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Deeper Trust

deserttree.jpg


Deeper Trust

One of the hardest lessons to be learned in the Spiritual life is the letting go of our idols that we create that we think are God. So, as we age, and hopefully mature, these idols are smashed and another one arises, though hopefully closer to the heart of who and what God is. I believe that is a never-ending process.

When the God of our understanding fails us, it is then that a crisis of sorts happens and we either have to deepen our faith through prayer and yes study, or we back away. All relationships go through this crisis. It leads, hopefully, to a revaluation and a maturing of the relationship.

One trail that must be gone through is the experience of God’s absence, or withdrawal. This must happen, for if it does not, the soul becomes stuck in a relationship mostly with ‘self’, often the harsher aspects. We all understand anger, rejection, and unforgiveness. So, we place this human way of responding to hurt, betrayal, and emotional pain by withdrawing and protecting ourselves. This is projected onto our understanding of God.

This is a common question that is often asked of me: “Where is God? I no longer feel the joy or presence of the Lord”. Well, our emotional state does not in any way change God’s relationship with all of His children. When we are in the desert, a place that is dry, and where prayer is a struggle, it is at that time that we have to go deeper and make a hard, but free choice, to love God for Himself, and not for what we can get out of Him. It is in that withdrawal that our idols one by one turn to sand and we draw closer to the Infinite light of God’s love.

Jesus came as a child, a humble revelation of God. He entered into our experience, all of them, yet never lost trust in the Father’s love. His reason for coming was to show us the Father. To see Jesus is to see the Father.

Any Christian spirituality that does not line up with the “Parable of the Prodigal Son” is off the mark. Hence the need for the desert experience to draw us deeper into trust that is beyond our feelings and emotions. It is a hard lesson to learn, and I believe for most it is a lifetime journey.

We are the cross we must carry. Yet, when allowing the healing love of Christ Jesus to become a reality, it does become lighter because we learn to not always trust our emotions and feelings, as important as they are.

So pray with hope, even when it is a struggle. Continue in prayer when feeling overwhelmed with distraction. Pray when in the grip of one’s weakness. Pray when joyful and full of trust. No matter how we feel, or what deep emotions we are feeling, God is with us, loving us, leading us all into deeper trust. -Br-MD
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Black Eyed Pea Chicken Chili

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Chicken tenders or boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/ 2-by-3- inch strips
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 Medium onion, diced (about 1 cup
  • 2 Garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 15-ounce cans Black eyed peas drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup Corn kernels, fresh or frozen and thawed
  • 1 4 ounce Can chopped green chiles
  • 2 teaspoons Ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons Pure chile powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
  • 3 cups Water, plus more if needed
  • 2 cups Grated Monterey Jack cheese
  • 2 tablespoons Chopped fresh cilantro
Directions

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the chicken pieces and cook, stirring, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-high and add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the beans, corn, chiles, spices, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

2. Add more water, ½ cup at a time, if the chili is too thick. When the chili is done, taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Ladle the chili into bowls and top each serving with a spoonful of cheese and a sprinkling of cilantro.

Happy New Year!

This Little Light Of Mine, I'm Gonna Let It Shine

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“This Little Light Of Mine, I’m Gonna Let It Shine”
Matthew 5:14-16 NIV
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Last Sunday morning at our church, the kids group sang a fun rendition of “This Little Light Of Mine”. As they were singing, it was so cool to see them singing this song they had practiced and how much fun they were having doing it. We all have some laughs at what some of the kids were doing. When kids are on stage, there can be some funny moments and very precious moments as well.

As I kept thinking about that song, it made me think of how much I’ve sang that song from when I was a little kid up to even now. I can’t count the number of times I’ve sang that song and enjoyed it. But when I think more about the words, I wonder, “How much have I really let my little light shine for God?” All these years I’ve sang it with others and watched kids sing it, how often are we REALLY excited to share that light with others?

In Matthew, we read that we have the Light of God and the world needs to see what we have to share and offer. We wouldn’t light a candle or turn on a lamp and then cover it. That would completely defeat the purpose. We are meant to carry the Light of God and shine for all to see.

As we all celebrate the Christmas season and look forward to a New Year very soon, let us consider how we can live this out, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!” As Matthew states, we are the light of the world. God wants us to shine!

