Saturday, July 31, 2021

Simple Fare Made Simply Delicious

 Simple Fare Made Simply Delicious

Thoughts on Today's Verse

"In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness." Psalm 31:1

Thoughts on Today's Verse by Phil Ware
When all the clutter is stripped away, what is your real hope? When you push aside the diplomas, awards, accolades, and honors, what is the basis of your significance? Only one source for hope and only one basis of significance is trustworthy. Only One — the LORD God — endures forever! Only our Father in heaven guarantees that our life is significant. So let's place our hope in the LORD and have him be our refuge!

Faith—Seeing Better by Far

 Faith—Seeing Better by Far by Harvey Kiekover

Scripture Reading: Philippians 1:20-26
"I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. . . ." Philippians 1:23
I cautiously entered her room; there the elderly patient lay, quilt tucked up near her chin. Silky white hair haloed her pale face, blending into the white pillow. She opened her eyes. A weak smile of recognition wrinkled her warm face.
As I sat near her bed, she lifted her hand from under the quilt for me to hold as we chatted. It was honest talk. We both knew it: she was nearing her death. I told her that I was sad that she was so weak and frail, that she was going to leave us soon. Through tears I said, “I am going to miss you.” Turning her face toward me, she responded weakly but clearly, “I won’t miss you, though.”
Was that a putdown? No, it was a deep expression of sincere faith. She believed what the apostle Paul wrote in our text for today: “to depart and be with Christ . . . is better by far.” She knew that when death came, she was going to be with the Lord. Her condition would then be far better than the weakness, dependence, sadness, and pain she presently experienced. For her to live was Christ, so for her to die would be gain.
With a warm heart I left her room. I had seen faith. I had seen strength in that very weak and frail child of God.
How good to belong to God, from whose love nothing can separate us! It’s true: what awaits us is better—yes, better by far.
Thank you, Lord, for the testimony of this child of yours. Make our faith strong as we live and as we die. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

"Give me your last meal"

"Give me your last meal"

From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman
July 31, 2021
I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die (1 Kings 17:12).
Imagine telling a widow who was about to eat her last meal with her only son to give you a portion of that meal. That would seem like a cruel and unusually selfish thing to do. Imagine you have a need for provision and God tells you to go to the most desperate person in the land to get your provision.
God led Elijah to a poor widow who was on her last meal of flour. Why would God lead Elijah from one desperate situation into another? He wished to perform yet another miracle and show His faithfulness to those who needed it most.
Elijah proceeded to tell the widow: "But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land’" (1 Kings 17:13-14).
Would you have questioned such logic in the face of a life-threatening situation? The woman demonstrates her faith in God and Elijah by giving him her last meal. This act of faith insured that her provision would be there day after day. God multiplied her
flour and her jug of oil. Provision followed obedience.
"For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah" (1 Kings 17:16).
God often multiplies what we already have in our hand in a miraculous way when we yield it to Him. God took her only resource just like He took the loaves and fishes, and multiplied it for those who were in need.
God has placed skills and resources in our hand already. We need to apply faith to that which He has placed in our hand in order to see His provision manifested through them.

Friday, July 30, 2021

Five Former SEALS Running for Congress

 Five retired Navy SEALS are running for Republican seats in the House of Representatives in a collective effort to get more veterans in Congress. Retired SEALs Brady Duke (R-Fla.), Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas) and Ryan Zinke (R-Mt.) joined Fox News’ Steve Doocy on "Fox & Friends" to discuss why they are running and what they plan to accomplish.

1. Ryan Zinke, the former interior secretary, plans to address the division in America. "A lot of my friends say, ‘look, the U.S. is falling apart. It can't be fixed.’ It certainly can be fixed," he said. "There’s no one better in crisis than SEALs Special Forces. We're going to win, and we're going to save America."

2. When asked why he wants to run for Congress, 14-year military veteran Morgan Luttrell said, "I don’t." "It's just most certainly out of necessity," Luttrell said. "We have to bring our country back to center. That's why we're all running, because we believe so much in the red, white and blue. "

3. Brady Duke, operating as a sniper during his deployment to Afghanistan, views Congress as another opportunity to serve his country.  What I learned as a Navy SEAL, we go through high-intensity training. We adapt to stress really well. And I think we perform our best under stress," Duke said. "We learn to prioritize and execute and take decisive action when there are dire consequences. And I think that's absolutely what needs to happen at this point in our country."

