DO YOU APPROACH GOD WITH CONFIDENCE?

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“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

Hebrews 4 builds an argument from the high priesthood of Jesus — He is the one who has ‘passed through the heavens’ (v14), who can sympathize with our weakness because He was ‘tempted in every way, just as we are, yet did not sin’ (v15). The implication of that priesthood is this verse: the access to God that Jesus has secured is not just his — it belongs to those who come through him.

‘Throne of grace’ is a remarkably tender phrase for what in the Old Testament was the most terrifying address in the universe — the place where the presence of God dwelt, into which only the high priest could enter, and only once a year. Hebrews says: come boldly. The word ‘confidence’ (parrēsia) means freedom of speech, openness, bold access. And the promise is specific: not that God will give you what you want, but that you will receive mercy (for your failures) and grace (for your needs) in your time of need.

What keeps you from approaching God with confidence? Do you feel like you need to clean yourself up first, that your need is too small, or that your failure disqualifies you? How does Hebrews 4:15–16 address each of those hesitations?

The throne is described as a ‘throne of grace’ — not just God’s authority but his disposition. What would it look like to actually come to prayer with the confidence this verse describes, rather than tentatively?

Jesus is described as sympathetic to our weakness because he was tempted as we are. How does the incarnation — the fact that God became human and experienced temptation — change how you relate to him in your hardest moments?

 Action Steps: Come to God boldly with your most urgent need right now. Don’t summarize. Come with the specific thing — the fear, the failure, the longing, the request. Come as if the throne is a throne of grace. Because it is. Ask for mercy and grace. Receive them.

Let the argument build: Jesus as sympathetic, faithful, experienced priest who has already entered the presence of God on your behalf. Your access to God is not based on your worthiness but on his completed work. Read Hebrews 4:14–5:3 for the full picture of Jesus as high priest.

Write a bold prayer — one you’ve been afraid to pray. Write out the prayer you’ve been holding back because you felt it was too audacious, too needy, or too personal. Then pray it. The invitation is to come with confidence. Take it at its word.

Considering we are in the time prior to Jesus return to restore righteousness to a broken world, we need to walk closely to God being confident the Holy Spirit will guide our every step. Pray God will use us to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to family, friends and all those that God brings us into contact. If you are available it is amazing how God brings people to you.

Also, get prepared for what is next on God’s agenda for planet Earth, Jesus Millennial Kingdom, http://www.millennislkingdom.net.

Join Sanctuary. It is a free, faith-grounded AI — scripture, prayer, devotionals, and daily verses like this one. Forward this post or share the link joinsanctuary.com 

TURKEY AND ISRAEL IN BIBLICAL END TIMES PROPHECY

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Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fedan went on CNN Turkey and he made some damning anti-Israel statements. These people have become a burden to humanity that we can no longer bear. Their policies, their mindset, their humanity cannot bear this. The conscious of humanity cannot bear this. Political systems cannot bear this. Economic systems cannot bear this. No matter what system you look at, there’s no parameter that can bear these people. That is why we always say to the international community when they ask me why are you making me the sole problem? I may be the only country speaking out against this and speaking loudly because it’s a problem for all of us. If you want to solve this problem then you have to speak out about it. Basically, that’s what he was saying. Basically calling Israel and these people the problem.

And then he called on the world to impose the necessary sanctions on these people. Maybe he’s referring to the fact that that Israel fights against its enemies and that causes economic disruptions. This is part of a pattern coming out of Turkey and the pattern includes a strategy that actually plays out in some policy to marginalize Israel. If Fedan’s comments stood alone, you could write it off as maybe just him running his mouth, but it does not. Erdogan himself has said that the genocidal occupying expansionist ideology called Zionism threatens not only him and not only Turkey and not only his alliance, but it actually threatens everybody. This is a very recent quote, from a week ago. Erdogan ties genociding expansionist occupying Zionism to threats to Turkey and to the 2016 coup attempt and then he pivoted immediately to talk about the Zionists. He says that Zionism threatens not only me, not only our party and not only our alliance but everyone. When we fight Zionism, we are not conducting a personal struggle for ourselves. We are conducting this struggle for our own survival and for the collective survival of our nation. The problem is Israel. We need to deal with the Israel problem.  

