As in the Days of Noah: Warnings for Today. If God Knows, Why Pray? The Feast of Tabernacles. “The Whiter The Bread, The Sooner You're Dead!”

As in the Days of Noah: Warnings for Today

“Some things never seem to change. This article, “As in the Days of Noah: Warnings for Today,” explains how the violence and evil we see today is nothing new.

The people of Noah’s day were punished for how they were living, and many of these same things are still happening today.

We hope this article helps you recognize the lifestyles and attitudes that God does, and does not, want us to have.”

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 “Jesus Christ said that end-time events would be like those during the days of Noah. What were those conditions like, and why should we be concerned?

Discussing the time near His return to earth, Jesus declared, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-27).

It appears people thought they were living normal lives during the time Noah lived, just before the Flood. They were oblivious to the impending disaster. So what was Jesus talking about?

Who was Noah?

The Bible says that “Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations” and that he “walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). Noah had three sons, who were named Shem, Ham and Japheth.

When God brought a universal flood upon the earth to destroy all mankind, only Noah and his family were spared. Peter states that God “did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly” (2 Peter 2:5).

These eight people included Noah, his wife, their three sons and their sons’ wives (Genesis 6:18).

Widespread violence in the days of Noah

Since Jesus said that the last days would parallel the society of Noah’s day, we can look further into God’s Word to learn what He meant. The book of Genesis explains what conditions were like at that time.

Not long after God placed human beings on earth, mankind refused to follow the good and beneficial instructions of God that would have led to stable, happy lives. Instead, they quickly headed toward self-destruction.

Following Adam and Eve’s example of rejecting God’s instructions, humanity became increasingly hostile and corrupt. By the time of Noah, “the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).

Because of this, God said that He was “sorry”  that He had created mankind (verse 6) and told Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (verse 13).

God’s grieving was not sorrow for making a mistake. God doesn’t make mistakes. God gave His human creation the freedom to choose between right and wrong (Proverbs 1:29-31), and He was grieved in His heart to see how far humanity had fallen from what He originally intended.

What was the meaning of Jesus’ reference to the days of Noah?

Jesus referred to the days of Noah when He was describing what conditions would be like just prior to His return. His point was that people would be unaware of His return to judge mankind. Sadly, the vast majority of the earth’s inhabitants will be living ungodly lives in a world filled with violence when this monumental event occurs.

In His Olivet Discourse (Prophecy) found in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, Jesus described what would be happening on earth before His second coming. The signs of the end of this age include lawlessness abounding, the gospel of the Kingdom being preached and Jerusalem being surrounded by armies (Matthew 24:12-14; Luke 21:20). For further study of Christ’s teaching about the signs of His return, see “Understanding the Olivet Prophecy.”

Noah lived in perilous times 

Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/end-times/as-in-the-days-of-noah/

(Readers, did you catch that?  Our Creator was sorry that he made us!!  Isn’t that a shameful thing?  We need to make Him proud of us!) 

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If God Knows, Why Pray?

“Matthew 6:8

“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”

When we pray, it’s important to have in mind who we are praying to. Our great Creator God knows everything. He can read our thoughts. He knows exactly what we think we need and exactly what we truly need. So telling God what we need is not about trying to let Him know something He doesn’t know, or even reminding Him of something. It’s about letting Him know that we realize we depend on Him. It’s about showing thankfulness for what He has given to us and having a humble expectation about what He will give us.

Prayer is an exercise in trying to apply what we know of God’s will. If we understand He wants us and others to have health and to prosper, but that He also and even more importantly wants us to grow in godly character and to prepare for His Kingdom, this will shape our prayers and requests.

The act of praying for God’s will can help us to better understand His will and His eternal plan. And prayer shows God our hearts. This is the kind of communication that builds the relationship God desires to have with us.

For more about this relationship, see “Relationship With God.””  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/if-god-knows-why-pray/?

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Many Christians and Jews are celebrating  The Feast of Tabernacles right now:

“The annual festival, the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-36), was celebrated by the ancient Israelites with makeshift shelters, recalling their transitory dwelling when they left Egypt and made their way to the Promised Land.

