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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Three Lessons From the Titan Tragedy. Was the United States of America Blessed in Its Geography? Preventing Wrinkles with Diet.

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Three Lessons From the Titan Tragedy

“The loss of the Titan submersible holds many lessons for Christians today. It is a vivid reminder of where our priorities in life need to be.

On June 18, what started as a routine exploration of the infamous Titanic shipwreck turned deadly. During its dive to the bottom of the North Atlantic, the submersible Titan lost communication and went missing.

Rescuers arrived as quickly as possible to assist in locating the submersible some 12,000 feet below the ocean’s surface.
For four days, the world held its breath and hoped for a miraculous rescue.”   Continue Reading 

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/blog/three-lessons-from-the-titan-tragedy/?

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Was the United States of America Blessed in Its Geography?

“Geography can appear a bit simplistic on the surface. But what happens when we look a little deeper? Was God involved?

On July 4, the United States of America—the world’s most dominant economic and military power—celebrates its Independence Day. This marks the historic date in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was approved by its Continental Congress.

Although U.S. leadership is being challenged on many fronts, this nation remains one of the leading countries where migrants wish to settle. It is respected as the premier land of personal freedoms and economic opportunity.

But it also evokes hatred among some for the way it has used its power. And also envy, especially from large nations, such as Russia and China, that aspire to global dominance themselves.

The largest nations according to land mass

When one considers the basic geographical features of the U.S. compared to other nations, the facts are pretty basic. In terms of size, Worldometers.info lists the U.S. as the fourth-largest country in the world—just over half the total area of Russia, which is by far the largest country. Canada, the second-largest, and China, the third-largest, have just slightly more territory than the U.S.

If all geography were equal, the nation with the most real estate should lead the world in pretty much everything, and the other nations should fall in line according to their size. But as we will see, not all geography is equal.

The largest nations by population

Before proceeding, we should note that some might wonder if population matters when it comes to determining a nation’s prominence. Worldometers.info lists China as the most populous nation, with a population of more than 1.4 billion, representing 18.5 percent of the world’s population. However, the United Nations predicts that this year India will pass China to become the world’s most populous nation.

Russia, which has the most land, has only the ninth-largest population.

The U.S. is the third-most-populous country, with 331 million people, a pittance in comparison to China and India, and accounts for just over 4 percent of the world’s population. Population clearly isn’t the primary driver of a nation’s prominence.

Geography, on the other hand, makes a huge difference.

Blessed with navigable waterways

To understand how geography helped America become an economic powerhouse, we need to drop back a couple of centuries to note the effect navigable waterways had on agriculture and transportation.

God did not give the people of the United States of America all these blessings so they could simply enjoy their wealth, while forgetting God and exploiting others. God will hold Americans accountable for their sins and for not being a godly example to others. Prior to the industrial age and globalization, the high cost of transportation limited trade and the growth of cities. Unless a commodity had high value, low bulk and was nonperishable, there was little incentive to move it very far. Transporting a relatively inexpensive item long distances could cost more than the product itself. Most trade was generally local, and cities were limited in size when all the food had to be procured nearby.

But costs plummeted when goods were transported via water. Transporting goods on water has been estimated to use 12 times less energy than doing so on land.

The U.S. is immensely blessed with an abundance of navigable inland waterways. Foreign affairs analyst Tim Marshall in his book Prisoners of Geography explains it like this: “The greater Mississippi basin [in the U.S.] has more miles of navigable river than the rest of the world put together. Nowhere else are there so many rivers whose source is not in highland and whose waters run smoothly all the way to the ocean across vast distances.

“The Mississippi, fed by much of the basin river system, begins near Minneapolis and ends 1,800 miles south in the Gulf of Mexico. So the rivers were the natural conduit for ever-increasing trade, leading to a great port and all using waterborne craft that was, and is, many times cheaper than road travel” (pp. 68-69).

And having a river nearby to irrigate crops is also of tremendous benefit when rain is scarce.

Blessed with abundant farmland

When it comes to raising crops, not all land is equally productive. Russia and Canada, for example, have much land in frigid climates that is not as productive as land in temperate climates. Compared to the other larger countries in the world, the U.S. has the bulk of its agricultural real estate in latitudes that are optimal for growing food.

“The United States has more high-quality, temperate-zone, arable farmland than any other country and its entire agricultural supply chain is contained within North America. This makes the United States the world’s largest agricultural producer and exporter” (The End of the World Is Just the Beginning, Peter Zeihan, p. 89).

Blessed with abundant energy

With its abundant natural resources, the U.S. is capable of energy independence. The shale revolution allowed the U.S. to become the world’s largest oil producer. It easily has the potential to supply all of its own needs and export the excess. Using fossil fuels, natural gas and coal, the U.S. has “the lowest unsubsidized electricity costs in the world” (p. 90).

The U.S. is the second-largest solar energy producer in the world. As well, “the positioning of its mountains compared to its coasts gives it more wind power potential than any other country” (p. 90).