Next time you hear a child or a group of kids or even adults sing this song, remember how God has called us to REALLY let our light shine!
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I am the Light of the World

One of the most famous Bible quotes is the statement of Jesus, “I am the Light of the world!” What is not so often mentioned is that Jesus also told us we are the Light of the world. “You are the light of the world....” (Matthew 5:14 ,NIV)

This is, of course, only true when we are devoted to representing God, to doing God’s Will, and not when we are focused on getting as much worldly pleasure as possible while we are here. Yet when I pray for Divine Guidance, and ask for God’s Light to shine through me, I am the Light of the world!

I hardly ever hear Christians say this about themselves, even though saying that you are the Light of the world would be, as I understand it, fully in harmony with representing God, with following Jesus. And I am just wondering about the members of this part of the Christian Forum:

Do you see yourself and talk about yourself as the Light of the world?

More Wars

Right before my very eyes.

Matthew 24:6-8
King James Version
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Pro-Palestinian protesters chant ‘Christmas is canceled’ while carrying blood-red mock Nativity scene through NYC

“No Joy In Genocide,” said another, written atop the faux Nativity scene, which was splattered in what appeared to be fake blood and which several of the demonstrators carried on their shoulders.


Be wise as serpents

Jesus gave a pep talk in Matthew 10:

16 Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17a Be on your guard.
What was so wise about serpents? What was this positive imagery about snakes?

Barnes explained:

sheep in the midst of wolves - That is, I send you, inoffensive and harmless, into a cold, unfriendly, and cruel world. Your innocence will not be a protection.
How do snakes survive in this cruel world?

Not by being innocent.

Be wise as serpents ... - Serpents have always been an emblem of wisdom and cunning, Genesis 3:1. The Egyptians used the serpent in their hieroglyphics as a symbol of wisdom. Probably the thing in which Christ directed his followers to imitate the serpent was in its caution in avoiding danger.
Be cautious, like a snake. Don't innocently head into trouble situations.

No animal equals them in the rapidity and skill which they evince in escaping danger. So said Christ to his disciples, You need caution and wisdom in the midst of a world that will seek your lives. He directs them, also, to be harmless, not to provoke danger, not to do injury, and thus make their fellow-men justly enraged against them. Doves are, and always have been, a striking emblem of innocence. Most people would foolishly destroy a serpent, be it ever so harmless, yet few are so hard-hearted as to kill a dove.
Jesus used snakes as positive imagery. Don't be foolish. Don't go out there looking for trouble. Be wise. Be cautious, like a snake.

Judge not? 2 kinds of Sin

Recently I raised a matter that really deserves its own thread, so that it doesn't get confused with other issues. It is the matter of differentiating between classes of Sin.

Over the course of my lifetime I've heard things like, "All sins are the same." Well, I don't find that to be true. It is true that all sins would keep us out of heaven were it not for the grace of God. However, the sin of murder is greater than the sin of name-calling. It may be argued that name-calling could lead to murder. But they are not the same, obviously.

So what is my point here? The OT Law spoke of intentional and non-intentional sins. I don't think Moses was saying that non-intentional sins were entirely innocent, but that they were matters of indiscretion--acts done consciously and aware, but not done in blatant rebellion against God's word. There was some rationalization involved that mitigated the offense.

On the other hand, "intentional sins" were, I think, in the category of overt rebellion against God's law. They were not only the product of conscious, deliberate decision-making, but they were an expression of hostility against God's authority to control human behavior.

So there are things we all do, as Christians, that indicate we have a sin nature. We are predisposed towards carnality, but are able to overcome it by leaning on the Spirit of God. We indulge, at times, many incidences of carnal behavior, even as we attempt to check these behaviors by resorting to God's Spirit.

But these "smaller sins" are merely "specks in the eye" in our brothers, which Jesus said we should avoid trying to pick out. Nit-picking, in other words, is not something a Christian should engage in, if he or she is to participate in Christian edification, and correction in love.

The accountability we owe to one another does not concern "nit-picking," but rather, matters of gross sin and rebellion against God, which if these things are not repented of can lead to terrible consequence. If we love our brothers and sisters, we need to try to persuade them to avoid gross sins, which can lead to terrible punishment, and even death.

Matt 7. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

1 Cor 5.9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”

12-26-2023

‭Matthew‬ ‭7:7‬ ‭KJV‬
[7] Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

I find it pleasing to to God to come to him in faith asking and I have done this. And I believe he will do it of my hearts desire. And I recieve recieve from God my Father.

