D-Day and Divine Intervention.

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D-Day and Divine Intervention

Posted on May 10, 2019 by Tom Robinson

“On this 75th (now 80th) anniversary of D-Day, a crucial event in the push to Allied victory in World War II, we look back on the remarkable miracle of its success—an answer to prayer and the fulfillment of destiny.

Imperial War Museum

With the Normandy beachhead secured, vast numbers of Allied troops and military vehicles flood ashore.

It’s been 75 (now 80) years since D-Day, June 6, 1944, when Western Allied forces during World War II launched the largest invasion in history with nearly 7,000 ships of all sorts and more than 11,000 planes, crossing the English Channel and landing more than 150,000 troops (and more over the days that followed) on the beaches of Normandy to free France and the rest of Europe from Nazi tyranny.

German leader Adolf Hitler had prepared a vast defensive network of artillery, gun emplacements, mines and other deadly obstacles stretching from the west coast of France up to Norway. This “Atlantic Wall” had to be breached for the Allies to press forward and defeat this evil, genocidal regime that with its Axis partners was intent on continuing the carnage of many millions while trying to conquer the world.

Famed war correspondent Ernie Pyle, who arrived at Normandy the day after D-Day, noted that the Allies achieved victory “with every advantage on the enemy’s side and every disadvantage on ours.” Yet, as he wrote, the total Allied casualties “were remarkably low—only a fraction, in fact, of what our commanders had been prepared to accept.” Pyle concluded, “Now that it is all over, it seems to me a pure miracle that we ever took the beach at all.”

What was miraculous about D-Day, and why would God have intervened?

The weather and other surprises—flukes or God’s handiwork?

Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander (and later U.S. president), said later on the 1952 anniversary of the operation launch: “This day eight years ago, I made the most agonizing decision of my life. If there were nothing else in my life to prove the existence of an almighty and merciful God, the events of the next twenty-four hours did it . . . The greatest break in a terrible outlay of weather occurred the next day and allowed that great invasion to proceed, with losses far below those we had anticipated.”

The Allies had tried to plan for every eventuality, but they had no control over the vital weather. They hoped for good weather to make the 100-mile sea crossing to Europe, as had miraculously occurred in the mass evacuation from Europe at Dunkirk early in the war. What they didn’t realize was that bad weather—the windiest in 20 years—would hand them success beyond all expectation.

D-Day was originally scheduled for June 5 and could only be postponed for the short term to the 6th or 7th, while the tides were still low and the moon was full for visibility (along with clear weather), especially for clearing or avoiding mines in the surf. Otherwise it would have to have been put off a good while later.

With the terrible weather that sprang up on June 5, it looked like the operation was a no-go, but meteorologists reported a break was about to occur in the weather to allow the 17-hour crossing, though there was as yet no sign of any calming. Eisenhower made the agonizing decision for the ships to launch on the 5th (to arrive the next day) in the face of severe winds. As it turned out, the weather was only marginally better on the 6th, yet enough for the invasion to succeed even with weather-related losses.

What really helped win the day was that the Germans could not believe the Allies would cross the English Channel in such awful weather, and they were caught completely unprepared. They had stood alert at low-tide and full-moon days in May, but they now did not see the need. Half the German division commanders and a fourth of the regiment commanders left for war games exercises in Brittany. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, in charge of the Normandy defenses, decided to travel 500 miles to Germany to celebrate his wife’s birthday. He came back at word of the invasion, but it took him all day—by then too late.

Also, Adolf Hitler and other leaders under him were convinced by Allied ploys and their own theories that the Allied invasion was going to be further east. And when it arrived they assumed it was a diversion, with the real landing to take place elsewhere—a belief that Hitler bizarrely clung to up through August!

Meanwhile, most of the Luftwaffe (German air force) planes based in Normandy had been relocated to Germany to defend against increasing Allied bombing. With that and the bad weather, German planes were not patrolling the English Channel. Moreover, this was the only night the German U-boat submarines did not patrol it. So the Allies encountered hardly any enemy forces on the way.

Confusion among German defenders

A key early step in the invasion was for paratroopers to come in gliders at 100 mph with no guiding lights and to land secretly next to two critical guarded bridges and secure them—to keep the Germans back and prevent the Germans from destroying them so the Allies couldn’t use them. The weather helped in this too, hiding the gliders in the low clouds as they flew by stopwatches until they dropped out at 200 feet, when the pilots could then see.

The first paratroopers to land were stunned, British platoon leader Maj. John Howard later stating: “When we came to our senses, we realized there was no firing. There was no enemy firing. It all seemed quite unbelievable.” The 22 paratroopers trotted over the bridge, the terrified guards dove into the bushes, and the garrison was taken in 10 minutes. But two German tanks arrived, with four more on the way. The paratroopers had only a single anti-tank gun, and with one chance succeeded in hitting the tank right in the middle, setting off all the ammunition inside—the burning tank now blocking the German advance and enabling lost paratroopers to be reoriented.

The Germans were not then able to counterattack there or across the wider area. They now had only two panzer (or tank) divisions near the Normandy landings. Early in the morning, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt ordered these to move in, not believing such a large-scale invasion could be a deception.

