Week Fifty, 2025

Holidays are wonderful times of the year, each distinct with its own traditions and music. We celebrate different events at different times; all are special, but none is more special than Christmas, for it heralds the coming of Christ the King.

In 1849, Edmund Sears penned “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” It is as relevant today as it ever has been. The strife of war and the modern-day divisions of race, culture, and ideology plague our society. Yet, nothing is greater than celebrating in song the coming of the Christ child to save the world.

Almost all Christmas carols share the joy of the coming of Jesus and the arrival of the One who would change the world. One was an adaptation of Psalm 98. Isaac Watts interpreted this psalm as a celebration of Jesus’s role as King of both His church and the whole world. His poem was set to music to give us what has become one of the most famous of all Christmas carols:

Charles Wesley wrote the original lyrics to “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” in 1739. This hymn is meant to be sung at Christmas time and celebrates the birth of Jesus. No wonder the angels sang.

Phillips Brooks wrote “O Little Town of Bethlehem” after visiting the small village of Bethlehem in 1865. Three years later, his memories of his journey inspired him to write the lyrics. Indeed, this unknown village would be the birthplace of the Christ child. It became a holy city on what became a holy night.

From a French poem, John Sullivan Dwight translated the lyrics into English in 1855:

As we sing the carols of Christmas, may we fall on our knees to celebrate the new and glorious morn when Christ was born and the world would never be the same again.

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Sometimes True Stories

We live in a world that keeps separating us from meaningful personal interactions. We work from home. We take online courses at school. We have virtual doctor appointments. These foment our loneliness and troubled hearts. And yet, God created us with a need for real, personal relationships.

The antidote, then, is to reject a life which distances us from healthy interaction with others. The healthiest interaction is with someone of like spiritual belief. So, it starts with a relationship with Christ Jesus, the One who created us and knows all our needs.

Then, reach out to fellow believers. They are close (Proverbs 18:24). They are there (Proverbs 27:10). They have no prejudice (Galatians 3:28). They are truthful (Ephesians 4:25). And they are kind (Ephesians 4:32). You can’t find them in a computer monitor. Be intentional. Join a church. Make the first move. Bye, bye computer. —Rich Jensen

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One of the great tragedies of our politically correct society today is the acquiescence of the righteous Christian to the wicked. It is impossible to watch the news each day and not see things that in the past would have greatly offended our society but are given a pass with little notice. Crude, offensive language is everywhere and is accepted as commonplace. Perversion is accepted as “art” or “free expression,” and even good Christians hardly say a word. Good and righteous people now live in fear of being politically incorrect. This pollution is like a small muddy stream that slowly trickles into a pristine reservoir and eventually pollutes the entire body of water. As Christians, we must be vigilant and avoid falling into the stream. —Tony Ferguson

Quotes You Can Use

We serve a God of unlimited resources. —Wayne Burks

It’s not how really well I pray. It’s how really well God listens. —Rich Jensen

Tommy Campbell on revival:

Revival produces Gospel fruit that comes as a result of Gospel proclamation.

Revival is a work of the Spirit of God that cannot be manufactured.

Revival brings radical repentance and confronts cultural idols.

Revival exalts Jesus.

Your diet is not only what you eat. It is what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, and the people you hang around with. Pay attention to what you feed your soul, not just your stomach.

Paul was willing to die for Jesus because Jesus died for Paul.

God’s truth cannot be filtered through man’s knowledge and wisdom. Wayne Burks

If people are prepared, God will supply both the opportunities and financial resources so His work will be accomplished. —Wayne Burks

You have been made to contain God.

How many times have we heard someone complain that someone else took their eye off the ball? Perhaps it is because we often go through life with our eyes closed to what is truly important, instead of focusing on the most important aspect of life. Eternity is in all our future, and we get to choose where we spend it. —Tony Ferguson

Morality may keep us out of jail. But it takes the blood of Jesus to keep us out of hell. —Charles Spurgeon

America’s moral problem is a spiritual problem, not a political one, and its solution is the Gospel, not partisan politics. —John MacArthur

When you think that you are unfairly hated, try to remember that you are unfairly loved by Jesus. —R.C. Sproul

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Your feedback is welcome and if you want to contribute your ideas and thoughts, address all items and comments to [email protected].

^© Thoughts on Life Copyright 2025

Mark H. Ballard, PhD, Chancellor

December 19, 2025

In May of 2014, just as we were completing our first year as a college, Irma walked into my office. She said, “President Ballard, God is at work here. We need more students to come and join us in learning and in serving Jesus. We cannot have more students unless we can buy a new dorm. So, I have been praying and asking the Lord to provide the money to buy the dorm. President Ballard, I wish I had all the money we need to buy it. If I had it, I would give it. But what I can do is give my lunch money for this week.” She handed me $36.

