News you won't see in controlled mainstream media.

---WINDOW INTO WORLDLINESS ~~
--[By: Steve Lombardo / Abiding Word Ministries ~~]

~~What is most important in your life? A major league baseball player, upon learning a teammate was diagnosed with colon cancer, said, "We're not immortal. Sometimes baseball seems like the most important thing in our lives, but it's not!"

--AS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH~~

Jesus said in Luke 17:26-30) =

"And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building: but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.'--

What Jesus says here is astounding. He points to the fact that people will be essentially the same in the days before His return, as the people who lived in the days of Noah and Lot. Human nature will be unchanged.

There are those who say we are progressing--getting better--but Jesus doesn't say that. Instead, His view is that people will remain basically the same. People will either be saved or they will be worldly, belonging to the world system whose god is the devil. Worldliness describes a concern for physical, material values, or it is seen in an ordinary life void of Biblical truth. Jesus, in the text provides a window into worldliness. We must beware to stay in the Holy Bible and use it as our road map to Heaven with our Lord. ~~

---Window Into Worldliness / Beware!
(Part 2) // By: Steve Lombardo/ Abiding Word Ministries

--REMEMBER THE ESSENTIAL~~

First, worldliness forgets the essential. In Noah's and Lot's time, people were involved in normal everyday activities, things that make up the issue of life. None are inherently sinful. There is nothing necessarily wrong, except when these things become the priorities of life. It is interesting that Jesus does not focus on the wickedness and blatant sins of the people, for which Noah's and Lot's time is remembered. Instead, Jesus talks about indifference or apathy, resulting in a neglect of that which is most crucial.

What were the people indifferent about? Their own souls. The essential is the human soul. The thing about living is that it is so daily. The routine may be fine, but the routine can also numb a person to what is really critical--the soul's value! The rich farmer in Luke 12 had his farm, his work, and his success, but he missed the essential. In (v. 19) he said to his soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry." But it wasn't well with his soul because to him it wasn't the essential. There were other considerations. God called him a "fool" (v.20). Jesus said, "What what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26). ~~
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[Friends, Beware! There are many television programs that are on the air simply to get your money. God can speak directly to you through His Word. Pray and ask for His guidance in reading and understanding the Holy Bible. May our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ lead you on His small and narrow path. (see Matthew 7:13-14 / NASB). ]

--WINDOW INTO WORLDLINESS~~

---REMEMBER THE ETERNAL~~
--By: Steven Lombardo/ Abiding Word Ministries~

--Worldliness also forgets the eternal. The people of Noah's day did not seem at all concerned about future life. There was little, if any, thought about eternity until the flood came. The people of Lot's day did not give consideration to the future until the fire fell from Heaven in judgment. It was too late for them. Noah's and Lot's warnings went unheeded. The people forgot the eternal.

What about eternity? The thrust of Jesus's words here is that of awakening His hearers to the reality of eternity. Every person one day will be there, in Heaven or Hell. A sea of stuff, having occupied attention and energy in this life, will vanish. Job said, "Naked I cam from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there" (1:21). Of course, the wise person is the one who makes preparation for the future. The people Jesus mentioned from Noah's and Lots's time were involved with innumberable things: eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, building--for the most part normal activities but temporal, not eternal.
--The wise person is the one who has made preparation for eternity, who can say when death is imminent: "I am ready when the Lord is ready. Even so, Come Lord Jesus!"
---

--WINDOW INTO WORLDLINESS~~

--By: Steven Lombardo / - Abiding Word Ministries~

---REMEMBER THE EXTRAORDINARY~~

~~Worldliness certainly forgets the extraordinary. In V. 25, just before our text, Jesus says that "He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation." He is talking about His crucifixion, His sacrifice for the sins of the world. Worldliness forgets the stunning sacrifice of Jesus! Noah proclaimed repentance as he built the ark. Lot was "oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men" as he sought to live a righteous life (2 Peter 2:7-8). Jesus said "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3,5).--

But He not only exposed sin, He did something about it! Jesus gave up His life, shed His blood to pay that debt of sin we could never pay. For the purpose that whoever comes to Him [YAHWEH/ YHWH], in repentance and faith will not perish but have eternal life. Worldliness forgets the extraordinary ministry of Jesus, a ministry that brought life to the world in the death of the Cross. "Amazing," said the hymn writer "that Thou my God should die for me!" Also, the Resurrection of Jesus confirms that God the Father accepted His sacrifice. No other sacrifice, no other death is necessary. Sin was paid for in full! "It is finished!" (John 19:30).