‭Proverbs‬ ‭19:17‬ ‭KJV‬
[17] He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; And that which he hath given will he pay him again.

This can comes to question ? But I still believe it's in God's will.

Matthew 21:13 (KJV) And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

I speak faith in Jesus that he will get rit of thieves from the house of prayer. And God will still do what he said he will do for those who pray in the house of prayer.

‭Matthew‬ ‭19:26‬ ‭KJV‬
[26] But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

I have faith for eyes to see amd to receive the Kingdom of God. For those who would like to see this and have a heart for this. Pray to God asking him for sight and heart to believe.

‭John‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭KJV‬
[17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Answer: ‭1 Samuel‬ ‭26:23‬ ‭KJV‬

I'm have faith and trust in the LORD and I'm anointed to be saved.

How do you interpret some of the OT timelines?

In my daily reading, I'm reading in 1 Samuel 9-12, the anointing of Saul. In the passage, the people of Jabesh, in the face of an enemy attack, send messengers throughout all Israel. Short version is that Saul gathers an army and responds, defeating the enemy. Here's my question... The people ask the enemy for a truce of 7 days and in that time, they 1. send messengers throughout the nation, 2. Saul gets the message, slaughters an animal, then send the parts to the rest of the country, 3. the nation responds and an army is gathered. All of that in 7 days. I usually think literally about Bible things but either the words don't mean what they seem to or the timeline is misleading. Because, the messages had to be delivered on foot, maybe donkey but regardless, not quickly. And all Israel would certainly mean a couple hundred miles, so walking all day (25 miles?), wouldn't get the message to everyone in time. Add to that the time it takes to get everyone together, walk/march back to Jabesh and you are well past the 7 day period. So, how can this passage be understood?

Pray With Me/Up In Arms

I am posting on behalf a friend who isn't very tech savvy and doesn't know how to post things online to a forum like this. She asked me to do this for her.

This letter is exclusively for my brothers and sisters (only). I want us to pray for three miracles
by first asking God to forgive the lost who walked away and put this world first. First, I want to
remind everyone why we fell in love with God. All of us have our stories to tell. I hope my stories
will remind everyone of a time when we walked alone. It was a time before we were born again.
We didn't know God yet somehow we cried out to Him for help. Did you know He was there? I
hope my stories bring back memories of the times God showed up to rescue us.

Remember in the beginning when we would take a shower and lather our bodies with soap?
We would use our nails to scratch our bodies so hard. Did the sins come off? Why did we do
this when we didn't know Jesus?

This is my first story. I remember a day when it was raining hard and starting to flood the streets.
It was late at night and we were drinking. The car swerved just as we were nearing two round
large telephone posts. I cried out to God to forgive me. I asked Him to give me another chance.
We landed between the two posts with no space to spare.

How can I forget the time He stepped in to help keep my sanity in check. I was leaving my home
to run an errand. The car refused to start. I kept trying over and over to no avail. Finally, I got out
of the car and walked behind it. There was a little boy in a wooden cart just sitting there. I walked
back inside my home and sat down close to an hour before going outside again. I knew my car
would start this time.

It's hard to forget your first marriage. I loved my husband more than you can imagine. We parted
ways because he got his mistress pregnant. I am barren. The first month almost destroyed me. I
thought I was going mad. How could I feel real pain in my heart? If you would have told me a person
could feel real pain in the heart I would have called you a liar. I called out to God to help me stay
sane. I was not His child, yet he answered my prayer. God was there.

When my parents divorced, it was hard to understand. My father and I moved to another city. It was
a low income place. I became depressed. It was hard to deal with life. One day I walked to a drug
store down the street. It was filled with pale white metal shelves on the left. The long wooden counter
was on the right. I moved around the shelves until I found two fat plastic bottles filled with sleeping pills.
I took them to the counter and placed them before a tall thin young man. He got ready to put them in a
brown paper bag before hesitating. I gave him my best smile and disarmed him. The week-end was just
around the corner and I knew my father would be leaving to spend the night with his girlfriend. I waited
for him to leave before bringing out the paper bag and glass of water. Before I could proceed, someone
knocked at the door. It was my friend coming to tell me another friend of ours had just tried to commit
suicide. My first thoughts were how can someone be so stupid. After she left, I packed a bag and took
the bus to the hospital to visit my friend in another city. Do you know I never would have known Jesus?
Who was Jesus? It wasn't easy being young without someone teaching you the Word..

