When we are dirty, tired, and in need of a pick me up, nothing is better than a good shower. The water refreshes and invigorates us as it washes away the grime and weariness. And the energizing we receive, is similar to the restoration we get from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Knowing His children are thirsty and in need of rejuvenation, God pours His Spirit upon us. A shower of abundance, the Spirit flows over us, cleansing, empowering, and giving the sustenance needed for life. And our Father does so with the goal of His goodness and righteousness washing through us to a parched world. Because everyone who drinks of God’s water will never thirst again, for it flows from the spring of eternal life! (John 4:13-14)
I’ve heard it said that words without action are like a heart without a beat; both are useless. The apostle John tells us that as God’s children, we need to be doers. Because for a Christian, the word love should be a verb, not a noun. It’s easy to use our mouths to proclaim our devotion, but it is our actions that truly show the state of our hearts. If our hearts are filled with God’s love for others, that love will be manifested into loving works, not empty words. For Jesus Himself actively put into practice the love He preached. Throughout His time on this earth, Christ healed, taught, fed, and comforted others in both “deed and truth.” And in the greatest example of all, He sacrificed Himself so that we could live eternal. So if we say we are His followers, it’s not enough to just feel love towards others. We are to act on that love, exampling the selfless, sacrificial, agape love, God shows to us.
“Life is difficult for everyone; everyone has bad days. Everyone has trouble in their life because it doesn’t matter how rich you are, sickness, trouble, worry, and love; these things will mess with you at every level of life.” Domhnall Gleeson …
We know as Christians we aren’t exempt from suffering. And as part of God’s creation, we cry out, “Maranatha! Come soon Lord Jesus! Come and establish your kingdom on earth, destroying sin and the power it holds forever.” From the moment of Adam and Eve’s sin, all of creation began to decay and die. And as a result, it groans with longing for God to return it to its former glory. The word “groaning”, comes from the root word sustenazo, meaning to moan and cry out together. As believers, we groan for God’s restoration. And one day those cries will be answered with a shout and blare of the trumpet. We the children of God, along with the dead in Christ, will be changed. In a twinkling of an eye the old and decayed will be replaced with new, glorified bodies. And together with Jesus, we will live on the earth which will be restored to its original glory.
Biden State Department Issues First Passport With X Gender Marker
The State Department on Wednesday issued the first U.S. passport with an “X” gender marker, granting a third option for American passport holders who do not identify as female or male. The move was announced by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and said it means Americans will no longer require a medical certificate to opt-out of choosing a specific gender. The department did not specify to whom the passport was issued. Evangelist Franklin Graham criticized the move and urged Christians to pray for the nation. Read more about the passport here.
Second City In Ohio Criminalizes Abortion
The city of Mason, Ohio, recently voted to criminalize abortion. As per the ordinance, anyone who violates the ban could receive a $2,500 fine per abortion and up to a year in prison. Additionally, anyone who “aids and abets” an abortion will become “a criminal and a felon.” The ordinance was drafted by the Mason City Council in collaboration with Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn, a Texas-based nonprofit. The group has previously helped at least 39 cities in Texas, Nebraska and Ohio ban abortions. Mason’s abortion ban, scheduled to go into effect in November, is the second city in Ohio to ban abortion after the city of Lebanon. Read more about the ban here.
Popular Astronomer Says World Was Made By Aliens In A Lab
Avi Loeb, bestselling author and the former chair of Harvard’s astronomy department, penned an op-ed in Scientific American this week positing that the universe could have been formed in a lab by an “advanced technological civilization.” Loeb has also insisted in the past, that aliens have already visited the earth. Ken Ham, Director and CEO of Answers In Genesis, answered Loeb’s claims by responding. “It’s obvious our universe didn’t come from nothing and that there is a Creator – but sinful hearts suppress the truth and will believe in anything (literally anything) rather than accept the truth of God’s Word,” Read more about the alien theory here.
Giant Eagle Owl Spotted After Being Unseen For 150 Years
British scientists working in Ghana have rediscovered a “holy grail” giant owl that has lurked almost unseen in African rainforests for 150 years. “Shelley’s Eagle Owl” was spotted in October in what has been hailed as a “sensational discovery” by ecologists. With only a few thousand thought to be in existence, the species is officially classified as being at risk of extinction. Before the photo snapped earlier this month, there have been no confirmed sightings of the giant bird since the 1870s. It is one of the largest species of owl, and females can grow to a total length of 30 in., with a wingspan of 6 ft 2 in., with males being slightly smaller. Read more about the owl here.
