Glorify God, Pt. 4

Ronald Weinland

April 13, 2024

Again, I am thankful for what we are covering here in this particular series, that it is this particular series because it works in so well with things having to do with Passover season, the Days of Unleavened Bread, and some of the things, scriptures that we’re going through right now, have been going through in part for this particular series, are going to be some of the same things we even cover on Passover night. So, awesome that we can dig a little more deeply into some of what is being said here.

So, we need to be reminded a little bit of what was covered last Sabbath in the sermon. John 15:1. All this having to do, obviously, with our ability to grow in, our ability, in essence, to glorify God, and that what God tells us we have to do, we’re supposed to be doing in order to accomplish that.

John 15:1. Again, things Christ taught on that last night of his life before he was to be put to death the following afternoon. He told them, teaching his disciples he said, I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes.

So, very strong scriptures when we see it in this light and what we’re being told. Sometimes examples like this can be a matter of something we’ve read year by year and they can become simplified in our minds when in reality we need to get what it’s saying and understand how important it is, what we’re being told. Because these are the very things, again, that Christ gave that last night and so much of what he gave are some of the most important teachings that have ever been given in the sense of understanding what he actually said. This is very much about that.

So much of it has to do with what Christ was doing, a matter of God the Father dwelling in him and Christ dwelling in his Father on a spiritual plane, and what we’re to learn from that. That once we’re baptized, once we’re given of the impregnation of God’s spirit, the same process is to work inside of us; they’re to continually be coming into our life on a continuing basis. We need God’s help on a continuing basis to grow, to change, to conquer, to overcome.

Here it’s saying, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away.” We’re seeing that take place in a marked way within God’s Church. We have been really, to me, in a powerful way, since 2012, 2013 especially, and then on from there, as we get closer to the time of Christ’s coming, his return, this type of thing is speeding up even more. Although this has always been a part in a process within the Church of God, there are those who have come along and those who have not lived what they should be living, have not applied what they have been told, and haven’t grown, haven’t produced fruit in their life. Taken away. They go away.

It requires God’s spirit in you, always dwelling in you to produce fruit. He says if we don’t bear fruit we’re taken away. That’s what the history of God’s Church has been, and especially in the end-time.

“And every branch that bears fruit He prunes.” So, even there there’s a care that’s given because there are things we need to go through in our life to have taken out of our life, and so, there is a process there that we have to experience. Sometimes it can be a little painful in the mind and how we think. But to get rid of things that shouldn’t be there, it’s good.

…every branch that bears fruit He prunes that it may bear more fruit. God loves us. He wants us to bear fruit. That’s why He called us, to produce fruit. And candidly, scriptures make it really clear to us that where God’s spirit goes it has to produce fruit, and if fruit isn’t being produced then He’s not there. “That it may bear more fruit.” In essence, showing us that to glorify God we have to bear fruit.

You are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. So again, it’s a process of how we’re cleansed spiritually in our lives through what we’re taught, what we’re given.

I wasn’t going to read this, but I’m going to go ahead. I decided just before services here. I want to go on and read some of these other verses as well. I wasn’t going to review all this but verse 4—Abide in me, and I in you. That’s always up to us. That’s always decisions and choices we make. God desires that of us because that’s the only way we can grow, it’s the only way we can produce fruit, it’s the only way we can change, but the choice is ours. There are those things that we are to do in order to accomplish that. That’s what this series is about.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless/except it abides in the vine, neither can you except you abide in me.

Then verse 5—I am the vine; you are the branches. Telling us that again. And to understand, again, he told us this on the last night of his life. This was recorded for that purpose. It was given to the disciples at that particular time because it would be some of the most important things he had taught to that point in time. Awesome!

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me, and I in them, bears much fruit. That’s pretty powerful. So, if it’s true in our life fruit is going to be produced. We’re going to have things that change in the mind. Our mind is going to go through a process of being transformed, of thinking differently.

So, he reminds us again, For without me, you can do nothing. Nothing. Nothing that’s productive, nothing that’s meaningful, nothing that has anything to do with God’s plan unless God is in us, unless His spirit lives in us and dwells in us.

So again, For without me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, they are cast out as a branch and withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. It’s as simple as that. That’s it.

We have that choice to make throughout our lives as we grow, as to whether we want God and Christ to dwell in us on a spiritual plane. Then there are those things we have to do to ensure that takes place because it doesn’t just happen because we go to Sabbath services or we tithe and whatever it might be. It’s a lot more than that day by day by day, how we think and what we do that is a matter of whether it glorifies God or not.

And then, finally, verse 8– By this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit; so that you will be my disciples. As the Father loved me, I also have loved you; abide in my love. So, there’s a way of life we’re to live and it’s according to God’s love, the way and how we think toward people, how we interact. This is what it comes down to. It’s a matter of God’s love, not ours, not human love, not what we can work up and do ourselves.

Because candidly, without God’s spirit, it’s going to be a selfish love. Parents to their children is different than other children around them, other families with children. It’s because we’re human and that’s the way it is. That’s the reality of life. On and on it goes. People can have a fraternal kind of love, brotherly love it’s called, but God’s love requires God’s spirit. Anyway, awesome!

Romans 15:1—We then who are strong ought to bear the infirmities, or as it is, the weaknesses it says, “of the weak” in some translations here, but it’s a word that means “unable to do something,” or “without strength,” or “without power.”

So, we’re being told that we ought to bear those weaknesses our self. In other words, again, some of these things are not that simple to be understood just by going through and reading. What does this mean, “We ought to bear the weaknesses of those who are unable or without strength and power”? What does that mean?

Well, it takes time to grow. It takes time to change. Maturity happens differently within the Body. We are always babes as far as understanding God’s way of life, but when it comes to that process whereby we grow spiritually, it is a process and there are different areas of growth within the Body and different levels of understanding. So much of that obviously has to do with the length of time someone has had the impregnation of God’s spirit in them, the changes that have actually taken place and the like.

So, not everyone in the Body is the same. We don’t start out the same. Well, we do in the sense of human nature without God’s spirit. We have to start somewhere. But in the very beginning? You know, we go through this process. We learn some of the basic things, we learn things, really in our thinking on a physical plane as to how we apply some of God’s way of life, but to grow in understanding of spiritually what certain things mean, again, that takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight.

And so, basically, we’re being told that we need to be careful of how we think toward others. This is about the Church. What was written here is about the Church. It’s not for the world. It’s not about the world. It’s not about people in the world. It’s about a relationship that we’re able to have with God, and where possible, with one another within the Body. Because things changed after Christ came. When Pentecost began, the Church began, which means there’s a fellowship that we’re able to have in most cases within the Body.

We’ve gone through a time of such scattering in the Church that there are people who are very much out there by themselves in different places, and now because of age and inability to travel some are very much by themselves. We go through different things. Nevertheless, within the Church, we are to bear the infirmities, the weaknesses. In other words, there are things we’re to bear in ourselves because of, if you will, understanding of others who aren’t where you are.