4. Derrick Van Orden, who served five combat deployments during a 26-year career in the military, emphasized the consequences of inflation. He plans to address "irresponsible, out-of-control spending" by Congress. 

5. Eli Crane joined the military after 9/11 and, like Duke, views Congress as another chance to serve America. "Most of us don't want to go to Washington," Crane said. "We have no desire to do that. But we're concerned about this country, and we want to do something about it." Crane plans to focus on election integrity, if elected, but noted that the border crisis is also a big priority for the people he would represent in Arizona.

All five veterans emphasized a continuing desire to fight for their country. "Our Constitution, our country is worth fighting for," Zinke said. "Liberty always wins. We're going to win. We're going to save this country." (Fox News)

Thoughts from Tom Holland

 


May be an image of 1 person and text

America's Return.....

Sam Brownback (Reuters)

As the cancel culture rises, and the political left gains control, Americans' First Amendment rights seem all but forgotten. Former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, who also served as a U.S. senator and as the ambassador for religious freedom under the Trump administration, says we can bring them back—but it will take what he calls "a movement of the people at the grassroots level."

Americans take those rights for granted, Brownback tells Charisma founder and CEO Steve Strang in a recent interview for the Strang Report podcast. "And I think, People, just look. It's in our Constitution," he says. "It's in the First Amendment. We had The Free Exercise Clause; we really originated the concept for the government's implementation of it. And we just think it's part of our DNA, part of who we are."

Brownback says this is where former President Ronald Reagan's statement in his 1967 inaugural address as governor of California comes true: "Freedom is a fragile thing, and it's never more than one generation away from extinction."

"Freedom is only a generation away from being lost at any time," Brownback says. "And that can be true even with our religious liberty in this country, as people in the culture now say, 'Well, we don't like your values, and we don't think you should bring your values into the public square.'"

This is true even though The Free Exercise Clause attached to the First Amendment of the Constitution grants us that authority, he adds.

"I think it's something we've got to become far more aggressive about pursuing—doing it peacefully, doing it in an encouraging way," Brownback says. "But we've got to stand up for these rights, or you're going to quickly start seeing all adoption centers closed down if they won't do same-sex adoptions; maybe hospitals shut down if they won't do transgender surgeries; maybe pharmacists not being able to practice if they won't prescribe abortion drugs. You're going to continue to see those threats and pushes in the culture."

Brownback says it's time for us to stand up and say no. "If you're a person of sincere faith, and you want to peacefully practice your faith, you are entitled under our Constitution and under our laws, and this is good for the country.

"If you're going to have a pluralistic, diverse society, you have to protect the minority views along with the majority views, as long as these are peacefully practiced," he adds. "And this is what we built this very diverse nation around: the protection of everybody's right to peacefully be who they want to be, including if you want to be a committed Christian."

Brownback also say many on the left no longer act in a democratic way.

They're acting against the First Amendment right of freedom of speech," he says. "I remember years ago, the Vietnam War was just tailing off. And Jane Fonda came to speak at the college campus that I was I was on, and she was a controversial figure toward the end of the Vietnam War. And one person was there saying, 'You know, I would defend my dying breath for her right to get up there and say what she sees fit,' even though he diametrically disagreed with what she was saying at the time.

"It needs to be that way now," Brownback says. "That's a hallmark of an open society, this ability to freely debate controversial ideas. ... I think we've got to get back to these first principles. I think we have to have a discussion with the nation on why it's so important that we have free speech, why it's so important that we have religious freedom. And you may not agree with me, but you have the right to say what's on your mind and to peacefully express it. And I think we're going to have to get back to the basics of why this is so important."

For more from Brownback on First Amendment rights, religious freedom and what we can do to return to the guarantees of the U.S. Constitution, listen to this entire episode of the Strang Report here. Subscribe to the Strang Report on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform for more stories that will inspire and inform you in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Return to Our Core Values