But he had to get approval, as these forces were under the German high command. Approval was not given, as Hitler had to give the order, and he was still sleeping—and he didn’t awaken until noon. Hitler’s approval did not come until 4 p.m., and by that time the weather had cleared and Allied aircraft ruled the skies over Normandy, smashing anything that moved on the ground. (Much more could be said of Hitler’s terrible blunders, which some speculate may have resulted from disease or drug and chemical interactions affecting his brain.)

Many remarkable things happened on D-Day. The landing at Utah Beach was actually in the wrong place, but this worked out in the Allies’ favor, as the beach was less defended there. Of course, other places saw far worse fighting. The taking of the Normandy beaches was still horrific, with thousands dead or wounded. Yet the casualty count had been expected to be many times higher. And the victory allowed the liberation of Europe to follow over the next year.

The weather that seemed poised to thwart the Allied cause in reality greatly helped it. And the Nazi leadership was in many ways confounded. Eisenhower and many others saw this as clear help from Almighty God. In fact, newspapers at the time declared the events of D-Day, Dunkirk, El Alamein, the Battle of Britain and a number of other battles to be miraculous, particularly in the wake of widespread prayer to God for deliverance.

U.S. and British leaders and people look to God

Gen. Eisenhower told the troops embarking for Normandy: “The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you . . . The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory! I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory! Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”

British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery had told the troops, “Let us pray that the Lord, mighty in battle, will give us victory.”

As the forces approached Normandy, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt took to the airwaves with this call: “In this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer.”

He publicly prayed: “Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity . . . They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard . . .

“They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate . . . They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home. Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

“And for us at home . . . help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

“Many people have urged that I call the nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts . . .

“And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade . . . With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace—a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

“Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen.”

As word of the invasion spread, prayer vigils were quickly organized throughout the country. Many businesses closed for prayer.

“This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes”

Britain’s King George VI said in a worldwide radio address on D-Day: “Four years ago our nation and Empire stood alone against an overwhelming enemy, with our backs to the wall. Tested as never before in our history, in God’s providence we survived that test . . .

“Once more a supreme test has to be faced. This time the challenge is not to fight to survive, but to fight to win the final victory for the good cause . . . That we may be worthily matched with this new summons of destiny, I desire solemnly to call my people to prayer and dedication.

“We are not unmindful of our own shortcomings, past and present. We shall ask not that God may do our will, but that we may be enabled to do the will of God; and we dare to believe that God has used our nation and Empire as an instrument for fulfilling His high purpose.

“I hope that throughout the present crisis of the liberation of Europe there may be offered up earnest, continuous and widespread prayer . . .

“If from every place of worship, from home and factory, from men and women of all ages and many races and occupations, our intercessions rise, then, please God, both now and in the future, not remote, the predictions of an ancient psalm may be fulfilled: ‘The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will give His people the blessing of peace.’”

Did God answer this great outpouring of prayer? Many are justifiably convinced that He did.

After the Allies swept triumphantly through France in 1944, Gen. Montgomery felt compelled to say: “Such an historic march of events can seldom have taken place in such a short space of time . . . Let us say to each other, ‘This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.’”

A God who intervenes and answers national prayer

The Bible reveals that God cares about what happens in the affairs of nations and intervenes in working out His overall plan. “For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings” (Daniel 2:20-21)—sometimes to punish sinful nations and rulers (compare Genesis 15:16; Isaiah 10:12)—and also to protect His servant people from annihilation.

He chose the people of Israel to fulfill a very special destiny. In prophesying of the Israelites in the last days, God promised to make Joseph’s descendants through his sons Ephraim and Manasseh the most blessed nations in the world and strengthen them against their enemies (Genesis 49:22-24), declaring that their descendants would “push the peoples to the ends of the earth” (Deuteronomy 33:17). He further said the Israelites would be “like a lion . . . Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off” (Micah 5:8-9).

Other verses show that God would also discipline the Israelites through losses to enemies. But He promised that if His people would humble themselves in prayer, He would forgive them and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

All of this plays a huge part in what happened at D-Day and the various other instances of divine intervention during World War II and in other conflicts. For, as incredible as it may seem, the prophecies regarding end-time Israel have been fulfilled primarily through the United States and Britain and other nations of British descent. In fact, these nations are in large part actually formed of the descendants of Joseph! (Be sure to read our free study guide The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy for the proof of this identity and heritage.)

Though this truth is unknown to most, many over the last few centuries have had a sense of the promises to Israel applying in some ways to these great Bible-believing nations.

Leaders who recognized the hand of God at work

Observe what Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister at the time of D-Day, said in his memoirs of the First World War regarding an encounter with Scripture just after he took charge of the Royal Navy:

“That night when I went to bed, I saw a large Bible lying on a table in my bedroom. I thought of the peril of Britain, peace-loving, unthinking, little prepared . . . I thought of mighty Germany . . . wave after wave of valiant manhood . . . of the sudden and successful wars by which her power had been set up. I opened the Book at random, and in the 9th Chapter of Deuteronomy I read—

“‘Hear, O Israel: Thou art to . . . possess nations greater and mightier than thyself . . . a people great and tall of whom thou hast heard say, who can stand before the children of Anak!

