In view of God's mercy

     How do we please God, who doesn't save us based on our lifetime of achievements? It's all in one chapter written by the apostle Paul. 

     "We offer our bodies as living sacrifices...our spiritual act of worship. We no longer live by the pattern of this world. By renewing our mind, we can test what God's perfect will is. We don't think too highly of ourselves but measure our faith with sober judgment.  

     "In Christ, each of us belong to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 

     "Be joyful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 

     "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Do what is right in the eyes of everybody. As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord - Deuteronomy 32:35. 

     "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will reap burning coals on his head."

Romans chapter 12 

Battle for Power, part 2 

     "President Trump has been governing mostly through executive action. He has enacted budget reconciliation bills, allowing Congress to make changes to federal spending not subject to the filibuster. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025 is one example. If Democrats get a majority in the House or Senate, that option would be closed off." 

     "Democrats will fight anything Trump proposes, and Republicans will fight anything Dems propose. (This is not how our founders intended things, but after President Washington retired, the game took on new rules). The midterms will quickly give way to the 2028 presidential election, having potential influence on the presidential race." 

     "James Talarico, a Texas Democrat running for Senate, would not need much experience in politics to be catapulted. J.D. Vance served a brief time in the Senate before he became vice president."

Socialism Draws Many 

     "The attraction to socialism reaches 43 percent of adult Americans, according to a Gallup survey. Young people are attracted to 'free stuff.' A decades-long process has indoctrinated minds and institutions. Communist ideas are disguised as socialism, making destructive inroads into our society."  

     "The Epoch Times is selling two books, HOW THE SPECTER OF COMMUNISM IS RULING OUR WORLD, and NINE COMMENTARIES ON THE COMMUNIST PARTY. We haven't read these, but you might be interested." 

Next: Christians' instructions ... all in one chapter

           Jimmy  

Battle for Power 

     "The Democratic Party is on track to win a slim majority in the House. It also has a realistic path to majority in the Senate. President Trump relies on executive action instead of congressional legislation. But Democratic victories have the potential to create significant headaches for the next two years and may influence the 2028 presidential election." 

WORLD magazine

     "The Republican Party doesn't have much momentum. Presidential popularity is low. The economy is not doing well. Thanks to congressional redistricting Republicans built a good firewall. But winning a majority in the House would give Democrats control of committees, and subpoena power. A third Trump impeachment might actually benefit Republicans. Trump will say Democrats are crazy left wing, and they'll go on an orgy of hatred." 

     "The Democratic Party is struggling with internal divisions, A new group of far-left candidates, some endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, are poised to win elections. They will oppose U.S. military aid to Israel. A professor says bills on military funding will be where the Democratic Party potentially breaks apart."             

     "In the Senate, Republicans have 53 seats and Democrats 45, plus two independents who caucus with them. A 50-50 tie would give Republicans an edge, as the vice president holds the tie-breaking vote. A Democratic majority in the Senate would open the way for a new - if any - nominee for the Supreme Court. President Trump's nominations for lower federal courts would grind to a stop."

Continued on Tuesday

 

Distinct, Hopeful People

     Conclusion by Mark Dever, a pastor in Washington, DC. 

     "The most basic function of a local church is to distinguish between God's people and people who are of the world. In 1630 John Winthrop applied this to the Christian settlers of Boston. No nation, including the U.S., can be the light of this world. It is Christian people reflecting Christ's love, living Christian lives and organized together in churches."

     "In Matthew 5:16, Jesus shows that God can use our lives to help others to become Christians. One can know peace with God, accept his adoption, and perhaps join with Christ in persecution. Although early followers didn't conquer Jerusalem or Rome, churches there bore witness to God's truth and his coming judgment." 

     "The Kingdom that churches work for is not of this world. Churches are previews of the glorious country awaiting us. Healthy churches are previews of that glorious country. In Revelation 20, a city comes from above. The designer and builder is God. Hebrews 11:10 and 11:16. The best preview won't be in our nations, but in our churches." 