I looked at Irma and asked if she was sure she should do this. I knew that this was all the money she had. She assured me that she had prayed about it and believed the Lord led her to do this, but she wished she had more to give. I thanked her and we prayed that the Lord would multiply her gift. I then told her that the Lord would bless her and that she should not feel bad that it was not more. The fact is, no follower of Jesus is accountable for what we do not have. All we are responsible for is what we do have. Irma had sacrificially given all and the Father would take her gift, bless it, use it for His glory, and He would provide for her needs.

The Lord indeed provided for Irma’s needs, and she did not have to go without lunch that week. In addition, the Father took her gift and accomplished far more than she could have ever imagined. Before I share the rest of the story, let’s see how her experience connects with the next Baker’s Dozen Principle from 2 Corinthians 8.

“For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased, and you burdened.” (2 Corinthians 8:12-13)

The fact is the Lord never requires us to give more than we are truly able to give. Rather, He wants us to give willingly and in accordance with what He has entrusted into our stewardship. It is easy to feel overwhelmed with all the needs of the many churches and organizations through which God is at work. We can often feel like we are not able to give as much as we desire. Sometimes we even allow ourselves to feel guilty over the fact that we are unable tard, PhD

December 19, 20o give more than we are able to give. This sense of guilt can cause stress in our lives. However, giving as God intends does not work in that way.

Notice Paul’s statements in today’s passage. First, he wrote to the Corinthians and commended having a willing mind. He indicated that if one has a willing mind, God sees this and will reward the person for his/her willingness. Second, Paul told the Corinthians that when one has a willing mind, it is completely acceptable to give only in accordance with what he/she has. Furthermore, the Cornithians were not expected to give all they had. Rather, he encouraged them to give proportionately considering what they had. His intention was not for the Corinthian believers to be burdened by their giving.

When we understand what Paul communicated in these two verses it enables us to move beyond giving out of guilt and stress to giving in accordance with our ability and experience the joy our Lord intended all along. Simply stated, the Baker’s Dozen Principle # 8 is: We can experience the joy of giving by willingly giving in accordance with what we have.

Irma had a willing mind to give enough to purchase a new dormitory for Northeastern Baptist College (NEBC). However, she did not have the ability to accomplish her desire. After much prayer, the Lord led her to give her lunch money for one week to start a dorm fund. Irma experienced the joy of giving by giving in accordance with what she had.

Two weeks after Irma gave her gift, NEBC hosted our first Vermont State Accreditation Team. After reviewing every aspect of the college, we met to discuss their finding and the next steps in our accreditation process. One item they noted was that we had in our plan to own dorms by the fall of 2014, but it was the end of May, and we didn’t have any money to buy dorms. They asked me how I planned to deal with this problem.

I responded to the Chair of our Accreditation Committee by saying, “I think you missed something. You said we do not have any money to purchase the dorms we have in mind, but we do.” They looked back at their information and then the Chair spoke. “Mark, you have $36, and it is the end of May. There is no way you can buy the property your team showed us for $36. Like I said, you have no money to buy the dorms.” I told the Accreditation Team Irma’s story and concluded, “When God does something like that, He is going to provide the dorms in one way or another.” They repeated a statement that had become a theme of the meeting. The Chair responded, “What you call God, we call luck. You have had more than your share. It will likely run out soon.” We ended the meeting with me assuring the team that one way or another, we fully expected the Lord to provide the dorms by August 1, 2014.

Over the next eight weeks, we watched as the Lord moved one mountain after another. The next gift for the dorm purchase was $100,000 a little over a week later. Many began to give towards the need. Some sacrificial gave $10, 25, $100. Upon hearing the story many gave $36, matching Irma’s gift. Others gave $1000, $5,000, $10,000, $25,000, $50,000. Ten weeks after Irma gave her initial gift (eight weeks after the Accreditation Team Meeting), we closed on Jehovah Jireh Hall.

The Lord took Irma’s willing mind and sacrificial gift and multiplied it as countless others gave varying amounts with a willing mind and in accordance with their ability. He provided all that was needed for the first housing unit of Northeastern Baptist College. Irma, and each donor, enjoyed the joy of giving, because they gave with a willing mind and in accordance with their ability as the Lord led them to give.

If the Lord lays it on your heart to assist in preparing young men and women for ministry, please send your gift today to:

Northeastern Baptist College · PO Box 4600 · Bennington, VT 05201 · USA

Mark H. Ballard, PhD, Chancellor, Northeastern Baptist College

From our very first semester the Lord has brought amazing students to NEBC. As I was reflecting on the seventh Baker’s Dozen Principle this morning, I was immediately reminded of several students the Lord has brought to NEBC since our beginning. The Lord has used many students throughout the years in unexpected ways.