Erdogan has publicly compared Netanyahu to Hitler at the UN assembly. This was a couple years ago, but he’s done this repeatedly. He did it also again recently.

An Istanbul court has actually moved to indict Netanyahu and 34 other Israeli officials on genocide charges. Now, that indictment has no real legal force. No one’s going to arrest Netanyahu because of a Turkish court filing. But that’s not the point. The point is that they’re making normal relations with Israel politically radioactive for anyone who’s paying attention. They’re making their position very clear. And within Israel, Hakan Fedan, this foreign minister is seen as maybe the most dangerous figure in this whole picture because he’s not just a foreign minister. Foreign minister in many countries is often a stepping stone to being the head of state. And he’s not just a foreign minister. He’s a former intelligence chief. And a lot of people who watch Turkey closely think that he’s the one who might be succeeding Erdogan. And Israeli officials see him as someone who’s very close to the Iranians. There’s one Israeli intelligence analyst who’s been quoted calling him, Hakan Fedan, the most dangerous man for Israel in the region going forward.

It will be interesting to see what role in Biblical end times prophecies that Hakan Fedan plays. We know that Turkey is one of the lead nations that come against Israel in battle, so it is likely that Fedan will play a role in bringing the Muslim nations against Israel.

WILL CHRISTIANS ESCAPE THE TRIBULATION?

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Does Revelation 3:10 “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” really promise that believers will escape the tribulation?

In this powerful and eye-opening study, Dr Baroo (LoveIsrael.org) examines one of the most debated verses in the book of Revelation — and uncovers what it actually teaches. You’ll discover the difference between tribulation and God’s wrath (Trumpet and Bowl judgements), who the “earth dwellers” really are, and why this verse may not be saying what many have been taught. This message challenges common assumptions and reveals a deeper biblical perspective about the end times, endurance, and the true identity of those who belong to the kingdom of God.

THE MUSLIM (DRAGON) NATIONS OF THE EAST

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If the Antichrist rises from the Middle East, what religion dominates the Middle East? Most prophecy teachers won’t say it. In this video, Nelson Walters and his team say it — and prove it from six biblical witnesses. They build the case like a courtroom: five witnesses from scripture, each adding a layer of evidence, and then a climactic sixth witness — 2 Esdras — written over 500 years before Islam existed, when Arabia was nothing but scattered desert tribes. What it predicts about the “dragon nations of Arabia” converges on the same conclusion as every other witness.

WITNESS #1 — Isaiah 13-23 Every nation God singles out for end-time judgment is in the Islamic world. Not Rome. Not China. Not America.

WITNESS #2 — Daniel’s Beasts (Daniel 7-11) Three of four beasts operate in the Middle East. The little horn arises among them.

WITNESS #3 — Ezekiel 38 The Gog coalition: every named nation is Islamic today. Not one European. Not one Asian.

WITNESS #4 — Daniel 9:26 The “people of the prince who is to come” destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. Those Roman legions were recruited from Syria, Arabia, and the eastern provinces.

WITNESS #5 — The Early Church Fathers Hippolytus and Jerome said the Antichrist comes from the Seleucid Empire (Syria/Mesopotamia). The church only shifted to a European Antichrist after Rome became Christianized.

WITNESS #6 — 2 Esdras 15 (CLIMAX) The “dragon nations of Arabia” arise from the east. They destroy Babylon — the same act Revelation 17:16 attributes to the Beast. A 2,500-year-old prophecy converging on one conclusion. — “A matter shall be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses.” We have six.