Return to Our Core Values by Dr. Ben Carson

When speaking to people across the country, one of the questions I am asked most these days is "why did you start American Cornerstone Institute?" It's a question I love answering. America is the greatest country on earth, and it has been since its founding. It was founded on principles that have guided us through ups and downs and it has created a country that has been resilient to anything that was thrown at it.
However, that has changed. Americans are moving away from the principles that made this country great in the first place. We need to get America back on track, and the best way to do that is to make everyone realize the importance of the cornerstone principles that made us into the country we are today.
This is a different kind of think tank. We will be taking our ideas to as many places as possible. To the halls of congress, to grassroots leaders, to communities, and to schools across the country. This will be a huge endeavor, and it will take a lot of work, but I'm confident in the American people, and I'm confident we will make a difference.
Faith. Community. Life. Liberty. These are the cornerstones this country was founded on. These are the same cornerstones of the American Cornerstone Institute. As a country, we've moved away from those core values and we've seen the devastating effects of that as a culture. It's time to get back to that. We are at a critical moment in our country.
It's going to require all of our intellect and all of our resources to save our nation. A donation to this cause is an investment in our future.
I am also honored that my friend President Donald Trump believes in the American Cornerstone Institute just as much as I do. I look forward to working with him to make sure America never loses sight of the core values that made it the greatest country in history.

Thoughts on Today's Verse

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:1

Thoughts on Today's Verse by Phil Ware
Are you judgmental? Do you assume you can judge the intent of another person's heart? Are you critical and negative about the actions of others? Jesus wants us all to realize that we cannot know the motivations of someone's heart.
When we are unfairly harsh or bitingly critical in our judgment of others, we are setting the standard by which God will judge us. I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to exchange God's grace for my unreasonable harshness. I'm going work harder at viewing others with mercy and grace.

Thoughts on Amos 5:7

Thoughts on Amos 5:7 by John W. Ritenbaugh

"You who turn justice to wormwood, And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!"
Similar to Amos 6:12, this verse connects justice and righteousness. The fruit of righteousness is justice. Justice is fair treatment, not only in the courts but in every aspect of life. This strikes at the root of a major portion of God's judgment of Israel (Isaiah 59:13-15).
Here, righteousness is pictured as a standard, flag, or banner thrown to the ground. They had "[laid] . . . to rest" or thrown aside the Torah, the law of God, the teachings of God. Instead, they were practicing what we call "situation ethics"—allowing their weak and untrained consciences to be their guide. The practical result was "anything goes." What does this mean in relation to social conditions?
Righteousness is what is right with God: "For all Your commandments are righteousness" (Psalm 119:172). It is the cultivation of correct moral principles within ourselves. As a nation we should cultivate morality to produce spiritual and social growth. Righteousness—morality—is therefore the foundation of justice. Justice is correct moral practice, the practical application of morality.
The Israelites were not cultivating God's commandments, the moral standards upon which any nation must operate if it is to be successful. Instead, they had developed a specious code of living which was incompatible with the Word of God. Since the right moral principles were not being cultivated, there was no justice in society and immorality reigned.
While righteousness is inward, justice is out-going, concerning even such "trivial" things as being neat and orderly. Notice how much trash litters our highways and graffiti mars our cities. Maybe no law of God specifically regulates our driving, but is it not fair and just to be considerate of others on the road? Certainly God's law has to do with being thoughtful, gracious, tactful, and discreet, all of which are founded on one of its basic principles, the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12).
Once these "little things" stop being cultivated, then injustice begins to appear in more serious areas, such as increased crime, divorce, abortion, suicide, and the like. Morality plunges and the people move farther and farther from godly mores and values. And when God sees no repentance in sight, His wrath is not long in coming.

Bad Alliances

Bad Alliances

From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman
July 30, 2021
"Woe to the obstinate children," declares the Lord, "to those who carry out plans that are not Mine, forming an alliance, but not by My Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; who go down to Egypt without consulting Me; who look for help to Pharaoh's protection, to Egypt's shade for refuge." Isaiah 30:1-2
Have you ever entered a relationship with someone you knew you were not supposed to? Throughout the history of Israel, the people were called to come out of an old way of life. Egypt represented that old way; when things got tough, the Israelites reverted to what was comfortable. They always knew they could take a trip to Egypt and find what they lacked. Perhaps this was their reasoning: "If we can't get it accomplished under the new way, why not go back to the way we used to do it? At least we know we can get it there."
When God calls us into a walk of faith, we can expect to be tested in this walk. If we enter into alliances that God has not ordained, it will only bring heartache. Such was the case for Israel. "But Pharaoh's protection will be to your shame, Egypt's shade will bring you disgrace" (Isaiah 30:3).
Beware what you perceive as an alliance that may advance you in some way while it may actually bring you great distress if God has not directed you to align it. Ask yourself what the motive is behind this possible alliance. Make sure that it is not based on fear or a quick fix.
Get confirmation that God is leading you to make such an alliance. Then you will not end up in the way of Israel, experiencing shame and disgrace.