Also called the Feast of Ingathering (Exodus 23:16;Exodus 34:22), this festival celebrated the late summer and early fall harvest in the land of Israel. In a spiritual sense it represents the great ingathering of God's spiritual harvest of mankind following Christ's return. Indeed, this feast looks forward to the time of the earthly rule of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Himself observed this feast during His ministry and told others to do so as well (John 7:8-14). The Bible even states that instead of being done away, this feast will be observed by the gentile (non-Israelite) nations during Christ's reign over the earth (Zechariah 14:9, Zechariah 14:16-18).

Scripture tells us that the resurrected saints will reign with Christ. Revelation 20:4 says: "And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them . . . And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years" (compare Daniel 7:27).

The wonderful truth is that when Christ returns, true Christians from this age will rule under Him as kings and priests (Revelation 5:10; Revelation 20:6)—leading the rest of the world into God's ways."

The Eighth Day

Immediately following the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles is another Holy Day or Sabbath—referred to in Scripture simply as “the eighth day” (Leviticus 23:36, Leviticus 23:39). This day pictures the most joyful of all events yet to take place in God’s great plan.

We should consider that the celebration of the ingathering of all humanity is not complete with the 1,000-year reign of Christ. For what about all those who died in this age who were not called as part of God’s firstfruits? There will yet remain billions of people from this age who are not saved.

So are they forever lost?"          Excerpts from and more at: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-magazine/the-bibles-prophetic-festivals

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There is a jingle that goes: "The whiter the bread, the sooner you're dead!”

“Bread has been called the "staff of life." Unfortunately these days most folks consume grain in its refined state and this staple contains little to no nutritive properties and cannot support animal or human life.

Wheat is the key ingredient in the American diet. But after being milled, it is seldom utilized in its whole form with its components intact. Invariably, when we eat wheat, we get it in the form of bread, pies, cakes, cookies, biscuits, spaghetti, cream of wheat, cereals, and other forms that have been treated, heated, fractioned, and fragmented until it is next to impossible to recognize it for what it was originally.
A refined grain, or its product, is made by processing a natural, whole grain so that some or most of the nutrients are lost. Almost all grain products have been refined in some way or another.
White rice, cream of wheat, cookies, and bowls of snap-crackle-and-pop each morning are all examples of refined grain products.

Why are Refined Grain Products Harmful?

REFINED GRAINS AND THEIR FOOD PRODUCTS ARE SUBSTANDARD FOODS FOR SEVERAL REASONS:

1. They are excessively starchy and high in gluten.
2. They are practically devoid of natural fiber.
3. There can be up to approximately 25 different chemicals that are added to refined grains and breads products.
4. Grains are fumigated.
5. Bleaching chemicals are used.
6. Artificial colorings and flavorings are used.
7. They are nutritionally imbalanced.

Because refined grain products are nutritionally imbalanced, they are responsible for contributing to several degenerative diseases. Calcium leaching from the bones and teeth occurs because of the altered phosphorous-calcium balance in these products. Sugar and refined grain products are primarily responsible for tooth decay in this country, as well as being the major cause of brittle bones in the elderly.

A Loaf of Chemicals

The making of bread and flour products took a real turn for the worse at the end of World War 2. Bakeries in America began using large amounts of chemicals, additives, bleaches, and preservatives.

The millers discovered they could make the flour very white by bleaching it. Other chemical oxidizers are added to bleach and "mature" the flour, such as nitrogen dioxide and azocarbonamide. Are these chemicals dangerous? Well, Germany banned all such oxidizers back in 1958, almost 40 years ago!

The next step in the chemicalization of bread is to add chemical dough conditioners to the dough to enable the resulting bread to stay fresh and soft for a longer period, without getting stale while standing on grocers' shelves.

To give this softness and white-bread texture, mono- and diglycerides are added to the bread dough at the rate of about 1/4 pound per year per person consumption. This makes the bread more squeezable and fluffy. Nobody knows the effects on those that eat such additives.

Some of the chemicals used as dough conditioners are similar to the anti-freeze mix used for automobile radiators. One of the chemicals used as a dough conditioner is polyexy ethelyne monosterate. Workers in factories where this chemical is made have been known to develop skin rashes from the fumes. polyexy ethelyne monosterate is also used in making peanut butter, ice cream, candy, and salad dressings.