Blessed with natural security boundaries

In regard to security, the fewer nations a country has on its borders, the easier it can be to remain at peace. Geography can be of great help as well. The U.S. has great oceans to its east and to its west that would make it difficult for hostile nations to mount a successful invasion.

This unprecedented degree of security has given the U.S. room to maneuver and even a margin for error in international relations and allowed the country to blossom economically.

Challenging weather because of geography

As a negative, the U.S. experiences some of the worst weather catastrophes in the world because of its geography. Science writer Seth Borenstein says, “Blame geography for the U.S. getting hit by stronger, costlier, more varied and frequent extreme weather than anywhere on the planet . . .

“Two oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, jutting peninsulas like Florida, clashing storm fronts and the jet stream combine to naturally brew the nastiest of weather” (“Why the U.S. Is Leading the World in Extreme Weather Catastrophes,” April 2, 2023).

God determines the boundaries of nations

Nasty weather aside, some would say the U.S. won the lottery in terms of its geography. But it wasn’t luck that gave the U.S. such choice real estate. The Bible reveals that God determines the boundaries of nations.

In addressing first-century intellectuals in Athens, Paul explained who the God of the Bible is. Among other key facts, Paul noted that God “has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings” (Acts 17:26).

Occasionally the boundaries of nations change, but God remains the sovereign power. Changes are subject to His will and the actions of the people involved (Deuteronomy 28:1; 2 Chronicles 20:6; Daniel 4:35).

So why did God give the U.S. so many geographical blessings?

Blessings to Abraham

Those of us producing Discern magazine believe the reason the U.S. has so many blessings, including those of geography, goes back to promises God made to Abraham almost 4,000 years ago. We believe the territory of the United States was given to descendants of this ancient patriarch.

While space in this article doesn’t permit a thorough explanation, consider just a few of the things the Bible tells us about the descendants of Abraham.

• God said Abraham’s descendants would grow into a great multitude of people (Genesis 15:5).
• In the end time some of these peoples would become “a multitude of nations” and others a single great nation (Genesis 48:19).
• These peoples who would become a multitude of nations and a great single nation were also promised economic prosperity and military strength (Genesis 49:22-26).
• Moses prophesied the descendants of Joseph would be given immense agricultural blessings that would include “the precious things of heaven, with the dew, and the deep lying beneath . . . with the precious things of the earth and its fullness” (Deuteronomy 33:13, 16).
• God expected Abraham’s descendants to be a godly example and said that He would bless them for obedience to His law and punish them for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:1, 15).
• Eventually, God will bless all peoples and nations through these people (Genesis 12:1-3).

It’s important to note, however, that God did not give the people of the United States of America all these blessings so they could simply enjoy their wealth, while forgetting God and exploiting others. God will hold Americans accountable for their sins and for not being a godly example to others.”  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/america-in-prophecy/united-states-blessed-in-geography/?

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Preventing Wrinkles with Diet

What dietary intervention may significantly protect against wrinkles in the crow’s foot area around the eyes?

Transcript of video at: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/preventing-wrinkles-with-diet/

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.

“Eating healthier can produce healthier skin. But people don’t care about microscopic changes. What about overt, visible-to-the-naked-eye changes?

The extent of facial wrinkles in the crow’s foot area was determined by observation, using the Daniell scale, in 716 women. This is the scoring system they’re talking about; it’s a scale of one through six; six being the worst. So, what seemed to help the most? “In the present study, a higher intake of green and yellow vegetables was associated with decreased facial wrinkling. Those eating less than a serving of green and yellow vegetables averaged a score of three; those eating two or more servings a day, averaged a two.”

What really excited the researchers was the potential for these studies to promote a healthy diet. I mean, eating fruits and vegetables to prevent cancer and heart disease—who cares? But, wrinkles on the other hand…””  From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/preventing-wrinkles-with-diet/

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Hi Folks,

I did not have time to post last week, I was very busy moving back to Conroe, TX.  Home again!!

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Was 2020 a Wake-Up Call? Good Riddance. He Will Save His People.

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Was 2020 a Wake-Up Call?

“ The year 2020 was so chaotic, confusing and destructive, many people look forward to it being over. What can we learn from this year that’s unlike any other?

For those who’ve had children, the nine months from conception to birth are a period of mystery and awe.

These days some of the mystery is removed by baby apps that keep us informed of the baby’s development week by week.

Toward the final stages of pregnancy, the mother may feel her womb contract and relax. She may think labor is about to start, but it may not be labor pains at all. It could be something called Braxton-Hicks contractions, named after the person who first identified them. They are also called “false labor pains,” but they can be an indication that labor is approaching soon.

The Bible likens the time approaching Jesus’ return to the labor pains of a pregnant woman (1 Thessalonians 5:3). As that time approaches, things will get worse and worse.

Perhaps we can liken events of 2020 to Braxton-Hicks contractions—signs that “labor” is near. Our world has changed rapidly in the last year, and these changes could be an indication that Christ’s return is drawing much closer.