“‘Understand therefore this day, that the Lord thy God is he which goes over before thee; as a consuming fire . . . Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thy heart . . . but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’

“It seemed a message full of reassurance” (The World Crisis, Mentor edition, 1968, pp. 58-59). Indeed it was.

During the Second World War, the same Churchill, now prime minister, gave a message in 1942 stating: “I sometimes have a feeling of interference. I want to stress that. I have a feeling sometimes that some Guiding Hand has interfered. I have a feeling that we have a Guardian because we have a great Cause, and we shall have that Guardian so long as we serve that Cause faithfully.”

At the victorious conclusion of the war, Churchill led the British House of Commons to “give humble and reverent thanks to Almighty God for our deliverance.”

Harry Truman, U.S. president at the end of World War II, later remarked in 1951: “I do not think that anyone can study the history of this nation without becoming convinced that Divine Providence has played a great part in it. I have the feeling that God has created us and brought us to our present position of power and strength for some great purpose. It is not given to us to know fully what that purpose is.”

Will we continue to look to God?

While these men did not grasp the big picture of what God was working out, they and others at the time still realized who had saved them and seen them through. Do we?

It’s heartrending to contemplate, but it will not be long before the world is plunged into the worst time of trouble ever—far worse than World War II. America and Britain will not then succeed in beating back the enveloping tyranny but, having drifted far from God, will experience devastating defeat and destruction.

Yet, thankfully, a great deliverance will at last come—from the same God. The Father will send Jesus Christ to return to the earth in awesome power. Descending with the hosts of heaven, Jesus will come in divine war, crushing the armies arrayed against Him. Overthrowing the tyranny of wicked men and of Satan behind it all, He will take over the governing of the whole world, then bringing an end to war and guiding mankind into the way of peace.

As we remember D-Day, let’s be grateful for God’s great intervention then and at other times and, humbling ourselves in prayer, continue to trust Him now and for the future deliverance He will ultimately bring.”  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-magazine/d-day-and-divine-intervention

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How to Prepare for the End Times. God Will Wipe Away Every Tear. Meat Industry Reaction to New Cancer Guidelines.

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How to Prepare for the End Times

“The Bible prophesies many destructive events in the end times. Is there anything we can do to prepare? As Christians, what should our priorities be?

 There is nothing you can physically do to prepare for the end times.

Nothing. Not one single thing.

Here’s a prophecy from the Bible about what the world will look like shortly before the return of Christ. As you read through it, try thinking about what you’d need in order to survive it:

“I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.

“And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.

“Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.

“And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’” (Revelation 6:12-17).

Even if you’ve stockpiled enough survival rations to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool, built a bunker that could withstand a nuclear holocaust and hoarded enough guns and ammo to fend off the standing army of a small country, it won’t be enough.

When “the great day of His wrath has come”—when the earth shakes the mountains and the islands out of place, when stars fall from heaven and the sky recedes like a scroll, when kings and slaves alike cower in fear at the judgment God is raining down on a corrupt earth—all the physical preparation in the world won’t make an ounce of difference.

A quick note about emergency preparedness

Before we go any further, let me clarify something. Even though there’s nothing you can do to physically prepare for the end of the world as we know it, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea to prepare for other, less catastrophic emergencies.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recommends keeping a disaster supply kit on hand for your family in the event of an emergency that requires you to “survive on your own for several days.” They even offer a checklist you can use as you build your own kit.

Taking steps to make sure your family has what it needs in the wake of a disaster is a good idea. Taking steps to make sure your family can survive the collapse of civilization? Maybe not so much.

Spiritual preparation is what really matters

That said, God does expect us to prepare for the end times—but that’s a spiritual endeavor, not a physical one.

To prepare for the end times, we need to understand what the end times are.

Technically speaking, we’ve been in the “end times” for the last 2,000 years. Peter wrote that Jesus Christ was made manifest “in these last times” (1 Peter 1:20). Paul explained that biblical examples were recorded “for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).

The end times are the final phase of God’s plan before the return of Jesus Christ. They’re the era we’re living in right now—the same era that the early Church existed in as well. (See more in our blog post “Are We Living in the End Times?”)

But, generally, when people talk about the end times, they’re thinking of specific end-time events—the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. The Tribulation is a period of 3½ years immediately preceding the return of Jesus Christ to the earth, and the Day of the Lord often refers to a short but intense period when the world is directly punished by God for its sins, leading into the eternal reign of God.

These are the apocalyptic, cataclysmic events of the end time that we cannot physically prepare for—but that we must spiritually prepare for.

The keys to spiritual preparation

Being prepared for the end times doesn’t require exactly predicting the end times. Paul warned that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2, English Standard Version).

We should certainly be aware that the Day of the Lord is coming, and its sudden arrival shouldn’t catch us off guard (1 Peter 5:1-5). But Jesus Himself told His disciples to stay alert, “for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42), and to “be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (verse 44).

Just like putting together a disaster supply kit, it’s important to prepare before things get bad. And just as you can refer to a checklist to assemble your own kit, you can also refer to the spiritual checklist God has provided in order to prepare for these big end-time events:

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).