The average person eats about 100 pounds or so of commercial bread each year. Besides eating the refined flour, the average person also eats these toxic items in the grain products: 2 pounds of salt, 3 pounds of sugar, 2 pounds of skim milk powder, 2 pounds of yeast, 1 pound of enzyme-activator, 1/2 pound of sulfate, chloride, and bromate chemicals, and 1/4 pound of other food additives. When all of these chemicals and nonfoods are eaten together, a multi-toxic effect occurs that has never been thoroughly studied by scientists.

In Summary

The crux of the situation is that the shelf-life of products are far more important in our economy than the health and well-being of the people. If we are to lean on the "staff of life" for nutrition, we must identify the counterfeit refined grains from the real, whole grains.
In the US, the familiar white flour which is the result of modern refining process is 72% extraction. This means that it has lost 28% of the bulk of the wheat, including half or more of many of the crucial nutrients. So for optimum health, eliminate all refined flour products from your diet and use only whole grains.

8 Healthy Gluten Free Whole Grain Alternatives

1. Amaranth
2. Buckwheat
3. Corn
4. Millet
5. Oats (*see below)
6. Quinoa
7. Rice
8. Wild Rice

*Oats are inherently gluten-free, but are frequently contaminated with wheat during growing or processing. Several companies (Bob's Red Mill, Cream Hill Estates, GF Harvest (formerly Gluten Free Oats), Avena Foods (Only Oats), Legacy Valley (Montana Monster Munchies), and Gifts of Nature) currently offer pure, uncontaminated oats. Ask your physician if these oats are acceptable for you.  Source: 
http://wholegrainscouncil.org/...

From: https://www.foodmatters.com/article/why-refined-grains-are-harmful

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America’s Uncertain Future. Prophesied War in the Middle East. HOW NOT TO DIE.

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America’s Uncertain Future

“Our world is changing before our eyes, and in ways that are highly dangerous for the current world order and the United States in particular. You need to understand why.

Mohammad Ismail/Reuters/Newscom

Afghan soldiers inspect some of the thousands of U.S. vehicles abandoned in the American pullout from Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, in July 2021.

As this issue of Beyond Today was going to press, the last U.S. combat troops were being withdrawn from Afghanistan. Only a token force of several hundred will be left to guard the U.S. embassy compound in Kabul, the Afghan capital.

Perhaps nothing encapsulated the moment more poignantly than the U.S. withdrawal from the sprawling 30-square-mile Bagram Air Base, epicenter of America’s war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda for the last 20 years. The base was in reality a sizable city, built from the ground up on a large plain about an hour’s drive from Kabul.

It boasted American pizza and fast-food chain restaurants, air-conditioned fitness centers, a library, post office, a 50-bed hospital and a two-mile-long runway capable of handling dozens of U.S. fighter jets, reconnaissance aircraft and huge transport planes ferrying troops, weapons and supplies. At one time it was home for some 100,000 U.S. personnel.

In ironic timing, just before the July 4 Independence Day holiday, the last American occupants of the base shut off the electricity and slipped away into the night. Nearby looters arrived before Afghan soldiers and helped themselves to anything that wasn’t nailed down. Among items left behind were thousands of civilian trucks and vans and hundreds of armored vehicles, plus weapons and ammunition the Afghan soldiers would need to fight off the Taliban in battles sure to come.

Strategically, Bagram Air Base was a crucial military asset, located 500 miles from Iran and 400 miles from China, with runways that could handle any U.S. military aircraft of any size. But as is the case with so many critical American strategic assets in recent decades, it is no longer in U.S. hands—and will likely soon be in the hands of America’s enemies.

It’s the sad end of a 20-year saga that began with a highly coordinated terrorist assault on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. In righteous indignation America, with a coalition of allies, went to war against terror-supporting governments in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But after 20 years, more than 60,000 U.S. casualties, and a fortune of almost $6.5 trillion in borrowed money squandered, American forces quietly withdrew, the nation no longer having the will to fight.

If you pay close attention to the news, you may have heard that America is said to now be facing more threatening and dangerous enemies. On June 9 U.S. President Joe Biden declared that global warming is “the greatest threat facing America.” Ironically, he said this as he arrived in Europe seeking support from allies against Russian hacking attacks that have devastated U.S. businesses and to combat Chinese secrecy over the origins of Covid-19, which has plagued the entire world.