Unprecedented events

We have seen unprecedented events occur all around this year—particularly in the English-speaking nations. Consider the following things that have occurred:

• In Australia, 12.6 million hectares burned (that’s roughly the equivalent of 31 million acres) in the worst fire season in a century. That’s an area four times the size of Belgium. The fires killed 33 people and over 1 billion animals.
• In February, Britain was hit with three destructive storms. Storm Dennis, Storm Ciara and Storm Jorge flooded over 3,300 properties in England. It was the wettest February since the U.K. began keeping records.
• Early in the year, locusts swarmed in massive numbers in Africa, putting 25 million people at risk of food shortages. 
• On Jan. 31, Britain officially withdrew from the European Union.
• U.S. President Donald Trump was impeached on Dec. 18, 2019, but acquitted in the U.S. Senate on Feb. 5, 2020, allowing him to finish his term in office.
• The coronavirus pandemic caused worldwide lockdowns and a massive economic crisis throughout the world. The U.S. borrowed a record $3 trillion in a single quarter, and the U.K. GDP shrank by 21 percent, the biggest drop since GDP was first recorded.
• Racial tensions erupted as massive protests swept through multiple cities in the U.S. and around the world following the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.
• In August, Louisiana was hit by unprecedented back-to-back hurricanes within 48 hours of each other. Around the same time, California experienced temperatures upward of 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54 degrees Celsius). It is believed to be the highest temperature ever recorded on earth. California was also hit by a freak lightning storm, with nearly 11,000 lightning strikes sparking over 300 fires within a single weekend.
• Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates signed historic peace agreements called the Abraham Accords.
• The United States went through an especially contentious and nasty presidential election year. As of the writing of this blog post, Joe Biden has been declared the winner, but President Donald Trump is refusing to concede, accusing multiple states of massive voter fraud. Geopolitical analyst George Friedman noted: “Beginning in 2020, supporters of one candidate began to despise the supporters of the other candidate with visceral rage . . . Each camp has come to see the other as contemptible.” 
• In October, Pope Francis made headlines because of a statement that seemed like an endorsement of same-sex civil unions (though the Vatican later clarified that his comments didn’t change the Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality). Meanwhile, in November, the Church of England released materials that appear to pave the way for the church approving of same-sex marriages.
• In early November, Super Typhoon Goni, the most powerful storm of 2020, slammed into the Philippines, killing 20 people and displacing over 350,000.

Students of prophecy probably can’t read this list without thinking of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse—the general signs that Jesus said would be the “beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8).

Could 2020 have been a year of signs that, like Braxton-Hicks pains, signal the real crisis—the coming Great Tribulation—is just around the corner? To learn more about these prophetic signs, read “What Are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?”

So, how should we respond to everything we have experienced as a world in 2020?

2020: a wake-up call to act

It is human nature to wait until a crisis hits before taking action and making necessary decisions. How many people have tried to save a marriage just before divorce papers are served? Or only started to eat properly after having a heart attack? Or tried to repair damage done to their family after years of neglect?

God mercifully urges us to seek Him now, but also warns of a time when it will be too late. Prevention is a far better approach than tackling a problem after a crisis hits!

What about seeking God through repentance? Will we wait until the events of prophecy begin to be fulfilled in full force? Or will we use 2020 as a wake-up call to seek God now?

The Great Tribulation will be a time of punishment for the sins of our people (Deuteronomy 31:17-18). We’ll have to endure afflictions caused by sins (Hosea 5:15). But God urges us to “seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

God mercifully urges us to seek Him now, but also warns of a time when it will be too late (Hosea 5:6).

If you have been putting off truly seeking God and responding to His calling, why not use 2020 as a motivation to act? The real crisis is coming.

If you’re searching for God and His way of life, you may find our article “How to Repent” a good place to start.  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/blog/was-2020-a-wake-up-call/?

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Good Riddance

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/GjblW6O8iDM

“We are all ready to put 2020 behind us; as we do, lets carry the lessons we've learned with us.

[Darris McNeely] The year 2020 is in the past. And for most of us, it's going to be a year where we probably will say, "Good riddance. We're glad it's in the past."

In the last days of 2020 I lost a few friends and associates, people that I've known in some cases for nearly 50 years, who died. I'm glad that I knew them. You've lost people that you knew as well during the year and probably even some people to the COVID disease.

If you look at the larger world, one thing that really struck me in 2020 was the fact that there were a number of Hall of Fame baseball players who died. And baseball has been my passion to not only play in my youth but to follow throughout the years. And players that I grew up watching pitch and play baseball with and went on to make the Hall of Fame, they died this year. That's life, it goes on and we expect that. I'm glad that I saw them play because the ones that I think about, they played with passion, they played hard, they showed up ready to play ball, no matter what was going on. And I don't always see that today.

I was struck recently by one professional sports player whose team wasn't doing too well in the last days of 2020, and he went on a rant after one game where they were really bad. And he was basically trying to say, "Guys, you're professionals, you're getting paid a lot of money. You need to show up. You need to work hard. You need to practice because people are wanting to enjoy and to see success." I was glad to hear him say what he did. That's why I lament the loss of some good ball players that were like that.