That’s a short checklist, but it takes a lot of time to tick those boxes. You can put a disaster supply kit together in an afternoon—but doing justly, loving mercy and walking humbly are character attributes that we can spend the rest of our lives refining and perfecting.

God doesn’t expect us to have perfected these attributes before the end-time events unfold. He just expects us to be diligently working on them. Every day gives us new opportunities to be doing just that.

(Read more in our three-part blog series “What Does God Require of You? Do Justly,” “Love Mercy” and “Walk Humbly.”)

What are we preparing for?

In preparing for a disaster, the goal is to survive—to make it safely to the other side of whatever calamity we might experience.

You might say that’s the goal of preparing for end times too—although “making it safely to the other side” looks a little different in this case.

The Bible makes mention of a place in the wilderness where at least some of God’s people will be protected during the events of the Tribulation (Revelation 12:14). Jesus even instructed us to pray for protection during this time: “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).

But the Bible also talks about martyrs who will be “slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held” (Revelation 6:9).

Though we should pray and hope we are “counted worthy” to escape the intense suffering of the Great Tribulation, physical survival isn’t the ultimate goal. Standing “before the Son of Man” at His return is. Jesus promised, “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40).

Even if we die before or during the final events of the end times, our hope is in a far greater kind of survival. Paul explained that Jesus Christ, at His return, will resurrect and transform His faithful followers as immortal members of the God family: “And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man” (1 Corinthians 15:49, see also verses 35-55).

If we do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God—if we live our lives in accordance with His Word and follow His commands—we can expect to make it safely to the other side of the end times, not as physical human beings, but as the spiritual sons and daughters of God Himself:

“‘They shall be Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him’” (Malachi 3:17).

God’s plan means hope for everyone

But the story doesn’t end there. When God the Father and Jesus Christ set Their plan in motion, They were “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9). In the aftermath of the end-time events, the world’s survivors will need leadership, compassion and guidance.

We will have the privilege of providing all those things as we reign with Christ for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4), teaching the rest of humanity to build their own spiritual survival kits—to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.

And one day, when “the dead, small and great” (verse 12) are returned to life and brought before God, we’ll be there too, offering a hope for survival that stretches on into eternity.

That’s why we prepare for the end times—not to survive it physically, but because of the incredible future waiting for us on the other side of it. And in that beautiful future, “there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

That’s something worth preparing for.”  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/christian-living/christianity-in-progress/prepare-for-the-end-times/?

Suggestions welcome.   This article was written at a reader’s suggestion. If you’d like to suggest a topic for future editions of “Christianity in Progress,” you can do so anonymously at lifehopeandtruth.com/ideas. We look forward to hearing from you!

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God Will Wipe Away Every Tear

Revelation 21:4

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

“God clearly shows His love for us and His desire for the end of all suffering. The Bible is the story of mankind constantly choosing the way of sin that results in suffering, while our loving God offers forgiveness and a wonderful way of life that results in blessings.

The context of this passage is after the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-12), when every human being will understand the choice God has given, and hopefully the vast majority will accept Christ’s sacrifice and choose to live the way that leads to life. God wants everyone to choose life and to be saved (Deuteronomy 30:19; 1 Timothy 2:4).

After those (hopefully few) who choose death are thrown in the lake of fire, God promises to make all things new. Everyone alive at the time of the new heaven and new earth will have been changed to immortal, spiritual life.

And so at that time when death and pain have become a thing of the past, God will wipe away every tear from their eyes and reveal an eternity of joy to all His children.” From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/god-will-wipe-away-every-tear/?

For more understanding of the pain and suffering of this current age, see our section on “Why Does God Allow Evil and Suffering?”

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Meat Industry Reaction to New Cancer Guidelines

“What was the meat industry’s response to the recommendation by leading cancer charities to stop eating processed meats, such as bacon, ham, hot dogs, sausage, and lunchmeat.” 

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the video below. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Katie Schloer.

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/k8SDN4QjEXI

“What was the meat industry’s response to the leading cancer charities’ recommendation to stop eating processed meat—like bacon, ham, hot dogs, sausage, and lunchmeat? They acknowledged that the most recent international cancer prevention guidelines now urge people to avoid processed meat.

It is evident that such a statement represents “a clear and present danger” for the meat industry, reads one response in the journal Meat Science. Processed meat, they say, is a social necessity. How could anyone live without bologna? The challenge for the meat industry is to find a way to maintain the consumption of these convenience products while somehow not damaging public health.

We’re still not sure what it is in processed meat that’s so carcinogenic, but the most probable educated guess for explaining the damaging effect of processed meats involves heme compounds, along with nitrosamine and free radical formation, resulting ultimately in carcinogenic DNA damage.

To reduce the nitrosamines, they could remove the nitrites—something that the industry has been considering for decades, because of the long known toxic effects they cause. The industry adds them to keep the meat pink. There are, evidently, other coloring additives available. Nevertheless, it’s going to be hard to get their industry to change, in view of the positive effects of these substances as preservatives, and desirable flavor and red color-developing ingredients. No one wants green eggs and ham.

It’s like salt reduction in meat products. They’d like to, but one of the biggest barriers to salt replacement within the meat industry is cost, as salt is one of the cheapest food ingredients available. Now, there are a number of taste enhancers they can inject into the meat that can help compensate for the salt reduction, but some leave a bitter aftertaste. So, they can also just inject a patented bitter-blocking chemical that can prevent taste nerve stimulation at the same time—the first of what may become a stream of products that are produced due to the convergence of food technology and biotech.