  

     

More Than Ever 

     A few more thoughts from Franklin Graham: "Christians should steward their vote faithfully, as Paul told the church at Corinth, 'For the weapons of our warfare and not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" - 2 Cor. 10:4-5. 

     "When King Jehoshaphat sought peace and social progress, he went back to the World of God. He demanded that his people learn the Word of God, that they live by it and humble themselves before God. Obedience to the Word of God brought peace then and it can bring peace not if God's people - by His mercy and power - lead our nation back to Him. 

Healthy Churches, Healthy Nation? 

     "Consider Joseph in Egypt, preventing famine. Or David, ruling with wisdom. And Daniel, advising the pagan king. What does a healthy church today have to do with the community around it?" Mark Dever, pastor in Washington D.C., wrote, "Our founders taught that our government of laws required that honesty and care for others be widespread, and the religion of the Bible was the source of our values." He quotes John Adams: "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions. Our Constitution is made only for a moral and religious people." 

     Dever says, "In order for Christians to influence others, we must be different; we must be distinct. That basically is what Jesus is teaching. The salt of the earth shows how essential our distinction is from the world. How useless would we be without it. Jesus made it clear that ethnicity (belonging to a group of like-minded) was insufficient to define God's people." 

     "God calls his people to be gloriously different from this world. If we aren't distinct, our witness may have little meaning to others. Jesus prayed in John 17:16, we are 'not of this world.'" 

                                              To be continued 

     

     

Critical Moment in Our History 

    "From coast to coast, candidates are running on a radical political platform that praises the bankrupt ideology of socialism. It's no secret how a socialist agenda has wrecked the economies of nations, such as Venezuela. Closer home, Cuba is impoverished by socialism for more than six decades," writes Franklin Graham. 

     "Communism - like socialism - is godless, even anti-God. Socialists have always been the enemy of the church. They hate God because they want to be the authority. Allegiance to the atheistic state is commanded. Religion is a clear and present danger to the all-powerful state. Churches are marginalized." 

     "Look no further than New York City and Seattle, cities being led by self-identified socialist mayors. Years ago, Winston Churchill said: 'Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy.' Socialism isn't our only fight."  

     "The rising threat of Islam in the West should concern us all. We just marked the anniversary of the 9/11 Islamic terrorist attacks. Yet we see too many Americans staying silent when Muslim leaders exert greater control. As voters cast their ballots, remember Paul's instructions for the Colossians: 'Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ' - v. 2:8."

     "Christians must base their vote on Biblical values, supporting candidates who know the sanctity of human life, Biblical marriage, national borders and law enforcement, and the value of work and productivity. Socialism seeks to undermine all this." 

                                     To be continued; not easy   

 
Is History Dead? 

     Janie Cheaney writes, "Historian Naill Ferguson pronounced 'The Death of History' in The Free Press. His autopsy exposed the cause of death as AI generated bots on the internet, spreading poison faster than any antidote could remedy. The specific poison is anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial. If one of the starkest, best documented, still within-living-memory events of the past can be plowed under outright lies, what room is left for history?" 

     "We face, in short, the gravest AI powered assault on historical truth. Philosophers, artists, and spiritual leaders may yet call us back to virtue, but historians have failed. Omar Mohammed, whose secret blog began when ISIS took control of his Iraqi city in 2014, concludes:

     "'A society that turns on its Jews has announced what it will eventually permit against everyone.' Jews are found at critical turning points, 'outsized influence on history inspires outsized hatred." 

     "Cheaney writes, 'I feel their weight, a people born of promise, divinely shaped into a nation, established around a holy city, scattered and restored more than once. Their existence testifies to Yahweh's faithfulness in His wrestling with mankind." 

Views: This is not something new. It's an ongoing battle the devil wages on Christians and especially Jews. He will not cease his war on God who created him until God comes to earth and imprisons him for a thousand years. 

 

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