When we opened NEBC in 2013, we were still remodeling parts of our campus. All the work was being done by volunteer mission teams. We faced a major challenge in the years leading up to opening the college. We could not find a local HVAC company willing to work with us to put heat in the building with the help of mission teams. That meant that we needed $250,000 to have the heating system installed. Throughout 2012 and 2013, we met with several HVAC companies around the region to no avail.

In August we opened the doors to the college by faith, trusting that somehow the Lord would provide heat. It was an unusual fall with no snow and warmer than normal weather. So, we continued to pray, trust the Lord, and walk by faith. On Friday morning, November 1st one of our students, Tim, came to see me. Nervously he spoke, “President Ballard, I have to ask you something and you can’t tell me no.” Of course, my curiosity was peaked.

He went on to tell me that he had been praying for the Lord to provide heat for the building as we all had been. However, the Lord put it on Tim’s heart to give towards the need of providing the heat. He pulled an envelope out of his Bible and slid it across my desk. As he did, he said, “President Ballard, you know my financial condition, and you know this is all I have. But, you cannot tell me no. You must accept this, because the Lord led me to do this.” I sat stunned. Then he said, “One more thing. Would you please pray with me asking the Lord to multiply this gift, like He did the little boy’s fish and bread when Jesus fed the 5,000?”

We prayed. He left. I opened the envelop and found $25. I took it to the business office and asked them to open a new fund for the heat with this gift. Several hours went by and I received a call from one of the local HVAC companies asking to meet with me on the next Monday. First thing on Monday we met and the manager told me that the owner had changed his mind and was willing for us to use mission teams. There had also been a change in state regulations that would save us additional money. They thought we could have the heat system operational with mission teams for $50,000. By faith we told them to order the materials. Then I called a mission team in NC who agreed to be here the following week.

We had an HVAC company willing to work with us, a mission team coming, and $25. Later in the day we received a check in the mail for $250 with the word, “Heat” written on the memo line. On Tuesday we received a check in the mail for $2,500 with “Heat” on the memo line. On Wednesday we received two checks for the heat system that totaled, $25,000. By end of day Friday, the full amount of $50,000 had been given.

The Father took the sacrificial gift Tim gave, blessed it, multiplied it, and provided heat for the college. Over the next few weeks several teams came and helped, including one team that came and worked Christmas week. The full system came online December 31, 2013, just in time for the coldest week of the winter (the first week of January 2014). Tim prayed faithfully asking the Lord to provide the heat for the building. Then the Father led him to give all he had himself. Tim purposed in his heart to obey the leading of the Lord and give. As hard as it was to come to me, he did, and he insisted that I receive the gift. He not only made the commitment to give as the Lord led, but Tim also followed through with the gift.

In 2 Corinthians 8:10-11, Paul encourages the Corinthians to follow through by giving the gift they planned to give when the Lord first led them to give. The seventh principle is, We can experience the joy of giving when we follow through with giving just what the Lord leads us to give. Tim not only experienced the joy of giving, but he also saw the way the Father took that gift, blessed it, and multiplied it to meet the need.

Through the years the Father has used many students in similar ways. Several times through the years, it has been my joy to watch a student sacrificially give at the Lord’s leading and then to watch as the Father multiplies their gift to accomplish great things. Truly, the joy of giving is amazing!

***

From the editor: The college needs funds for additiional space. Please send your Christmas gift to:

December 13, 2025

Last time, I presented the two prevailing views for the date of the exodus: 1446 B.C. if one takes as literal the time marker of 480 years in 1 Kings 6:1, and perhaps 1270-1250 if one takes it figuratively (though I would suggest that a figurative interpretation in this case merely means that the interpreters have settled on a more preferable date for the exodus and thus need to bend the clear meaning of this verse to coincide with their preferred date).

But what evidence would compel someone to so readily brush aside a literal interpretation of 1 Kings 6:1 in favor of a figurative one when there is nothing in the verse to warrant doing so? For the answer to this question one must examine Exodus 1:11, a verse that arguably forms the backbone of a thirteenth-century dating for the exodus. It reads, “Therefore they set taskmasters over [the children of Israel] to afflict them with their burdens, and they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.”

Here’s one of the arguments of those who propose a late date for the exodus in the thirteenth century. “The city of Rameses [an alternative spelling] was built sometime during the lengthy reign of Rameses II in 1304-1236 B.C.[High Chronology], therefore, the exodus could not have taken place in the fifteenth century because the city of Rameses had not yet been built.”