Or, they could always try adding non-meat materials to the meat. You could add fiber, or resistant starch from beans, that have protective effects against cancer. After all, in the United States, dietary fiber is under-consumed by most adults, indicating that fiber fortification in meat products could have health benefits—failing to note, of course, that their products are one of the reasons the American diet is so deficient in fiber in the first place.

The industry is all in favor of reformulating their products to cause less cancer, but obviously any such optimization has to achieve a healthier product without affecting the hedonic aspects. It is important to realize that nutritional and technological quality in the meat industry are inversely related. An improvement in one will lead to deterioration of the other. They know that consumption of lard is not the best thing in the world—heart disease, being our number one killer and all. However, those downsides are in sharp contrast to the technological qualities of saturated fat, which makes it indispensable in the manufacture of meat products. Otherwise, you just don’t get the same lard consistency. The pigs’ fat doesn’t get hard enough, and, as a result, a fatty smear upon cutting or slicing can be observed on the cutting surface of the knife.”  From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/meat-industry-reaction-new-cancer-guidelines/

Note: The processed meats mentioned all seem to contain PORK.  (See Leviticus 11)

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Seven Keys to Better Relationships. How to Deal With Inflation. Is CHOLESTEROL BAD For You?

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Seven Keys to Better Relationships

[From the January/February 2014 issue of Discern.]

“Why do some relationships sour and end? What principles can we glean from the Bible to preserve or heal our relationships with family and friends?

God’s Word teaches us many keys to stronger, healthier relationships—our article below explores seven.

The state of human relationships today is generally poor. No matter the level—whether head of state to head of state, nation to nation or person to person—there are many examples of strained and broken relationships.

Person against person

In the United States, it has sadly become routine to hear of disgruntled employees shooting their supervisors and fellow employees. And then there are the mass shootings at schools, shopping centers and movie theaters orchestrated by angry and mentally disturbed individuals.

Internationally, bullying, stalking, kidnapping and street violence are all symptoms of our damaged world.

At home, in the intimate personal relationships found in marriage, many husbands and wives struggle to get along. In most Western countries about 50 percent of marriages end in divorce, and millions of other couples (many with children) break up without ever making a commitment of marriage.

Dissecting a breakup

Since we humans have had plenty of experience with bad relationships, it is actually quite easy to document and even predict the progressive steps that generally occur as relationships go bad. At the earliest stages of conflict, little disagreements are glossed over or ignored. Eventually something happens that evokes anger and frustration, which moves the relationship into the conflict stage.”        Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/relationships/friendship/seven-keys-to-better-relationships/?

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How to Deal With Inflation

“With inflation reaching levels not seen in four decades, everyone is scrambling to try to control expenses. Here are some tips and biblical wisdom.

Some of us old-timers well remember the inflation of the 1970s, but for many today, the rapid rise of prices is new and certainly unsettling. Crashing from a global pandemic into an inflationary spiral, with the chance of a recession ahead, has created many worries and difficult decisions.

This post will give you some of the best advice of modern experts, but it is based on a solid foundation of biblical financial advice.

A budget is an essential inflation-fighting tool

To know what you have to adjust, you have to know where your money is going now. Budgeting is necessary to wisely plan as prices rise.

Our article “Christian Budget” offers common-sense steps to take. And our article “The Bible, Budgeting and You” also includes a link to a sample outline budget.

Deal with inflation-fueled debt

God warns about taking on debt (Proverbs 22:7), and this timeless biblical principle becomes even more relevant as interest rates rise.

See our article “Dealing With Debt” for a practical plan for getting out of debt as fast as possible.

Avoid these traps

When money is tight, you will be offered help that might seem too good to be true, or it just may be misleading. Ramsey Solutions suggests avoiding these traps:

• “Buy now, pay later” plans. They will have penalties for missed payments, and Ramsey Solutions found three in four missed a payment in the last three months.
• Store credit cards. “Debt is debt. Even when it comes with a 10% off coupon.”
• Zero percent financing. “When that zero percent ends, these companies usually make up for lost time by hitting you over the head with high interest rates.”
• Personal loans. “Loans don’t fix the problem—they just dig a deeper hole for the problem you already have.”

Inflation-fighting tips from experts from The Wall Street Journal

Here are some tips from a Wall Street Journal article “15 Ways Consumers Can Deal With—and Even Benefit From—Rising Inflation”:

• “Be aware of shrinkflation,” where the amount of product in a package is reduced, but the price is not reduced.
• “Putting off collecting Social Security can be a smart inflation hedge—beyond the built-in increases in benefits tied to the consumer-price index. Every year that Social Security benefits are delayed past full retirement age, the amount of the eventual benefit increases by 8%.”
• Plan ahead so you can time your expected nonperishable purchases for when they are on sale.
• “Look for any recurring expenses for subscriptions or services that may no longer be needed.”
• “One of the best investments for a return on your dollar is to better insulate your home. This is particularly important given the current higher costs of fuel. Often, you can get a free energy assessment from your power company, with a to-do list for lowering your energy costs.”

