JESUS WILL BE KING OF ISRAEL AND THE NATIONS OF THIS WORLD

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.Isaiah 9:6-7

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:31-33

Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?2 Chronicles 13:5

David’s dominion is to last forever. David is the king who will rule over Israel after its restoration under the Messiah after His return to earth (Ezekiel 37:21-24). David’s rule, of course, can occur only after God resurrects David with all the other saints at the return of Christ.

This is what The prophet Nathan told David:

When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’” 1 Chronicles 17:11-14

And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more.” 1 Chronicles 17:9

The kingdom God established through David was a forerunner of a much more important Kingdom Jesus Christ will establish in the future with David as His 2IC.

God claimed David’s kingdom as “My kingdom”— a type, an example, or a forerunner, of the coming Kingdom of God. Comprehending the relationship between David’s temporal kingdom and the eternal Kingdom of God is crucial to understanding the gospel Christ and His apostles preached.

When Solomon, David’s son, became king, on whose throne did he sit? “Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father . . .” 1 Chronicles 29:23

I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed” Daniel 7:13-14

Not only did God regard Israel as His temporal kingdom, He regarded the throne of Israel as His throne— the throne Jesus Christ will inherit (Luke 1:32).

Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.Luke 1: 30-33

Did Jesus acknowledge He was born to be a king?

“‘You are a king, then!’ said Pilate. Jesus answered, ‘You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason, I was born, and for this, I came into the world . . .'” John 18:37

From the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry, He focused on the Kingdom of God. He was continuing the message proclaimed by Daniel and the other prophets. Throughout His ministry, He repeatedly used the words king and kingdom to explain the good news He preached. At Jesus second coming He will usher in His Millennial Kingdom. That is what is next for this Earth. It has had six thousand years with Satan as its leader, it will now have one thousand years with Jesus ruling the nations with a rod of iron and the resurrected Saints ruling with Him.

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.Revelation 19:15-16

A SUPERNATURAL MOVE OF GOD AMONG THE YOUNG

A new sign of the ongoing revival among America’s young people is being reported again out of Alabama. In the latest example of this supernatural move of God, hundreds of students at the University of Alabama gave their lives to Christ and were immediately baptized in a fountain. “It happened again!” Christian author and speaker Jennie Allen announced on Instagram after the amazing event unfolded. “Last night at the University of Alabama thousands of students gathered. Hundreds responded to the gospel and hundreds were baptized,” Allen shared

The spiritual awakening that first captured headlines at Asbury College more than a year ago is still spreading nationwide. This Alabama awakening is just the latest move of God that Jennie Allen has witnessed as she has travelled to minister on college campuses. In a post several weeks ago after a similar outpouring of revival at Florida State University, Allen said on Instagram, “Hundreds of students came forward to trust Jesus. We can’t explain what’s happening apart from the Spirit.”

It is great to report on these good news stories when so much evil is happening, and surveys reveal Gen Z is the lost generation largely due to our schools and universities teaching evolution and billions of years of Earth’s history. Fortunately, God has told us in advance that before Jesus returns to restore righteousness He told us apostasy, a great falling away from faith would occur. We need to know God is in control and He is purifying His church in preparation for the rapture. In Revelation, the church of Philadelphia is the church that is raptured, read what Jesus has to say to that church, and also to the church that is left behind, the church of Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22), to face the wrath of God, poured out with the Trumpet and Bowl judgments.

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.
“‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name... 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. I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Revelation 3:7-13

Source: CBNNews

JESUS TAUGHT: NOT PEACE, BUT A SWORD

The following is a tough Scripture we would all like to overlook but that is impossible. God requires total commitment.

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.Matthew 10:34-39

“And Jesus said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag, knapsack, or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” He said to them, “But now let the one with a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. For, I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” Luke 22:35-37

Our greatest weapon is always the Gospel. But there may be a time to heed all of Jesus’ instructions, even to buy a sword.

All authority… on earth has been given unto Me, therefore go and make disciple of all nations… and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus did not say disciple churches or disciple disciples but rather disciple “nations” – civil rule, civil governance. For this reason and mission, Jesus said – I am with you! Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to guide our every step.

For what excuse will we give King Jesus for not completing the great commission?

The Bible does not teach us to pray and hope things get better. “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22). We must be “doers” – like the leaders of Issachar who understood the times and what God’s people should do (1 Chronicles 12:32).