Thursday, July 29, 2021

Thoughts on Today's Verse

"For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5

Thoughts on Today's Verse by Phil Ware
God is the God of all comfort (see 2 Corinthians 1). Even when he deals harshly with our sin and rebellion, it is for our good. It will last only a short while and then it gives way to rejoicing. If you are in a time of discipline or facing the cruel consequences of sin, please don't give up. Morning will come, and on that dawn will come God's grace. It's more than worth the wait!

Faith—Owning Our Reality

Faith—Owning Our Reality by Harvey Kiekover

Scripture Reading: Psalm 103:13-19
"He remembers that we are dust." Psalm 103:13-14
An elderly friend entered the open door of my office, sat down across from my desk, and came right to the point: “Harvey, you must remember you are dust!”
I wasn’t expecting this from her. But I knew from a reliable source that this is true. She was echoing Psalm 103:14: the Lord “remembers that we are dust.”
There was a time when I thought this verse meant that we have little or no worth. I remembered “dust devils” ­under my bed. Not much value there. We vigorously shook out the dust mop, glad to be rid of the dust.
But my friend was not telling me I was worthless. She was concerned that I was too busy and not taking care of myself properly. Our text says that too, doesn’t it? The Lord is caring. God is like a father who has compassion on his children. He knows our frailty; he knows how we are formed. The God who took dust and breathed into it the gift of life reminds us that he is willing and able to meet our needs out of the riches of grace in his Son, our Savior.
My elderly friend was blunt, but she was very caring and loving. And she was right. I needed her visit and the reminder that I am dust. It’s my reality. The Lord compassionately remembers it, and I’m trying to remember it too, with thanks!
Thank you, Lord, for mak­ing us in your image. Remember us in our needs and refashion us in your likeness through Christ. In his strong name we pray. Amen.

Controlling Our Tongues

Controlling Our Tongues by Dr. D. James Kennedy

"Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark." James 3:5
Tact can go a long way in solving a lot of problems, as one man who worked in a grocery store discovered when an elderly lady came up and wanted to buy half a head of cabbage. “But Madam,” he said, “we only sell the whole head.”
“I just want half a head of cabbage,” she replied. “I live by myself and I only need half a head of cabbage.”
He tried a number of times to dissuade her. Finally, with some exasperation, he said, “Well, I’ll go and ask the manager.”
So he walked to the back of the store and found the manager. “Can you believe that some old idiot wants to buy half a head of cabbage?” he exclaimed. Then he noticed out of the corner of his eyes that the woman had followed him and was standing right behind him. Recovering his tact quickly, he said, “And this dear lady has agreed to buy the other half. Would that be all right?”
May God grant that we learn to control our tongues. May He help us to use them to build people up, not to tear them down. May He give us the grace to glorify Him and to use our tongues tell others of Jesus.

Asia Bibi

Asia Bibi

Asia Bibi says years on death row made her 'strong in faith'
Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian mother who spent more than eight years on death row for blasphemy, says her experience made her grow "strong in faith".
Speaking through a translator on the last day of the Religious Freedom Summit in Washington DC last week, she told the story of a bird that would come to visit her each morning outside her prison cell - even after she moved prisons - and how she took this as a sign from God that he was with her in her ordeal.
Bibi was accused of blasphemy in 2009 after an argument with the women she worked with. She was sentenced to death the following year and only acquitted by Pakistan's Supreme Court in October 2018.
She now lives in Canada with her family after being forced to flee Pakistan due to death threats.
Recalling her years behind bars, she said she was "totally broken" after her imprisonment but was able to find hope despite her terrible circumstances after making it a daily habit to feed the birds outside her cell with some leftover food and water. "I was sharing my faith even with those birds, and that has led me to be more strong in faith," she said.
Words of encouragement from her father also helped her to stay strong. She recalled him telling her, "Don't worry about your life, if you are going to be killed, but never compromise on your faith and be strong."
When she was finally released, she knew it was a "miracle" that would not have been possible "without God's intervention." Now her message to other Christians in Pakistan is to "grow in their faith" and "stay strong in their faith," and her call to other believers is to "join hands and stand together so we can be a voice for our Christian brothers and sisters who are suffering and help them out of their situations like the Lord has done for me."