Consumer Reports inflation tips

Consumer Reports suggests, “Consider switching to a lower-cost cell phone plan, perhaps one from your internet provider. Lower-income families may qualify for a [U.S.] federal program that helps with internet bills, called the Affordable Connectivity Program.”

For food, “You can also save significantly by sticking with warehouse clubs and discount stores, such as Costco, and Trader Joe’s, as well as private-label brands.”

Reducing subscription bills

“Most people underestimate how much they spend on subscriptions by a hefty amount,” The Week reported. A new survey found that “consumers’ offhand guess of how much they spend monthly on subscriptions averaged $86.” But the actual average was $219!

“Subscriptions have exploded over the past decade—‘for just media and entertainment offerings, the average number of paid subscriptions per consumer was 12 in 2020.’ That’s a lot to keep track of. ‘Most people (86 percent) have put some, if not all, of their subscriptions on autopay.’”

Make sure you are not being charged for subscriptions you no longer use, and consider carefully which ones you can cut.

Next steps

These are just a few tips you can use to get your expenses under control. Keep researching reputable advice and you will find many additional tips.

But make sure to start now to set a biblical foundation by budgeting and reducing your debt.”  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/blog/how-to-deal-with-inflation/?

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Is CHOLESTEROL BAD For You? (Real Doctor Reviews The TRUTH)

    Dr. Sten Ekberg

“Is Cholesterol Bad for you? 12 Truths About Cholesterol To Survive & Thrive (HDL And LDL Myths) Cholesterol may be the most misunderstood topic ever. HDL is often called good and LDL is called bad, when in fact they are both good. Learn the real truth so you can avoid the pitfalls of how to lower high cholesterol. For decades we have been warned about eating cholesterol even though dietary cholesterol is irrelevant. The body makes the majority of cholesterol in the body whether you are vegan or carnivore.”

See YouTube: https://youtu.be/cHIzSS9ZBVY

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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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Happy 4th. July To You All. What Can We Learn From the Surfside Condominium Collapse? Your Doctor Is Wrong About Insulin Resistance.

Independence Day,  The Origins of America

Happy 4th. July to you all

“As Americans celebrate Independence Day on July 4, we should all be looking forward to the great, spiritual day of deliverance coming when Jesus Christ returns.

  Stephanie McCabe/Unsplash

July 4th is a day of physical deliverance, but God's Kingdom will bring greater, spiritual deliverance to all people.

July 4 is the day the United States of America celebrates its independence from Great Britain. American President and founding father John Adams seemingly foretold the future when he wrote the following about Independence Day:

"I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more" (from the Massachusetts Historical Society).

And indeed, Independence Day is observed with family gatherings, firework displays, and the like. But can we trace the United States through history before July 4th, 1776? Did God somehow intervene in human history? And what can this tell us about America's future?

A declaration of independence and prosperity

"The Lord had said to Abram, 'Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you' " (Genesis 12:1; New Living Translation). God declared Abram's independence from his family and his former homeland. He promised Abram that "all the families on earth will be blessed through you," and the man who would be Abraham simply yet boldly did what God instructed (Genesis 12:3-4; NLT). The key take-away is that Abraham's descendants would be so blessed and prosperous that not only they would benefit, but the rest of the world as well.

A few generations later, we see Abraham's grandson Israel blessing his own grandchildren, Ephraim and Manasseh. As Israel (also called Jacob) reached the end of his life, we read an interesting prophecy about his grandchildren. Notice what Israel says in Genesis 48:19: "'He [Manasseh, the firstborn brother] also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother [Ephraim] shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.' "

Based on this verse, we can begin to identify Ephraim as the British Commonwealth ("a multitude of nations") and Manasseh as the United States of America (a "great" people). For an in-depth look at the connection between these modern nations and ancient families, please consider reading The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy, one of our free study aids.

Upon reflection, I'm sure you can see many ways in which God has blessed the United States, and how America has in turn benefited the world. But what does the future hold for the modern descendants of Manasseh?

A problem and a promise

The prophet Micah spoke of Manasseh's future in Micah 5:9: "Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off." This mark of military success and preeminence is something the United States still currently enjoys. But a dramatic change is coming.

"'And it shall be in that day,' says the LORD, 'that I will cut off your horses from your midst and destroy your chariots. I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down all your strongholds' " (Micah 5:10-11). God will revoke the blessing of His protection from America, and the United States will suffer unprecedented defeat--even captivity--at the hands of its enemies. "'Thus I will destroy your cities' " (Micah 5:14).

National security is a blessing that God grants for obedience (Leviticus 26:1-8). When nations are sinful, however, God's face is against them and they endure defeat at their enemies' hands (Leviticus 26:14-17). Even your seemingly tiny, individual sins contribute to this catastrophe.

The problem is sin--and the solution to that problem is repentance. "Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away" (Acts 3:19; NLT). If America as a nation repents and turns to God, He will remember His blessings for obedience and grant them further to the United States. Unfortunately, this is unlikely.