You know, as we look at COVID, at some point, this is all gonna be behind us and we'll probably talk about the time of life before COVID and the time of life after COVID. Before COVID, after COVID. It's been that big. And as we sort it all through, I hope that all of us and myself here I think about where I have been and what I've learned, I hope we are able to put behind so much of this, and having learned certain lessons.

There's a scripture in Philippians 3 that I think all of us should take note of and remember. It says, "Brethren," the Apostle Paul was writing, "I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus." Paul knew when to put things behind and when to reach for the things that are forward.

It's a good lesson for us all to take from Scripture when it comes to the time that we're living in, before COVID, after COVID. Let's reach for the future. Let's reach for better days. And let's do that with the help of God.”  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/good-riddance 

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He Will Save His People

Matthew 1:21

“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

When Joseph discovered that his betrothed wife was pregnant, it seems the only logical conclusion was that she had cheated on him. He didn’t want to make her a public example, so he was planning to try to end their betrothal secretly.

But then an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, and told him that Mary was pregnant of the Holy Spirit! What an incredible concept to try to wrap your mind around! Then the angel continued with the statement in verse 21.

The New Testament recorded the name in Greek. Jesus is derived from the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means “Yahweh is salvation” (New Bible Dictionary, “Jesus Christ, Titles of”). This was not an unusual name, but it had a special meaning in this case. Jesus would save His people from their sins by willingly taking their death penalty upon Himself. Not only that, but He would call on them to repent and lead them out of sin by the Holy Spirit. 

For more about our Lord and Savior, see the section on “Who Is Jesus?”       From:

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/he-will-save-his-people/?

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Update

Happy, Healthy and Blessed New Year to Y’all.

I am still waiting for my eye surgery, it should be next week.  The weather turned wet and cold, but it’s Texas, so the sun shines to cheer us up every now and then. 

The three of us had our usual Bible study on Friday morning, and Sherry and I went to Sabbath school at the church the next day. But there was only one other person there and we old ‘non-techy’s’ took ages to join the others on Zoom on Sherry’s smart phone, but finally we made it.

June and I, neither of us night drivers, opted not to go to the Torah Bible study in another town because it gets too dark too early in the day.

Biblical Masculinity. Did Jesus Celebrate Hanukkah or NOT? Do Not Fret Because of Evildoers. Update.

Biblical Masculinity: Becoming a Man After God’s Own Heart

“Many men are falling short of what God expects from them. What is causing the decline of biblical masculinity? What does the Bible say about masculinity?

Recently, musician Harry Styles was the first man to be featured on the cover of Vogue magazine, a periodical that focuses on fashion and is targeted toward a female audience. This was widely celebrated. He was shown on the front cover wearing a dress, and the photo was proclaimed as an “antidote to 2020.”

Referencing the photo shoot and his persona, Mr. Styles commented that the “lines are just kind of crumbling away . . . When you take away ‘There’s clothes for men and there’s clothes for women,’ once you remove any barriers, obviously you open up the arena in which you can play.”

Is this where society needs to go? Should the barriers that distinguish men and women (such as clothing styles) be totally torn down? Should Christians embrace these ideas? Or does God expect there to be universal differences between males and females?”

Continue Reading  

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/blog/biblical-masculinity-becoming-a-man-after-gods-own-heart/?

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Did Jesus Celebrate Hanukkah or NOT?

“The Gospel of John seems to indicate that Jesus Christ celebrated the Jewish Festival of Hanukkah. Is that right?”

Youtube: https://youtu.be/sioxJ3t89Aw

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Do Not Fret Because of Evildoers

Psalm 37:1-2

“Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

In this world under Satan’s sway, things do not always work as they should. Sometimes it seems the wicked prosper while the righteous face troubles. But God offers us the long view. From His perspective, the passing success of evildoers is fleeting. Those who do good will win in the end.

David repeats this theme several times in Psalm 37. Verses 14-15 add: “The wicked have drawn the sword and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to slay those who are of upright conduct. Their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.” God is a God of ultimate justice—you could even say poetic justice.

For related reading, see “When Life Doesn’t Make Sense.” For more about the ultimate reward of those who faithfully serve God, see the “Kingdom of God” section.

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/do-not-fret-because-of-evildoers/?

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Update

The weeks have sped along with the usual things, you know, grocery shopping, laundry, taking care of my hyperthyroid cat, housework, and the normal things to do.  Sherry one of my neighbors, and I finally got our hair cut.  On Friday we three, June, Sherry and I had the usual Bible study in Sherry’s apartment.

On the Sabbath, June went to Paige TX to the Torah study there, and Cherry and I went to Willis to my old church.  It was a long drive, but we wanted to do it. There weren’t many there, Covid still stops folks from gathering.  I hadn’t seen them for many months because I have been going to the church in Navasota, so it was great to see them, and we all hugged, Covid protocol forgotten.

