NCRenegade

You Are Greatly Loved
By John Piper

We all once lived among [the sons of disobedience] 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. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:3–5)

Would you not love to hear the angel Gabriel say to you, “You are greatly loved”? 

Three times this happened to Daniel.

• “At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved.” (Daniel 9:23)
• “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” (Daniel 10:11)
• And he said, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” (Daniel 10:19)

I admit that each year when I read through the Bible and come to these verses, I want to take them and apply them to myself. I want to hear God saying to me, “You are greatly loved.”

In fact, I do hear this. And you can hear it too. If you have faith in Jesus, God himself says to you in his word — which is more sure than an angel of God speaking — “You are greatly loved.”

There it stands in Ephesians 2:3–5, 8: We “were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. . . . For by grace you have been saved through faith.”

This is the only place where Paul uses this wonderful phrase “great love.” And it is better than an angel’s voice. If you have seen Jesus as true and received him as your supreme treasure, that is, if you are “alive,” you are greatly loved. Greatly loved by the Creator of the universe. Just think of it! Greatly loved!

Don’t believe the mainstream media. Things are not getting better, and Martenson contends, “It’s getting worse. The Chinese government would not lock down 90% of their economy just to save a couple of lives. They don’t roll that way. So, there is something there that is very worrisome to them. . . . Outside of China, we trust the numbers a lot more. . . . So, when we are looking outside of China, we are seeing the cases of the coronavirus are now increasing exponentially.  Covid19, as they call it now, is a real beast.”

More…

God Opens the Heart
By John Piper

One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. (Acts 16:14)

Everywhere Paul preached some believed and some did not. How are we to understand why some of those who are dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1, 5) believed and some did not?

The answer why some did not believe is that they “thrust it aside” (Acts 13:46) because the message of the gospel was “folly to [them], and [they were] not able to understand” (1 Corinthians 2:14). The mind of the flesh “is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot” (Romans 8:7).

Everyone who hears and rejects the gospel “hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed” (John 3:20). They remain “darkened in their understanding . . . because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart” (Ephesians 4:18). It is a guilty ignorance. The truth is available. But “by their unrighteousness [they] suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18).

But why then do some believe, since all are in this condition of rebellious hardness of heart, dead in their trespasses? The book of Acts gives the answer in at least three different ways. One is that they are appointed to believe. When Paul preached in Antioch of Pisidia, the Gentiles rejoiced and “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48).

Another way of answering why some believe is that God granted repentance. When the saints in Jerusalem heard that Gentiles, and not just Jews, were responding to the gospel, they said, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18).

But the clearest answer in Acts to the question why a person believes the gospel is that God opens the heart. Lydia is the best example. Why did she believe? Acts 16:14 says, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.”

If you are a believer in Jesus, all of these happened to you: You were appointed to believe; you were granted to repent; and the Lord opened your heart. The rest of your life you should be overflowing with amazed thankfulness at the miracle that you are a believer.

Things are now starting to get fast and furious. Outside of China, covid-19 is swiftly breaching defense lines all over the world. 

Italy is suddenly in big trouble — with the military being called in to enforce city quarantines. 

Iran, South Korea & Japan similarly find themselves overwhelmed as new cases continue to spread unabated. And there are many other countries (including the US) whose low reported numbers just don’t appear believable at this point.

We may soon find out that there are many more infections worldwide than are currently understood.

As China, Italy, South Korea and a growing list of other countries are showing us, outbreaks can happen extremely fast, slamming the door shut on your window to prepare.  Which is why taking action now is critical — because a gov’t lockdown will likely catch you by surprise (armed troops, empty store shelves).

After the moment it’s implemented, you will have to make do with whatever measures you put in place beforehand.

Meanwhile we’re being able to quantify the damage of the current shutdown of China’s economy. China is responsible for nearly 30% of world’s manufacturing, and it’s estimated that at this point, global trade will take a hit of nearly $600 billion. And it gets worse. Millions of Chinese firms are going bankrupt from lack of cash flows — a national bailout by China’s banks is likely needed to keep a huge part of its industry from vaporizing. 

One social front, we’re hearing stories of families giving up babies they can no longer afford, as folks are becoming homeless due to lack of income.  This is likely a preview of what’s to come for other countries hard hit by this virus. 

This is why the downplaying to-date of the coronavirus by world authorities is so dangerous. The risk is real and the costs are high. The masses should be preparing now. 

But until they are, we need to be ahead of the curve.

The above is a portion of this PDF. I have previously written about the collusion surrounding Mark Meadows, Lynda Bennett and Jane Bilello for the transfer of power of the US House of Representatives seat in the 11th District of North Carolina. As stated in the post:

Jane Bilello blew a fuse, aiming all manner of hostility directed to Eddie Cabe and myself. This is where the e-mail dialog begins. Make yourself some popcorn, relax and enjoy…

I recommend reading this transcript for several reasons:

1. It shows how little regard the Asheville TEA PAC has for recommending candidates based on qualifications and character.
2. While several people and outlets have stated that the audio where Lynda Bennett declares herself a never Trumper has been edited, the information embedded in the PDF validates the audio as factual. As do the people that I personally contacted tonight to verify the recording
3. I believe it is the responsibility of the people to do their own research on political candidates before casting a vote. Votes should not be cast based on endorsements by Political Action Groups. And votes definitely should not be cast based on the recommendation of an existing representatives in this case who is more interested in anointing his chosen replacement instead of the best qualified candidate.

It appears that people in the 11th District are now in the second phase where the truth is violently opposed.

Will we have time to have the truth become self-evident before the primary? Ask yourself a simple question: why are the people leading the charge against Lynda Bennett the ones who personally know her?

David DeGerolamo