Despite this apparent disaster, there is a final promise to all people everywhere: the Kingdom of God. Although great trouble is prophesied to come before Jesus' return (Matthew 24:21), He will save the peoples of the earth. He will bring Israel back to the land He originally intended for them to have. God will teach them His law and grant them His Spirit so they can better understand and live out this law. "You shall be My people, and I will be your God" (Ezekiel 36:24-28).

July 4th is a day of physical deliverance, but God's Kingdom will bring greater, spiritual deliverance to all people. The people of America will finally be dependent on God as He intended, and they will be free from the dark grasp of sin. Imagine the wonderful celebrations that this future Independence Day will bring.    From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/blogs/independence-day-the-origins-of-america

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What Can We Learn From the Surfside Condominium Collapse?

“Tragedy struck Florida last week when a large condo building unexpectedly collapsed in the middle of the night. What lessons should we learn from this disaster?

The Champlain Towers condominium buildings are a complex of three buildings in Surfside, Florida, with a beautiful view of the ocean. However, on Thursday, June 24, at about 1:30 in the morning, tragedy struck.

In the middle of the night the 12-story south tower, which had 136 condominium units, collapsed without warning. Chilling video captured by a nearby security camera revealed that it took only seconds for a major portion of the south tower to become a pile of rubble. In the aftermath of the collapse, the scene looked as if the building had been destroyed by a powerful bomb.

As of the time of the time of publishing, 16 people have been confirmed dead in the collapse. However, there are still over 140 people unaccounted for. Search and rescue teams are tirelessly combing through the rubble as quickly as they can, battling the heat and dangerous conditions, but the odds of finding more survivors grows dimmer by the hour. Our prayers are with the families who wait with hope against hope to receive positive news of their loved ones.

The investigations, accusations and recriminations will likely go on for months and years. No one yet knows the exact cause of the collapse. Perhaps it was negligence, inadequate maintenance, or even a sinkhole or unexpected subsurface shifting that caused the building to fall.

Whatever the cause, it doesn’t change the sudden and unexpected outcome for the victims. In the blink of an eye, their hopes and dreams and plans for the future came to an abrupt end.

What did Jesus say about tragedies?

In Luke 13:4 Jesus made a statement about a tragedy that was very similar to what happened in Florida. During His time, a tower in a Jerusalem neighborhood called Siloam collapsed and killed 18 people. Some scholars believe this was a tower built by the pool of Siloam for men who were going through the process of ritual purification. If this is true, these 18 men may have been in that area to perform a religious ceremony, but suddenly had their lives cut short when the tower collapsed on top of them.

Jesus was using the tragedy to highlight the necessity of personal repentance.Here are Christ’s words about the tragedy: “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (verses 4-5).

Jesus’ point was clear. When these kinds of tragedies occur, it is not because God specifically targeted the victims for somehow being worse than everyone else who survived. There is an element of time and chance at work in our world. The point is that we all equally need to repent, or we will perish. Jesus was using the tragedy to highlight the necessity of personal repentance.

In the aftermath of this current tragedy in Florida, we can reflect on the same lesson that Jesus asked His audience to think about 2,000 years ago. We can put a renewed focus on repenting of our sins. To do that, we must identify what our sins are, ask for God’s forgiveness and strive to change. To learn more about this crucial subject, read our article “What Is Repentance?”

Life is frail and uncertain

Another lesson we should learn from the Florida tragedy is the frailty and uncertainty of life.

Notice these words penned by King David: “LORD, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You; certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah. Surely every man walks about like a shadow; surely they busy themselves in vain; he heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them. And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You” (Psalm 39:4-7).

When we see how quickly and easily our lives can end, it should inspire us to look to our Creator for meaning and purpose.  Tragedies can help remind us of the truth of these words. It’s easy to become arrogant or comfortable. We can look to ourselves and our accomplishments for meaning. But we need to temper our thoughts with the truth that our lives are like vapor in the grand scheme of things. We are here for a little bit and then gone. All it takes is a random tragedy to end our lives at any moment.

James, the half-brother of Jesus Christ, was inspired to write something very similar: “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil” (James 4:13-16).

When we see how quickly and easily our lives can end, it should inspire us to look to our Creator for meaning and purpose. We can build an appropriate kind of confidence when we live our lives in a manner that pleases our Father in heaven. When we live that way, we can faithfully place our lives in His hands and trust His will for our lives.

For the residents of the Champlain Towers South and their families, a few seconds in the dark of the night changed everything.  Will we heed the lessons God wants us to learn from such tragedies?"  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/blog/what-can-we-learn-from-the-surfside-condominium-collapse/?

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Your Doctor Is Wrong About Insulin Resistance

"Isn't it CRAZY when something is super important and yet everything you're told about it is wrong. Your doctor will tell you tell you year after year that you're is fine, but then suddenly you have a disease? When they focus on the wrong thing, you waste decades of precious time. Find out why Your Doctor Is Wrong About Insulin Resistance."

See YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BI-rlA6TBQ

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Will There Be Another World War? Peace on Earth? VE and VJ Days. Update.

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Will There Be Another World War?

“In the 75 years since World War II, have we learned how to avoid another world war? Or are we headed toward a worse one? Will there be a World War 3?

On Sept. 2, 1945, on the USS Missouri, Japan signed an unconditional surrender, formally ending World War II.