Note God does not use those who think they are wise by worldly standards.

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

We must keep God’s commandments and get God’s vision for His King and Kingdom! “Where there is no vision, the people perish. But happy are those who keep God’s Law! Proverbs 29:18

Also, if not you, who? If not now, when? We must unite and go forth – “For the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness! Psalms 45:4

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WORDS OF WISDOM FROM THE WINNER OF THE MASTER’S GOLF TOURNAMENT

Scottie Scheffler dedicated his second Masters win in three years to God, declaring that “victory was secure on the cross” as he secured the victory at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday.

“I was sitting around with my buddies this morning, I was a bit overwhelmed,” the 27-year-old said Sunday after becoming the 10th golfer in history to win two green jackets in three years.

“I told them, ‘I wish I didn’t want to win as badly as did I or as badly as I do.’ I think it would make the mornings easier. I love winning. I hate losing. I really do. And when you’re here in the biggest moments, when I’m sitting there with the lead on Sunday, I really, really want to win badly.”

“My buddies told me this morning, my victory was secure on the cross,” he said. “And that’s a pretty special feeling; to know that I’m secure forever and it doesn’t matter if I win or lose this tournament. My identity is secure forever.”

“I believe that today’s plans were already laid out many years ago, and I could do nothing to mess up those plans,” Scheffler later added. “I have been given a gift of this talent, and I use it for God’s glory. That’s pretty much it. So when I’m out there, I try to compete to the best of my abilities … I feel like that’s how I was designed. … At the end of the day, my identity’s secure already.”

Scheffler, whose wife of four years, Meredith, is expecting their first child, said that while he’s going to “soak in” the victory and doesn’t plan on taking his eye off the ball anytime soon, his family remains his main priority, with golf “probably fourth” down the line.

“I feel like playing professional golf is an endlessly not-satisfying career,” the University of Texas alumnus said. “For instance, in my head, all I can think about right now is getting home. I’m not thinking about the tournament. I’m not thinking about the green jacket. I’m trying to answer your questions, and I’m trying to get home.

“I wish I could soak this in a little bit more. Maybe I will tonight when I get home. But at the end of the day, I think that’s what the human heart does. You always want more, and I think you have to fight those things and focus on what’s good.

“Because, like I said, winning this golf tournament does not change my identity. My identity is secure, and I cannot emphasize that enough.”

BIBLICAL END-TIMES PROPHECY OF A ONE-WORLD GOVERNMENT

U.S. government officials and representatives of over 150 nations are actively negotiating amendments to existing International Health Regulations and a new treaty governing future pandemics. If this treaty and certain amendments are passed, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and its director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, would be handed the power to unilaterally dictate what constitutes an actual or potential Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Previously, the role of the WHO has been advisory, but this draft treaty in combination with proposed amendments to the WHO’s governing documents would make WHO “recommendations” legally binding under international law. The WHO would then have wide latitude in the event of any public health emergency (per Article 18 IHR recommendations), with the authority to: require medical examinations; review or require proof of vaccination or other prophylaxes; place “suspects” under public health observation; implement quarantine, isolation, or contact tracing.

The WHO would also have the power to determine which drugs or treatments can be used, and which ones will be restricted. Is It an Agreement, an Accord, or a Treaty? Though the pandemic treaty has been referred to as an “accord” or “agreement,” this is not true. What are the facts?  In, 2005, President George W. Bush unilaterally signed the United States onto the International Health Regulations (IHR), declaring it an “agreement.” But “because the revised IHR included language making it legally binding under international law, the 2005 document was a treaty that should have received a 2/3 majority approval by the U.S. Senate,” according to Liberty Counsel. The WHO defines the IHR as a legally binding “instrument of international law.” Well, on whom is it legally binding? On 196 countries.

Who, exactly, is running the WHO? WHO Director-General Dr. Ghebreyesus is not a medical doctor, but a Marxist revolutionary. He once led a communist terror organization known as the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, in Ethiopia. He calls the legitimate concerns about the IHR “fake news, lies, and conspiracy theories.” But he’s not the biggest concern. It’s communist China that is really at the helm of the WHO, which is the supranational health arm of the U.N. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO adopted the “China Model,” which featured Chinese communist-style lockdowns and vaccine mandates. Frank J. Gaffney Jr., executive chairman of the Centre for Security Policy, and a co-founder of the Sovereignty Coalition, warns: “If they can get two treaties adopted in May, Tedros would be able to compel compliance with a China Model 2.0, featuring surveillance, censorship, and other totalitarian control techniques that will crush our sovereignty and freedoms in the name of ‘global governance.’

