet judgement: asteroid impacts an ocean, one third of the sea life is destroyed and a third of the ships. Third trumpet judgement: another asteroid hits a continent, which will cause earth’s titanic plates to shift, causing earthquakes around the world and spilling toxic waste buried deep within the earth, leaching into aqua steams and poisoning one third of our drinking water. Thus millions will die drinking polluted water. Fourth trumpet: mega tons of ash and soot from the previous three trumpets will be swept up into our jet streams which circle the earth and prevent one third of the sun and stars from giving forth their light. Crops will fail to mature and world wide famine will occur.

These trumpet judgments are designed by God to bring the fear of an Almighty God to the minds of every living individual, because He wants them to know that the end of life as we have experienced it is over, therefore, choose to worship Him or suffer the seven last plagues poured out without mercy, and eternal death.

Satan clearly understands prophecy, thus understands that God will release him and his angels during the fifth trumpet and allow him to kill a third of mankind during the sixth. Of course since these prophecies were given to John , Satan has been misleading millions into invalid interpretations to cover up his appearance. We as Adventists believe that Satan and his angles will appear on earth in the end, but have no prophecy indicating when, nor his plans. Would it not be out of character for God to reveal the greatest deception of all time, Satan masquerading as God and demanding worship or death? For certain God has, but Satan has convinced millions it is the pope who is the Antichrist, the man of sin.

The first beast of Rev. 13, comes along in Revelations story after corporate atonement ends in Rev. 8:2-5, and the first four trumpet judgements has put the earth in survival mode. The first of the three angles messages will be proclaimed during this time in fulfillment of prophecy. It states: “Fear God [literally] and give Him glory, for the hour [time] of His judgment [of the living] has come.” Certainly under these world wide conditions the first angels message will make more sense and have a greater impact on mankind then previously understood by our church in it’s early years.

Satan who has been standing on the shore of the sea [multitutes and nations] will witness the world reeling from the first four trumpet judgements, and seize the opportunity to raise up the sea beast of Rev. 13. It will consist of seventeen players. Seven heads, the seven major religions of the world. The one head/religion whose fatal wound is healed “before” this composite beast appears. The ten horns are ten kings, or world leaders. They were first mentioned in (Dan. 2:42-44) and would rule at the time of Christ coming. John describes the beast as looking like a leopard, bear, and lion, symbolizing this beast would be multinational, from former kingdoms. And that the dragon/satan will give it his power and great authority for forty two literal months as his puppet government of church and state.

To determine the timing when this beast appears one must factor in all the details given and omit nothing. This is not difficult to determine but rather difficult to accept. The sea beast appears after the head with the fatal wound has been [past tense] healed. That head or religion is the papacy and the wound was inflicted in 1798 after ruling over Europe for 1260 years during the dark ages, according to (Dan. 7:24,25) Too, after it appears in the future after the four trumpets have destroyed a third of the earth, it is then given forty two months to rule. According to the fourth rule given above, these forty two months are literal, since the prophecy will be fulfilled after the expiration of the Jubilee calendar in 1994.

At the sounding of the fifth trumpet God releases satan and his angels out of the spirit realm to appear on earth. And in Rev. 13:11-18, the timing is after the sea beast appears, Lucifer will put on a glorious show to deceive most of the world into believing that he is Almighty God, even calling fire down from heaven. During this time, Jesus will allow Lucifer and his demons to torture non-religious people for five literal months. This torture will cause some people to embrace the gospel of Jesus.

During the sixth trumpet, having convinced millions he is Christ, satan orders earth’s inhabitants to set up an image to the first beast. This image will be a one world church/state. Since he the Christ and now upon the earth, there can only be one religion and one God, who will rule over the earth as king of kings and lord of lords. His forces will kill a third of the remaining people on earth who oppose him by implementing his mark, “the mark of the beast.” God will allow this because if forces more of the living to choose whom they shall worship, Satan of Christ. At the time when this mark is being implemented survival on earth is dire being into the trumpet judgments now for over two years, food will be rationed and now the only ones who will be able buy or sell will be those receiving satan’s mark 666 on their right hand or in their foreheads if they are satan’s leaders, the rest will be killed. At the same time the third angles message will go out warning people, “ If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they too, will drink the wine of god’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.” The seventh trumpet brings the end of probation and is followed by the seven last plagues, effecting those who received satan’s mark.

It is my prayer that you will give considerable thought to what I have posted here and the fact that chronology has been followed to determine the timing of the various events that God has predetermine must take place in order that the everlasting gospel goes out into all the world, before probation comes to its close, and that nobody will be unaware.

