Keep The Faith

  How Should Israel Treat Those in the Land Today? A Biblical Look at Return, Neighbors, and Covenant Ethics When Scripture speaks about Israel returning to the Promised Land, it never frames the issue in political terms. It frames it in covenant terms — G-d’s character, G-d’s promises, and G-d’s expectations for how His people treat others. To understand how Israel is to treat those who live in the land now, we must look at the three biblical eras of return , because each one gives a different kind of instruction. 1. The First Entry Under Joshua — A Unique Moment in History The conquest under Joshua was a one‑time, unrepeatable event . G-d used Israel as an instrument of judgment on nations whose practices included child sacrifice, ritual prostitution, and violence. This was not: a model for future generations a permanent policy or a pattern for how Israel should treat neighbors After Joshua, G-d never again commanded Israel to conquer the land by force. This means modern returns...

Temptation is something every believer faces, and Jesus taught us to pray about it directly. This morning I found myself thinking more deeply about the line, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” and what it truly means for our daily walk with God. I was thinking about something this morning that connects with my last post, Test the Spirits . Satan tempts us to sin and do evil. I was thinking about the Lord’s Prayer, where it says, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil,” and I wanted a deeper understanding of that phrase. I looked it up, and the explanation I found expressed it well, so I’m sharing it here. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” ( Matthew 6:13 ) This line from the Lord’s Prayer is deeply meaningful, and Christians have reflected on it for centuries. “Lead us not into temptation” At first, it can sound confusing—why would God lead anyone into temptation? But in the original Greek, the word peirasmo...

  The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects religious liberty by limiting the government's authority to civil issues and preventing it from establishing a religion. SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE In countries where a dictator is in control, the main religion often becomes a powerful tool for maintaining authority and control over the populace. These regimes frequently leverage religion to legitimize their rule, unify the country under a common identity, and suppress dissent. 1. **Legitimizing Authority**: Dictators often claim divine right or portray themselves as chosen by a higher power. By aligning themselves with religious leaders or symbols, they create a narrative that their leadership is sanctioned by a higher authority, discouraging opposition on moral or spiritual grounds. 2. **Unifying the Population**: Religion can be a unifying force, and dictators exploit this by promoting a single, state-approved interpretation of the main religion. This fosters a...

I woke up early this morning and I remembered that I was dreaming about LOVE. I was specifically dreaming about the medic, Desmond Doss, who is credited with saving more than 70 solders lives, even enemy soldiers', during one of the bloodiest battles of World War II in the Pacific. He did it without carrying any kind of protection for himself. He refused to carry a weapon or take a person's life. When he enlisted into the Army, he told them this and was almost rejected for service. They thought that he wouldn't make a good solder, but they took him anyway. He went through literal hell from his commanders and fellow soldiers, but he never quit/gave up. Click the link and go down to the 'Synopsis' of the movie. The movie, ' Hacksaw Ridge ', based on true events. It is well worth seeing if you haven't already. (maybe without children). His whole character was amazing, hard to believe, and is one example of LOVE (AGAPE LOVE). The kind of LOVE that Father God...

Revelation 2:6 New International Version 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Revelation 2:14-15 New American Standard Bible 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. 15 So you too, have some who in the same way hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. From the website ‘Bible Study’ “ WhoAre the Nicolaitans? ” Nicolaitans comes from the Greek word meaning "adherent of Nicolas" (Strong's Concordance #G3531) or "destruction of people" (Thayer's Greek Definitions). This second definition is further confirmed when we break down the word Nicolaitans. Niko is defined as a conquest or victory over others. The second part, lai, means people. The last part, tes, represents the word "the....

Propaganda – The tools used by all the rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens. ' Illusory truth effect - Biases & Heuristics | The Decision Lab ’ I want to take you back in time to the 1930s. Hitler wrote a book “ Mein Kampf ” and in a section of the book, he wrote about the use of propaganda. In Volume 1; Chapter 6 , he wrote, “all effective propaganda must be confined to a few bare essentials and those must be expressed as far as possible in stereotyped formulas. These slogans should be persistently repeated until the very last individual has come to grasp the idea that has been put forward.” Since Hitler wrote about it, you would expect that he used this propaganda. Christianity in Germany In 1933 when Hitler and the Nazis gained power, there were approximately 45 million Protestants and 22 million Catholic Christians in Germany. Why didn’t the Christians stop Hitler and the Nazis? Why didn’t the Christians...

We are living through some very stressful times right now with this pandemic. As I was thinking about this, I thought about God. God is still the all-powerful God. He doesn't change. He is God who we can call Father and someone who loves us, so much so that He sent His Son, Jesus, into this world to take our punishment for the sins we've committed. Think about that. What amazing love. Think about what Jesus did when He was here on earth with us. He had compassion for all those He met. Matthew 9:35-38   New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE) The Compassion of Jesus.   35  [ a ] Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness.  36  At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, [ b ]  like sheep without a shepherd.  37  [ c ] Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest ...

I saw this article in ' The Washington Post ' " More than 11,000 scientists from around the world declare a 'Climate Emergancy '" I believe that this is God giving us one more chance for peace; maybe just this last time. If all the countries of the world declared peace with each other and work together to try and solve this emergency then maybe God will forgive us and not destroy us. Revelation 7 New King James Version (NKJV) The Sealed of Israel 7  After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 2  Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3  saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” ...