Meanwhile, America’s true geopolitical opponents such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea grow ever more dangerous. They’re not focused on teaching their military a rewritten “woke” version of their nations’ histories; they’re training their soldiers, sailors and pilots how to destroy and kill their enemies—with the United States at the top of the list.

The uncomfortable truth is, America has lost another war, and appears to not be any wiser. The last significant war America truly won was World War II, more than 75 years ago. In Korea the United States fought to a draw and agreed to a truce, leaving tens of thousands of troops there for two-thirds of a century now. Vietnam was an ugly defeat at the cost of nearly 60,000 American lives, and after the U.S. withdrawal communists in Vietnam and Cambodia murdered some 1.5 million of their own people. America and its allies did defeat Iraq in the first Gulf War after Iraq invaded Kuwait, but Saddam Hussein was left in power, leading to the second Iraq war and another slow, painful retreat for U.S. forces, to be completed by the end of this year. Folly reigns in the halls of power.

These wars collectively cost trillions of dollars and more than 100,000 American lives, and what do we have to show for it?

Our world is changing before our eyes, and in ways that are highly dangerous for the current world order and the United States in particular. You need to understand why."

From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-magazine/americas-uncertain-future

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Prophesied War in the Middle East

Daniel 11:40

““At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through.”

Bible prophecy describes a key end-time conflict between a “king of the South” and a “king of the North” that is part of a chain of events leading to the second coming of Jesus Christ. Here is some of the background to this verse from our post “End-Time Prophecy Jigsaw: The Pieces Are Falling Into Place!”

The book of Daniel tells us that in the last days there will be an influential person ruling in the south, that is, in the Mediterranean area and generally south of Jerusalem (Daniel 11).

Historically, this king of the South was the dynastic leader of the Ptolemies, or the Egyptian branch of the Greek Empire. The king of the South battled it out for over a century, as the Egypt-based Ptolemies struggled for supremacy against the Syria-based Seleucids, another branch of the Greek Empire. This took place in the third and second centuries B.C., after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. (Daniel 11:3-4).

Yet this same prophecy suddenly takes a huge leap to ‘the time of the end,’ when we find a latter-day king of the South provoking and fighting against the king of the North (Daniel 11:40). …

Daniel’s prophecy tells us that once this end-time king of the South has provoked the king of the North, the latter will swoop down on him with massive military force, and invade and conquer much of the Middle East (Daniel 11:40-43).

Elsewhere in Bible prophecy, the king of the North is referred to as ‘the beast,’ the name assigned him by the apostle John in the book of Revelation (Revelation 13:1-10; 17:3-17). We know from history that the heart of this massive end-time power will be in central Europe. In fact, much of the history of the Middle Ages reflects the struggle for dominance between Catholic Europe and the Muslim world, a struggle destined to reappear just before the second coming of Christ.”

For more details about this prophecy, see the articles “The King of the South” and “The King of the North.””      From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/prophesied-war-in-the-middle-east/?

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HOW NOT TO DIE – The Role of Diet in Preventing, Arresting, & Reversing Our Top 15 Killers

“In this “best-of” compilation of his last prior four year-in-review presentations, Dr. Greger explains what we can do about the #1 cause of death and disability: our diet.

Excerpts from transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/P_fBTiqCnNI

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

“Allow me to begin on a personal note. This is a picture of me, right around the time that my grandma was diagnosed with end-stage heart disease and sent home to die. She had already had so many bypass operations, basically ran out of plumbing at some point, confined to a wheelchair, and there was nothing more they could do.  Her life was over at age 65. But then, she heard about this guy, Nathan Pritikin, one of our early lifestyle medicine pioneers.

And what happened next is chronicled in Pritikin’s biography. My grandma was one of the “death’s door” people. Frances Greger arrived in a wheelchair. “Mrs. Greger had heart disease, angina, and claudication; her condition was so bad she could no longer walk without great pain in her chest and legs.  Within three weeks, though she was not only out of her wheelchair but was walking ten miles a day.”

This is my grandma at her grandson’s wedding 15 years after she was given her medical death sentence, and thanks to a healthy diet, she was able to live another 31 years on this earth—until 96—to enjoy her six grandkids, including me.

That is why I went into medicine.