Psalm 65:9–11 (NKJV): “You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it;
The river of God is full of water… You crown the year with Your goodness,
and Your paths drip with abundance.”​

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God’s Faithfulness for Everyday Needs

Opening Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise Your Holy name, O Jehovah Jireh. You are the God who sees and provides. You are faithful to meet our everyday needs. As we study this devotional, we pray You will open our understanding to these words and give us new illuminations and insight into Your living word. In the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

Message

It is comforting to know that the God of all Creation provides for our every need. “Who am I that You are mindful of me” Who am I that Almighty God takes notice of me and meets my every need in my daily life. It is a great honor and privilege that our Maker takes such a loving and tender notice of us that we should not want for anything. “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He lays me down in green pasture and leads me to still waters”. He provides for all my needs even if I am unaware of just what those needs are. He knows the hearts of man and knows all of our needs even before we know them ourselves and meets those needs.

Psalm 8:4 (NKJV): “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?”

Psalm 23:1–2 (NKJV): “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”

Matthew 6:8 (NKJV): “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”

Philippians 4:19 (NKJV): “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 139:1–2 (NKJV): “O Lord, You have searched me and known me.2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.”

According to the Hebrew translation, Jireh means to see or to provide. The Almighty God – God of the Universe – God of all creation sees our needs and provides for our everyday needs with what He knows we are in need of.

Matthew 6:8 (NKJV): “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”

Philippians 4:19 (NKJV): “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

That’s not to say we sit back and say: “Ok, God. You know what I need, so I’m waiting for you to provide. I’m afraid to say, people, that’s just not the way it works. You see, we also have to do our part in providing for ourselves. The God who sees and provides; is faithful and will provide for us as we also do our part in working towards providing those provisions for ourselves as well. We need to put our trust in God by praying and telling Him what we need, we need to seek His guidance and direction through His word and we need to put our faith and trust in Him and know that He is our provider and He is faithful and just to provide for our every need.

Psalm 33:13–15 (NKJV): “13 The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. 14 From the place of His dwelling He looks On all the inhabitants of the earth; 15 He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.”

James 2:17 (NKJV): “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Psalm 37:5 (NKJV): “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”

God will provide for all our needs, even if we don’t see it happening or see it right away, He is working on our behalf to make sure that our every need is met. God is working behind the scenes on our behalf, even if we don’t see it.

Genesis 22:14 (NKJV): “And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Isaiah 64:4 (NKJV): “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him.”

Looking back and reflecting on these truths, we are reminded that God’s care and provisions are not distant from us. They are not occasional, but rather, they are here for us always. God is steady and consistent in providing for our every need just as we need it, in His time. This stands true. even when we cannot see what He is doing. He is always working behind the scenes on our behalf. God sees what we cannot see. He knows what we cannot know. He prepares what we cannot prepare or imagine. We need only to trust Him, seek Him, and walk faithfully in the walk we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. The God who sees and provides has never failed His people, and He will not begin with us.

Romans 8:28 (NKJV): “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Psalm 37:23-24 (NKJV): “23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.”

We can move forward and remain confident that God is both aware of our needs and actively working to meet them. There is nothing in our lives that escapes Our Father’s attention. Nothing is too small or too great for Him to accomplish. In waiting for Him to provide for our needs, we know His hands are at work behind the scenes for us. He is arranging what we need long before we ever ask for it from Him, and long before we reach the place where we will need it. We can trust Him with all our hearts and know that Jehovah Jireh — the God who sees and provides — is faithfully watching over us.

Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV) “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”

Psalm 121:3–4 (NKJV) “3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.”

May the God who sees you, knows you, and provides for you go before you in every step. May His peace steady your heart,
His presence guide your days, and His faithful hand supply all that you need. And as you walk with Him,
may you rest in the quiet assurance that He is working on your behalf,
both in what you see and in what you cannot see. Amen.​

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Questions to Ponder

1. Where have I seen God provide for me in ways I didn’t recognize until later?



2. Am I trusting God with my needs while also doing the part He has given me to do?



3. What area of my life do I need to surrender to Jehovah Jireh and trust His timing and provision?
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Closing Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for all the insights, understanding and new illuminations of Your word You have given us this day. We love you with all our hearts, dear Lord. We thank you that You are our Great Provider and You provide for our every need. In Jesus Mighty name, Amen.

To the Holy Spirit: Thank You for guiding every word, guarding every step, and glorifying Jesus. All glory, honor, praise, and worship belong to God Almighty, who alone is worthy.

Scripture Acknowledgement: All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version® (NKJV). Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Special thanks to Bible Gateway for providing accessible, searchable Scripture resources that support devotional writing and spiritual study.

May these words echo grace, healing, and truth wherever they are read.

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I'm sure we will all have very different memories. I'm not opening this up with the idea that I want to debate people. Only that I would like to reflect, and would like to reflect on the reflections of others.