But dismissing the straightforward dating of the Bible for a conjectured association between the supply city of Raamses mentioned in Exodus 1:11 (built in the fifteenth century or even earlier if the Bible is taken literally) and the capital city of Rameses (built in the thirteenth century) hardly seems warranted. In the chronology of Exodus 1-2 the city of Raamses was built at least eighty years before Moses arose to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, and thus in the chronology of those who propose a late date for the exodus (c. 1270-1250 B.C.), the city of Rameses could not have been built any later than 1330 B.C. (1250 + 80), which turns out to be years before the birth of Rameses II.

Also, given that the name Rameses existed in Egyptian history long before the time of Rameses II, there is no reason to force the round peg of 1 Kings 6:1 into the square hole of a thirteenth-century dating for the exodus. Yes, I personally hold to the authority of the Bible, but even if one does not, the Bible certainly deserves a fair hearing on this matter, for as we’ll see next time, there is even more biblical evidence for a fifteenth-century dating for the exodus.

Daniel McCabe

Upcoming Trips to Israel

Would you like to visit Nazareth, the Garden of Gethsemane and the Sea of Galilee? Wade through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, see the little town of Bethlehem or ride a camel in Jericho? Join us as we travel to the Holy Land this coming spring and summer!

With both Covid and the war in Gaza largely in the rear view window, tourists are returning to Israel again in large numbers. Here are the dates for our two upcoming trips.

Trip #1: March 16-27, 2026

Trip #2: May 18-29, 2026

The trips cost approximately $3200 + airfare, depending on group size, which includes estimates for lodging, travel insurance, day trip expenses (such as trains, trams, taxis, shuttles and site fees), administrative fees, meals and groceries. It does not include luggage fees, snacks, postage and souvenirs. In order to keep costs down for you, we adjust the price according to the number of people who participate, so the price can rise a little or even fall.

Are you ready to go? Contact us at [email protected] to receive a trip brochure.

Trivia

(Answer at the bottom of the page)

A. What is the name of the city that is at the heart of a region in Israel known as “Silicon Wadi” due to its high concentration of tech companies? Wadi is a common Hebrew word for “valley,” hence a play on words from “Silicon Valley.”

Smart Carts: Life in the Land

I saw my very first smart cart in an Israeli grocery store. I had no idea they even existed until that moment, but I’ve since learned that Israel is one of several key countries that is active and influential in this field of technology. So, what is a smart cart? They’re AI-powered grocery carts equipped with weight scales, sensors and cameras that scan, price and take payment from the customer without any need to stand in line. Some carts suggest recipes based on the items that the customer has placed in his or her cart. Other carts offer promotional deals or even navigate the customer to the aisle in the store where the item can be found. Perhaps I’m behind the times and you already knew all about them, but isn’t that fascinating?

Daniel McCabe

Archaeology: The Wounded Lion of Nineveh

There are two whole books in the Bible that focus on the city of Nineveh. Can you name them? Perhaps you quickly recalled the story of Jonah who reluctantly preached to the Ninevites after three days inside the “great fish,” but then there’s the prophet Nahum too whose three-chaptered prophecy pronounces judgment upon Nineveh from start to finish.

Tucked inside chapter two of Nahum is a colorful description of lions stalking and devouring their prey and then returning with the meat to their dens. It is an obvious metaphor for powerful Nineveh which now faces judgment from God despite having experienced unchecked military dominance over its neighboring nations for many years. In anticipation of Nineveh’s soon destruction, Nahum asks with biting sarcasm in 2:11-12, “Where is the dwelling of the lions [now]?”

Likening the city of Nineveh to a lion once struck many modern scholars as odd—not unlike comparing Quito to a penguin given that penguins clearly aren’t native to Ecuador—for lions weren’t native to Nineveh either. But then archaeologists in the mid-nineteenth century discovered rock reliefs of lions on the palace walls of Nineveh during the time of King Ashurbanipal of Assyria who reigned contemporaneously with the prophet Nahum. Known as the “Lion Hunt Reliefs,” they picture the king with his attendants on a staged lion hunt, for lions were brought to Nineveh for this express purpose, released from their cages into an arena and killed by the “courageous” king in a scripted fight to the death. Many of the scenes depicted in the reliefs show wounded and dying lions in deeply emotive poses as can be seen in the attached picture. How fun that the Bible yet again dovetails so beautifully with ancient history.

Daniel McCabe

Scripture Study: God’s Attributes

So far I’ve summarized God’s essence and His nature. Now let’s look at His attributes. He’s holy in His divine majesty and infinitely higher than His creation. He’s separate from His creation. He’s not the same. He’s not bound within it, for holy means to be distinct and separate. He also wants His people to be holy, i.e., different and separate from the peoples around them.