End Times Biblical prophecy reveals that before Jesus returns to Earth a second time, first to rapture the Saints, and then pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world there will be a one-world government. What is unfolding is the first step towards that prophecy being fulfilled.

UNASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL AND TAKING A STAND

This post was taken from the article by Sarah Holliday entitled “The Korbin Albert Incident Reminds Us That Believers Are Called to Be Unashamed in The Washington Stand April 1, 2024

Korbin Albert, a new player on the U.S. women’s national soccer team, recently shared a video on her personal TikTok account that featured a powerful testimony of a Christian man who shared his struggle with thinking he was a woman and how he was saved by Jesus Christ. I mean, this is what Jesus does — He saves! And the church is called to share this Good News. At first glance, that’s what Albert did. Who knows how that video shared through her platform could’ve spoken to someone who needed to hear its message?

The enemy hates what’s good. He hates God and God’s people. And while suffering is an inevitable part of a fallen world, many trials we encounter are due to the devil’s scheming. Though he has won nothing, Satan has a sinister grip on many lives to do what he does best: lie, cheat, steal, and destroy.

Megan Rapinoe, is a prominent LGBT activist with a tendency to blame God for her problems (like when she claimed her career-ending injury was “proof” God doesn’t exist). While she wasn’t the only one to criticize Albert’s post, Rapinoe appeared to be the cherry topping a sundae of insults. Her less than impressive remark goes as follows: “To the people who want to hide behind ‘my beliefs’ I would just ask one question, are you making any time of space safer, more inclusive, more whole, any semblance of better, bringing the best out of anyone? … because if you aren’t all you believe in is hate. And Kids are literally killing themselves because of this hate. Wake TF up! Yours Truly, #15.”

I’m sure that was very difficult for Albert to read. But her own teammates took Rapinoe’s side, and Albert received other harsh comments like, “[I]f you’re gonna be a bigot at least do it in private.” Another read, “You can be Christian and not a homophobic transphobic bigot.”

Not surprisingly in this cancel culture, Albert was overwhelmed with hostility. She apologized for sharing the post and proceeded to remove it from her social media. She said she would strive “to do better” because “sharing … offensive, insensitive and hurtful” posts “was immature and disrespectful.” She expressed disappointment in herself and said it was never her intention to offend anyone.

The first thought that came to mind when I read about this was Romans 1:16, where Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” As believers, we’re called to be unashamed of the truth of Scripture. Christians boldly broadcast that life, in and out of the womb, has inherent value in being made in the image of God. We gallantly declare, according to faith and science, there are two sexes, and switching between them is patently impossible. We unabashedly share the gospel message, which is initially offensive, that we’re sinners in need of a Savior, we must repent of those sins, and that Christ is the only way to eternal life.

Those who are born again and raised to new life in Christ know this is difficult for those dead in their sins and trespasses to hear. But we also know the least loving thing we can do is deprive someone of these truths and watch as they march away from the glory of God and the gift of salvation.

Am I saying Albert is ashamed of the gospel? Not necessarily. I don’t know her heart, so I refuse to make a claim on her behalf. What I do believe is her regrets reflect that she needs prayer, encouragement, and some reminders. And, really, what I’m about to detail pertains to all believers.

Jesus said in John 15:18, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you.” Additionally, in Matthew 10:22a, He asserted, “you will be hated by all for my names sake.” It’s pretty clear in Scripture that following Christ means we will be hated. But one isn’t required to read Scripture to know that. Just look around — just look at what happened to Albert!

But Albert, like all of us, needs grace and compassion. Like all of us, she needs prayer to remain steadfast amid persecution. Before we judge how she responded, we should put ourselves in her shoes. Truly, we can only pray that we don’t respond the same way she did to such vehement hate and anger.

Notably, we, too, often forget what’s proclaimed in Romans 10:11, namely, “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.” Or Romans 8:1, which states, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We overlook, as outlined in Romans 8:15, that we “did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but … have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” And despite the pain we endure in this fallen world, Jesus said “the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22b). We forget these things because we don’t meditate on them.