When Dr. Ornish published his Lifestyle Heart Trial years later, proving with quantitative angiography that coronary artery disease could indeed be reversed in the majority of patients without drugs or surgery—just a plant-based diet and other healthy lifestyle changes, I assumed that it was going to be a game-changer. My family had seen it with their own eyes, but finally here it was in black and white, published in one of the world’s most prestigious medical journals on the planet.

But, nothing happened— leaving me to wonder if, effectively, the cure to our #1 killer could get lost down some rabbit hole and ignored, then, what else might be in the medical literature that can help my patients? I made it my life’s mission to find out.” 

“(Last year, Dr. Kim Williams became President of the American College of Cardiology. He was asked why he follows his own advice that he gives to patients, to eat a plant-based diet. “I don’t mind dying,” Dr. Williams replied. “I just don’t want it to be my own fault.””)

Lots more to see in the video or read the transcript at: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/flashback-friday-how-not-to-die-the-role-of-diet-in-preventing-arresting-reversing-our-top-15-killers/?

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Why the Fall of Afghanistan Matters. You Will Be Judged. “While He May Be Found”. 6 Best Secrets To Reverse Insulin Resistance Naturally & Change Your Life.

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Why the Fall of Afghanistan Matters

“The fall of Afghanistan and the defeat of the U.S. has left the world in shock. What lessons can we learn from Afghanistan and the war on terror?

U.S. Marines oversee evacuations from Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 21, 2021 (Sgt. Samuel Ruiz/U.S. Marine Corps via AP).

Desperate Afghans overflowed the Kabul airport, trying to catch a ride on the last flights evacuating people out of their country. The world watched in horror as frantic Afghans clung to an airplane as it was taking off, some falling to their deaths.

In the past few weeks, the world has witnessed images of “battle-hardened soldiers” brought to tears and distressed mothers handing their babies and children over razor wire in an attempt to save them from life under the brutal Taliban.

Many predicted the inevitable collapse of Afghanistan to the Taliban. But the speed of its fall took the world off guard. Consider the following reactions from Western leaders, as well as the enemies of the U.S.:

• United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called the news of atrocities “chilling reports.”
• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the situation “extremely difficult.”
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel also described the situation as “bitter, dramatic and terrifying.” Armin Laschet, Mrs. Merkel’s heir as leader of the Christian Democrats, called it the “greatest debacle that NATO has seen since its foundation.”
• Tom Tugendhat, the conservative chair of the U.K. Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said: “Afghanistan is the biggest foreign policy disaster since Suez.”
• Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the German parliament’s foreign relations committee, said this has resulted in “fundamental damage to the political and moral credibility of the West” and described the withdrawal as a “serious and far-reaching miscalculation.”
• U.S. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell called it “the embarrassment of a superpower laid low.”
• Somalia’s al-Shabab insurgents responded with these words: “Allahu Akbar [God is greatest], congratulations. The U.S. and other hundreds of thousands of foreign forces fled the country. The 20-year jihad has become reality.”

The world’s most powerful superpower has been effectively defeated by a group of zealots operating out of caves. The Aug. 28, 2021, edition of The Economist described it this way: “Through willpower, patience and cunning, a low-budget band of holy warriors has vanquished America and taken charge of a medium-size country” (“Where Next for Global Jihad?” p. 7).

What lessons can we learn from the United States’ 20-year effort in Afghanistan?

The war on terror

As we reach the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, and the event that triggered the war in Afghanistan.

Shortly after the attack, then President George W. Bush declared “war on terror.” Addressing the U.S. Congress, he announced, “Our war on terror begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”

Far from its original mission to crush the Taliban, the U.S. now finds itself retreating from them. Less than a month after the attacks, the U.S. and Great Britain launched airstrikes in Afghanistan against the Taliban, who were protecting al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. With the world’s most powerful army coming against ill-equipped tribal forces, everyone expected a swift defeat for the Taliban and eventually al-Qaeda. But the fight proved to be a lot more difficult than many expected, and the war dragged on for many years. It wasn’t until 10 years after the 9/11 attacks, in 2011, that Osama bin Laden was finally found and killed.

Now, 10 years after Bin Laden’s death, the U.S. has withdrawn. But has the U.S. achieved its goals? Did the United States win the “war on terror”? Did this 20-year war fulfill President Bush’s initial objective—defeating “every terrorist group of global reach”?