God is also good. Everything He does is good. He’s holy and separate from everything that is immoral and corrupt. He never sins. We see this in Deuteronomy 32:4. Sin is anything that runs contrary to God’s nature and His will. God can never be contrary to His nature. Whatever is of God is good and whatever is not of God is not good. So again, sin is anything that runs contrary to His nature and will. He just can’t be that.

It’s not possible for God to sin. When Jesus, the Son of God, was here on earth, He took on human flesh. He was tempted to sin. Theoretically He was able to sin, but He was tempted in every way, yet without sin. So because of His holiness, His perfect accordance with God’s will, and His perfect goodness, He was not going to sin though He was technically capable of it.

God is the only appropriate object of worship. He is omnipotent, according to Ephesians 3:20. He created all reality simply by the power of His command. We see this in Genesis 1 where He spoke things into existence. According to Genesis 1, God created the universe. He created every person. He is the giver of life. He has complete control over His creation and over human affairs. He is omnipotent. He’s all powerful. He can do anything. There’s nothing He cannot do.

Furthermore, God is omniscient, and He knows every possible counterfactual. This could get me into an area where there might be some disagreement within orthodox Christianity. I just think that God knows every possible counterfactual and every event before they occur. What is a counterfactual? A counterfactual is something that didn’t happen. It could have, but didn’t. For example, I went to work this morning. I could have stayed home. It wouldn’t have been right for me to stay home. I wasn’t sick. I had the responsibility to go to work. But staying home is a reality that never happened though it’s one of an infinite number of possibilities that could have happened.

If I’m driving to the store, I could have taken a left or taken a right down a certain road. Instead of having eggs for breakfast, I could have eaten cereal or toast. There are an infinite number of possibilities in our lives. Combine our lives with every molecule in the universe, yet still God knows every counterfactual. There are no alternate universes either, but perhaps you could put on your sci-fi hat to create an alternate universe. Still God intimately knows every detail of every possibility even if it doesn’t exist. That blows my mind, and although we might think that we can understand it, we never could. God knows every possible counterfactual and every event before they occur. That’s how omniscient He is—so far beyond our ability, far beyond the created order.

Finally, God is omnipresent. He’s everywhere. He is Spirit, after all, and He is constrained by neither time nor space.

Adam Keim

Life in the Land: Name That Fruit, part 3

To close out our series, I have three more unusual fruits from the land of Israel.

1. Sometimes called the “sweetie,” this green-yellow fruit has become so popular among the Japanese that they often buy up almost the entire Israeli crop. It’s a hybridized fruit from a grapefruit and a pomelo. It’s sweeter than a grapefruit, smaller and juicier than a pomelo, and contains high amounts of antioxidants. Studies even show that it helps lower one’s cholesterol. Do you know it?
2. This thorny fruit is usually green or purplish in color. It has a thick peel, black seeds and a sweet taste. Because it is prickly on the outside and soft on the inside, native-born Israelis are also called by the name of this fruit. Can you name it?
3. This dark purple fruit has a sweet-and-sour taste and it’s packed with crunchy seeds. Many people like to scoop it on their vanilla ice cream or make a fruit shake with it. What is it?

Daniel McCabe

Answer to the Trivia

C. Tel Aviv

Week Fifty, 2025

“We must do the work of Him who has sent me, as long as it is day. For night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4).

Your work matters. The first person who said to be “filled with the Spirit” in the Bible was not a pastor, but a craftsman and artist of wood and stone (Exodus 31:2–5). Don’t minimize your daily work in the marketplace—it is nothing less than a holy calling. Your work—your position—is your platform.

In the New Testament…

Of the 132 public appearances that Jesus made, 122 were in the marketplace.

Of the 52 parables that Jesus told, 45 had a workplace context.

Of the 40 miracles in the Book of Acts, 39 were in the marketplace.

Work, in its different forms, is mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible—more than all the words used to express worship, music, praise, and singing combined.

No matter where or what it is, your work is a holy calling. Treat it as such. Do not minimize your daily work; it is nothing less than a holy calling.

God has you right where He wants you—right now!

Remember: Jesus was a carpenter for most of His adult life.

You were created to be like Christ.

Ask yourself the question: “Are you being transformed by the truth?”

Do What You Say You’re Going To Do

You were shaped for serving God.

You were also shaped to serve others; be a servant leader.

Ask yourself: “Are you playing marbles with the diamonds God has given you?”

Live What You Say You Believe

Live what you say you believe. Live out loud—let Christ be seen in all you say and do.

“Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23–24).

—Marty Stubblefield

Sometimes True Stories

We have all been there. Walking through life feeling unseen. Unknown. Feeling all alone. Going through day after day burdened, and no one seems to care. Facing difficult times, dark valleys stretching out before us with no end in sight, and the anxious uncertainty greeting us in the morning of each new day. Many of those around us feel the same.

