Immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.(Acts 16:26)
In this age, God rescues his people from some harm. Not all harm. That’s comforting to know, because otherwise we might conclude from our harm that he has forgotten us or rejected us.
So be encouraged by the simple reminder that in Acts 16:19–24, Paul and Silas were not delivered, but in verses 25–26, they were.
First, no deliverance:
“They seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace.” (verse 19)
“The magistrates tore the garments off them.” (verse 22)
They “inflicted many blows upon them.” (verse 23)
The jailer “fastened their feet in the stocks.” (verse 24)
But then, deliverance:
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God . . . and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. (verses 25–26)
God could have stepped in sooner. He didn’t. He has his reasons. He loves Paul and Silas.
Question for you: If you plot your life along this continuum of Paul’s initial suffering and later deliverance, where are you? Are you in the stripped-and-beaten stage, or the unshackled, door-flung-open stage?
Both are God’s stages of care for you. He has not left you or forsaken you (Hebrews 13:5).
If you are in the fettered stage, don’t despair. Sing. Freedom is on the way. It is only a matter of time. Even if it comes through death. “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).
North Carolina Right to Life’s annual March for Life gathered at 1 p.m. on Jan. 18 in Bicentennial Plaza, directly across Jones Street from the State Legislative Building.
…
While large crowds of pro-life supporters gathered, a group of approximately 10 counter-protesters also gathered directly behind the stage and chanted using a bullhorn. Those on stage, whether during prayers, the Pledge of Allegiance or speeches, were often drowned out by chants, including:
“We will fight. We will win. Throw the fetus in a bin;” “Racist, sexist, anti-gay — Christian fascists go away;” “Get your rosaries off our ovaries;” “Fetuses aren’t people;” “Abort all parasites in human bodies;” and “My body, my choice.”
We are in a civil war. It will turn into a hot civil war. It is an uncivil war already. Incredibly, the uncivil nature of this war is within our own ranks. Whether this is by design, arrogance or ignorance, the question we need to answer is whether we want to win the war. And be forewarned, we will lose the war if we are fighting ourselves instead of our enemy.
I dislike telling people what to do: good people should already know the correct path to take. I also dislike issuing diktats on this site but…
Any comments attacking individuals based on their statements or previous positions will be deleted. Think about it: what good can come about from these actions? If you want to use Alinsky tactics to marginalize people on our side, go somewhere else. As I asked earlier, do you believe anyone who opposed going to Richmond had anything but our best interest in their hearts?
But, but they are not repentant and are attacking us. We need to have a coming to Jesus moment and define “us”.
The above cartoon is a good joke using today’s headlines. I encourage people to be concerned about the Coronavirus as it spreads due to its high RO value and the actions of the Chinese government and WHO. As for Adam Schiff, he has cemented his role in history.
Jesus said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?”(Mark 8:17)
After Jesus had fed both the 5,000 and the 4,000 with only a few loaves and fish, the disciples got in a boat without enough bread for themselves.
When they began to discuss their plight, Jesus said, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand?” (Mark 8:17). What didn’t they understand?
They did not understand the meaning of the leftovers, namely, that Jesus will take care of them when they take care of others. Jesus says,
“When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” (Mark 8:19–21)
Understand what? The leftovers.
The leftovers were for the servers. In fact, the first time there were twelve servers and twelve basketfuls left over (Mark 6:43) — one whole basket for each server. The second time there were seven basketfuls left over — seven, the number of abundant completeness.
What didn’t they understand? That Jesus would take care of them. You can’t out-give Jesus. When you spend your life for others, your needs will be met. “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
I don’t really want to, but I’m going to wade into the Richmond Rally debate again, due to the number of emails still asking me my thoughts.
How anyone can see what happened on the 20th in Richmond any other way than a WIN, is beyond me. If you haven’t been reading the comments on the WRSA thread here…. You’re missing out. It is very eye opening and worth your time. I may re-post some of their comments in their entirety later, but some have written books.
What are you to do when someone who you’ve read and have valued their opinions for a long time, turns out to be a total dick? You walk away, and sadly I’m walking away from many that have shown their true character over this rally debate.
One of the other Naysayers before the rally is still spewing
his hatred and doubling down on stupid. It’s really sad and I can’t decide if
overall the comments sound more like 3rd grade boys daring each other to go to
a haunted house at Halloween (and making excuses for why they’re not really
scared. It’s just that their Mom wants them home before dark), or 7th grade
girls gathering their posse’s and talking trash about each other before
engaging in an hysterical cat fight.
We are better than this.
The Left doesn’t engage in this kind of fruitless chatter.
They follow Alinsky’s rules to the letter. Not saying it’s right, but they are
winning. Perhaps we could learn a few things, and we sure are lacking in the
organizational department.
What would the Left have done differently if this had been
their rally?
1) They would have been organized beforehand. They would
have formed an official committee just for this purpose. They would have had
one official spokesperson that would have encapsulated the message into a
memorable talking point that would have set the tone. Everyone who participated
would be expected (and pressured) to follow the script. They also would have
gotten the names and contact info of every attendee so they could keep in touch
with emails and mobilize them in the future. They would have used this info to
threaten the careers of unsupportive politicians.
2) They would have made the issue emotional and put their
opponents on the defensive, “it’s for the children!”, so it would resonate with
those on the fence. They would have found a single mother who saved her kids’
lives with a handgun or saved her own life from a rapist or a vicious ex. They
would have turned politicians who push for gun control into monsters who only
desire to see women victimized and murdered. They would have used a catch
phrase such as: “2A Rights are Women’s Rights!” or “I am Pro-Choice for 2A”
3) They would have played up their minorities. There were
several blacks in attendance. They disprove the narrative and should be front
and center, NOT as tokens, but as an inconvenient truth the Left should be
forced to deal with. Anti-2A politicians should be portrayed as the racist
klansmen who don’t believe Black Lives Matter.