Far from defeating the Taliban, the U.S. has legitimized the terror group by negotiating with them. The irony is stark. Far from its original mission to crush the Taliban, the U.S. now finds itself retreating from them.

While the U.S. and Great Britain try to paint a rosier picture of today’s Taliban, many Afghans have started to feel the brutality of the Taliban as they instigate revenge killings for those who collaborated with foreign powers.

A women’s rights activist in Afghanistan said, “The U.S. should have defeated this ominous phenomenon on the ground, or forced them to make peace. But they introduced the Taliban as a power to the world [through direct negotiations], and did not realize the Taliban are the savage Taliban, who know nothing but terror.”

Taliban fighters in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 17, 2021 (VOA/Wikimedia Commons). 

The war in Afghanistan has cost the U.S. a staggering $2.26 trillion, and the withdrawal has left the Taliban with a cache of weapons and military vehicles worth billions. The Taliban is now in a stronger position than ever, declaring that Allah granted them victory and boasting of their defeat of a global superpower.

This will likely embolden jihadist terror groups in other parts of the world—specifically in the Middle East and Africa. The Economist article quoted above put it: “Many are asking: if our Afghan brothers can beat a superpower, surely we can beat our own wretched rulers?”

With vast resources and the most sophisticated arsenal of weaponry in history at their disposal, why couldn’t the world’s most powerful military defeat men who the U.K.’s chief of defense called a group of “country boys”?

Has the pride of America’s power been broken?

The war in Afghanistan showed that one needs more than overwhelming military power to win a war. The Bible tells us that God determines the outcome of battles. When David confronted Goliath, the giant mocked David for his youth (1 Samuel 17:42). But David told him an essential truth—that though Goliath had multiple weapons (a sword, spear and javelin), David had God on his side. It was God who determined the outcome of the battle, “for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands” (verses 45, 47).

The Bible warns that another factor that can hinder victory in battle is sin. Sin within Israel caused the Israelites to lose a key battle to the people of Ai (Joshua 7:3-4). The embarrassing loss caused Joshua and Israel to become greatly discouraged (verse 5). God informed them their defeat was due to hidden sin (verses 6-12). It wasn’t until the sin was discovered and addressed that they could overpower their enemies (verses 13-26; 8:1).

As nations, the U.S. and Great Britain have continued to embrace many sins, such as the rejection of God’s very existence, modifying the biblical definition of marriage and family, the celebration of immoral sexual lifestyles, the killing of children in the womb, the embrace of filthy and aggressive speech, and many more. These nations have compromised their own values by supporting corrupt and unethical regimes for their own self-interest. Instead of trusting in God, these nations have placed their faith in their own strength and power (Jeremiah 2:13).

God warned that disobedience to His commandments would result in curses. Two of those curses were that God would “break the pride of your power” and that “your strength shall be spent in vain” (Leviticus 26:1-3, 18-20)."  Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/blog/why-the-fall-of-afghanistan-matters/?

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Matthew 7:2 : You Will Be Judged.

(2) For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.    New King James Version

“Jesus warns us that we will receive the same kind of judgment that we make of others. Do we really want that? That warning ought to sober any thinking person! Do we really believe God when He gives us such a stern warning?

Jesus adds another warning: Our judgment may be distorted because we may have a flaw of far greater magnitude in us than the flaw we observe so critically in our brother. The unspoken intimation is that because the flaw is ours, and we love ourselves, we are willing to be lenient in our self-judgment.

By focusing our criticism on another, it enables us to avoid scrutinizing ourselves carefully and critically. Some enjoy correcting others because it makes them feel virtuous, compensating for failures in themselves that they have no desire to face. But the judgment we make about others is in reality the judgment we will receive from God.”

From: https://www.theberean.org/index.cfm/main/default/id/600/ver/NKJV/matthew-7-2.htm

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“While He May Be Found”

“Isaiah 55:6-7

Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

When God calls us, we need to answer. He is very patient, but the Bible shows there will be a time when it is too late, when the doors are shut.

Consider the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. Those who foolishly came unprepared were shut out. They were the ones who forgot to keep their vessels full of oil (symbolic of neglecting the gift of the Holy Spirit—not staying connected to God through prayer and Bible study and not making use of the Spirit to transform their lives). (See more about this parable in our article “Lessons From the Parable of the 10 Virgins.”)