If you are blessed to have been in the Church for a long time and you have a spiritual maturity about you that is different from someone who is a year or two years or three years or five years in the Church, we’re not all the same and we’re to have patience with one another. That’s what a lot of this is about, not expecting everyone to be where we are.

This is one thing I’ve always warned within the ministry, that once you’re serving in a particular capability God will grant you, give you ability to see certain things that you’re not able to see necessarily then on your own in others. When that part is over that isn’t needed anymore.

So, we go through a lot of things to help mold and fashion us within the Church, a lot of different experiences. But this is one people have to be cautious of because if you receive more help to understand and see certain things in others for the purpose of helping or serving, or for the purpose of protecting (because it all goes together), you learn how to administer those things through time and you grow. But the reality is wherever we are in the Body, if we’ve been blessed to see certain things and grasp certain things, we have to be careful. So much of that has to do with how we judge one another. Because we tend as human beings to judge each other, and we can tend to be hard on others. We have to be very careful of that.

So, sometimes just keeping your mouth shut means you’re bearing something. You’re not going to try to get your own way in a particular matter so you’re going to have to suffer a little bit, and sometimes it just is a matter of realizing that “No, I can’t judge this by what I see; I have to judge by where they are, by what they’re doing.” There’s a big difference there.

That’s why I think of things that are sometimes given when it comes to sermons, others giving sermons or split sermons. I think in times past – I want to take you back a little bit – I think of Spokesman’s Club. Now, within the church, there were people who could join what was called a Spokesman’s Club at one point. You go through a series of learning how to give various speeches around seven minutes maximum, as a whole. They all had a different thing that you had to accomplish and focus upon before you’d go on to the next level, whatever that speech might be.

We also had what we’d call as a matter of topics, the topics session, and someone would get up and have different topics and people would be able to comment on them having to do with Church or how we live our lives or scriptures or whatever it might be, and people would be able to comment on those things.

But one thing within the speeches that was given, there would also be someone who was assigned to give an evaluation of that speech. They were basically to find two things that a person could work upon and two things that a person did well. I found that to be an awesome, awesome process because it could teach so much to people about what we’re talking about here because everyone wasn’t at the same place as far as where they were in their growth and development.

Someone who had already gone through a lot of the speeches and was up to twelve had the blessing of preparing and going through things and being sharpened more and iron does sharpen iron. But how someone could look at someone perhaps that was giving their first speech to get up to talk about themselves (basically was part of the assignment there), and their life or whatever it might be. And again, the different assignments that came along with time.

But the individual that would get up and evaluate, it was always easier it seemed to find something that was wrong with what they were saying than it was to find what they accomplished and what they did well. This is kind of the kind of thinking we have to think about in the Church. It’s easy to find fault. It’s easy to find things that somebody is doing wrong. That’s our natural nature. But to come to understand what God is doing in them, to look at that, that’s another matter. That’s something you have to ask for help in.

And so it is within the Church that it’s good to understand that someone, if you’re at a certain point, especially if, as it says here, if you’re strong or stronger (maybe is a better way of putting it), be careful. Be careful how you think toward those who are without strength and power the same that you might have because of your time and learning and experiences within the Church. That takes work. That takes forethought. It takes prayer.

Again here, this is what this is talking about. Be careful because you can’t expect them to be where you are. None of us can expect others to be, if we’re at a point of recognizing here that there is something that they don’t understand yet, that they don’t grasp, that they don’t see. How are they going to receive what they need for change and growth? Primarily through sermons and their relationship with God then during the week.

That’s how we grow. Not by us telling someone or trying to get someone to do something our way. It doesn’t work that way. You have to give time for change and for growth. Please understand that’s what this is talking about in Romans 15.

So, if someone is strong, you’ve got to be careful because you can’t let it puff you up. You can’t be proud of it as well, “Well, why don’t they see that?” Then that destroys every bit of the growth that should have been there because it goes on to say, and not to please ourselves. “Not to please ourselves.” Again, this has to do with how we think they should be doing something when they have not yet grown to that point. You have to let people experience things and go through things, and prayerfully, they’re going to learn what they need to learn as a whole, as an overview. Sometimes people if we’re not careful, we can be hard on others, overly judgmental, and impatient with others. This is where our battle is then.

It says, Let every one of us please their neighbor for their good, to edification. In other words, be there to help, be that friend that they need, be that brother or sister on a spiritual plane that they need. You love them. You care for them. We are a part of the Body of Christ. Sometimes to be willing to overlook various things and realize, “They’ll come to see that in time. I don’t have to point everything out. I don’t have to tell them everything.”

If I went around telling everybody something I see that is a flaw, a spiritual flaw in their life, that would be insanity. Because we all have them. We all have them. It’s just a matter that it’s going to vary throughout the Body through experience and so forth, and where people are, where we are, so we don’t do things that way. It doesn’t work that way. Hope that makes sense.

“For their good, to edification.” So, it’s not about pleasing ourselves, that we get our way, but coming to think about and understand where someone else is for their good. What can we do for their good? Sometimes it’s to wait, to back away a little bit. Sometimes it’s being very careful what we say about a matter because we don’t want to hurt them.

For even Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. So, the example here then is in essence, especially of the disciples and so forth, they were out to kill Christ. And candidly, they would have liked to have done that to the rest of them as well, to his close followers, and so he’s making it very clear here in essence he gave himself so that the focus could be on him, so that it wouldn’t be on them. So, he took it upon himself.

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. So, we’re all in this together. That’s what we want for everyone, that everyone is able to have this same hope, that we learn patience and the importance of patience especially toward one another.

Now the God of patience… So, it’s a matter of understanding how God is with us. I marvel how patient God has been with me ever since I’ve been called. Incredible, this mind that we still have to fight. We grow in our ability in fighting it, but there are still things of the human mind and selfishness. The more we see it, generally, the more we can grow to hate it. Which, to me, is a good thing because it means you agree more and more with God, and you hate more and more what has to be changed. Because this nature has to change! It can’t be in God’s Kingdom.

Now the God of patience and consolation… In other words, this word means “encouragement.” I love another expression here that it means in Greek “a calling to one’s side.” God calls us to His side. Christ wants us to his side, to be able to have that kind of a mindset. They’re there for us. We have to have that toward one another. That’s what this kind of encouragement is when it talks about encouragement. Not to please ourselves but to think about others and what they have to go through.

Now the God of patience and consolation grant/give to you to be like-minded one toward another, according to Joshua the Christ. That’s a tall order. Sometimes we can read right over that and not grasp what that is on a spiritual plane. “According to Joshua the Christ.” In other words, how God is to us, how Christ is to us, that relationship they desire to have. Very patient. Not always there to correct us. They let us learn through time. Awesome!