Being worldly, forgetting the essential, the eternal, and the extraordinary, is dangerous. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said in a sermon decades ago: "According to our Lord, there are only two groups of people--those who are in this condition of worldly-mindedness and those who are not. And their ultimate fate depends entirely upon that fact. The worldly will share the fate of the people before the flood, and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The others belong to the group containing Noah and his family, and Lot--the saved. --To which group do you belong?" ~~
~~~"At Your Name" (Yahweh, Yahweh)/ Phil Wickham // <https://youtu.be/il-bJjeiOhY>
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--FINDING YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE~~
---'Pathway to Victory' /Robert Jeffress ~~

~~"We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
--(–Romans 8:28)--

~~~Not long ago, my wife, Amy, and I watched “City Slickers.” This movie tells the story of three men from New York who are going through a midlife crisis, so they travel to a cattle ranch in New Mexico and participate in driving the herd from New Mexico to Colorado. Along the way, they learn some important lessons about life.

Perhaps the most iconic scene of the movie is when one of the New Yorkers named Mitch, played by Billy Crystal, is riding his horse next to an old, leathery cowboy named Curly, played by Jack Palance. Curly growls, “You all come out here about the same age, same problems. You spend about fifty weeks a year getting knots in your rope, and then you think two weeks up here will untie them for you. None of you get it. Do you know what the secret of life is?” Curly sticks up his index finger. “One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that, and everything else don’t mean [expletive].” Mitch asks, “That’s great, but what’s the ‘one thing’?” Curly tells him, “That’s what you’ve got to figure out.”

The “one thing” Palance was talking about is finding your purpose in life. Whenever you find the special reason for which God created your life, the rest of the things in this world aren’t worth anything.

You may be asking, “What do you mean, my purpose in life?” We know all Christians were created by God and were saved by God. God’s purpose is that everybody come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and be conformed to the image of Christ. Romans 8:28-30 says, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” That is God’s general purpose for everyone.

But God also has a specific purpose for your life. God has an overarching story He is telling to the universe of His love and redemption through Jesus Christ, but God also has a unique story He is writing in your life. That is what I mean when I talk about discovering your unique purpose in life. The first week of the New Year is a great time to talk about finding your purpose in life so you can experience the fulfillment that God wants you to experience.~~

[-- --Actually, anytime is special to finding your purpose in life. Perhaps you are a new believer in Christ. Go for it! Learn all you can about the One who died to save your soul. Jesus is the answer to all our problems. No, we won't live without problems. Jesus had many problems in the world. He said, "If you follow Me, the world will hate you." --[Please Read/ Luke 21:16-17] ~ PRESS ON!

--Loving Others/ Love Ourselves First ~~

Jesus said..."'You shall love the LORD your GOD with all your heart,
with all your soul, and will all your mind.' This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like it: 'Your shall love your
neighbor as yourself.'" [Matthew 22:37-39/ NKJV]--
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---I memorized these verses as a child and always thought of them as two complete thoughts that sum up the Christian imperative. Love God. Love others. It was not until I became an adult that someone pointed out to me that third essential part: love yourself.

For me this is the hardest. And I believe it's because had I considered it at all when I was younger, I would have thought loving myself a vain, prideful thing to do. In other words, not a Christian thing. And I think that is a travesty. But that was my impression of Christianity. The emphasis was always putting others before yourself, not being arrogant or prideful or thinking too highly of yourself. Being a servant. The teachers in my faith community taught humility. But humility is not the opposite of loving yourself. Pride is.