This brings about my first prayer request. How can anyone leave HIM after all He did for them before
and after they were born again? God rescued us so many times and yet some walked away. Why did
you leave? I know the enemy still attacks us. Do some think that my painful experiences stopped after
I was born again? Our stories never end. The difference is that God now fights our battles with us and
for us. Pray that He would open their eyes and hearts to see the truth. Remember we love and need
those that strayed away.

The other prayer request is about tithes. Please do not start making excuses. I am talking to my brothers
and sisters who can pay and don't. What example do they set for their children? Is it alright to steal? Do
they tell the children to put themselves first? Non-believers trust in their money. It is their God, an idol they
worship. Who pays to spread the good news and buy bibles? What about food banks, clothes, medical
expenses, building wells, home repairs, small businesses, orphans, trafficking, etc... The list goes on and
on. For those who pay tithes, I heard years back that only ten percent paid tithes. The other day I heard
from a TV minister that only 2.7 paid tithes. I still can't believe it. Do we really believe the few can carry
the weight?

Many refuse to sacrifice. Please understand why we must pray for a miracle. Let's pray they will stop trusting
in their money. I hope God will cast out the fear that binds them (1John4:18).

The last prayer request is about voting. I know some people do not vote because of religion or personal reasons.
I'm not talking to them. I heard that 82 percent of voting Christians do not vote. Is it true? If they do not vote that
also means they do not send in support. Who then is protecting Christian rights? Again,18 percent are carrying
the weight. Why doesn't it matter to them that together we can be a powerhouse? We need their prayers and
support. Without them we are weak.

Please understand why I am asking you to pray for these three miracles with me. We serve a God who answers
prayers. I hope we can start praying on New Years Eve through November 2024. Remember, it's all about Jesus!
How can we represent him if we do not pray together?

See You in Heaven,

Your Sister in Christ

P.S. Please feel free to share or post this letter. The more brothers and sisters praying the better. For those who
have a habit of complaining or criticizing, take it up with my sister Angelina. Family is family. Did I make someone
think of the movie Steel Magnolias? Never!
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‘New Species’ of Frog With Fangs Hunts Crabs Even Though it’s No Bigger Than a Quarter

In a new study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers have described a new species of fanged frog: the smallest one ever discovered.

In general, frogs’ teeth aren’t anything to write home about—they look like pointy little pinpricks lining the upper jaw. But one group of stream-dwelling frogs in Southeast Asia has a strange adaptation: two bony “fangs” jutting out of their lower jawbone.

There are over 70 species of these Dracula frogs, and they use these fangs to battle with each other over territory and mates, and sometimes, incredibly, even to hunt tough-shelled prey like giant centipedes and crabs.

In collaboration with the Bogor Zoology Museum, a team from the McGuire Lab at Berkeley found the frogs on Sulawesi, a rugged, mountainous island that makes up part of Indonesia.

“It’s a giant island with a vast network of mountains, volcanoes, lowland rainforest, and cloud forests up in the mountains. The presence of all these different habitats mean that the magnitude of biodiversity across many plants and animals we find there is unreal—rivaling places like the Amazon,” said Jeff Frederick, a postdoctoral researcher at the Field Museum in Chicago and the study’s lead author.

Continued below.

Where is Jesus in Your Celebrations?

Is He there, or barely mentioned?
Does He fit with all the tension?
Is He in the ribbons, wrappings?
Is He in the culture’s trappings?

Is He in the food and parties?
Overeating, faith departing?
Is He in the twisted humor?
Is He in the stories rumored?

Is He in the decorations?
Is He in the mild flirtations?
Is He in your conversations?
Or from Him you take vacation?

Where is Jesus being honored?
What about Him do you holler?
Do you share the truth of Gospel?
Or of that thought, are you hostile?

Are you living for Him truly?
Or, in truth, are you quite worldly?
Do you want to please Him daily?
Or that thought you think it’s crazy?

Jesus wants that you obey Him
Die to sin not follow your whims.
Follow Him where’er He leads you,
Take in now all that He feeds you.

Take the gospel now to others –
Strangers, friends, and sisters, brothers.
Tell how we must die to our sin
So in truth we now live for Him.

An Original Work / December 26, 2023

And Jesus said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23 ESV)

Theology has a new understanding, it is called charity. Without charity, there is no belief.

theology has a new understanding, it is called charity. Without charity, there is no belief, ( charity believes all things) and the forum is the very place that charity cannot be known, all that can be known on the forum is what is against charity, the puffing up with knowledge, as charity also is not puffed up, and does not vaunt itself, meaning charity loves in deed and in truth, not in word or tongue.