The Bible readings were Gen.32:4-36:43, Obadiah 1:1-21 and Heb. 11:11-20.  If you follow the Torah Portions, you know that these readings are one week off from the designated week. That is because that church service was cancelled the week before because of nasty storms.   The Teaching was about the several times in the Bible when God has intervened and really small armies have overtaken huge ones, with His help.

We had great fellowship in the dining room afterwards. I had taken a carrot, apple, raisin, celery salad and a trifle made with pound cake, fruit cocktail and a non-gelatin non-GMO, JEL dessert. (Jello brand has pork in it). It was a long drive, but it was a great day.

The Biblical Feast of Firstfruits. Pentecost's Meaning for You! Update

This is Day 36 of the counting of 50 days to Pentecost.

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The Biblical Feast of Firstfruits

“How It Explains a Great Mystery

A little-understood festival commanded in the Bible helps us understand a key aspect of God's plan and why most of the world doesn't know or understand Him.

Photos.com

Pentecost has a meaning that transcends anything you might have ever thought about.

God has a plan. But when skeptics look at the sorry state of world conditions, many of them doubt the existence of God. After all, they reason, how can you have a God who created the heavens and earth, put man on the earth and then left the human race to fend for itself?

Is there any truth in this?

Surely if Almighty God had intended to convert the world to Him during this age, He would have succeeded in doing so. That hasn’t happened, so what is going on?

God is doing more than what people suppose. As we’ll see, He has an ordered, step-by-step plan to bring peace to the world and at the same time offer salvation to mankind in the most extraordinary way—a way that will give each person who has ever lived the best opportunity to fulfill that purpose.

It may not look like that now, but the Feast of Firstfruits, or Pentecost as it’s called in the New Testament, has a meaning that transcends anything you might have ever thought about.

Contrary to a popular belief, God is involved in human affairs—and a lot more than you might think. This ancient festival God gave Israel helps us to understand just what it is that He’s doing—and why it seems to many that He is doing little or nothing to save humanity right now.

Origins of the Festival of Firstfruits

Shortly after giving the Ten Commandments, God gave Israel another command: “Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread … and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labours which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year …” (Exodus 23:14-16).

At this Feast of Harvest, also called the Feast of Firstfruits or Weeks, the Israelites were to offer the firstfruits of the late spring wheat harvest in the Holy Land (Numbers 28:26; Exodus 34:22). Months later they celebrated another festival, called the Feast of Ingathering or the Feast of Tabernacles. This came at “the end of the year”—the end of the agricultural cycle of the year at summer’s end in the Holy Land—when the people gathered in all the harvest.

These festivals were commanded. And because of what God intends for us to learn from His festivals, they are still to be celebrated by God’s people today. We should also understand that when a person observes the festivals of God today, he is not just commemorating God’s blessings in the agricultural harvests of the Holy Land. He is celebrating and learning about something far more important—God’s very purpose and plan for the salvation of mankind!

A spiritual harvest and spiritual firstfruits

God’s Word speaks of two kinds of harvests. One is the agricultural harvest mentioned above. But that represents another harvest—the far more important spiritual harvest.

Notice Jesus Christ’s words in Luke 10:1-2: “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, ‘The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”

Jesus is likening the spiritual harvest to an actual grain harvest. In John 4:35-36 He said to His disciples: “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life …”

The harvests surrounding the biblical feasts of God were in fact designed to teach us about the spiritual harvest that Jesus came to earth to sow the seeds of and that He and His disciples began to reap. As there was an earlier and later harvest in the Middle East, so too are there two phases of the spiritual harvest.

The apostle James says that God’s people are “a kind of firstfruits of all he created” (James 1:18, New International Version, emphasis added throughout). This helps us see that those with whom God is working now are understood to be “firstfruits.” Firstfruits are the first of what is being produced. This implies there are other fruits to be harvested later.

This isn’t God’s world or God’s time

Have you ever wondered why the Christian religion has not resolved the world’s problems? Why hasn’t it prevailed over other great world religions and false philosophies?

One would expect the work of Jesus Christ, coming from God, would bring in an era where the great movement of Christianity would prevail and usher in a time of peace. After all, it is a teaching of the Christian Church that the Kingdom of God would expand from that small beginning and that the power of God would be manifest to the world in His disciples that followed.

So why hasn’t that happened?” Continued at: https://www.ucg.org/the-good-news/the-biblical-feast-of-firstfruits-how-it-explains-a-great-mystery

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Pentecost's Meaning for You!

“Pentecost, an annual Holy Day within God’s calendar, brings an inspiring lesson for our lives.

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/ojatDBea5Nk

[Steve Myers] All right. We’re right between the time of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost, God’s festival season. And this is a time that the Bible tells us there’s something very special in order to come to the time of the Passover. And in Leviticus 23:15, it gives us this unique aspect of Pentecost, and how we find what day that we’re to meet on as we worship and honor God. And it says, “You shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, seven Sabbath shall be completed.” And then it says, “Count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath, then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.”