I wish that instead of that impression, I'd learned that it grieves God when we treat ourselves poorly. Just as it would if we treated a brother or sister in Christ poorly. I wish that just as I'd learned to love others and treat them well, I'd learned to treat myself well, and love myself too. After all, Jesus said we should. In these verses, it seems like it's so obvious it's an assumption. The way we know how to love others best is to love ourselves first. ~~

'Mornings With Jesus'/ GFF~

--"How Can It Be"/ By: Lauren Daigle // <https://youtu.be/wmtmWJ3CaBE>
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--A Broken Spirit and Contrite Heart ~~

--"The sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart,
O God, You will not despise."
---(PSALM 51:17~~

~~~THE GREATEST MYSTERY~~

-"The Son is the
image of the invisible
God, the firstborn
over all creation."
--(Colossians 1:15) --

--Before I came to faith in Jesus, I'd heard the Gospel preached but wrestled with His identity. How could He offer forgiveness for my sins when the Bible says only God can forgive sins? I discovered I wasn't alone in my struggles after reading J. I. Packer's Knowing God. Packer suggests that for many unbelievers the "really staggering Christian claim is that Jesus of Nazareth was God made man...as truly and fully divine as He was human." Yet this is the truth that makes salvation possible.

When the apostle Paul refers to Christ as "the image of the invisible God," he's saying Jesus is completely and perfectly God--Creator and Sustainer of all things in Heaven and Earth--but also fully human (Colossians 1:15-17). Because of this truth, we can be confident that through Christ's death and resurrection, He's not only carried the consequences for our sins but has also redeemed human nature, so that we--and all of Creation---can be reconciled to God (vv.20-22).

In an amazing, initiating act of love, God the Father reveals Himself in and through Scripture by the power of God the Holy Spirit and through the life of God the Son. Those who believe in Jesus are saved because He is Emmanuel--God with us. Hallelujah! God can not lie. Accept this by faith. ~~

~~"Loving God, our Lord and Savior, thank You for revealing Yourself and reconciling us through Jesus Christ. We praise You and bless your Holy Name.

--"Sweetly Broken" // Jeremy Riddle //<https://youtu.be/sL-mF_FwPnI>
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[Friends,
While we are on this Earth, we are heading to a City not made with hands. Jesus Christ will soon come for us, His Bride, to live eternally with Him. Let's be sure to pass on the message of eternal life in Heaven with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. "Even so, Come Lord Jesus."]

----Get Behind Me Gray Mood!

--"He hath made every thing beautiful in His time."
--(Ecclesiastes 3:11 / KJV)

~~~My gray mood matched that January morning as I set off to cover my beat as a reporter for the Wyoming State Journal. Today I was scheduled to cover an appearance of Miss Wyoming at a local elementary school. From the press release, I knew that she would perform on the piano and speak to the children about resisting drugs. I would be sure to recognize her by her slim figure, brunette curls, and trademark tiara.

Arriving at the school a little early, I snapped the top fastener on my bulky parka and pulled my woolly hat low over my ears for a better protection from the bitter chill. The kindergartners were lined up by the front door. I hesitated for a moment, trying to determine whether the children formed a welcoming committee for the beauty queen or were simply waiting to go inside. Suddenly a little girl broke rank, clasped me around my legs, and arched her back, the better to smile into my startled face.

"Are you Miss Wyoming?" she inquired sweetly. I nearly dropped my camera bag. I was feeling down from all the previous holidays, and rather in the mully-grubs.

"No honey, I'm from the newspaper."

"Oh." She continued hugging me and smiling until her teacher shepherded her back into line.

That afternoon, I couldn't help but smile- -and I walked a little taller as I completed my assignment. ~~

"Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the people who see past the physical wear and tear and help me to rejoice in my true beauty of being Your child. Remind me, Lord, that my assignment while on Earth is to tell others about Heaven and Your saving grace. In Jesus Name. amen." ~~

---Daily Guideposts/GTS~~--"When We All Get To Heaven" // Tommy Walker Ministries //<https://youtu.be/ljpanUjNgTI>
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