So that that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify God. So, it’s a matter of the unity and the care within the Body that is of far greater importance. That’s what it’s about. It’s about the fellowship. “And with one mouth.” So, to be in unity and harmony is far more important and wanting everyone to be able to share that together.

And with one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Joshua the Christ.

Verse 7—Therefore, receive one another. How do we look toward each other, how we think about each other. …as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. So again, awesome things that are taught here.

Verse 8—Now I say that Joshua the Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God. So, it’s getting rid of all the other things that are not to be a part of our life and having that which is done on a spiritual plane as the heart is changed, as the mind and the spirit which has to do with thinking toward others. That’s what this is about.

When it talks about the heart in this regard in relationships it’s a matter of how we’re thinking toward one another. That’s why it uses these expressions. To understand here, that, for, it says, for the truth of God, to confirm the promises unto the fathers. So, I’m amazed at how often truth pops up and what this is about, this one mind with God, being in unity and oneness with the truth that God gives to us.

So that the gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: For this cause I will confess, or the word means “agree,” by context “to acknowledge, for I will acknowledge You among the gentiles and sing to Your name. So again here, it’s about a family that God is creating. We’re all to bear the name of Israel. We’re all to come into one because it’s a spiritual thing. It’s a beautiful thing here when you understand what Paul was doing. He was to go out to the gentiles. And so, it’s talking about this incredible thing, the Family of God coming out of all humanity, of those who will receive what God has given to them.

1 Corinthians 6. Just looking at some of the places where it talks about glorifying God and how this is done, and certainly that the truth went out to the gentiles. It’s not about the tribes of Israel. It’s not about the physical Israelites. It’s about that which is spiritual, and God is making it clear that everyone that is called has that opportunity amongst mankind to be a part of the same.

1 Corinthians 6:20—Indeed, you are bought with a price. Again, it’s just a most basic thing. We are not our own. We weren’t called to do things ever how we wanted to do them. We have to change. It’s this going back to this same old concept here of what the world teaches, “Just come as you are.” No, God tells us very early on we are to change, we’re to conquer and overcome, we’re to become something different. This mind is to be changed, to be transformed to think in a new way, God’s way, to come into unity and oneness with that.

“Indeed you are bought with a price.” That price is Christ. We’re coming up on Passover and we’re to appreciate that to the core of our being, what that means to us.

…you are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body. So, that means physically. And candidly, a lot of the physical things reflect where we are in our thinking spiritually. Physical things very much reflect how we think, which reveals a lot about how we think on a spiritual plane in our relationship toward God, about God, and about God’s way of life.

When it talks about glorifying God here then again, we’re bought with a price, we are not to do things the way we want or think. Instead, we’re to think about the way we’re thinking and to make sure we’re in oneness and unity with what God is showing us. In that process to recognize, again, we are bought with a price that is far beyond our comprehension sometimes to understand. To recognize then that we’re to live in a way that is truly focused on God in our thinking. We do things because of God, because we love God, because we want to honor and please God, hence, glorify God in our body and in our spirit which are God’s.

We belong to God. We gave our life to God. We want to be in His Family. So, we are to glorify God in our physical lives, in our bodies, in our mind, in our being, and in our spirit, which isn’t ours, in essence. God has given it to us, yes, and we’re responsible, but the impregnation of that life He’s given to us, it’s His, and He can take it away, make it come to an end.

Just because we’re impregnated with His spirit doesn’t mean we’re going to be changed. It doesn’t mean we’re going to be in His Family. Only as we grow and mature and produce in the way we’re supposed to produce in life do we become a part of that Family. Things are not owed us. We live in a world today where the world thinks too much in those terms.

I sometimes am dumbfounded by all the people who have come and gone. Not just in the past two thousand years but in the time of PKG. It blows my mind sometimes. I remember when we used to meet up north here in Springfield. We used to meet up there. I remember meeting up there right after 9/11 at a hotel up there, and it was just a strange time after that had happened, something so powerful that had happened within this country, to do something of that magnitude that we’ve never experienced. It was a very moving time in that regard.

And I think, who up there is here now? None of you? It says a lot doesn’t it? All new. All those that came together and met together in services up there, which I’m pretty sure was larger than this by quite a number. People out of Massachusetts and New York areas, again, just like up in, farther up in the New England states, a lot of people. Incredible. Every area we go into I think what a horrible thing we’ve gone through so many people.

I think of the different ones that were up in this area that had come over to Toledo area. Because that was early on, a new time in that sense before PKG even got started, candidly, in some of it, in the sense of calling it PKG because some of that name didn’t come immediately. It had a different name, United, when we associated with United. It turned out we weren’t so united, so we moved on. God showed us what we needed to do so that by the time 1998 Pentecost came around we were set, we were ready. Anyway, awesome history.

But so very few who are here. Because they forgot something. They are bought and paid for by a price. They are not their own to decide whatever they want to do and how they want to do it. And if they have proven where God’s Church is and God has shown them where His Church is, and then to go astray again, it’s not a small thing. They didn’t comprehend this verse at all.

Indeed, you are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit. We’re going to come back to that later on in the series here, about glorifying God in our spirit, which is a matter of seeking to do things with the same mind.

There should be nothing in that respect as far as the Church is concerned than to desire that, to be of the same mind, to be in unity, in agreement in the Church with the truth, with everything else God has given to us. Because that determines our strength and unity and power as a fellowship, it truly does, and then, of course, that of producing spiritual fruit in our lives.

But these verses, again, are talking about glorifying God, and in your body. So, what does that mean? Just taking it down to the simplest little areas. Again, for every one of us, it’s about how we think about God and Christ, as to whether or not we consider them. Well, I’m just trying to read some of my notes here but let’s just think about the physical part, if you will.

What do we do in our lives? Well, I talked about some of that last Sabbath. How we come before God on the Sabbath is a physical thing, and it’s something we’re to uphold in our thinking. And if we can’t afford certain things? You know, if somebody was unable to afford something, all they have to do is ask and we’d be glad to help them as a Church. If it was a matter that somebody only had the blue jean coveralls, as I mentioned last Sabbath. If that’s what someone had and that was their best to wear we would help them. I hope that makes sense.

There are things we can do, there are places we can go that aren’t that expensive. Everything doesn’t have to be really expensive in order to strive to have the best we can before God, whatever that might be, in coming before Him, to a certain point of moderation. We don’t have to go to some of the extremes of society sometimes. There is a thing, this matter of moderation sometimes, it’s a hard thing to grasp or to deal with because that changes. Moderation as it’s seen in the world changes as time goes along.

Just like I mentioned last Sabbath when you come out of a period of time where people thought that having/being on a train was sin or being in a car was sin, and “If God wanted us to go this fast or to be on a plane, He’d have given us wings.” It’s like, “Give me a break.” But that’s how human beings sometimes think as to what they think is religious or not.