But then we remember that God inspired David to write this promise for him and us: “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me” (Psalm 23:4 NLT).

And God poked Isaiah to share: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10 NKJV).

And Matthew recorded Jesus’ last words to His disciples before He ascended to be with the Father: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 ESV).

And if we don’t have those verses of God’s Word seared in our memories yet, or have a Bible close at hand, God sends you and me a sunrise or a sunset, maybe blows a breeze through our hair, or arranges a call from a friend.

All to remind you, and to remind me that—we will never walk alone.

God is there. God sees us. God cares. God loves us. Always and forever.

But Jesus also shares this with us: “You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14, 16 ESV).

We are the light of the world. You and me. It is not a suggestion, but a fact from Christ’s own mouth.

We are to be the light of God to others: caring for them, reaching out to them, lifting them, helping them, sacrificing for them, and loving them.

So, they too will never walk alone. —Scott Whitaker

Quotes You Can Use

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. —Leo Tolstoy

Good and evil increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. —C.S. Lewis

Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy. —C.S. Lewis

Of all the bad men, religious bad men are the worst. —C.S. Lewis

We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. He walks everywhere incognito. —C.S. Lewis

Live a life that encourages others in their faith and mission. —Edgar Aponte

Application Points:

Encourage others by being an example

Encourage others through your evangelism

Encourage others through your faithfulness

Encourage others with the Word of God

Encourage others through your generosity

Encourage others through prayer

Our lives are not to be lived to impress or please others, but to please God and Him alone.

Time, talents, and treasure will someday pass away because everything on earth is temporary.

Everything matters to God. We often think that God is only interested in the big things in our lives, but He is interested in the small things as well; so, do all things to the glory of God.

We live in a world where we are externally driven rather than internally called.

***

Your feedback is welcome and if you want to contribute your ideas and thoughts, please address all items and comments to [email protected].

© Thoughts on Life Copyright 2025

Chancellor’s Update, from Mark H. Ballard, PhD

December 13, 2025

Being the youngest of nine children, I quickly figured out that I could save myself some trouble and learn things I needed to know in life by watching my brothers and sisters. Often, I could follow their example and be wonderfully blessed. At times, I also learned what not to do by watching the example and seeing that the consequences of some actions were not what I desired. Learning by example is a powerful tool that we can use in any sphere of life.

The first five Baker’s Dozen Principles the Apostle Paul shared in 2 Corinthians 8 & 9 have followed the example of the Macedonians. We have learned valuable insights to help us move from stressful giving to joyful giving. These principles not only enable us to experience joy during the Christmas and Year-End Giving seasons, but they can impact our lives every day of the year.

As Paul shares the sixth principle he shifts our focus away from the example of the Macedonian churches. While these three congregations set a high bar and have taught us much about giving, we now turn to the greatest example of joyful giving in all of human history. Notice Paul’s words recorded in 2 Corinthians 8:9.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”

In this verse we learn a crucial principle of how we can move from giving stress to giving joy. When we learn and live out these principles our approach to giving will be transformed. Here is the principle simply stated, You can experience the joy of giving by giving like Jesus.

Consider the example our Lord set for His followers. As you look at the verse, please notice two things. Look with me at the attitude of Jesus’ giving and then notice the action of Jesus’ giving. Paul reminds the Corinthians, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jesus’ Giving Attitude

Often when we experience stress in giving, it is because we feel obligated to give. Maybe the obligation is because the person has done something for us, and we feel we owe them. Maybe it is simply from a general attitude of duty. In contrast, notice Jesus’ attitude was the attitude of grace. The English word grace translates the Greek word, charis, which refers to unmerited favor or an unmerited gift. In other words, Jesus does not give to us out of a sense of duty or obligation. He does not give because we earned or deserve something from Him. Rather, He gives out of pure unmerited favor. D. James Kennedy used to like to describe God’s grace with the following acrostic: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. When we give out of an attitude of grace, rather than obligation, our stress seems to dissipate and is replaced by joy.

Jesus’ Giving Action

We can learn from Jesus’ attitude in giving, but we can also learn from His action of giving. Notice how the verse describes Jesus’ action, “though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” The Bible gives us a small glimpse of all Jesus enjoyed prior to His incarnation. Jesus enjoyed the joys of heaven from before the foundation of the world. The Bible tells us, “all things were created through Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:16) He left the riches of heaven to take on human flesh, be born in a barn, have a feeding trough as His first bed, live a poor and humble life. He was tempted in every way we are yet without sin. He then gave His life in exchange for our lives, taking the penalty for our sin upon Himself, suffering the wrath of God upon sin. For our sakes, He became poor. Yet in exchange, all who turn from sin and trust their lives to Jesus are made rich in Him.