This concluded the greatest cataclysm the world has ever seen, with estimates as high as 100 million dead.

As bad as World War II was, are we now forgetting the horrors and the lessons of history? Will there be another world war?

History is the story of war, and though each war has unique roots and causes, they all are evidence of man’s inability to govern himself. And history gives no assurance that another war—an even more destructive one—will not come.

Remembering World War II

In Europe World War II began on Sept. 1, 1939, when the German army invaded Poland. The war in Asia began two years earlier, on July 7, 1937, when Japan invaded China.

In both Europe and Asia, the aggressor nations were driven by a desire to expand their territory and control or eliminate peoples they considered to be weak or inferior.

Roots of war in Europe

In Europe Adolf Hitler’s brand of grievance politics and charisma was the driving force for his push for more lebensraum or living space. Hitler applied the Darwinian concept of survival of the fittest to the different races. He believed that the Germanic or Aryan race was superior to all others. Therefore, he believed they should dominate and needed more space.

In particular, Hitler coveted Russia, with its vast territory and natural resources.”  Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/prophecy-in-the-news/will-there-be-another-world-war/?

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Peace on Earth?

“A World War II vet considers how the days of infamy and victory remind us of this world's crying need for peace.

“A few years back I called several newspapers on December 7, and asked if they knew what day it was. The reporters didn’t know it was Pearl Harbor Day. Of course, even fewer remember Victory in Europe (VE) Day or VJ Day or other days of remembrance.

How contradictory that the world seeks peace by waging war. The horrors of war were made painfully clear with World War I and World War II. But the world continues to seek peace through conflicts and armed battles. Aren’t we all looking for the day when the whole world will have a truly peaceful environment in which to live a happy, enjoyable life?

Rather than relying on peace treaties, what if all the world followed the Golden Rule? It certainly appears there would be a much, much more peaceful world if all the “war lords” would use the Golden Rule as a daily guide and settle their differences in more peaceful ways.

General Douglas MacArthur understood the answers to these questions at the end of World War II when he spoke aboard the USS Missouri September 2, 1945: “Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.”

He declared: “We have had our last chance. If we will not devise some greater and more equitable system, our Armageddon will be at our door. The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence, an improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science, art, literature and all material and cultural developments of the past two thousand years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.”

In all, we need to honor God on these days of remembrance—Pearl Harbor Day, VE Day, VJ Day, Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day and Armistice Day—because of His giving us victory. We also honor the tremendous sacrifices Americans have made to try to bring about peace and keep America and the rest of the world free. Each time we remember these days of war and victory, we can remember the words of General MacArthur and the fact that war doesn’t really make a peaceful world. More than that, we can look to the Book that teaches the Golden Rule and the true way to peace.”      

From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/peace-on-earth   Written by Dean Rammelsberg who served aboard the USS Goshen in the Pacific from December 13, 1944, until the end of the war.

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Update.

I remember VE and VJ Days. 

“VJ Day, or Victory over Japan day, comes three months after Nazi Germany surrendered in Europe, and generally receives less attention than Victory in Europe, or VE Day, on May 8.

But more than 30 million soldiers and civilians were killed in the Pacific theater during the war, compared with the 15 million to 20 million who died in Europe.

Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945, after the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing 100,000 to 200,000 people.”

I was only a kid, but I knew that we rejoicing something big, so I put ribbon streamers on my bicycle handlebars.  I didn’t know anything other than wartime, rationing and the bombings there in London.  Each morning going to school and finding out which of my friends had been killed by the bombs during the night, was normal for me.  I was very fortunate, I just had a crushed foot.

We all went to bed in our “Siren Suits” , I guess you would call them romper suits, because we would have to go down into the bomb shelters when the siren went off, and when the “All Clear” siren sounded we could go outside to see what had been damaged.  (During World War II, Churchill became well known for his 'siren suits', or, as he preferred to call them, 'romper suits'.)  But we made it, and I can still hear Winston Churchill's voice on the radio telling us that it was all over.   P E A C E was just a word that didn’t have any meaning for me until I was older. 

Well, this week has been busy but has mostly been studying, and trying to find homes for 5 pretty little calico kittens and their mom.  Now I am taking care of a very sweet, spayed, declawed, 9 year old cat. Her person died and the people who took her in couldn’t keep her in a ‘No-Pets’ apartment.  Still trying to get her medical records or she will have to be re-vaccinated and re-tested for FIV and FeLu all over again.  That could be hard on her.

One doctor’s office visit has spawned more doctor visits at specialists for this and that.  The first specialist that I saw said he didn’t know why they had sent me there, because I am fine.  I told him I wondered too.  I guess it’s all about the money !!

Our church was distributing fruits and veggies at a nearby apartment complex, so I went to help them.  There was so much food that I was able to bring some back for me and my neighbor Sherry.  I am steaming potatoes, apples and carrots as I write. We each got a watermelon and I cut mine up into finger food sticks, where there is just a little bit of rind on the end to use as a handle. https://lifehacker.com/cut-a-watermelon-into-sticks-perfect-for-kids-and-part-1603562078    .

On Friday, we, Sherry and I, had our usual Bible study from the church’s study book, but because of the heat wave, we knew that we wouldn’t be going there for the Sabbath, today.