So, how do you learn what is moderate if you don’t know? Through God’s Church. We’re told what is moderate.

We’re told what is moderate when it comes to drinking alcohol. There is a moderation there that we should strive for. We have to be careful how we judge in that. You know, I think of different times when I know it’s happened. You can have a glass of wine. We’re told, well, two basically is what we’ve given as a rule of thumb in an evening or whatever if someone is out together. Yet sometimes there may be someone that has a third one. But it wasn’t a full glass of wine. The glasses are different sizes.

I don’t know if you realize it but there are huge differences in glasses. Some people would bring their own glass! No! Just kidding! You know, generally, with a bottle of wine it’ll do four glasses. People can get all twitterpated about those kinds of things and judging those kinds of things. “I saw them! I saw one time when they had three glasses of wine!” So, we have to be careful.

Then there are sometimes where there are some who shouldn’t drink it at all because they’ve had a battle in that in their life. If we know about it, we should be a little more careful where we can in those cases. But we don’t always know and that’s fine too because we all come out of different backgrounds.

This has always existed in God’s Church where sometimes because of a person’s, of what you’ve inherited in your genes, some people just can’t have alcohol because it affects them in an adverse way. Sometimes it’s better not to drink at all.

That’s not always up to an individual because sometimes it involves the Church if it gets to a point. We have quite a few people because it’s just a matter of statistics as it is in the world anyway that are a part of a God’s Church that that’s been a battle. But you’ve got to fight it. Whatever your weaknesses are, some people have different weaknesses in different areas and those are the ones that you’re going to have to battle more maybe than someone else. Someone else may not have that weakness at all.

We all have different weaknesses and strengths in life even physically. That’s a part of what we talked about earlier. We have to be careful in our judging of some of those things. But when some of those things are wrong they have to be addressed. Hopefully, we strive to do it ourselves before God. And where we can’t, sometimes the Church has to be involved in that and give people guidelines and so forth.

Sometimes people think that they can drink all day long but spread it out because after about an hour, two hours, you know, a drink can be dissipated totally in your system so you can have another one. Another two hours have another one. Another two hours have another one. Another two hours have another one. Another two hours have another one. That’s not moderate. It’s not balanced, and you’ve got a problem with alcohol. You need to get it under control. So, there are all kinds of problems that can be associated with alcoholism.

Does that glorify God if we’re not fighting those battles if we have them? And it’s not good. Just because a person isn’t drunk doesn’t mean you’re not an alcoholic. Does that make sense? Just because a person isn’t drunk at a particular moment in time doesn’t mean that you don’t have a problem.

So, we’ve given guidelines for something like alcohol. We’ve given guidelines for things about hair, whether it’s too long or short. See, you can have it as short as you want as a man but there is a difference between men and women, obviously, and God’s given some guidelines that we’re to follow within the Church and the Church gives those guidelines as to what they are and that which is within moderation. And as a whole, we understand that within the Church.

I think of sometimes fashions come along and people have to be careful sometimes and because of children and the like and children see these different things that are out there. Talk about just changing the color of your hair. Is that sin? No, as long as it isn’t pink, and purple, and green, because that’s not reflective of something. It doesn’t look natural. I’ve never seen a baby born with green hair, blue hair, or pink hair. It’s not natural. Some things that are natural, some people have a natural streak in their hair and some people want to get it streaked to have that look. There is nothing wrong with that. We get in these little nit-picky things, but I’m just throwing some things out there.

It’s just like the color of hair. You know, as long as the bottom isn’t blonde and the top is black. Because I’ve never seen any baby born like that either. So, there are some things that aren’t natural. They’re unnatural. We strive to have balance and strive to do that which has a moderate look. Does this make sense?

We have these guidelines, and every once in a while, somebody goes off and does something and so we have to say something because it’s for the sake of an example within the Church. Because one person doing something in a Church can have an effect upon other people. It happens. So, physical things. Sometimes we don’t think this way. Physical things can reflect how you think. How you do various things reflects your thinking. And if you’re striving to be in unity and harmony with God’s Church and with God, and then our appearance itself, those are things that God has given us guidelines even in scripture. Short hair. Long hair.

You know, if a woman doesn’t have much hair—unless there is a problem, which there can be—and they still want to have something that would be able to fit on top. Sometimes there are health issues and that’s understandable. You know people go in for chemotherapy and there’s nothing there. But to have the wig or whatever. That’s what we do as a whole.

So again, what we wear as clothing, what kind of styles we wear, how short or how long something might be. Generally, it’s a matter of how short if it comes to a dress, whether that honors God, glorifies God.  And whether even children are allowed, because you’re responsible for your children. That’s why God has given us a structure He has, a father and a mother, until a person leaves home. And if they’re living in that home, as a whole, you give certain guidelines and strive to work with them. I’m talking about within the environment of the church.

Sometimes there are other things that take place of the pulls of the world. You know, by the time a person is thirteen or fourteen they can have their mind made up they don’t want this. So, you strive to work with it in the best way you can as a family, but if they are of the mindset they want to continue, fourteen, fifteen, you’re blessed. It’s a blessing. If not, it’s a hardship, it’s a difficult thing as a parent. But you still have responsibilities in how you rear your children no matter what, but especially we’re talking about the environment of the Church.

I hope we can understand a little bit here that doing things in a way that is not moderate, even on a physical plane, can reflect we’re not in oneness, we’re not in unity with God, we’re not in unity with what God’s Church teaches. So, we have to be careful of those kinds of things. Because it comes down to, what am I trying to do? What is my thinking toward God?

So again, how we think about God and Christ and consider physical things of our life and our body reflect or are reflected in really what we do in those regards. And not just there, not just in things perhaps we put into our body as far as alcohol. Even what we put into our body we have to be careful.

So again, moderation is a very important thing to strive to learn what that is. We’re told not to misuse our tongue. It’s a physical thing but it reflects what’s in the mind, doesn’t it? How we talk about others, how we think about others, it comes out, what we say to others that can come out of our mouth, it’s a lifelong battle and process to strive to do it in a decent way and not to go off base and not to do things that give a wrong light, a wrong example.

Even when God began to first give laws to Israel, He gave guidelines about cleanliness because those things reflect how we think. How they responded to that reflected how they thought, whether God was considered in their thinking or not. Especially within the Church, even more so if we grasp that. So, whether we honor or dishonor God can have to do with what we wear, can have to do with what we have on our head, with what we put into our body, on and on it goes.

How clean are we? Well, hopefully, we’re all clean. Hopefully, we strive to keep clean.

What about our homes? You know, it reflects our mind. Sometimes that can cause trouble when people first get married. Husband and wife live differently. Men can be a little dirtier in those regards if they’re not careful. Pair of underwear over there, socks over there, and whatever it might be, and don’t take care of various things. No, it has to do with how we think. Are we thinking of the other person? Are we thinking about God?