Forsaking sins and unrighteous thoughts and returning to God provides an action plan for repentance. Upon our making the U-turn that repentance implies, God promises abundant pardon, provided at the cost of our Savior’s life. See more about repentance in the article “How to Repent.””        From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/while-he-may-be-found-1/?

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6 Best Secrets To Reverse Insulin Resistance Naturally & Change Your Life

“Here are 6 ways on how to easily reverse insulin resistance naturally that even a lot of doctors don't know. These doctors think is not possible to reverse insulin resistance or it's something you will have to live with for the rest of your life. They say you can't cure it and the only treatment is weight loss, diet and exercise. But you can do something about it.

If you don't control insulin resistance it can lead to prediabetes then diabetes type 2 also called diabetes mellitus. Diabetes is a serious health issue, so please reverse your insulin resistance now. By watching this video you can learn how to reverses your insulin resistance naturally with diet, intermittent fasting, exercise and more.”

YouTube: https://youtu.be/xcQUghF2SKY

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Pray With a Psalm in Your Heart. Private Prayers. Avoiding Vain Repetitions in Prayer. New Study Links Keto Diet to Severe Long-Term Health Risks.

Point of Wisdom, Pray With a Psalm in Your Heart 

"It can sometimes be hard to know what to talk about with God in prayer. Some Scripture-based counsel to a struggling individual can help you too.

He described himself to the pastor and me as a former hippie who had been off the drugs for several years. But he and his wife explained that the hallucinogens' effects were still badly slowing his mental processes. We could see that from our conversation. My part was as a ministerial trainee participating in this pastoral visit with a young couple who had lived hard and wild during the hippie movement years of the 1960s.

The man now loaded freight on ships in the Thames River near London. He had muscles for the work but wished that he still had the muscle in his mind. She had many questions about the Bible and God's way, but one main question plagued his thoughts: "How do I pray? I can't think of much to say." There were tears in his eyes. He really, truly wanted to know how to talk to God.

As the novice on the job, I mentally scrambled for the scriptures that might provide him understanding. The so-called "Lord's Prayer" (in Matthew 6:9-13) came to mind. Jesus' outline for prayer.  It came to the pastor's mind too. He explained that it was actually a prayer outline—not a script for brief recitation. It included an introduction and conclusion of praise for God, requests for God's intervention in world affairs, requests for our daily needs, asking God in repentance for forgiveness of sins as we forgive others, help against temptation and evil—and at least two requests for God's Kingdom to come (which it will at Christ's return).

The pastor continued that when you break Jesus' prayer outline down like that and go into detail concerning each part, you could easily be on your knees for 30 minutes or more. "Half an hour? I can't think of anything to pray about for more than five minutes!" Overwhelmed, the fellow leaned forward shaking his head in his hands. It was a genuine heartstrings-pulling moment—and I was thankful that I wasn't leading the counseling. Amazingly, the pastor proceeded to unfold a point of wisdom involving two steps that has stuck with me ever since.

Go with a list and a psalm

Step 1: Make a list of things you know you want to pray about—however long or short. Take that list and your Bible to where you pray. Talk to God about every item on the list. When you're all prayed out, then go to step 2.

Step 2: Open your Bible to the book of Psalms, a very large part of which was written by King David of ancient Israel. Under God's inspiration David wrote his psalms first as prayers, then as songs. Pick a psalm and tell God in your prayer that you've personally run out of things to say to Him, but that now you want to read to Him this psalm that David wrote as your prayer too—thinking about how it applies to your own life. You can be sure that God will accept your borrowed prayer, because David was a man after God's own heart (see Acts 13:22).

The pastor provided a list of some of David's psalms that applied to circumstances any of us might face.

Need encouragement? Read Psalm 37.

Need comfort? Read Psalm 23.

Need to repent? Read Psalm 51.

In trouble and desperately need God's help? Read Psalms 3 to 7 (plus many more).

Want to thank God for His blessings? Read Psalm 30.

Feel lost, lonely and forgotten? Read Psalm 13.

Need spiritual strength? Read Psalm 11.