Personally, 2025 was an amazing year for me privately. The word miraculous comes to mind. I have a fantastic team of doctors that made amazing strides both with my physical health and my mental health. After years of being disabled, I have returned to part time work. But that's not even the half of it. The improvement in my emotional state of mind has been... breathtaking. It's as though I have been sitting in the dark, and someone came and opened the door, and the light is streaming in. I think I will look back at 2025 as the year when the butterfly emerged from the chrysalis.

In stark contrast, what I have seen go on in the world around me has been terrifying. I have watched my country slip deeper into tyranny and empire. I have wept over the middle east. I have been witness to a rise in demonization of "the other" to a degree I previously only read about in books.

Some of that has hit me personally in a very real and deeply frightening way. The rise in antisemitism has been going on for many years, but 2025 was particularly bad. We had the firebombing of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s home during Passover, a politician who had made his Conservative Judaism an integral part of his political identity. On Yom Kippur, a terrorist drove his car into a crowd outside a Manchester synagogue before continuing in with a knife. It was only a couple weeks ago on the first day of Hanukkah that a father/son terrorist team shot up the Jewish crowd on Bondi Beach. I remember putting my head into my hands and asking my friend, "Are we ever going to have Jewish holidays anymore where we don't have dead Jews?"

Some day, my great grandchildren will be reading about this in their textbooks. I want them to know the truth. That's the reason that I filed a police report about the swastika carved into the wall--not because I think the cops will catch the guy, but because I know the FBI collects those statistics.

The day is going to come when my great grandkids say to me, "Bubbe, where were you when the Supreme Court ruled that Presidents need not obey the law? Where were you when separation of powers was thrown out the window? Where were you when Christian Nationalists were undermining freedom of religion? Where were you when Trump spoke of acquiring Greenland and the Panama canal and the American Riviera in Gaza and Canada being the 51st state? Where were you when he attacked Venezuela to acquire oil?" And I can say to them, "Here I am. You see me in this picture. That's me screaming at the top of my lungs, screaming my warning to anyone who would listen: No Kings."

Please pray that if it is God's will he will take my stomach pain away and to please heal my son Jakeb's pain and stomach problems too. I ask for good health for my family and happiness. I ask in the name of Jesus. Thank you and God bless you. Carmen

I am starting my own business in property management; I will be having my first tenant soon. I find all this to be time consuming. I will be spending 1 hour per week studying the Bible, do you think this is enough? I am 28, so I got many years to study hopefully.

This is about people who claim to be the people of God, but who are living in adultery and in idolatry in the worship of those who are not God. For they are giving their worship and their undivided loyalties and devotion to what is not of God, and to that which is contrary to the will of God and to the teachings of God. And they are following after the institutions of idolatrous kings and their kingdoms via idolatrous rites instituted by the idolatrous kings. But some worshipers do so innocently, for they were raised that way.

So, I want to look at three ways in which this is happening today:

Government Worship

I was born the last day of 1949, so when I attended public school and church gatherings from as early as I can remember, we were taught, with hand over heart, to pledge (vow) our allegiance (loyalty, fidelity, worship) to our government. And we were taught patriotic songs of worship of our government, as well. And we were taught that our military were our heroes protecting us and keeping us safe, and so we were to honor them. And all this took place in our public schools and in the gatherings of the church.

Now I did this for many years of my life before God helped me to see this from his perspective. Are we to obey our governing authorities? Yes, but with biblical exceptions. But we are not to pledge our allegiance and devotion to any human institution or to any king (ruler). Our vow of loyalty and fidelity should be to God, first and foremost, and then to our spouses (if married). And we are to test the spirits to see if they are of God so we don’t end up following the antichrist, and not God, by lacking in discernment.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 10:16-25; Matthew 16:6-12; Matthew 24:11-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 10:1-15; John 15:18-21; Romans 16:17-20; 1 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Corinthians 15:33; 2 Corinthians 11:1-4; Galatians 6:3,7-8; Ephesians 5:3-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-17; Titus 1:10-16; 2 Peter 2:1-22; James 1:16,26; 1 John 1:8; 1 John 2:26; 1 John 3:7; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:3-23]

Israel Worship

We live in a day and time when the church has been taught, not only government worship, but worship of the national and political state (nation) of Israel. But biblical Israel is not this present political state, but it is all people of genuine faith in Jesus Christ (Israel), both Jew and Gentile by physical birth. For all Jews who rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah were cut out of biblical Israel, and all Gentile believers in Christ were grafted into biblical Israel. So biblical Israel is all who believe in Jesus as the Christ.