So it’s telling us how we get to the day of Pentecost, this special feast that God’s design. And in order to celebrate on the proper day, you have to count. In fact, the word Pentecost means 50th. And so you count to the 50th day and that’s the day you celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. And I think there’s an important lesson there, because we know that these festival days, especially in Old Testament times, were arranged around the harvest seasons. And so this wave sheaf began the harvest season, that spring season. And that lasted all the way through Pentecost with the barley and then the wheat harvest. And so harvest is intricately connected to Pentecost. And so as you look here, we’re counting the days, counting our days to the harvest as this harvest is collected. And so we find this idea of maturing crops so that they’re prepared to be harvest.

And there’s a spiritual connection there that I think is so critical for us. Are you counting? We need to count the days of our life, as we consider our life. Are we growing spiritually? Are we dedicated to serving God? No matter rain, sunshine, snow, whatever it is that’s occurring in our life, are we continuing to grow spiritually as our harvest time continues? Because we know harvest only lasts for a certain amount of time.

And so I think we can connect this to a beautiful Psalm. In Psalms 90:12, it tells us something that I think is related to this idea of counting, and Pentecost. It says, “Teach us to number our days, so that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” You see, all of us are only given a certain amount of time for life. And as God has called you and opened his mind…your mind to his truth we’ve got to choose to follow him. We have a limited amount of time, the harvest only lasted so long. We have to recognize that fact in our life. And don’t let down. Don’t let the discouragement, don’t let the bad weather of your life take you out of the picture so that you’re not ready for harvest. So be ready, count the days of your life and be ready not only for Pentecost but ultimately that great spiritual harvest.” From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/pentecosts-meaning-for-you

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Update.

Things are still quiet here at these senior apartments.  The office is now open every weekday, well mostly.  But still no entry to the Community Room, so no Bingo, Fitness or Health programs for the residents and only one person at a time in the laundry. Things might be back to normal one day. 

The stores are livening up though, but most folks are wearing masks.  I have been to Brookshire Bros, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Walmart and Tractor Supply. Those are about all the stores we have in this little city of Navasota, TX.  Oh, there are a couple of auto parts stores, amongst all the antique stores.  The local thrift shop opened back up, so I bought some shorts ready for summer.  The beauty shop opened ‘with distancing’, so my neighbor and I got our hair cut, finally.  I was beginning to look like an Old English Sheepdog.

The Bible study at church is still done on Zoom, but my neighbor and I prefer to go over there, but this time we stayed while the pastor recorded the sermon on Facebook.  We were still under the 10 people limit in the church, but it was a great fellowshipping day.

Where Do We Find Contentment? Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

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Where Do We Find Contentment?

“Become rich in the things of God, and you will find contentment.

Chad Madden/Unsplash

Contentment is a state of mind that will fit any circumstance we find ourselves in.

By the standards of many people today, contentment comes from accumulating possessions and in increasing the amount of wealth that we have. To many, things like power and success pave the way to contentment. Yet in this world we can observe poor people who are laughing, singing and enjoying life, while wealthy and powerful people seem to be dissatisfied no matter how much they have or where they are. What is the difference? Where does contentment come from?

Paul wrote that he learned to be content in whatever state he was (Philippians 4:11). Contentment does not come from getting more and more—because the eye is never content with how much it sees (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11). Contentment is a state of mind that will fit any circumstance we find ourselves in. We can be content with much or with little—if we diminish our wants and change our focus to be on the spiritual more than on the physical. Being rich in the things of the world and poor in the things of God is one great cause of discontentment. Being rich in the things of God is where lasting contentment lies.”  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/blogs/this-is-the-way/where-do-we-find-contentment

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How Darwin’s Theory of Evolution Changed the World

“Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution has permeated nearly every aspect of our world and changed it dramatically. How is Darwinism affecting you?

Evolutionary thinking is all around us. Anytime we visit a zoo or natural history museum, watch a nature program or read a science or wildlife magazine, we will likely be exposed to evolutionary concepts.

In most public schools and universities, evolution is a major part of the biology and science curricula. We’re bombarded from nearly every avenue with the idea that life originated by chance and eventually developed into the organisms we see today.

It’s had a major effect on our society. A 2019 Pew Research Center study reported that a total of 81 percent of American adults believe in evolution. This includes 33 percent who hold that humans evolved due to processes like natural selection with no involvement by a Creator, along with 48 percent who think human evolution occurred through processes guided or allowed by a higher power.

Rewind 160 years to the beginning of Darwin’s theory of evolution

Historically speaking, the belief in evolution is a relatively new phenomenon. Throughout the history of Western civilization, people in most cultures believed that humankind and all forms of life were specially created by God (or other deities, albeit false).

It wasn’t until 1859, when British scientist Charles Darwin published his book On the Origin of Species,that the public began to think otherwise. This was a major turning point in history, because it influenced people’s decisions to turn their backs on God, the Bible and religion.

Nothing “right” about evolution

The truth is, nothing good can come from accepting Darwin’s theory of evolution or its modern adaptations. It is a cruel, depressing and hopeless approach to our existence. Without knowing that we have a loving God who’s in control and that there’s an incredible purpose to our lives, it is impossible to have a truly positive outlook.