So, our homes can reflect how we think, inside and outside. We go by some houses, and I realize some people don’t really care about what their neighbors think about them. I appreciate it when I see that people have a respect toward a certain standard of life and that they want it maintained for the sake of their neighbors too.

That’s one thing I love about Europe as a whole. To them, land is precious over there because they don’t have as much as we have here. We tend to be more cluttered in our thinking sometimes when we have a lot of things. On and on it goes. But they tend to keep things better. They really do over there! Even Canada when you go from the New York side up into the Niagara side, there is a big difference. You see flowers, you see things taken care of in a better way. I love it! I love it when I see things like that.

Just this area out there, there is this little restaurant we tended to go out and have breakfast at, little town we found out here that has a quaint little restaurant, old in the sense of you can tell that people love the thing because it’s always packed it seems like. So, we tend to go down there for breakfast at least the time we’re here.

Today we came back a different route. Beautiful! Just being able to go through a countryside and see how people were taking care of things the way they do. I get an appreciation out of that. I don’t know about you. But anyway, I love it when those things are like that, and I don’t like it when I see things that are not. Anyway.

That’s on a physical plane in the world. How much more important for us then in our minds, in our lives?

So, how we think concerning our bodies on a physical plane actually reflects much about how we think on a spiritual plane, especially in the mindset of whether or not or to what degree God and Christ are in the forefront of our decision-making process. Do we do it to honor God? Do we do different things to honor God, to please God?

So again, there are things we can do very much so on a physical plane that determine whether or not we are truly glorifying God. It has to do with how we live our lives day by day by day. So often we don’t tend to think that way.

Our primary time of coming together is on the Sabbath. Our primary time of God instructing us is on the Sabbath for a short period of time, an hour and a half, whatever it might be. How we live the rest of the time determines much in our thinking toward God, in our relationship toward God, because all those physical things we do in life, so many of those things really have to do with how we think, as to what we’re actually living.

I want to go back here to John 15 again. Every Passover we go through these verses, every Passover. These are verses that are contained in what we have to talk about. Every Passover. So, do we see how important they are? If every Passover we go through various verses in scripture, we ought to understand these are exceedingly important, what we cover. They truly are. This is incredibly important, what we’re covering. Sometimes we don’t put the value upon it in that light.

I think of the fact that it’s important enough to understand these are the last things that Christ had to say to his disciples. The most important things that he taught were taught on this night. Awesome. The most important things ever revealed to mankind were revealed on this night, how that God can dwell in human beings. Something that the Church didn’t grasp for a long, long time.

When it said Christ was coming or had come in the flesh, this was taken totally physical. Yet the world believes Christ came in the flesh as a human being. So, what did that prove above and beyond traditional Christianity? But to be coming continually in a present progressive form, that’s what it was talking about. We didn’t grasp that because God hadn’t given that to us. We weren’t there. And if it was there early on, it wasn’t kept.

So again, God has given us tools we’re gearing up toward going into on the day before Passover, before we take Passover. That’s next Sabbath. We’re going to go through some of those things that will help us even more so if we grasp their importance, of how it’s all connected together in what we have to do, what we have to live, and how we live it, that these things can have more power to them. I think we know them already. We should.

The rest of this series is going to be geared toward those things that have to do with God’s spirit dwelling in us, our ability to produce fruit, how we produce it, how it’s accomplished. Those things are up to us, they truly are.

One last thing I wanted to cover here before I quit.

I had a question I was going to ask toward the end here. What are the most important tools that God has given us whereby we can grow in our ability to glorify Him? In essence, we covered the answer to this in Part 2 of this series. It’s totally about how we utilize the power of God’s spirit in our life. This seems like this is really simple in many respects, but not practiced, not lived to the degree so often that it needs to be or should be.

I just want to focus in on this word “utilize” because it’s up to us how we utilize what God has offered us, and what Christ even told us, he said, “Just ask. I’ll give you. God will send you that comforter, the holy spirit.” Beautiful verses. Tremendous power that God has made available to human beings to live and dwell within us, to live and dwell within our minds. But it doesn’t just happen. It’s something that we have to work at day by day by day as a whole.

Again, to understand that it’s totally about how we utilize the power of God’s spirit. God has made it available, but do we utilize it like God said?

The word means, “to make use of; to employ.” I love some of these definitions. “To turn to practical use; to put into service to attain an end.” I love that one part of a definition of the word “utilize” is “to put into service to attain an end.” Beautiful.

There is one definition that expresses this so well. It concerns the idea of the definition, again, this word “to employ,” when you employ something or someone where “employ” also suggests “the use of a thing.” If you look at some of these definitions and what they show here, again here, this one here, I love this one here when you look up various words, just how they’re used in definitions sometimes. You think about God’s spirit and what He’s given us to have in our life and how it works in our life.

Where this word, “employ,” also suggests in how it’s used, “the use of a thing,” but is “idle; inactive; or disengaged,” unless we do it. It’s idle, inactive, or disengaged otherwise. In other words, it’s up to us to employ it. I hope you understand what I’m saying.

This is good because whether God’s spirit is idle, inactive, or disengaged in our life depends totally upon us. Awesome! It’s up to us. And so many, so many in God’s Church have never truly employed God’s spirit throughout their life. Because once we’re called, to the time we die, we’re to employ God’s holy spirit in our life, otherwise, which has been the case because people haven’t, it’s remained disengaged, if you will, inactive, idle in their life, of no use, of no value. Anyway.

Well, today I wanted to go ahead and go into some news articles that I haven’t been going into, didn’t go into last Sabbath. Some people enjoy them, and some people don’t as much. But I think it’s good if on occasion here to go through some of this because we live in a volatile world. I think of the big to-do that everybody is making right now that they’re expecting Israel to be attacked by Iran. It may happen and it may not. We don’t know. But we always have to be prepared if it does. Things are going to move a little faster in that regard.

But again, for us to be sitting – I think of what Johnny always says, we have a front-row seat. For us to be watching the stage as we are, of things coming together in the way that they are, we’re living through prophetic things that are being fulfilled in a fast-moving process. It may not seem fast because for so long we have looked for a long, long time.

Like I talked about last Sabbath, every car we’ve had, it’s always been the last one. We’re still going through that process in our life. At some point, thankfully, it’s going to be the last one. I hope the ones I have now are my last ones. But, and if they’re not, there is more that God is doing, and we continue to move forward. But news reflects that we are at the doorstep, and we are watching things in a way that to me I don’t know how to put it in words. It’s incredible!

It's awesome to see minds of people changing in the world to bring together exactly what we know will happen. I think of this big news in the world of China and Russia and Iran making more of an alliance, where, as a whole, China and Russia have always been known as far as Philadelphia and on, that they were going to come together and have a unification in a very powerful way because of what they do in the Sixth Trumpet and the destruction they’re going to cause in the world.