BECAUSE YOUR STEADFAST LOVE IS BETTER THAN LIFE

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“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.” Psalm 61:1-2

The heading of Psalm 63 places it in ‘the wilderness of Judah’ — David likely wrote it while fleeing from his son Absalom’s coup (2 Samuel 15–18). He is politically deposed, physically displaced, and separated from the worship life of the temple. The desert setting is not metaphorical; it is literal. And David’s use of the desert as an image for his spiritual state is honest: he is dry. But the thirst is directed: ‘my whole being longs for you.’ Not for his throne back, not for his enemies’ defeat, not for comfort — for God. The Hebrew nephesh (whole being, soul) and basari (my flesh, my body) indicate that this longing is not merely intellectual. It is embodied, physical, total. David’s famous declaration in verse 3 follows: ‘Your love is better than life.’ A man in the desert says that even life itself is less valuable than the steadfast love of God.

My prayer is that my soul will long for God like David. What about you? Biblical prophecy reveals that we are fast approaching the time of Jesus return and persecution of Christians will intensify into great tribulation. God has warned us. We will need to be sold out for Jesus to resist the mark of the Beast. We will need to be like David and be able to say, ” “Because your steadfast love is better than life“.

The purpose of your identity is to ‘declare the praises’ of God. How is your life currently functioning as a witness to the one who called you out of darkness? I am presently on Maui in the Hawaiian Islands with my family at 1 Napili Way, Napili. Today, I attended Harvest Church and was presently surprised at the good attendance with a lot of young families and the worship was sincere. It was a real encouragement for me to see God at work in another country.

PRAYER UNITED GERMANY AND CURACAO AT 2026 WORLD CUP

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When Germany smashed the Caribbean Curaçao team 7-1 during this year’s FIFA World Cup, the unexpected happened. Two of the four-time world champions stood with the first-time FIFA qualifiers and prayed.

“One of the most memorable moments following Curaçao’s debut didn’t involve a goal, a trophy, or a celebration,” wrote the country’s Chronicle news. “Instead, it came after the final whistle, when players from both Curaçao and Germany gathered together in prayer at the centre of the field.”

Germany’s Felix Nmecha and Jonathan Tah approached the team in what Nmecha told reporters was a pre-planned show of Christian brotherhood.

“Before the match, we agreed that afterwards we would come together, regardless of the result, to show that we are brothers in Christ and that there is more to life than football,” Nmecha told Sky Germany. “Being able to pray together,” Nmecha explained, “is something very special.” “On the pitch you are opponents, but afterwards you are family in Christ.”

To this, the viral ‘crown down’ signature player added, “I wanted to thank Kenji and the Curaçao players because this isn’t something you take for granted after a defeat. It was a very special moment.”

FURTHER PROOF OF BIBLICAL PROPHESIED END TIMES FALLING AWAY

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The United Methodist Church has removed Asbury Theological Seminary from its list of approved seminaries because it disagreed with the denomination’s decision to endorse homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

Asbury, based in Wilmore, Kentucky, is one of the most prominent institutions in the Wesleyan tradition. It remained committed to biblical theology, the authority of Scripture and the movement’s traditional understanding of Christian doctrine.

But the United Methodist Church has concluded that Asbury no longer fits within its vision for preparing future ministers.

For years, conservative churches and pastors left the UMC, convinced it had drifted from its biblical and theological foundations. They were often accused of abandoning Methodism. That raises an important question: who is really leaving Methodism?

John Wesley founded the Methodist movement on the authority of Scripture, the necessity of personal holiness, repentance, evangelism, and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. Those were not secondary convictions. They were the very reason Methodism existed.

Every organization has the right to determine its own standards. The question is not about whether the United Methodist Church has that authority. The question is about whether those standards still reflect the movement John Wesley started.

Some will argue that Wesley himself evolved, and that faithful tradition must do the same. That is true, but there is a profound difference between development and departure Wesley’s ministry developed his understanding and application of biblical truth, but it never abandoned the authority of Scripture that grounded the movement. His changes deepened his founding convictions rather than contradict them.

Development builds upon a foundation; departure replaces it. When an institution begins revising the very authority that gave it its identity, it is no longer developing a tradition. It is creating a new one. History teaches that institutions rarely abandon their founding principles all at once. Drift is almost always gradual.