The tongue, or text right now, is used for a world of iniquity, and instead of stopping hearing vipers, ( the serpent) and turning to God, the Lamb who you can watch without talk, ( as we see in a lamb dumb before HIs shearers) He opened not HIs mouth, and belief is in believing that Lamb of God was slain, but stands as He was killed, and this is enough to escape the deadliest of tongues and wicked spirits, just look at the frogs talking, only nonsense they can croak at you.



Acts 8:32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:


1 Corinthians 8:1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.

1 Corinthians 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

1 Corinthians 13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.


James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.


Revelation 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

Revelation 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
. Without charity, there is no belief, ( charity believes all things) and the forum is the very place that charity cannot be known, all that can be known on the forum is what is against charity, the puffing up with knowledge, as charity also is not puffed up, and does not vaunt itself, meaning charity loves in deed and in truth, not in word or tongue.

The tongue, or text right now, is used for a world of iniquity, and instead of stopping hearing vipers, ( the serpent) and turning to God, the Lamb who you can watch without talk, ( as we see in a lamb dumb before HIs shearers) He opened not HIs mouth, and belief is in believing that Lamb of God was slain, but stands as He was killed, and this is enough to escape the deadliest of tongues and wicked spirits, just look at the frogs talking, only nonsense they can croak at you.



Acts 8:32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:


1 Corinthians 8:1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.

1 Corinthians 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

1 Corinthians 13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.


James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.


Revelation 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

Revelation 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

What Does the Space Force Do? 4 Years After Its Birth, Glimpses of the Service's Mission Emerge


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado -- Staring at the computer screen in an office complex not too far from Schriever and Peterson Space Force Bases, a Guardian had a rapidly diminishing timer with only eight minutes left to carefully type in the complex computer code needed to hack an enemy satellite.

The low-Earth orbit satellite, which was traveling at roughly 18,000 miles an hour, was reportedly gathering intelligence about U.S. military assets across the Midwest, Southeast, Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Seaboard on four passes -- leaving only a small contact window in which the Guardians could work to stop the enemy from collecting photos and reconnaissance.

Their plan was to slowly redirect the satellite's camera away from its intended targets by a few degrees each pass, a subtle averted gaze so as not to arouse suspicion. But if the enemy noticed any small changes, the Guardians' cover could be blown. One young specialist came up with the idea to send the operator false data, so the enemy would think it was business as usual. Then, once their mission was complete, they'd hack into the logs and erase them, hiding all traces they were even there.
A single mistype could shut down the whole operation or, worse, blow their cover. After the eight minutes, a quiet settled into the laboratory as the contact window closed and connection with the enemy's satellite was lost. It would be another hour before another pass and a chance to inflict further damage on the enemy. In the downtime, the Guardians grabbed snacks, checked their text messages and, at one point, talked about comic book collections.

The November exercise -- a simulation put on at the nonprofit Stephenson Stellar Corporation's headquarters in Colorado Springs -- was targeting the "People's Republic of Atlantica," a "small but potent threat" that has "assumed a partnership with a great Power Competitor." The imagined scenario offered a rare glimpse into the very real approaches that Space Force Guardians could use to hack, defend, operate and control an enemy's satellite, strategies the service remains tight-lipped about as it tries to preserve a competitive edge.

On Dec. 20, the Space Force is celebrating four years as a service. The smallest military branch, with around 8,600 service members, it's shrouded in more secrecy than many of the others, leading to a seemingly perpetual question from the public: "What does the Space Force do?"

Acknowledging Christ Before People

“In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.’” (Luke 12:1-3 ESV)

The Pharisees were learned people. Many of them were teachers of the Scriptures. But many of them were spiritual predators who fed off others. They were false teachers. And they were the impure, the wicked, and the unholy, but while they made an outward appearance of righteousness and goodness. For they were fakes and phonies who pretended all goodness on the outside while on the inside they were full of evil. They had heads full of knowledge but they did not put that good knowledge into practice.

Now we have many of these people in the gatherings of what is called “church” today. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing who appear righteous on the outside but who are not who they appear to be. Many of them are smooth talkers, charmers, and manipulators, who know how to smooth-talk people into believing their lies and who prey upon the unlearned and the naïve. They oppose the truth of the gospel and, instead, they teach an altered gospel created in the minds of human beings to lead people astray.