Moreover, no culture can survive when individuals make their own rules and live for themselves.

Ruthless competition at the expense of others is the exact opposite of how God wants mankind to live. The Bible instructs the strong to help the weak (Romans 15:1-3).

The other major problem with Darwin’s theory of evolution is that it’s unprovable. If evolution were true, there should be abundant evidence in the fossil records of transitional forms between species and proof of new species developing in the wild—but there isn’t. The only proof has been for microevolution—adaptation, or minor changes within existing species—which we do not dispute. (See our online article “Microevolution vs. Macroevolution.”)

Furthermore, neither Darwin nor any other scientist has been able to come up with a credible answer for where the original single-celled organism came from.

Still, many people cling to the idea of evolution and insist it’s true. This is to be expected. Romans 8:7 says that “the carnal mind is enmity against God.” Human nature would rather believe there is no God and no purpose for life, rather than submit to a higher power.

The Bible tells us that “scoffers will come in the last days” (2 Peter 3:3). There will be those who doubt God’s existence and ridicule those who don’t believe in evolution, right up until the time Christ returns.

But that’s when the scoffers and all of mankind will learn the truth—that we do have a Creator, and submitting to Him is the only way to a truly happy, meaningful existence.”

Complete article at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/god/is-there-a-god/proof-of-god/darwins-theory-of-evolution/?

More on this subject at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/god/is-there-a-god/proof-of-god/can-christians-believe-in-evolution/

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Update.  

As usual, we had a good Bible study with the visiting pastor from a church in Anderson, TX.  I think it is so great that he comes all the way to our senior apartments in Navasota to do this on his own time every Sunday afternoon. 

It was cold, windy and wet most of the week and when I took the dog out on her leash it wasn’t very good for my health, so I was still coughing, though the sneezes had gone.  Oh! What a luxury it must be, to be able to let a dog out into a fenced yard.  I still wasn’t up to par, so I didn’t really do much, just the minimum of laundry, cooking, dishes, cleaning, and taking care of the dog.  She had come out of her shell and wanted to play, but didn’t really know how to play “nice”, and used my arms as tug-toys.  My old, thin skin can’t take much of that.  I bought her a tug-rope, squeaky bones, balls, chewy things, but she didn’t even know how to play with them.  She had been abused, ignored and left in a back yard most of her life so now she has to learn how to live in a house with people, and play nice, so that she can be adopted.  Learning things like “No toofies on skin” is something that her siblings would have taught her if she hadn’t been taken away from them too young. 

I went to therapy on Tuesday, but they still didn’t do much for my back, and I have been getting better doing my own exercises.  I went for the Thursday appointment, and they didn’t even have it on their schedule, so I came home.

Friday, my church friend and I had our usual Bible study, still in Daniel, ready for Bible school on the Sabbath, the next day.  I arranged different kinds of cookies in a pretty tin for the church potluck. 

The Sermon was “Who Are You?” from Acts 19:11-20, the gist of it was: Don’t mess with the devil, if you don’t know Jesus”.

Well, it is going to be up to 68° tomorrow, but going back down to 29° on Wednesday.

What Are Your Priorities For 2020? Christian Priorities: Putting God First. Update.

Happy New Year, 2020 Is Here

Christian Priorities: Putting God First

“Establishing the correct priorities in our lives is vital for our success as Christians.

German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe grasped the importance of priorities. He said, “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”

Stephen R. Covey in his bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People put it this way: “As a longtime student of this fascinating field [of life and time management], I am personally persuaded that the essence of the best thinking in the area of time management can be captured in a single phrase: Organize and execute around priorities.”

He also wrote: “One of my favorite essays is ‘The Common Denominator of Success’ written by E.M. Gray. He spent his life searching for the one denominator that all successful people share. He found it wasn’t hard work, good luck, or astute human relations, though those were all important. The one factor that seemed to transcend all the rest … [was] putting first things first” (1990, pp. 148-149).

Setting the right priorities is vitally important for success.

And, it turns out, not just for material success.  The Bible sets priorities that lead to eternal life. 

The Word of God tells us that it is vital to put our priorities in the right order and then carefully cultivate each one with zeal and enthusiasm.

Consider three of the most important eternal priorities.

Christian priority No. 1: God must come first

When God gave the 10 Commandments at Mount Sinai, He thundered these words: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:2-3).

God does not want us to place anything before Him. His desire is that we worship Him and Him alone. He must come first in our lives.

The Bible tells the story of two sisters, Mary and Martha, who were loyal friends of Jesus Christ. When Christ visited them, they wanted to serve Him in the way each considered was most important. Let’s pick up the story:

“A certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.’

“And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her’” (Luke 10:38-42).

Serving others is highly commended in the Bible, and it is certainly not wrong to serve. But in this instance priorities were an issue. Listening to Christ’s teachings was even more important than food preparation.