Coercion, COVID, and Free Wil

 Coercion, COVID, and Free Will by Eric Utter

There is something we are not being told that would explain the elites' extreme push to ensure that we all — regardless of age, health, or vulnerability — get vaccinated against the coronavirus, a virus that has an overall survivability rate of 99.8 percent globally (higher for young people), on a par with the seasonal flu. There has to be. Governments and media have never before reacted in this manner, even for flus, diseases, plagues, and pandemics that were more lethal than COVID-19.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist. I don't believe there is anything "in" the coronavirus vaccines that can be used to track or control us, although the events of the past couple of years have shown that anything is possible.
I've come to this conclusion regarding the tyrannical attempts to coerce us all into ceding sovereignty over our own bodies: it is primarily a big test — probably the final one — issued by those in power to see if there are still limits as to what they can force Americans to do. For if they can succeed in wresting our health decisions away from us, if they can take away our choice, if they can force us to submit to allowing an unvetted foreign substance into our persons to act in a way that cannot be now known on the very genes of which we are composed, they will know there is nothing they can't do to us.
Ironically, if they can get the vast majority of citizens to renounce progressives' decades-old mantra of "my body, my choice," they will know they have won. (They will never acknowledge that the mantra, as progressives meant it, ignored the killing of an innocent baby and therefore was nonsensical and evil.)
If our elected officials, media, academicians, and Deep State masters can get enough people to do as they say, regardless of personal cost-benefit analysis or impact on their current and future freedoms and autonomy, they will then know they can finally take away our Second Amendment rights with impunity as well. They will be emboldened to take away our guns and our ability to protect ourselves and our loved ones. They will have robbed us of our free will.
I am not against people being vaccinated. It must be their choice, however. Unlike leftists, I never wish to tell others what they must do or not do. If the government — in conjunction with elites outside government — can compel us to do whatever they want us to do, if we lose control over our own bodies, then, by definition, we are all slaves...and representative democracy is dead. And the American dream is a mere memory of our lost freedom.

Something Difficult

Something Difficult

Naaman was a mighty Syrian general who was a leper. Those who had this disease were without hope but Naaman had a servant girl who knew the God of Israel and she urged her kind master to go to His prophet where she knew Naaman would be healed.
Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."
But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?"
So he turned and went off in a rage. Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a baby. 2 Kings 5:9-14
How often are we like Naaman? We have a problem and go to God in prayer. He gives us the answer to our problem in His Word. We then complain about not only the answer, but also the fact God didn't just snap His fingers and fix our problem.
Eventually we follow God's instructions and our problem is solved! Our way never works, but God's way ALWAYS works! Yet we avoid following His prescription until we have no other recourse.
Our rebellion against God leads to negative consequences but our obedience to Him leads to blessings!!!
God speaks to us in many ways, most often, through His Word, but also through our time in prayer, through others, and through our circumstances. The more we practice listening to God, the better we become at hearing His voice. One thing we will discover with certainty as we listen is that God will never contradict His Word. When God speaks, the message He gives will always be in line with His Word.
After we hear Him, we need to obey Him. Often, we hear what God is saying to us but we don't want to obey Him—especially if He is calling on us to sacrifice something we desire to keep.
God’s true test of our character, our faith, our depth of commitment, our love for Him comes when He calls us to sacrifice something we want to keep. That something can be money or possessions or relationships or life goals, but in most cases it is OURSELVES!
The greatest sacrifice we can make to the Lord is OUR WILL! We have nothing more valuable to give to Christ than our lives, placed in sacrifice at His feet..

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Thoughts on Today's Verse

"For this is what the high and lofty One says — he who lives forever, whose name is holy: I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite." Isaiah 57:15

Thoughts on Today's Verse by Phil Ware
Jesus' coming to earth is wholly and holy consistent with the LORD God who reveals himself in the Old Testament. God is high and holy. God is righteous and majestic. Yet the LORD God is the God of incarnation — the LORD who sees our needs, hears our cries, and comes down to help us. God loves people, especially people who come to him knowing that they need his love and grace. To those who seek him with passion, humility, awe, and reverence, God brings revival that touches the spirit and heart.