Anyway, let me read some of these: “Ukraine Is Now 'Holy War,' Russian Church Declares.”[1] This is in Newsweek. “The Russian Orthodox Church has approved a document that deems President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine a ‘Holy War.’”

Now, we know that’s gobbledegook and goofy, but it isn’t for them. It’s how they think. It’s how that nation thinks. It’s how they see other parts of the world, especially Ukraine. And whenever you put something like God in the picture, that this is the righteous thing, people respond differently to it, and it motivates them in different ways than it would be if it’s just coming from an individual. But when someone like this says something like what he did it means a lot to them. Not to us, but to them it does.

“The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, also heads the council and is an ally of Putin. He has been criticized for providing a religious justification for the war and failing to unequivocally condemn the killing of people in Ukraine. In February 2022, Patriarch Kirill said that Ukraine and Belarus were part of ‘Russian lands’ and called the Ukrainians who were defending themselves against Russian aggression as ‘forces of evil,’ pitching the war as a battle for the future of Christianity.”

So, these things are important there.

Another article: “Putin Threatens To Attack Western Air Bases Hosting Ukrainian F-16s.”[2] You know, I think of when I started reading some of these kinds of news articles here not too long ago and there was this scuttlebutt about wanting to send jets in there. Then there was all this pull back from different ones, “No, no, no because that’s going to push it over the edge and there’ll be a great war then.” And here we are, they’re pushing them even more so now.

“This week Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Torzhok air base in Tver Region which hosts the 344th Training Center for Russian combat pilots. Some or many of these aviators who will likely go on to fly missions in Ukraine.”

“In an address to the pilots, Putin referenced accusations frequently voiced by Western leaders that he intends to expand the war in Ukraine by attacking NATO and other European countries. He called the claim ‘utter nonsense’ but went on to issue a warning about US-made F16 fighter jets.”

“European countries have indeed been seeking to ramp up their defense sectors and spending, especially following two years of arming Ukraine which has largely depleted domestic stockpiles.”

“Putin also took the opportunity to address international reports that Kiev will soon be given its first batch of F-16 fighter jets.” So, it’s no matter of a question of whether or not they should be sent in, they’re on their way.

“According to his words as summarized in Euro News: At the same meeting, he warned Ukraine’s Western allies against providing air bases in their countries from where the F-16s could launch sorties against the Kremlin's forces, saying those bases would be a ‘legitimate target.’” It’s hard to say no that they wouldn’t be. We’re talking about nations going to war against each other and escalating it and ramping it up. It seems like they’re just more and more in that kind of a frenzy. They are pushing for a war. They really are. Whether they grasp the depth of what they’re saying and doing or not it seems like there are some who definitely do.

“The F-16s require a high standard of runways and reinforced hangars to protect them when they are on the ground. Military analysts have said the arrival of potentially dozens of F-16s won’t be a game-changer, though Ukrainian officials have welcomed them as an opportunity to hit back at Russia's air dominance. Putin insisted the F-16s ‘won’t change the situation on the battlefield.’”

“That's when he vowed before the pilots and trainees, ‘We will destroy their warplanes just as we destroy their tanks, armored vehicles, and other equipment, including multiple rocket launchers.’ Significantly, he upped the ante with this threat, given he made clear that even bases in Western countries could be targeted if Ukraine flies sorties from them.”

And who could say otherwise? If you’re a reasonable-thinking person, yes, it does.

Another one here: “Europe has entered a 'pre-war era' and is not prepared for what Putin will do if he defeats Ukraine, Poland's PM warns as NATO jets are scrambled to protect the country's airspace.”[3] This is amazing how this is changing the attitude of European nations and leaders, what’s taking place in Ukraine, because they are seeing a growing threat with, indeed, Russia, that they’re going to keep coming that direction. They still have these notions of things that happened during WWII, although this time it isn’t from Germany. This time it’s from their little neighbor over there and what he’s doing and his aggressiveness. But it’s changing their attitude toward a conflict and what this is going to lead up to concerning the Fifth Trumpet.

So again here, “Europe has entered a 'pre-war era'.” That’s how they think over there. They believe that this isn’t over with, with just what’s going on in Ukraine. They’re tending to think this way more and more every week. “…and is not prepared for what Putin will do if he defeats Ukraine, Poland's PM warns as NATO jets are scrambled to protect the country's airspace.”

“Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has declared Europe is now in a 'pre-war era' and warned a Ukrainian defeat to Russia would only embolden Vladimir Putin. 'I know it sounds devastating, especially to people of the younger generation, but we have to mentally get used to the arrival of a new era. The pre-war era,' he said in a speech to foreign journalists. 'I don't want to scare anyone, but war is no longer a concept from the past. It's real and it started over two years ago.’”

“'We are living in the most critical moment since the end of the Second World War…  literally any scenario is possible,' he concluded.” Sometimes, obviously, by geography, people are moved more by some of these things. Just like Germany is starting to think differently very quickly because it’s on their doorstep. Poland is already thinking differently and speaking out about it because they see what’s taking place.

“His warning came as Russia launched another large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with a mass barrage of drones and airstrikes hitting regions across the country overnight, Kyiv officials claimed.”

Another article: “NATO allies: War with Russia could come ‘very soon.’”[4] “NATO faces a ‘pre-war era’ in which ‘literally any scenario is possible’ given the potential for aggression from Russia, according to Poland’s prime minister…” So, they’re just repeating this. This is in the Washington Examiner. But it’s showing how these things are having an effect on how people think. “…the latest evidence that allies see a growing likelihood of major conflict.” A growing likelihood of a major conflict, like it isn’t major enough already. It’s going to get a whole lot worse.

“Tusk is the second senior politician from a NATO member-state to suggest that the alliance faces ‘a pre-war world,’ as British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps likewise put it in a January speech.” This is clear over in Great Britain. “His urgent appeal adds a center-left voice to a chorus of Russia hawks typically populated by more conservative perspectives or the Baltic state leaders who feel acutely their vulnerability to Russia.”

So, this is a quote now: “‘But I would dare to say that it is only now, in the midst of this great war, that it has dawned on all NATO leaders and senior military leaders that all this may actually be needed very soon, that there is a real threat, a real military task, and that we must behave and act in such a way that this machinery, when it is needed, is ready,’ Estonian Ambassador Jüri Luik, the Baltic ally’s envoy to NATO, told an Estonian outlet in an interview published Friday. ‘It seems to me that this final realization has come only after the aggression began.’”

Another article: “It feels like 1939 again in Europe, says Poland’s Donald Tusk.”[5] So, he’s very outspoken right now in what he’s saying, but this is what he feels, and this is what their people feel. This is spreading through other parts of Europe, to think, “Well, maybe it is a possibility.” It’s already, you know, the way Macron is talking. It’s like what are you pushing for? Don’t you know where this is going to go?