Truly, there is no greater example of joyful giving than the example of Jesus Himself. Talking about this verse, Daniel Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, once said, “When I am considering how much I should give to the Lord’s work, I close my eyes and pictuure Jesus hanging on the cross and dying for me. Then I ask Him, ‘Lord, in light of your grace and all you have given me, how much would you have me give?’”

When we follow Jesus’ example, our giving is transformed. We give with a new attitude – an attitude of grace. We give with a new action – giving from our resources so the needs of others can be met. When we follow Jesus’s example, our giving is transformed from stressful giving to joyful giving.

CHANCELLOR’S UPDATE

Dr. Mark Ballard, President

At NEBC students are busy preparing for the end of the semester. They are writing papers, preparing for presentations, and preparing for Final Exams. As a student, the word, exam could immediately raise my stress level. When I became a professor, I wanted my exams to be more than a stressful test, but I wanted them to be learning experiences. Soon that concept became part of my approach to all assignments in my class. The tests, quizzes, and other assignments indeed reveal how one is doing in a subject, but if the right approach is taken, the assignments actually become learning experiences as well. 

Today, I want to invite you to join me in taking a simple quiz that could be a significant learning experience. This quiz is a short, simple, True/False Quiz that can provide both an assessment of how you are doing and a learning opportunity that could impact you for life. Here is the quiz:

Throughout December these emails are focusing on how we can move from stressful giving to joyful giving. We learned that Paul shares thirteen key principles to help us with this transformation. So far, we have considered the first four Baker’s Dozen Principles. 

1. 1.        You can experience the joy of giving, even if you live in poverty. 
2. 2.        You can experience the joy of giving, by giving of your own free will. 
3. 3.        You can experience the joy of giving, by giving in fellowship with other believers.
4. 4.        You can experience the joy of giving, by giving yourself first to the Lord.

 Today, we pause to focus our attention on principle number five. Let’s take a closer look at 2 Corinthians 8:5. 

 “And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.” (2 Corinthians 8:5)

  Last week we learned that the greatest gift we can give is to first give ourselves to the Lord. As the Macedonians first gave themselves to the Lord in complete surrender, He directed the rest of their giving in accordance with His will. This principle helped them move from giving stress to giving joy. Once we have given ourselves to the Lord in complete surrender, we are ready for principle number five. You can experience the joy of giving by giving yourself to the receiver of the gift. 

 Notice how Paul worded his testimony about the Macedonian giving. Having given themselves to the Lord in complete surrender, “then (they gave themselves) to us by the will of God.” Before we ever consider the nature or amount of a gift, we should give ourselves to the ministry or individual. When we give ourselves first to the Lord, He leads us to give ourselves to His work and to other people. As we give ourselves, all of the sudden the gift becomes far more valuable than simply the monetary value of the gift. 

 Additionally, since we gave ourselves first to the Lord and then to His work or to another person, we know that we are doing so at His leading. We also know that since we have given ourselves to Him and at His leading to His work and to other people, we can trust that He will guide us as to where and when to give our time, our talents, and our earthly treasures. At this point, we no longer have to stress over giving. Rather, we simply obey the Lord, giving to those ministries and individuals He leads us to give and giving what He leads us to give. This can alleviate worry and stress over our giving. 

Since adopting this method of giving, my personal approach to giving has been radically transformed.  Before, I worried about all the people and ministries I wanted to give to and how little I had to give to each one. Now, I make sure I give myself daily to the Lord in surrender. Then, as He leads, I give myself to various ministries and individuals. Once I have taken this step, now I simply give the amount of time to the ministry and/or person that God leads me to give. I offer my talents to the ministry and/or person as the Father leads. I give the dollar amount to the ministry and/or individual that the Lord leads me to give. 

Oh, what if the Lord leads me to give a dollar amount that requires sacrifice, or maybe like the Macedonians, is “beyond my ability”? Even that circumstance no longer causes stress. Why? Because I know if the Lord has put an amount on my heart to give and I don’t have that amount, I can ask Him to provide the amount He has led me to give and then watch Him do it. (See my comments in the Principle #4 email.)

This approach has not only alleviated my stress, but it also enabled me to experience the joy of giving my time, my talents, and earthly treasures. I have truly begun to experience the truth that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.”

December 6, 2025

Dating the Exodus – the Two Major Contenders

Let’s start with a time marker from the Bible. 1 Kings 6:1 reads, “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel … that he began to build the house of the LORD.”

Virtually all biblical and secular historians agree that King Solomon ascended to the throne of Israel in 970 B.C., thus he began to build the temple in 966, and with a little simple math we arrive at the biblical date for the exodus—966 + 480 = 1446 B.C.

