TRUE PEACE IS KNOWING THE GOD WHO IS IN CONTROL

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True peace must be rooted in something lasting. Only our omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, God will do. Combining these in order, the words translate to “all-powerful, all-knowing, and “all-present” or “present everywhere”

The peace of God is found in the decisive victory of a monumental conflict. The alienation of humanity from God by the product of our willful rebellion against His authority put us clearly on the wrong side of an unequal equation. We became God’s enemies, and any peace we could offer fell solidly into the counterfeit category. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, we were without hope and God in His world. But by the blood of Jesus Christ, God preemptively made the offer of peace to his hopeless enemy:

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near” Ephesians 2:13–17

We can be at peace only when we are reconciled to God through Christ. In Him, our anxieties are alleviated, and our hostility is put to death. Nothing can disrupt that kind of peace. Wars and rumors of wars will still rage, but the person who walks by the Spirit will walk amid the storm to a voice that cries, “Peace! Be Still!”

God has given us detailed information on the fast-approaching end of this era for Earth. It is a time of intense tribulation for Christians so only those in Christ will have peace and be able to be used by God to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to all the world.

“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:6-14

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GOD, HOLY SPIRIT AT WORK IN IRAN

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Christianity is illegal in Iran. Yet, despite facing imprisonment, torture, and execution, millions of Iranians are forsaking the Muslim faith and converting to Christianity. According to Open Doors International, there are more than 1.2 million believers residing in Iran. This phenomenon is happening despite the regime’s efforts to target believers and spread false information and encourage a negative opinion about Christianity. Lela Gilbert, Senior Fellow for International Religious Freedom at Family Research Council, suggests that Iran holds little power over curtailing the Good News of Jesus Christ. “In my research and interviews, it has become clear that new Christians’ witness to others is mostly shared in quiet conversations, encouraged by low-profile online Bible studies, and affirmed by visions, dreams, and miraculously answered prayers,” she explained.

“Due to their risky circumstances, recent Christian converts are enthusiastically communicating about their changed lives with friends and loved ones, but quietly and carefully. However, their discreet but persistent witness accounts for the extraordinary number of new Iranian believers, who meet in small house churches,” Gilbert continued. “Those involved with the ‘house church’ movement in Iran are convinced that there are likely several million Christian believers there,” she added. Daniel Pipes, president of the Middle East Forum, also reports Christianity is flourishing.”An evangelical pastor, formerly an Iranian Muslim, concurred as far back as 2008: ‘We find ourselves facing what is more than a conversion to the Christian faith. It’s a mass exodus from Islam’,” he explained a few years ago. Pipes adds that the house church is key to the growth of the Christian faith in Iran.

He explains, “The practices of what are sometimes called Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) lacks clergy and church buildings, but instead consists of self-starting disciples and tiny house churches of four to five members each, with either hushed singing or none at all. Its lay leadership, in striking contrast to the mullahs who rule Iran, consists mainly of women.” Women like Marziyeh Amirizadeh have remained formidable in their faith despite being incarcerated and tortured in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison for being a Christian.  Marzi, as she is known, eventually escaped Iran and started a new life in the U.S. But before her exile, she and a friend smuggled 20,000 Bibles into Tehran because God told her to “plant the seeds.” “We knew how much Iranians are thirsty. And when we returned to Tehran, we had no idea what to do and how we can serve the Lord. And I remember we just prayed and asked Him to give us a vision,” Marzi recalled.

Marzi went on “One day I was reading the Bible and God show me that Iran is like a big desert. And He said, ‘Plant some seeds, then I will grow it with the power of the Holy Spirit.” That was the beginning of her effort to get the New Testament into the hands of believers in that nation. Marzi was eventually jailed for sharing her faith and was sent to Evin prison. They are cruel and evil people,” she said describing Iran’s Islamic leaders. Marzi now travels the world sharing her story of faith in the face of persecution and she acts as an advocate for the Iranian people’s freedom. She calls on Christians around the world to pray for believers in Iran. “We can pray for them to reach more people and share the message of salvation,” Marzi expressed. “I know how much Iranians are thirsty. And we can pray for those who have their loved ones in prison. The most important thing to pray is for the fall of this evil regime.” “A great awakening has started in Iran,” she added.

Source: Faithwire

GOD IS IN CONTROL: IS GOD IN CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE?

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The world is increasingly operating as if God does not exist and is not in control of the Cosmos He created and the people He made in His image that live in it. Due to Scriptures like the following one in 2 Chronicles, we know that God is in command of the elements and the creatures on earth.

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:13-14

This Scripture was written for the nation that God created to reveal Himself to the world, but now that Jesus has come and revealed the truth about God and provided a way for us to get back into a relationship with Him, this verse equally applies to the world today. If we would humble ourselves, acknowledge God, and turn from our wicked ways, He would heal our land.

Over the past six weeks, hundreds of out-of-control wildfires have spread across Canada causing mass evacuations and burning through millions of acres.

While the Canadian wildfire season runs from May through October, such destruction this early is rare. One month in, Canada is on track to have its most destructive wildfire season in history. Man-made climate change is blamed as the causative factor which will only further fuel the panic to get rid of fossil fuels. 

This Canadian crisis has not been limited to the Great North. Smoke from the fires has spread across a large portion of the U.S., affecting air quality for millions across the East Coast, as the fires rage on without signs of stopping. 

According to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, the destruction from these fires up to this point in the season has been 13 times worse than the 10-year average.

As New York City suffocated under a thick smog that turned the skies orange and shrouded its skyscrapers and the Statue of Liberty, climate activist, Sen. Chuck Schumer said on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday that climate change was driving the smoke blanketing the Eastern seaboard. “These Canadian wildfires are truly unprecedented and we cannot ignore that climate change continues to worsen these disasters,” he said. “Warmer temperatures and severe droughts mean forests burn faster, burn hotter, and burn bigger, and the warming is happening faster in countries with higher latitudes. None of this — none of this is a coincidence.”

And forecasts hold little hope. On Monday, the Canadian government issued an updated outlook for the wildfire season stating that, “current June projections indicate the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity across most of the country throughout the 2023 wildland fire season due to ongoing drought and long-range forecasts for warm temperatures.”

What we are seeing are but the birth pangs Jesus spoke of prior to His second coming to earth.

“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places, famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you… You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.” Luke 21:10-12 ,16-19

God’s Word tells us exactly what will unfold in the final seven years prior to His return. God is ultimately in control of all that transpires on His planet. Do you believe that, and if so, how is it affecting what you do today?