So, if you are someone who is following the Lord with your life, and you are walking in his ways and in his truth and righteousness, and you are believing the truth of the Scriptures, and you are sharing what the Lord is teaching you, you may be attacked and opposed and falsely accused of what you did not do by these charlatans (Pharisees, fakes) who are teaching a diluted and altered gospel message. And they may come up against you fiercely and harshly and cruelly, and if you are not strong you may be defeated.

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:4-7 ESV)

Don’t let them take you down! Don’t let them intimidate you and make you afraid. Don’t let the opinions of other humans determine who you are and who you become. Stay the course! And I am speaking from experience here. For I got beat down so many times by so many of these Pharisees over so many years that there was a time in my life when I gave up, and I gave into the intimidation and the cruelty and the abuse, and I stepped outside of God’s protective care and I became who they wanted me to be, instead.

But thanks be to God, he did not give up on me even though I had given up on me and I had given up on him to rescue me from all the evil and all the abuse. For I let the fear of man consume me rather than the fear of the Lord. I feared man and what he could do to me more than I feared God. And I became a person I did not recognize who did things I never thought I would ever do. Please don’t ever go there! Keep trusting the Lord even when others who pretend to serve him oppose you for serving the Lord.

For, if truly we belong to the Lord, even if we are not valuable to other humans and so they stomp on our hearts and they treat us as though we are nothing and not worth their time, we can be assured that our Lord cares about us. We are valuable to him. He cares about us even when other humans don’t. So we can’t let the treatment and the opinions of other people keep us from obeying the Lord, not even those of people in positions of authority who portend righteousness but who are worldly in action.

“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” (Luke 12:8-9 ESV)

This is absolutely the truth, and we need to take it seriously. Like I said, although I had once given into the intimidation and abuse, which had been going on most of my life, the Lord rescued me, not from the abuse, but from my fear of what man might do to me. He taught me that I could be strong in the strength of the Lord and I could keep moving forward in his strength and wisdom despite what other humans do to me or say to me or say about me to others. In the strength of the Lord I can move forward, by his grace.

And then he gave me a new assignment which was and is to write down what he teaches me from his word each day and to post it on the internet and then he takes it where he wants it to go. And I have no control whatsoever with regard to where these writings go or how they are being used of God in other people’s lives. I am just obeying the Lord in writing whatever he wants me to write and then he takes it where he wants it to go. And sometimes I still get opposed, but I trust him in that, too.

So the encouragement here today is for you to not let other humans determine who you are and what you do and who you become. Give all of your opponents over to the Lord and keep moving forward in obeying the Lord and in doing what he says to do and in sharing with others what he is teaching you through his word each day. For denying Christ before men is not only saying, “I don’t know him,” but it is refusing to acknowledge him and his word before other humans out of fear of what they will say or do.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 10:32-33; Matthew 15:7-9; Luke 9:26; 2 Timothy 2:11-13; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Titus 1:15-16; 2 Peter 2:1-3; Jude 1:3-4]

My Sheep

An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Based off John 10:1-18 NIV


My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…

They know my voice, so they follow me.

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Could Pastors Bonnke and Kolenda in history have had so much success without welcoming the Holy Angels in the services?

Could Pastors Bonnke and Kolenda of CFAN have had so much success in their services such as in Nigeria and Burkina Faso, without welcoming the holy angels in their services?

In other churches their can be a dislike of angels.

Why did Jesus instruct a healed man to break the Sabbath?

This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.
Jer 17:21 (NIV)

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.
But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”

J 5:8-11 (NIV)

"...they tried all the more to kill him [Jesus]; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God"
J 5:18 (NIV)

The carrying of the mat was not necessary for the healing or walking.
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Feeling tired

I have a lot to say, but I do not know how to say it.
Basically, I endured a lot of trauma in my life. Now I am 55 years old and sometimes life feels like too much.
I need work and financial stability. I have a wonderful husband who makes me feel loved. But I am finding it difficult to find stability in my job. It looks like that I earn enough money only when I compromise my values and who I am. I am not doing it anymore, but there is a price to pay.
There is a lot of fear in my heart about the future, I fear the uncertainty.
Old wounds hurt a lot, sometimes.
And my son. I have lost a daughter, and I am scared I will lose my son too.
Please pray for me if you have a moment.
Thank you.