AMERICA IS IN MORAL FREEFALL

Taken from an article by Dr. Michael Brown  America is in Moral Freefall, Op-ed Contributor The Christian Post, Wednesday, April 03, 2024

In 1944, 9 years before the first edition of “Playboy” was published, Rev. Peter Marshall declared, “Surely the time has come, because the hour is late when we must decide. And the choice before us is plain — Yahweh or Baal. Christ or chaos. Conviction or compromise. Discipline or disintegration.”

In 1959, Prof. Robert Coleman proclaimed, “In a day when unprecedented numbers of people have a form of religion while at the same time, the Church seems unable to stem the rising tide of degeneracy that threatens the land, the question must be raised: Why this paradox? Should not the Church have influence for righteousness in proportion to her numbers? However one may seek to answer this question, it is obvious that what is needed is not more religion, but more power. In short, we need real revival!”

In 2010, David Wilkerson stated that in just over 50 years since the decade of the 1960s, we have become a nation in full-blown, open rebellion against God. Today: We worship the Almighty Dollar. Greed has become our national motivator. Sex is our obsession. Gambling is our national pastime. We are the world’s largest consumer of illegal drugs. We have banned God from our schools. We have declared God off-limits in the public arena.

I am confident that we can go all the way back to the American colonies and find similar, thunderous warnings, speaking of our spiritual apostasy and moral rot. After all, the First Great Awakening, which presupposed a great falling away, took place in the 1730s and 1740s, “at a time when the idea of secular rationalism was being emphasized, and passion for religion had grown stale.”

There’s even a danger of becoming so accustomed to our nation’s precipitous condition that we just yawn at the latest example of our depravity.

Drag queens reading to toddlers with the enthusiastic support of the American Library Association? No big deal.

Thirteen-year-old girls having their healthy breasts removed and 11-year-old boys getting chemically castrated because of short-lived struggles with their gender identity? Nothing to fuss about.

Radical feminists launching a “Shout Your Abortion” movement? No big deal.

Christians being canceled because they dare to hold to their biblically-based values in public? Let’s not get too worked up.

How deadly complacency can be!

That’s why we need to feel the full force of the outrage of the moment, as the President of the United States, himself a professing Catholic, uses his bully platform to mock the followers of Jesus worldwide. First, he announced “Transgender Day of Visibility” on Good Friday. Then, he timed things so that it would be celebrated this year on Resurrection (Easter) Sunday.

Wake up, America! It really is revival or we die — and that revival, that awakening, that coming to life again, that returning to the Lord with all our hearts and souls, repenting of our own sins — must begin with each of us.

To pray it again, “Lord, let the awakening begin with me.

The Bible reveals that God refines His church during the last seven years before Jesus returns first to rescue the Saints. The church of Philadelphia represents the church that Jesus raptures before He pours out His wrath upon an unrepentant world.

Jesus has nothing but compliments for these survivors of the Great Tribulation, his faithful remnant.

Jesus says, I have set before you an open door, no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of trial (Rapture) which shall come upon the whole earth (wrath of God).” (Revelation 3:7-13)

“hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown” (Rev. 3:11). There is yet time to fall away and lose their rewards.

SPIRITUAL PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS: AMERICA IS AT WAR

A great article by S.A. McCarthy. He serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.

Every doctrine that Christianity preaches, leftism preaches its own perversion of it. The love advocated by Christianity is rooted in absolute truth, in “Love Himself,” as C.S. Lewis once put it. Leftism advocates “love” unmoored, anchored by nothing more absolute than the weight of fickle feelings and emotions — though, when those emotions are felt, they do reign supreme.

Christianity upholds sacrifice as virtuous — the giving of oneself for the sake of love is the zenith of the virtue of charity. Christ Himself tells His followers, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Leftism also values sacrifice, but never sacrifice of the self, only the sacrificing of others. Abortion is the ultimate example of this warped anti-virtue: sacrificing one’s own child for… financial comfort, a career, no responsibility, or even just consequence-free sex.

Christianity mandates submission to the will of God, accepting His design no matter how painful or difficult. Again, Christ Himself prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). Leftism demands obeisance to the only god it recognizes: the self-centered self. Transgenderism is demonstrative of this: just as Christian martyrs have willingly suffered torture for the sake of their faith, so the confused, self-centered, and self-loathing suffer mutilation and torture for the sake of their own wounded and twisted egos.