As children who depend on our heavenly Father’s care, blessings, and strength everyday, it can be hard to understand how others can reject such a love. And sometimes that lack of understanding can come across as condescending, unloving, and hypocritical to unbelievers. That’s why Paul reminds Titus, and us, how Christians ought to behave. For once we too lived in darkness. We lived lives filled with every kind of sin, void of hope, and separated from God. But in His unmerited mercy, God rescued us from the jaws of death. Allowing us to live in the glorious light of His saving love. And so in treating others, we need to remember the amazing grace in which God treats us. We are to minister to the lost with a humble, gentle, compassionate, and loving spirit. So that the good deeds they see us do, will glorify our Father in heaven. (Matt. 5:16)
No matter how hard we try not to, we all sin. Each one of us fails daily and need God’s forgiveness. Because whether big or small, all sin separates us from God. But the apostle John reassures us that in His great love, God provided a path of reconciliation back to Himself. Because He will never leave us in our sin, nor turn His back on us when we fall, God has given us a great advocate through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Greek word translated “advocate” is paraklēton, which literally means one who pleads a case on someone else’s behalf. Think of that. With all He endured on this earth, even now, Jesus is at God’s right hand interceding for us. As our perfect high priest, the Lord paid for our sins with His precious blood. And now night and day, He stands before the throne of grace, pleading our case before our Father.
Pastor Faces federal Charges For Performing Fraudulent Marriages For Green Cards
Joshua Olatokunbo Shonubi, a/k/a Olatokunbo Joshua Shonubi, age 50, of Bowie, Maryland, received a federal charge of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and visa fraud and for presenting false documents to a federal government agency, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain permanent resident status for foreign nationals by arranging marriages to U.S. citizens. Shonubi faces a maximum of five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit visa fraud and marriage fraud and a maximum of five years in federal prison for each of six counts of presenting false documents to a federal government agency. Read more about the charges here.
Apple Pulls Bible App From App Store In China
In a move showing Apple has little concern over the freedom of religion atrocities committed in China, the company has pulled a Bible app and a Quran app from its App Store in China after the Chinese government complained that the apps violated local laws on religious texts. The Chinese market makes up a significant portion of Apple’s sales, and the company depends heavily on manufacturers in the country to make its products. Some say that the relationship makes it difficult for the tech giant to turn down the government’s requests. Yet others criticize the company for making profits the bottom line, overlooking China’s oppression of Christians and Muslims. Read more about Apple’s move here.
GOP Representative Suspended From Twitter For Calling Transgender Woman A Man
The official account of U.S. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) was suspended shortly after he made a comment about Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health within the Department of Health and Human Services. Levine was born male but identifies as female. “The title of first four-star female officer gets taken by a man,” Banks said in a tweet that Twitter deleted. Twitter suspended Banks saying he violated a policy that prohibits harassment of individuals on the basis of gender identity. Twitter suspended Banks’ official account but left untouched his personal account, where on Saturday, he posted a statement saying he was “censored for tweeting a basic truth.” Read more about the suspension here.
Michael J Fox Raises 1.5 Billion For Parkinson’s Cure
Actor Michael J Fox, who has suffered with Parkinson’s since the age of 29, has been on the hunt for years for a cure. And so he started his own foundation. As the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson’s disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. Funding over $1.5 billion in research so far, the non-profit has fundamentally altered the trajectory of progress toward a cure. One thing Fox is sure of: He says he won’t stop fighting until there’s a cure. Read more about his foundation here.
Even though God is sovereign, Satan is the current ruler over the world. Meaning his hand is in every wickedness which permeates the earth. His lies and deception never miss a chance to pollute and corrupt everything good, taking pleasure in seeing us fall. But as children of the most high God, we are far from helpless against his machinations. For we as Christian’s have the power of God inside of us through the Holy Spirit. And God’s Spirit equips us for war, as He gives us the strength to turn aside from worldly temptations. For as John tells us, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) Satan will never stop trying to destroy us, and will do all he can to try and undermine our faith. But by putting on the armor of God, as told in Ephesians 6:11, we have everything we need to not only stand up against any and all enemies, but to live a life of victory through our Savior, Jesus Christ.
There’s a reason that some mirrors come with warning labels. Because they produce limited and flawed reflections. Paul describes our knowledge of God like a mirror. While we are on the earth, we only have a partial or dim reflection of our glorious, heavenly Father. But one day everyone of us, believer or not, will stand before the Lord face to face. And all will be revealed. Gone forever will be the foggy mirror, and we will fully know God as He fully knows us. Imagine that! Our great Creator knows us down to the number of hairs on our head. (Matthew 10:30) He knows our most private thoughts. God sees our hopes, dreams, greatest fears, and all we were created to be. And in His great love for us, His children, He wants us to know Him as intimately as He knows us. And how wonderful it will be spending an eternity by His side. Where we will be forever growing in knowledge and love for the One who created, redeems, and calls us His!