Anyway, this article says, “Europe is in a ‘pre-war era’ reminiscent of 1939 and nobody will feel safe if Ukraine is defeated by Russia…” So, most all the leaders are talking in this vein right now that if they do conquer Ukraine, which looks more and more like a distinct possibility—that’s why they want to push more into there right now—that there is going to be a greater war in Europe.

So, how do you stop it and where do you stop it? And this is what they’re dealing with. “What do we do?” “How do we handle it?” All in the mind because it comes down to where do we want the real battle to be. That’s what it’s going to end up being. When ten nations finally decide what they’re going to decide and come to an agreement it’s because they don’t want to have the nuclear war on their turf. They want to do something else to prevent it from happening over there because they know how devastating that’s going to be.

So, if they can get rid of the one and make it impotent, the one who has directed so much of world politics and things that are going on in the world, and pressured different countries to doing what they’re doing over the last several decades (many decades now), this is what’s in their thinking because this is what they have to address.

“‘For the first time since 1945, war in Europe is becoming ‘real’ again,’ he said.”

Another article here: “Israel Mounts Largest Attack On Syria In Years, Over 40 Dead.”[6] “On Friday Israel conducted its deadliest…” a couple Friday’s back here, or a Friday back, “it’s deadliest strikes on Syria in months, or perhaps even years, given the immense death toll is mounting into several dozens killed amid a large emergency response to the scene.”

“The airstrikes were conducted deep into Syria, in northern Syria's Aleppo province, and left over 40 people dead. This reportedly included Syrian soldiers, Hezbollah militants, and civilians.”

So again, Israel is fighting with Hamas right now and yet they’re fighting in the north and they’re fighting all the way into Syria, deep into Syria, in Damascus with that bombing that just took place as well. And you think, “What are you doing?” Well, Israel is pushing too.

So, what do you do when people are starting to turn against you, and fighting in Gaza, you up the ante because you want to go ahead and get this cleaned up. What do you do when your own people in your own country are starting to rise up a little bit more and let their voices be heard? What do you do as a leader if you’re in power? Exactly what’s taking place, striking out to the North, stirring things up with Iran.

Because they want a war with Iran. I hope we understand that. Because they’re very fearful because they’re already there, evidently. They have the ability to make the nuclear weapons in Iran and they have the missiles already to be able to launch them at any time. But to put a nuclear weapon in them is another matter.

So, who in the world thinks that they might actually use a nuclear weapon on Israel? Pretty much everybody agrees they’re of that mindset that they would do it. So, Netanyahu said a long, long time ago… I remember when he was speaking here in the U.S., going through these charts and showing how far along they were in their developing of uranium that can be used in a nuclear weapon and we have a little bit of time left before they’re going to have enough.

Well, there are already those who say they already have enough for six or more. So, exactly where are they? Well, no one knows a hundred percent, but I’ll bet you Israel knows more than anybody else how close they are. They said a long, long time ago they will not allow them to have it.

So, that’s where the world is right now. A lot in prophecy has to do with what’s happening in the Middle East. It talks about “When you see them surrounded by armies.” Well, you can’t get much more surrounded than they are right now with people who hate them, with people who want them destroyed. Now they’re starting to use them more.

And so, people are warning about there’s going to be an attack. Well, maybe there will, maybe they won’t right now, but it’s coming.

Another article: “‘Hundreds of millions would die in the first 72 minutes of nuclear war,' expert warns.”[7] You would never have read this a couple of years ago. It wouldn’t be in newspapers. Now, every week, every day, there are articles coming out from different countries, from different people talking about a third world war, talking about nuclear weapons and the like, and the escalation of things that are taking place in the world. Then things like this that come along. People need to be aware of it as well.

“An expert who has written a new book about the tactics and technology of nuclear warfare warns that in the event of a launch being detected, the future of mankind would be determined in just six minutes. An expert has issued a stark warning about the threat of nuclear war, claiming that ‘no matter how it starts, it ends with everyone dead.’”

Now, even Vladimir Putin making comments like this. I think there’s even an article here I have yet to read where he says, and I’ve read it before, where he’s made these comments, “Don’t they understand where this all ends? Don’t people know where this is all headed?” In other words, “Let me have my way with what I’m doing in Ukraine because if you try to stop this there could be an exchange of nuclear weapons. And if there is, don’t you know where it’s going to head?” Crazy world!

“Annie Jacobsen, who has authored several best-selling books on America’s military … says that in the event of a Russian or Chinese missile launch being detected, the US president would have just six minutes to make a crucial decision.” You think in the way the world is today, that’s pretty bleak. But the reality is we know it’s not going to happen that way. It’s going to be, the first four events, if you will, the first four Trumpets and what takes place is here in this country.

I marvel sometimes how we’re able to watch some of these come together, of things we’ve been given going back to Herbert Armstrong being given a lot of this starting in the late 1940’s or late 1950’s. Just getting stronger and stronger now. Incredible!

“Putin Friend Predicts Nuclear Strike 'Most Likely' Coming.”[8] We can become numb to stuff like this if you hear it every week. I see articles like this coming almost every other day, sometimes every day of those who send them, different threats and different things about nuclear strikes and WWIII, and you think this wasn’t here two years ago. It wasn’t like that. It was few and far between, maybe one or two articles, candidly. Maybe one, two, three articles in a year of significance.

“Putin and senior Russian officials have repeatedly threatened nuclear escalation against Kyiv and its Western partners since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.” So, we’re talking about just two years ago and look how the world has changed already.

“During Putin's annual state of the nation address last month he warned that Russia's ‘strategic nuclear forces are in a state of full readiness.’ He also warned that there was a genuine risk of nuclear war if Western nations send troops into Ukraine.” It’s already being acknowledged there are troops already there.

“‘Western nations,’ Putin added, ‘must realize that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Don't they get that?’"

“On Friday, according to Russian news agency Tass, pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Medvedchuk who was exiled to Russia in 2022 in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war, predicted that a nuclear strike will ‘most likely’ be coming as the West continues to ‘assert its right to global dominance.’” We know these things are coming and there can be some exchanges like this that take place, which doesn’t mean the first events of the first four Trumpets are happening yet. So, anything can happen in the world. Things can happen in Israel; things can happen in Asia.

So, there can still be some horrific wars and even nuclear weapons go off before that happens here. It doesn’t mean that something bad can’t happen over there, but we’ll know it when the first four happen over here. But to realize how close this is getting it’s not pleasant to go through and read about these things or to see these things, or to even talk about these things. But if we don’t we’d be foolish because these kinds of things are the kind of things we need to be alert to because it should stimulate and motivate us to draw closer to God than we ever have, to be more on guard.