4) They would have connected with allies. The most powerful
force the 2A movement has is sheriffs who refuse to comply and county
legislators who are declaring 2A sanctuaries. These guys need to be treated
like superstars in the movement.
5) They would demonize the anti 2A politicians. Everyone
would know their names and they would be put on record with damning quotes.
Their offices would be jammed with phone calls and visitors questioning why
they are racist klansmen who don’t think children should be protected from bad
guys.
But those of us on the Right don’t think or operate this way. We are like herding cats. And that’s why the Left runs circles around us.
The left are completely convinced they are on the side of
truth and justice and we are thoroughly evil. As long as someone spouts the
ideology (no matter how hypocritical they are in actuality) they are all comrades
in arms.
Those Naysayers on the Right seem more convinced that they
alone are the fount of all knowledge and common sense. Therefore anyone who
disagrees with them in the slightest detail is an idiot.
This Civil War, and yes we are in a Civil War, requires us to win on many fronts. Was it a tactically smart thing going to Richmond on the 20th? Maybe not. Was it a political victory that helped our cause? Absolutely.
This impeachment fiasco is merely the latest in a never-ending series of distractions, distortions, and political theater aimed at diverting the public’s attention from the sinister advances of the American Police State.
Don’t allow yourselves to be distracted, diverted or mesmerized by the cheap theater tricks.
This impeachment spectacle is Shakespearean in its scope: full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Nothing is the key word here.
Despite the wall-to-wall media coverage, nothing will change.
Mark my words: the government will remain as corrupt and self-serving as ever, dominated by two political factions that pretend to be at odds with each other all the while moving in lockstep to maintain the status quo.
So President Trump’s legal team can grandstand all they want about the impeachment trial being “an affront to the Constitution” and “a dangerous perversion of the Constitution,” but that’s just smoke and mirrors.
You know what is really “an affront to the Constitution”? The U.S. government.
We’ve been losing our freedoms so incrementally for so long—sold to us in the name of national security and global peace, maintained by way of martial law disguised as law and order, and enforced by a standing army of militarized police and a political elite determined to maintain their powers at all costs—that it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when it all started going downhill, but we’re certainly on that downward trajectory now, and things are moving fast.
The republic has fallen.
The Deep State’s plot to take over America has succeeded.
“In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” (John 16:26–27)
Don’t make God’s Son more of a Mediator than he is.
Jesus says, “I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf.” In other words, I’m not going to insert myself between you and the Father, as though you can’t go to him directly. Why? “The Father himself loves you.”
This is astonishing. Jesus is warning us not to think of God Almighty as unwilling to receive us directly into his presence. By “directly” I mean what Jesus meant when he said, “I am not going to take your requests to God for you. You may take them directly. He loves you. He wants you to come. He is not angry at you.”
It is absolutely true that no sinful human being has any access to the Father except through Jesus’s blood (Hebrews 10:19–20). He intercedes for us now (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). He is our advocate with the Father now (1 John 2:1). He is our High Priest before the throne of God now (Hebrews 4:15–16). He said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Yes. But Jesus is protecting us from taking his intercession too far. “I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you.” Jesus is there. He is providing an ever-present, ever-living witness to the removal of the Father’s wrath from us.
But he is not there to talk for us, or to keep us at a distance from the Father, or to suggest that the Father’s heart is guarded toward us or disinclined to us — hence the words, “For the Father himself loves you.”
So, come. Come boldly (Hebrews 4:16). Come expectantly. Come expecting a smile. Come trembling with joy, not dread.
Jesus is saying, “I have made a way to God. Now I am not going to get in the way.” Come.
A pastor who made headlines earlier this month for praising God in a ransom video has been executed by Boko Haram militants in Nigeria.
International human rights activists have condemned the killing of Rev. Lawan Andimi, the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria’s chapter in the Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
Andimi was declared missing on Jan. 3 following a raid by the Islamic extremist group in Michika. Video posted online appears to show Andimi being forced into a vehicle by his captors.
Days later, Andimi was seen in a video released by his captors calling on fellow Christian leaders and state government officials to secure his release.
Despite the situation, Andimi said in the video that he was not discouraged because “all conditions that one finds himself is in the hand of God.”
“By the grace of God, I will be together with my wife and my children and all my colleagues,” he said. “If the opportunity has not been granted, maybe it is the will of God.”
On Monday, local sources disclosed to ministry partners in the United States that Andimi was murdered.
I don’t support Facebook or their anti-2A policies but I am putting the above link here for people in Johnston County to join. If your county does not have a similar site, use Facebook to your advantage.
CONCORD — Cabarrus County Commissioners collectively backed citizens’ Second Amendment rights during Tuesday’s meeting at the Governmental Center in Concord.
The Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a resolution presented by residents that pleaded not to have their Constitutional rights to bear arms restricted or taken away.
Fifteen people spoke in front of the commission in favor of the resolution. Among the speakers were Cabarrus County Sheriff Van Shaw and Rep. Larry Pittman.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 13 counties in North Carolina passed resolutions to protect citizens’ Second Amendment rights.
Eight more counties had a resolution on the agenda on Tuesday.
At Tuesday’s board of commissioners meeting, each signed-up speaker had three minutes to provide their opinion.
After all speakers were done, commissioners said they supported the Second Amendment.