The best example is from the Old Testament in the life of King Solomon. Solomon did not wake up one morning and reject the God who had given him wisdom. His decline came one compromise at a time. One accommodation led to another. Small departures accumulated until the king who dedicated the Temple tolerated practices that would once have been unthinkable.

That is how drift works. It rarely announces itself. It happens slowly enough that each step seems reasonable. Only years later do people look back and realize how far they have travelled. The same danger confronts every institution, whether it is a church, a university, a business, or even a nation. Churches deserve the same honest examination.

The irony is striking. A seminary known worldwide for teaching historic Wesleyan theology is now considered unsuitable for preparing Methodist ministers. That fact alone should prompt serious reflection. This pattern is not unique to Methodism. Throughout history, movements that began with remarkable clarity have often struggled to preserve the convictions that first gave them life.

Universities founded to train ministers gradually became secular institutions. Churches established to proclaim biblical truth slowly shifted their focus to cultural relevance. The transition rarely happens because people consciously reject their heritage. That is why every generation must distinguish between faithfully applying timeless truth to new circumstances and redefining truth itself. The first preserves a movement’s identity. The second quietly replaces it.

Every church eventually faces the same temptation. Will we allow Scripture to shape our beliefs, or will we reshape our beliefs to fit the spirit of the age? The answer determines more than a denominational policy. It determines whether we are preserving our inheritance or slowly drifting from it. Perhaps the real question is no longer why some Methodists left Methodism, but whether Methodism has left Wesley.

The Trinity Pride Fest event at Fort Worth Texas was attended this year by several local churches, including St. Stephen Presbyterian and Broadway Baptist Church. It stoked controversy in 2025 after drag performers reportedly accepted tips from children and displayed vulgar signage at the all-ages event.

The encounter occurred June 27 at Trinity Pride Fest in Fort Worth, where police were caught on video threatening to arrest members of a street preaching team led by evangelist Rich Penkoski. According to the video, police blocked Penkoski and David Grisham from accessing the sidewalk upon their arrival at the event.

Tragedy is Jesus told us that in the last days before His return to restore righteousness there would be a great falling away. It is happening in our day along with many of the other Biblical prophesied end times events.

THE AUSTRALIAN LABOUR PARTY DON’T GET IT

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WELCOME TO COUNTRY CEREMONIES

The Labour Party is proposing to formally enshrine one of this country’s most divisive rituals into party policy.

Here’s the exact wording of what is being proposed:

“Labor recognises the importance of welcome to country and acknowledgement of country ceremonies, as opportunities to show respect to First Nations people.”

Polling over the past few years has consistently shown that the majority of Australians are sick to death of these divisive race-based ceremonies in which we are ritually reminded that we are visitors in our own country.

A news.com.au poll of 50,000 people found that two-thirds wanted Welcome to Country ceremonies scrapped completely.

So naturally Labor’s response is: “Let’s have more.”

WHAT YOU CAN’T SAY ABOUT ISLAM

Because of these newly enacted hate-speech laws, we may comfortably predict that many Australians will now be unprepared to make critical comments or give warnings about radical Islam, no matter how well-based those comments or warnings might be. In a world where Islamic hatred of Jews and Christians is an ugly and obvious reality, and where threats are made by radical Muslims against Western democracies, and where some Muslim leaders in Australia, preaching from their pulpits, openly express sympathy with terrorists, the ability of Australians to defend themselves and their interests is seriously diminished by the prohibition of strong criticism of religion. The Bondi killing of Jews by Muslim extremists has made no impact on ALP policy.

The Albanese government has, inter alia, recently appointed an anti-Semitism envoy to draft a report on how to combat this undeniable social ill. The recommendations emanating from the envoy’s report propose the further erosion of free speech by adopting even more stringent hate-speech laws. This is concerning, because the criticism of religion, any religion, should be tolerated, and even celebrated, as an expression of the implied freedom of political communication, recognised by the Australian High Court.

Unfortunately, however, the ruling Labor Party and its Coalition doppelgangers appear completely oblivious to the fact that their new hate speech legislation, because of its generality, can easily be used as a convenient tool to effectively remove free speech on religious grounds from the public forum.