We’re almost there and yet every month, as a whole, someone is being put out of God’s Church. Because the fighting against self, doing what we should be doing, isn’t being accomplished, and God is cleansing the Church. This to me is a mind-boggling thing. People are still out there lying to God. God isn’t going to take that. He’s allowed it for two thousand years in His Church. People have lied to Him for two thousand years in His own Church who have the impregnation of His holy spirit! Astounding! But to continue doing it at a time like this when everything is coming together, and Christ is so close to returning? It shows what happens when God’s spirit isn’t utilized in one’s life.

So, these things should sober us to the core of our being, that we be more prepared for what’s coming. Could happen next week. Could happen at an important time. Something could happen in Israel. I think of, when would the Iranians maybe want to do what they’re going to do? Because at some point they really are. They always pick Holy Days. It happened at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles when Hamas came in. Think…? Anyway. Passover? First day of Unleavened Bread? I don’t know. But that’s how they think over there.

It goes on to say here, this individual, “‘If the collective West continues to assert its right to global dominance, Ukraine's human capital will not be enough in any case... If we continue the policy of war to the bitter end, sooner or later foreign troops will have to be introduced. And most likely, [we will be] looking at a nuclear strike eventually,’ he said.”

“However, Medvedchuk does not rule out that countries outside of Europe could become involved if the conflict expands. ‘It is clear that the Arab world is being drawn into the war, and after that, China and India will also be involved, as they do not have issues with soldiers.’” In other words, they have plenty is what he’s saying in essence, more than most.

You think just that kind of thinking, and those kinds of things being said. What’s amazing is he’s right. It’s exactly what’s going to take place.

I had to put this article in there just as something to show how insane people think today: “US government builds 7 EV [electric vehicle] chargers in two years. Just another 499,993 to go.”[9] It shows how insane things are out there.

What was it a week ago, all trucks, semis, are to be EV by 2032? I mean, how nuts, insane, are people becoming? If that were to happen, there would be such a revolt so quickly because the things you want in your home and in your life wouldn’t be moved anymore in the scale that it needs to be. Food alone.

“Iranian consulate in Damascus flattened in suspected Israeli air strike.”[10] It wasn’t suspected; it’s out there that it is, obviously. We’ve heard a lot about that this week.

Another article here: “WW3 TINDERBOX: Iran may launch Oct 7-style revenge massacre in Israel after embassy strike & even hit ‘targets’ in UK as WW3 fears soar.”[11]

Another article: “Blinken Bombshell: ‘Ukraine Will Become A Member Of NATO.’”[12] Now, really in the scheme of things in the world, that’s not a very smart thing to say. Because that’s the thing that Russia is pushing against above all things, it’s NATO moving on to their doorstep. It’s pretty much there anyway, but to move it into there and say they are going to be a part of NATO? That just really helps people have nice, peaceful, fuzzy thoughts, doesn’t it? Pushes everything closer to happening quicker. We’re so stupid.

“NATO Establishes Joint Mission in Ukraine - Polish Foreign Minister.”[13] “‘We have decided to create a NATO mission [in Ukraine],’ said Sikorski. Sikorski clarified that this mission does not mean direct NATO involvement in the armed conflict, but rather a coordinated use of NATO's capabilities to support Ukraine.” We (the people) are just pushing, pushing for war. It’s insanity!

“‘This does not mean that we are entering a war, but it means that we will now be able to use NATO's coordinating, training, and planning capabilities to support Ukraine in a more coordinated manner,’ the minister explained.”

Another one here: “NATO is an American tool for confrontation in Europe.”[14] “Since the start of the Ukraine conflict, NATO has provided Kiev with billions worth of military aid and weaponry, as well as sharing intelligence and helping to train Ukrainian troops. ‘The bloc itself is already involved in the Ukraine conflict. NATO continues to move towards our borders, expanding its military infrastructure towards our borders… In fact, our relations have now descended to the level of direct confrontation,’ Peskov said at a press briefing.” This is taken out of a briefing at a press briefing, but again, this is Russian TV reporting from their vantage point of how they see things.

Another one: “IN THE CROSSHAIRS: Israel ‘preparing to strike Iranian NUCLEAR facilities’ amid tense wait for revenge attack and soaring WW3 fears.”[15]

Another one here: “China's Xi says nobody can stop 'family reunion' with Taiwan.”[16] Well, isn’t that great news? They’re “family.” That’s what he’s saying. I’m sorry, sometimes these articles are so funny in themselves it’s insanity.

“Nuclear deal in tatters, Iran edges close to weapons capability.”[17]

Another one here: “Hamas Leader's Sons & Grandchildren Killed In Single Israeli Airstrike.”[18]

Another one: “Hamas Can't Locate 40 Israeli Hostages Needed For 1st Round Of Ceasefire.”[19]

It shows the massive insanity and the craziness of people, of how things are going on in the world. But we of all people need to be wise, on guard, and ready for anything at any time because that’s the kind of world we live in right now. It’s a matter of keeping close to God and asking God for help to go through whatever is in front of us because things are getting really, really close.

Anyway, we’ll stop there today.

[1] https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ukraine-war-holy-1884577

[2] https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/putin-threatens-attack-western-air-bases-hosting-ukrainian-f-16s

[3] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13252147/Europe-entered-pre-war-era-not-prepared-Putin-defeats-Ukraine-Polands-PM-warns-NATO-jets-scrambled-protect-countrys-airspace.html

[4] https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign-policy/2945273/nato-allies-war-with-russia-soon/

[5] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/donald-tusk-europe-war-russia-poland-ukraine-b2520801.html

[6] https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israel-mounts-largest-attack-syria-years-over-40-dead

[7] https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/us-news/hundreds-millions-would-die-first-32471693?utm_source=mynewsassistant.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=embedded_search_item_desktop

[8] https://www.newsweek.com/putins-friend-warns-nuclear-strike-1885268

[9] https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/electric-vehicle-chargers-biden-infrastructure-b2520740.html

[10] https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/iranian-consulate-in-damascus-flattened-in-suspected-israeli-air-strike/ar-BB1kTfmd

[11] https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/27073265/iran-revenge-massacre-israel-embassy-strike-uk-ww3/

[12] https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hungary-vows-thwart-natos-newly-proposed-100bn-5-year-fund-ukraine

[13] https://sputnikglobe.com/20240404/nato-establishes-joint-mission-in-ukraine---polish-foreign-minister-1117740474.html

[14] https://www.rt.com/russia/595395-nato-russia-direct-confrontation/

[15] https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/27200220/israel-iran-nuclear-strike-ww3-syria-revenge-attack/

[16] https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinese-president-xi-meets-former-taiwan-president-ma-beijing-2024-04-10/

[17] https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/us-iran-nuclear-talks/2021/11/24/d6f044da-4d51-11ec-b0b0-766bbbe79347_story.html

[18] https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hamas-leaders-sons-grandchildren-killed-single-israeli-airstrike

[19] https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hamas-cant-locate-40-israeli-hostages-needed-1st-round-ceasefire

1. Chapter 1