US military force at 80-year low, Pentagon urges ‘national call to service’


The United States military will have the smallest force in over 80 years as it prepares for the start of 2024. The Pentagon recently informed Congress that the U.S. military faces one of its “greatest challenges” as it navigates the “difficult recruiting environment” that resulted in multiple military branches missing recruitment targets in 2023.

According to the $886 billion National Defense Authorization Bill that was passed by Congress last week and is expected to be signed into law by President Joe Biden, the number of active-duty U.S. troops will drop to 1,284,500 in 2024.


The Daily Mail reported that the number of active-duty troops forecasted for 2024 represents the lowest number of troops since before the United States fought in World War II in 1941.

Ashish Vazirani, the Pentagon’s acting undersecretary for personnel and readiness, recently told the House Armed Services Committee that the military missed its 2023 recruitment goal by 41,000 personnel.
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Isaiah 9:1-7 (Great Message for the season, and for all time)

A look at Isaiah 9:1-7; Let's take a look at these verses and see what they are saying to us. The Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) speaks through Yeshahayu (Isaiah) and says;


The people living in darkness have seen a great light!
upon those living in the land that lies
in the shadow of death, light has dawned.

2 (3) You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice in your presence
as if rejoicing at harvest time,
the way men rejoice
when dividing up the spoil.

3 (4) For the yoke that weighed them down,
the bar across their shoulders,
and their driver’s goad
you have broken as on the day of Midyan[’s defeat].

4 (5) For all the boots of soldiers marching
and every cloak rolled in blood
is destined for burning,
fuel for the fire.

5 (6) For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us;
dominion will rest on his shoulders,
and he will be given the name
Pele-Yo‘etz El Gibbor
Avi-‘Ad Sar-Shalom
[Wonder of a Counselor, Mighty God,
Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace],

6 (7) in order to extend the dominion
and perpetuate the peace
of the throne and kingdom of David,
to secure it and sustain it
through justice and righteousness
henceforth and forever.
The zeal of Adonai-Tzva’ot
will accomplish this. (Complete Jewish Bible)

So, what is this "Great Light?" "What is this darkness?" "What is the yoke that has been a burden and laid them (Israel) down?"

We see some symbolism here. For many years, Israel has been under different "yokes" the "Yoke" of Babylon, the "Yoke" of Persia, the Greco-Syrian yoke during the time of the Maccabees. During the time of Yeshua, Israel was under the yoke of the Eagle of Rome. Yet also, and like us, were under the "Yoke of Sin" The "darkness" being without Torah in their heart. There can be "Torah" but unless the "Torah" is inside us, as a "living entity" we are in darkness.

The yoke of sin indeed weighs us down, as the yoke of Rome was heavy on the shoulders of Israel. Yet "A great light" dawned upon Israel. They saw the "Great Light" that evening in the fields of Judeah, the angels lit up the heavens with "Good Tidings of Great Joy" and the shepherds came to the town of Beth-Lechem where the "Bread of Life" was born. It was fitting that the "Bread of Life" be born in the "House of Bread".

He was born; "Yeshua Ben Yosef" yet also "Yeshua Ben David." "The Lamb of God" yet also "The Lion of Judah". The first would come before the other. Our Messiah and LORD was born "Yeshua Ben Yosef, the Lamb of God" to teach, clarify, and intensify the teaching of the Torah as the "Wonderful Counselor" (since that is what a counselor, pastor, rabbi does). He came to heal the sick, raise the dead, and to die for our sins. "Mighty God, and Eternal Father" Our mighty God is from eternity past "Haya" and is in the present "Hoveh" and will exist in the future "Yiyah" from where we get the letters YHVH.

He is the "Prince of Peace" (Sar Shalom) who gives us internal peace when we are "born again" when we know that the "yoke of sin" has been lifted off our shoulders and has been taken by Yeshua, who "bore the burden of the curse of sin" Political and worldwide peace will come during the Second coming of Messiah Yeshua when He returns as the the "Lion of Judah" and as "Yeshua Ben David." He will sit on the throne of David. The "Government" will sit on his shoulders. Meaning He will rule planet Earth, a Millennial reign. We will all be part of that.

His rule will be for "evermore". Hard to fathom "forever" since we are infinite beings inside finite bodies, yet we will find out someday soon.
So, rejoice in the Birth of Messiah at this time of remembering. He has come and will come again as our sovereign, Our LORD, Our KING.

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