How do we demonstrate that we truly love God and want to put His teachings first?

The apostle John provides the answer: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). The evidence that we love God is our striving to keep His commandments.

“He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him” (1 John 2:4-5, emphasis added).

We have to be honest with ourselves. Are we putting our personal relationship with God first, or are we allowing other aspects of our lives to come before the worship of the true God?

Priorities that are in error

The Bible records an incident in which Peter, James and John, who Christ was calling to become His disciples, had their priorities right: “So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him” (Luke 5:11).

On the other hand, the Bible records examples of people who had distorted priorities, and who actually rejected Christ’s offer to become one of His disciples. Read Luke 9:57-62. Apparently, physical comfort and prosperity were of greater importance to some. For others, taking care of family matters was more crucial than supporting Christ in preaching the gospel.

None of their excuses were of themselves wrong. Is it wrong to stay with a father until he dies or to devote an extended period of time to saying farewell to family members? Certainly not! However, Christ was teaching an important lesson: God was not first in their priorities. 

Frequently it is difficult to choose between the affairs of this world and Christ’s teachings. Christ stated: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate [love less by comparison] his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26-27).

Christ did not mean we should stop caring for each member of our family. He was simply teaching that we are to put Him first in our lives. Leaving God out of our planning is unwise (James 4:13-16).

Remember Christ’s words: “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Once we have set following Christ as our top priority, there is no going back (Hebrews 10:37-39).

Christian priority No. 2: Develop godly, righteous character

What is godly, righteous character?

A well-known educator in religious matters, Herbert W. Armstrong, wrote the following definition of perfect character: “It is the ability, in a separate entity with free moral agency, to come to the knowledge of the right from the wrong—the true from the false—and to choose the right, and possess the will to enforce self-discipline to do the right and resist the wrong”

In his book The Death of Character, James Davison Hunter wrote: “Does character really matter? The collective wisdom of the ages would say it matters a great deal. In both classical and biblical cultures—civilizations that have been so deeply formative to our own—people well understood there to be a direct association between the character of individuals and the well-being of the society as a whole. Individual character was essential to decency, order, and justice within public life. Without it, hardship was not far off. … Indeed, much of the history of the ancient Hebrews can be told as a story of blessing for faithfulness to God—abiding by God’s standard of holiness—and punishment for abandoning those standards” (p. 4).  Mr. Hunter cites Deuteronomy 30:15-19 as support for his statements. 

Our will or God’s will?

When it comes to important decisions, whose will usually takes priority in our lives? Is it our self-will or is it the will of God?

The apostle Paul admonished Christians to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).

To be led by the will of God is to embody the character of God—to become like God.

Christ set the perfect example

Christ taught His followers to pray often that God’s Kingdom be established, and that “Your [the Father’s] will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). He said He came to earth to accomplish and carry out His Father’s will (John 6:38).

Even when faced with a horrifying trial of physical pain and mental torment, Christ prayed, “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

Overcoming our selfish nature and replacing it with God’s character should be uppermost in our minds. As Christ taught: “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

Christian priority No. 3: Seek first the Kingdom of God

In His Sermon on the Mount, Christ taught some of the most meaningful principles of Christian living in the entire Bible (Matthew 5-7). One of these is: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things [mentioned in the previous verses] shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

This verse not only summarizes the first two priorities—focusing on God and His righteousness—but it brings to our attention the importance of the Kingdom of God.

What is the Kingdom of God?

It is the perfect and just government of God that will be established over the earth at the return of Christ, when “the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15).

Don’t forget these priorities

1. God must come first.
2. Develop godly, righteous character.
3. Seek first the Kingdom of God.”

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/change/christian-conversion/christian-priorities/?

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Update

Well, the weather is so nice that my neighbors are outside BBQ-ing.  I was offered some, but it is sausage made from pork and I don’t eat that. (Lev.11)

There were the same great Bible studies as last week, Sunday afternoon and Friday morning, but now we are studying in the book of Daniel on Fridays to be ready for the Bible study at church the next day.   I made another Impossibly Easy Apple Pie for the church potluck and took that big pie dish home, licked clean.

Because I sold my burgundy loveseat, that made room in my storage unit, so Joe, my helper and I put together two of my shelf units which had been broken down for the move.  Now we were able to put things on the shelves so we can see what is there, and are gradually getting the unit organized.  So I took photos of more items to list on Craigslist.  Then I sold the burgundy runner rug, so things are getting gone.

Finally, my little British pension check showed up at the new bank, but still problems with Social Security, my check didn’t arrive there.  So that means another trip into Bryan.

The theme on this week’s church flyer is Happy New Year and 2 Cor. 5:17:  “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new”.  The Message was also about the new year, “Sing A New Song” and centered around Psalm 96.

In Houston, an 89 year old lady came out of the eye clinic with her eyes still dilated, passed CVS, was doing a u-turn into the sun, and did not survive smashing into ongoing traffic.  I am hoping to be her 10 year old cat’s new “Mom”.  Be Alert!  See how accidents can happen, any time, any day.