For it is not the physical descendants of Abraham who belong to Israel. And it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God. But the children of the promise are counted as offspring. And the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed, that is Christ. So if we belong to Christ, by biblical faith in him, then we are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise given to Abraham and to his seed (Jesus Christ). For whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ is the antichrist, denying the Father and Son.

[Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19; John 8:18-19,38-47; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 9:4-8,25-28; Romans 11:1-36; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:1-6; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:22; Jude 1:5; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9]

Institutional Church Worship

Now there is a distinct difference between the church, the body of Christ, comprised of all who are of genuine biblical faith in Jesus Christ, and what is mostly being referred to as “the church” in our world today, but which are businesses of human origin, created in the minds of human beings, and which are being marketed to the people of the world who they want to attract to their gatherings so that they can grow their numbers. That is what is called “the institutional church,” with human origins, not God origins.

And there are multitudes of people today professing faith in Jesus Christ who are giving their loyalties and devotion to these man-made organizations called “churches,” but which are being led by business goals and marketing schemes, and which are mostly teaching a cheapened form of the gospel of Christ which largely does not require that we die to sin and obey God in practice. For their goal is to attract the world and to appeal to human appetites, and so they dilute the gospel to make it more acceptable.

But the Scriptures teach that we are to come out from among them so that we do not share in their sins and in their punishment. For we are not to be partners with the ungodly, but we are to be separate. For we are the temple of the living God, if by faith in Jesus Christ we have died with Christ to sin and we are now living for God in walks of obedience to his commands, in practice. So we are not to walk in the devices of worldly kings and pastors, but we are to follow the Scriptures and the teachings of Jesus Christ.

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

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In Their Devices, Do You Walk?
An Original Work / January 4, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Several Evangelical leaders across the country have responded to President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States has captured dictator Nicolás Maduro during a military strike in Caracas and will run Venezuela until a new transition plan is in place. Offering public praise, leaders, including the Rev. Franklin Graham and Ambassador Mike Huckabee, linked the operation to justice, spiritual deliverance and national security.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were apprehended during an early-morning raid on Saturday in Caracas.

Trump said the mission was carried out without any American casualties or equipment loss. He called it one of the most successful military operations in recent history and announced that the U.S. would oversee Venezuela’s government until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” could occur.

Continued below.

The inclusion of fictional substances is being called an embarrassment by one state official, a possible practical joke by coal industry leaders and mystifying by the lawmakers who worked on the bill, the North Dakota Monitor reported.

The fake minerals are friezium and stralium, apparent references to Christopher Friez and David Straley, attorneys for North American Coal who were closely involved in drafting the bill and its amendments. Straley said they were not responsible for adding the fake names.

Please pray for a breakthrough with my finances thank you

Hundreds of iceberg earthquakes detected at the crumbling end of Antarctica’s Doomsday Glacier​

Earthquakes at the Doomsday Glacier​

Thwaites Glacier is sometimes known as the Doomsday Glacier. If it were to collapse completely it would raise global sea levels by 3 metres, and it also has the potential to fall apart rapidly.

About two-thirds of the events I detected – 245 out of 362 – were located near the marine end of Thwaites. Most of these events are likely glacial earthquakes due to capsizing icebergs.

The strongest driver of such events does not appear to be the annual oscillation of warm air temperatures that drives the seasonal behaviour of Greenland glacier earthquakes.

Instead, the most prolific period of glacial earthquakes at Thwaites, between 2018 and 2020, coincides with a period of accelerated flow of the glacier’s ice tongue towards the sea. The ice-tongue speed-up period was independently confirmed by satellite observations.

So on Christmas i was having extremely bad Blurry vision it got so bad I went to the Burlington ER 2 and a half hours away on Saturday because I wanted to see an opthamologist there and see if anything bad was going on with my vision. They cleared me of anything emergent and sent me home and didn't allow me to see an opthamologist and insisted I see one in Plattsburgh on Monday instead. So I went to see one on Monday and asked for prayers, everyone prayed including my mom and everyone else the opthamologist cleared me of everything and then sent me home. Well 2 days later something absolutely amazing happened. I started being able to see my tablet crystal clear without my glasses from approximately 2 feet away.

The next day my vision got even better and the next day I was able to make out faces, teeth, eyes, hair, ears, hair, even pupils and objects in people's hands on our 65 inch tv. So I called the opthamologist and they wanted to see me urgently again and ruled out all causes again and dilated my eyes again. And now something absolutely miraculous is happening today. As the dilation is wearing off approximately 90% of my vision is completely back my visual processing is back and I can see bold letters on my tablet and ultra crisp images on my computer and I can almost completely see EVERYTHING. Not only did God give me my sight back. He gave me almost ALL of my sight back!!! I was mostly blind and needed glasses for almost 33 years and now i wilp completely see again!!! PRAISE GOD!!!