The tears in the young man's eyes disappeared. He had hope—he could learn to pray by praying David's prayers. He could draw close to God. So can you."  From: https://www.ucg.org/vertical-thought/point-of-wisdom-pray-with-a-psalm-in-your-heart

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Private Prayers

Matthew 6:5-6

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

"In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ laid out the foundations of Christianity; and in this section He addresses the wrong and right ways to pray. Prayer is not for show or to impress other people. It is designed to help us build a personal relationship with our Creator. The core of our prayer life is one-on-one, alone with God. When we pray in private, we can express our deepest emotions and be open with God in a way we could not be in public.

The example of the New Testament Church shows that this does not mean that there is no place for public prayer, as there are many examples of the Church of God praying together (Acts 1:14; 4:24-31; etc.). But we must always be on guard against the attitude of hypocrisy that Jesus warned about.

For more about what the Bible teaches about prayer, see our article “How to Talk to God.”"

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/private-prayers/?

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Avoiding Vain Repetitions in Prayer

Matthew 6:7

“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.”

"God does not give us prayers to memorize and repeat mindlessly as a ritual. He is not interested in babble and hearing certain syllables intoned repetitiously, as it seems the pagans believed their “gods” did. He wants His followers to “avoid meaningless, repetitive prayers offered under the misconception that mere length will make prayers efficacious” (Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary on Matthew 6:7-8).

God is interested in us having an actual conversation with Him, listening to what He says in the Bible and sharing our thoughts, requests, cares and praise with Him in a focused and meaningful way. Repeating someone else’s words over and over again can’t help but become rote and ritual rather than building the relationship God desires.

See more about the communication God desires in our article “How to Pray.”

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/avoiding-vain-repetitions-in-prayer/?

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New Study Links Keto Diet to Severe Long-Term Health Risks

• “The negative long-term consequences of ketogenic diets may far outweigh any potential short-term benefits, according to a comprehensive new review published in Frontiers in Nutrition.

Keto diets have skyrocketed in popularity over the last decade due to their ability to promote quick weight loss. Typically very low in carbohydrates, modest in protein, and high in fats, the aim of keto diets is to push the body into ketosis—the state in which the body uses fat for fuel. Foods like red meat, fish, nuts, cream, eggs, cheese, oil, and non-starchy vegetables are given the green light while starchy vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, and lentils are avoided as much as possible. 

For this latest meta-analysis, a group of physicians, researchers, and registered dietitians analyzed more than 100 peer-reviewed studies on keto diets to identify long-term effects. They found that people who follow such diets have a significantly increased risk of developing heart disease, LDL cholesterol buildup, kidney failure, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and cancer. They also discovered that keto diets are particularly dangerous for people who are currently pregnant or may become pregnant. Low-carbohydrate diets are linked to birth defects, particularly neural tube defects, and gestational diabetes even if the pregnant person is taking folic acid supplements. Additionally, for those living with chronic kidney disease (CKD), the high amounts of protein consumed on the keto diet can place excess stress on the kidneys and worsen the long-term internal damage of CKD. 

So why does this diet have such negative side effects? The study’s authors suggest that it has to do with the nutrient quality of the food being eaten.

“The foods that are emphasized on a keto diet are the very products that cause colon cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease,” says study co-author Neal Barnard, MD, FACC, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and an adjunct professor of medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine. “New research also shows that these same foods raise the risk for severe COVID-19.”

This sentiment is echoed by lead review author Lee Crosby, RD. “The typical keto diet is a disease-promoting disaster,” says Crosby. “Loading up on red meat, processed meat, and saturated fat and restricting carbohydrate-rich vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains is a recipe for bad health.”

Originally developed in the 1920s as a treatment for patients with severe drug-resistant epilepsy, the keto diet has been shown to be effective for reducing seizures in extreme cases. Scientists believe the diet decreases seizures by making less glucose available to fuel neurons. And although the study authors concluded that eating keto could be beneficial for seizure management, they say the risks far outweigh the rewards for most  people.

Instead of going keto, Barnard suggests a whole food, plant-based diet: “On a low-calorie diet, people might lose weight, but they have to go hungry to do it. On a keto diet, they might lose weight but they feel guilty if they have an apple, banana, slice of bread, or a cookie. On a plant-based diet, you get the best of all worlds: weight loss, delicious food, better overall health, and you’re never hungry.”

To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path." 

From: https://www.forksoverknives.com/wellness/new-study-links-keto-diet-to-severe-long-term-health-risks/

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