Like the dominant Christianity of the Middle Ages, leftism even has its own office of the Inquisition. Those who do not toe the leftist line, who dare to question the new religion’s dogmas, are hounded out of the anti-church. The famed “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling is indicative of this. A multi-millionaire and self-declared feminist, Rowling was once a darling of leftist media and political activists. She supported the Labour Party in the U.K. and Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Yet as soon as she voiced her concerns over transgenderism, she became a “heretic” to the church of leftism, targeted for disbarment from all the institutions controlled by leftism.

Although leftism is a uniquely 21st century phenomenon, its fundamental principles are nothing new. In fact, God has been dealing with the motivating mindset behind leftism since before the world began. The chief and unifying tenet of the leftist religion — indeed, that of all its precursors and predecessors, also — is naturalism. When first Lucifer said, in the words of the poet John Milton, “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven,” naturalism was born. Naturalism is the belief, the assertion that the creature can replace the Creator, that the peasant may, if he slays the King, rule in His stead. It is the hubristic declaration that “God is dead, I am god.”

Satan was the first to declare thus, in his immense pride, galled by the humility of God’s plan to become a man, to take on the form of a mere creature — “these disgusting little human vermin,” as Lewis called them in the character of Screwtape, a hateful demon. He has declared it ever since, leading countless souls astray. In the Garden of Eden, that was the temptation offered by the Serpent: “You shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5). Throughout Scripture and, certainly, throughout human history, that has been the great temptation, the great sin: to be as gods. When Moses ascended Mount Sinai, after God led the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt, that temptation reared its head and the Hebrews made for themselves an idol (Exodus 32). Even then, the Hebrews fell to worshipping the demon Baal, until the prophet Elijiah proved the supremacy of God and slayed the Baalite priests (1 Kings 18).

Whether in the twilight years of the Roman Empire, throughout the Middle Ages, into the age of discovery, or even now in the modern day, men are tempted to declare themselves God, to worship their own selves over the crucified and resurrected person of Christ, to adhere to their own principles or preachings as supreme. Leftism is simply the culmination of this evil, this unbridled, unrestrained pride, brought to the fore via political prowess and instituted in American culture via institutions long ago captured by the prophets of leftism: Marxists, communists, perverts, abortionists, eugenicists, atheists, relativists, and countless other little ideologues subservient to the Luciferian sin of naturalism.

The current division in America is not ultimately a matter of Left versus Right, of Democrat versus Republican, of communist versus capitalist, but of good versus evil, of naturalism (in the form of leftism) versus Christianity, of the fallen angel Lucifer and his minions versus the crucified and resurrected Christ and the forces of Heaven. The war being waged over America at present is not a matter of differing political opinions but of diametrically opposed religions.

One side says that unborn babies, the most innocent of all persons, may be executed at will, torn apart and unceremoniously vacuumed out of the wombs of their mothers; that children may, on a whim, decide to ingest hormones foreign and unnatural to their bodies before subjecting themselves to irreversible surgeries so horrific that not even the most warped and depraved authors of the 19th and 20th centuries could have imagined them; that procreation is wholly unrelated to the conjugal act, that two men might sodomize one another and call it “love”; that sex-trafficking and child sexual exploitation are just the price to be paid for virtual images of increasingly perverted sex acts, readily available to young and old at the mere click of a button; that a nation has no sovereignty and must be subjected to millions of unvetted, unrestricted immigrants.

The other side says that innocence is worth preserving, that unborn children and their mothers must be cherished and protected from the evils of the abortion mill; that children must be raised to think and think critically, think well, think deeply; that the family is the basic and fundamental unit of society, that the very fabric of civilization would unravel without the family as its basis; that love necessitates self-sacrifice, not self-gratification; that nations have a God-given right to defend their borders and preserve the safety and security of their own people; that Christ is indeed King.

This present war is not between two ideological factions but between powers and principalities, between leftism and Christianity, between good and evil, and between God and Satan. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve… As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

ARE YOU DEAD IN YOUR TRESPASSES AND SINS?

If you could control the moment you died, what would your last words be? As Jesus hung on the cross, He spoke seven times. The first of His final words was a prayer. But not for Himself. 

Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

Really? They didn’t know what they were doing? 
1. The Jewish leaders plotted Jesus’ death for months. They paid Judas to betray Him. They held a mock trial in the middle of the night.
2. The crowd cried out for His crucifixion. They even chose a murderer to be set free rather than Jesus, the One who had healed the sick, raised the dead, and fed thousands.
3. Governor Pilate knew Jesus was only guilty of making the Jewish leaders mad. He tried to set Jesus free, but in the end, he knowingly gave the order for Jesus’ death.
4. The Roman soldiers spit on Jesus, beat Him, jammed a crown of thorns onto His head, and mocked Him. As they led Him to Calvary, they watched Him stumble, battered and bleeding. When they drove the nails through His hands and feet, the soldiers knew exactly what they were doing. Christ’s agony was real.
5. Jesus’ executioners didn’t know what they were doing because sin and “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Yet, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing” Luke 23-34

If they had truly understood who Jesus was and what they were doing to Him—God’s Son, their promised Messiah—do you think they would have never done such evil? The horror of such actions would have overwhelmed them. Instead, they would have fallen down before Jesus and worshiped Him. 

Apart from Christ, we are all spiritually blind—and spiritually deaf. In the rebellion of our sin, we are no different than the people in the days of Ezekiel, Jesus, and Paul, who have ears but do not hear (Ezek. 12:2Matt. 13:13Acts 28:27). In our sinful state, we don’t hear, see, or respond to the truth. 

Unless God opens our eyes to see Jesus and our sin, we will stay as blind and deaf as the dead, because that’s exactly what we are—dead in our trespasses and sins.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.Ephesians 2:1-3 

BIBLICAL END-TIMES PROPHECIES WARN US CHRISTIANS WILL FACE INCREASING PERSECUTION

In November 2020, a Christian woman in New Jersey named Betsy Fresse filed a lawsuit against Starbucks when the coffee chain allegedly fired her for refusing on religious grounds to wear an LGBT pride shirt as part of her uniform. 

Now Taylor Price, a Christian claims Starbucks fired her after opposing pride promotions, refusing to use trans pronouns.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Trice said she started working for Starbucks because the company offered tuition assistance for Arizona State University’s online program. In 2022, she was fired from Starbucks in Apex, North Carolina, after working for the company for two years.

“Before working at Starbucks, I knew nothing about it except that it was considered a bougie coffee shop,” Trice said. “So I didn’t know that it was a very liberal company.”

In a statement sent to The Christian Post, a Starbucks spokesperson said the company will not comment on this “private employment matter.”

“However, Starbucks has no tolerance for discrimination or harassment of any kind in our stores, and we’re committed to fostering an environment where everyone is welcome, respected and valued,” the spokesperson said. “We expect all partners (employees) to abide by company policies and standards, including our anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies.”

According to Trice, the Starbucks where she worked put up a glass wall during pride month in June that described various sexual orientations, saying families with kids would be able to see the display. 

She said that the display explained the sexual attractions of people who identified as “demisexual,” adding that she would have still opposed the display if it said “heterosexual.”

“I just felt like that didn’t need to be added to the decorations,” Trice said. 

Trice said her co-workers got defensive. She believes they thought she was a “homophobic Christian” and became “salty” towards her. 

Another issue with the company concerned a policy requiring her to use the “preferred pronouns” of individuals who identify as the opposite sex.

Trice said that she was willing to call a trans-identifying individual by name or avoid using pronouns, but her faith would not allow her to lie. 

“So, that means if I see you are a man, and I call you a woman, that is lying,” she said. “That is identifying you as something that God did not create you to be. And it’s identifying you as something that Satan wants to identify you as, and Satan’s ultimate goal is to confuse you and deceive you about your identity.” 

Trice said the power of a “small sin” can’t be underestimated.

“So, with all those factors combined, I say, respectfully, hey, ‘I’m willing to call you by your name; I’m willing to avoid using pronouns, but it’s against my faith to lie and say that you are a woman if I know that you are a man.'” 

She told Fox News that managers said customers made complaints against her, such as they believed she wasn’t comfortable with their “identity.” 

“I do not understand because I would talk to everyone there all the time,” she told the outlet. “I was never making insults towards them or anything.” 

Trice said she felt God warned her about what was to come, as the day before her store manager called her into a meeting with the district manager, she had a dream that she was in trouble at work. During the meeting, Trice’s employers informed her that people had accused her of “homophobia.” 

“As predicted, I got fired,” she said. “I’m not saying this to bash my old co-workers or my old manager. I actually had a lot of fun with them, and I love them, and all I want to see is for them to be in Heaven.”