One aggravating problem leading to anti-Semitism (and other sources of societal problems), of course, is the policy of mass immigration depositing on our shores some who are prone to religious extremism and scripturally endorsed anti-Semitism. Accordingly, Australia should engage in serious research into all would-be visitors and immigrants and abandon the pro-forma review that prevails these days.

It entails that each person entering the country be checked to ensure no radical anti-Semite is allowed in, even for brief visits, to secure our common security. To deal with immigration in a responsible manner, it is worth remembering the words of the late Sir Harry Gibbs, formerly Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia:

While it would be grossly offensive to modern standards for a state to discriminate against any of its own citizens on the grounds of race, a state is entitled to prevent the immigration of persons whose culture is such that they are unlikely readily to integrate into society, or at least to ensure that persons of that kind do not enter the country in such numbers that they will be likely to form a distinct and alien section of society, with the resulting problems that we have seen in the United Kingdom.

GREAT TESTIMONY FROM 5 TIME GOLD MEDAL SWIMMER STEPHANIE RICE

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Courtenay Hickey interviews her sister, Stephanie Rice (different fathers) 5 time gold medal swimmer. She was her first guest on her new Good To Know Podcast to share her testimony.

“God is doing such powerful things through you, and I cannot wait to see what He does in the future. We are praying and believing that this will set people free and they will come into a right relationship with God – He loves us so much.”

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16-17

Feeling rundown and at the end of the proverbial rope, Rice went to church. “I went to church with my sister who was a Christian and decided to open my heart to Jesus.”

“If I’m honest,” Rice reflected, “I had no idea if this was the ‘answer’ or if [it] would help, I just knew for sure that what I was doing wasn’t working and I was willing to try anything to feel hopeful again.” Sharing further, Rice said, “I’ve finally found that inner peace, stability, hope, encouragement, purpose and contentment that I was always looking for, just in all the wrong places.”

“I pray that more people would be open to Jesus.”

This is, she added, “because I just know He would heal your heart in ways you don’t even know are possible, and it would free you to dream and hope again, believing that anything is possible; because with Him, it really is.”

Now married to a Pastor and living in Dubai, Rice was earning a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Queensland when she declared a commitment to Christ.

Describing the MBA as a step of faith, Rice said in a LinkedIn post marking her graduation, “I learnt so much about myself on this two-year journey, and each course helped me discover and clarify where my natural, God-given skills, abilities and leadership lie.” “The most profound part of the journey,” she concluded, “has been how deeply healing it was.”

“Don’t let doubt be the loudest voice in your head,” Rice asserted. “Step out in faith and watch how kind the Lord is, meeting us exactly where we are and giving us everything we need.”

GLORIFY YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN

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“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

The story behind this verse (Matthew 5:14–16) is the ‘salt and light’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says ‘you are the light of the world‘ (plural) — not will be, not should try to be, but already are by virtue of being His. A lamp is not lit and then hidden; the very purpose of its light is to illuminate what is around it. The hiding of light is a denial of its function. The critical detail is the purpose clause: ‘that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’

The goal of visible faithfulness is not personal reputation — it is God’s glorification. The people who see your life should be moved, not to admire you, but to worship God.

This means the character of your public faithfulness matters: it should be genuinely good, genuinely other-serving, and genuinely uninterested in credit.

Reflection:

What does ‘letting your light shine‘ look like in your specific community, workplace, neighborhood, or family? What specific good deeds has God positioned you to do where you are?

There is a tension between not doing good to be seen, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven”. Matthew 6:1 and doing good so others can see. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16.

What would someone who observed your daily life for a week conclude about your Father in heaven? Would they see something worth glorifying?

Action Steps:

Do one anonymous good deed today. Find a way to do something genuinely good in a way that cannot come back to you as credit. Practice good deeds that only God can see. When you do good and someone notices, give God the credit. The next time someone thanks you for something kind, generous, or helpful, let God into the conversation. I’m just trying to follow Jesus.

joinsanctuary.com for more good teaching like this one.