Speaking in Tongues in the Bible

 Speaking in Tongues in the Bible by Ben Witherington

What happened at Pentecost?
“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” Acts 2:4
SPEAKING IN TONGUES IN THE BIBLE.
What happened at Pentecost in the New Testament?
Acts 2 describes a miracle: During the festival of Pentecost, Jesus’ disciples are given the Holy Spirit, and they begin speaking in tongues (other languages). Are the disciples speaking in human languages, or is this an instance of glossolalia in the Bible?
Glossolalia—speaking in angelic tongues—is described as a spiritual gift in 1 Corinthians 12–14. Webster’s dictionary defines glossolalia as “prayer characterized chiefly by incomprehensible speech, originating in primitive Christianity and now practiced by Pentecostal groups in ecstatic forms of worship.”
Ben Witherington III addresses what happened at Pentecost in his Biblical Views column “Speaking in the Tongues of Men or Angels?” in the July/August 2015 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review. While some believe that Acts 2 is the first instance of glossolalia in the Bible, he maintains that it is not.
When the disciples begin speaking in tongues, Acts 2:6 says that the crowd of Diaspora Jews who were in Jerusalem for the festival of Pentecost “gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.”
Those who believe this is an instance of glossolalia in the Bible say that two miracles took place: The disciples were speaking in angelic tongues, and each person heard the message in his native language. However, Ben Witherington III contends that just one miracle occurred. The disciples miraculously began speaking other human languages, which is supported by the Greek grammar of Acts 2:6. Witherington explains:
The phrase “in their native language” modifies the verb “speaking” in verse 6, not the verb “hearing.” So there is exactly one miracle of speech at Pentecost—a miracle my Greek students regularly pray for, namely, the ability to suddenly speak a foreign language without further study! In short, the Pentecost story is not about glossolalia, despite the name of the modern Protestant denomination. If you want to find a story about glossolalia in a story about conversion in Acts, then you should turn to the story of Cornelius in Acts 10.
TOWER OF BABEL. Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s painting Tower of Babel is on display at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Ben Witherington III explains that what happened at Pentecost—speaking in tongues—overcame the effect of the Tower of Babel—the confusion of language.
Witherington further explains that what happened at Pentecost is the opposite of what occurred at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9). As a result of the Tower of Babel, human language is confused, and a language barrier is created, but at Pentecost, the language barrier is surmounted:
At Pentecost the multiple languages problem and language barrier is not resolved, but the Good News overcomes the problem by being shared in all the various languages of the persons present there. While Pentecost doesn’t reverse the effect of God’s confusing the languages at Babel, it overcomes the problem for the sake of the salvation of the nations.

Two Spices to Eliminate

 

If You Have These 2 Popular Seasonings, Throw Them Out Now, FDA Says

Quote from David Tripp

"God never turns away in disgust at the failure of his children, but turns toward them with forgiving, transforming and delivering grace." David Tripp

Stupidocrisy.

Stupidocrisy. by Bill Wilson

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Tuesday unintentionally condemned the effectiveness of COVID 19 vaccines by reversing its previous reversal to require vaccinated people to wear masks indoors. The CDC actually said that due to recent spikes in the Delta variant of COVID 19, people who are fully vaccinated should wear masks indoors in areas of high transmission. Everyone is jumping on the CDC for reversing direction once again. A very careful study of the CDC website indicates that this leading source for COVID information is all over the board regarding vaccine safety, mask safety, and effectiveness of the vaccine. If any government agency should be consistent and truthful, it’s CDC, but…
Under CDC’s Frequency Asked Questions section [ https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html ] is the question: “Do I need to wear a mask and avoid close contact with others if I am fully vaccinated?” Answer: “No. Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did before the pandemic.” In the “What You Can Do” section [https://www.cdc.gov/.../vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html ] it says that if you are fully vaccinated, you need to wear a mask indoors to reduce the risk of being infected with the Delta variant and possibly spreading it to others.
On March 8, 2020, Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci said "there's no reason to be walking around with a mask," according to Reuters—but this was before the CDC updated its guidance on April 3, 2020 to voluntarily wear masks. In a congressional hearing Wednesday, September 16, 2020, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, held up the disposable surgical mask he had been wearing and declared that the simple covering may ultimately be better than a much-hoped-for vaccine. He dramatically said, “This face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against COVID than when I take a COVID vaccine.”
Fauci wrote in a February 5, 2020 email obtained by Buzzfeed and The Washington Post that "Masks are really for infected people to prevent them from spreading infection to people who are not infected rather than protecting uninfected people from acquiring infection…The typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through material. It might, however, provide some slight benefit in keep out gross droplets if someone coughs or sneezes on you." Proverbs 28:26 says, “He that trusts in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walks wisely, he shall be delivered.” Use your God-given common sense to protect yourself because these government agencies and the learned people who run them can’t get on the same page, and this is not only disturbing, it is, say it with me…Stupidocrisy.