The very first time that I read 1 Kings 6:1, I naturally assumed that the author intended the number 480 to be taken literally, and perhaps you did too. It seems reasonable to assume as much, but there are many who argue that the number 480 should be taken figuratively or loosely. Their argument goes something like this, and I promise to represent it as fairly as possible.

“The author of 1 Kings wants to emphasize that a very long time has transpired since the exodus, particularly that 12 generations (likely representative of the twelve tribes of Israel) have passed between the time of the exodus under Moses and the beginning of temple construction under Solomon. Now given that the ideal length of one generation equals 40 years in biblical usage, the author of 1 Kings presents 480 years as an idealized passage of time, for obviously 12 X 40 = 480.

However, in reality a generation spans only 25 years on average or even less, therefore it is preferable to take the time marker in 1 Kings 6:1 as a reference to 12 generations of 25 years. This then gives us 12 X 25 or 300 years, and thus we arrive at a preferable date for the exodus in the thirteenth century, for 966 + 300 brings us to 1266 B.C. But since 25 itself is only a generalization, we are justified in choosing any date from approximately 1270-1250. Of course, we also can’t rule out the possibility that the author of 1 Kings is speaking in hyperbole or that he may even be mistaken.”

Why is it necessary for proponents of this argument to do what you and I might characterize as mathematical or logical gymnastics? Here’s why! Because 1446 B.C. does not fit with other factors that in their view outweigh the straightforward chronology of the Bible. Next time we’ll look at what secular historians consider to be one of their three strongest arguments for a thirteenth-century exodus and why they so readily dismiss 1 Kings 6:1 that at face value clearly points to a fifteenth-century exodus.

Daniel McCabe

Trivia

What famous ancient street once connected the Temple Mount to the Pool of Siloam and was used by those ascending to the temple in the time of Jesus?

On Location: Western Wall Elevator

If you’ve ever been to Jerusalem, then you probably visited the Western Wall, and from there, if your group decided to grab a bite to eat in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, you made your way to the southwest corner of the Western Wall plaza to ascend the massive, 142-step staircase that rises approximately eight stories up and into the quarter.

As you climbed, you likely encountered a beggar or two, a resourceful mom descending with her baby buggy and a small group of tourists who stopped at one of the turns in the staircase to take a photo, using the Temple Mount as a picturesque backdrop. Finally, with your heart pounding, you made it to the top after having stopped more than once on the way up to catch your breath. Trust me, after a long day of touring, that staircase can be a bear!

Well, help is on the way! Construction has begun on a new set of elevators off Misgav Ladach Street, not far from this staircase, to make the Western Wall more accessible to the elderly and disabled. But there’s more, for city planners are adding public restrooms at the base of the elevators as well as an underground tunnel at a 2% grade that exits to a security checkpoint on the plaza. But since this is Jerusalem, one of the richest archaeological sites in the world, you won’t be surprised to learn that the lobby will display various finds uncovered during the construction of the elevator.

I’ve attached a photo, marking the proposed elevator location with a blue arrow and the staircase with a red arrow. Looking at that staircase in the photo, I can immediately feel my pulse beginning to pound, and those of you who have ascended that staircase with me on one of our trips, well, you know exactly what I mean. Next year in Jerusalem!

Daniel McCabe

Scripture Study: Theology Proper – God’s Nature

Isn’t God’s essence the same thing as His nature? Well, not quite. Think about essence as who God is and nature as what God is like. God is immutable and does not change as to His essence, nature or attributes, which we’ll talk about shortly. He doesn’t change. He is the same forever. We see this in 1 Samuel 15:29, Malachi 3:6 and James 1:17.

He changes what He does from time to time, but He never changes who He is although He may change His relationship to the created order, i.e., how He interacts with it (see Romans 5 and Philippians 2) and how He sometimes changes the course of His own actions. We see this in a few places in Scripture where He will relent from something that He is doing. He might even express Himself as changing His mind, but what Scripture means there is that He decides a different course of action. It doesn’t mean to imply that His first course was wrong, but rather that He wants to change what He’s doing at a given time. He’s God, and He can do that. So He doesn’t change as to who He is or His being, but He might change what He does, and He has His own good reasons for everything because He has complete divine freedom. He’s the Creator. He can do whatever He wants. We see this in Psalm 115:3 and Ephesians 1:5, 9, 11.

He is the ultimate master of all the created order. He is in all ways true, and there’s no deceit in Him. He fulfills all of His promises. God is a personal being with emotion and passions. His emotion and passions are always right, and He responds to the prayers of His people. I am floored and awed that God is personal, that He created us and that He desires a relationship with us, but His interaction with us is rooted in the fact that He’s a personal being. I’m so grateful to Him for that. He’s not just a disinterested, uncaring force. He’s God, and to those who have a personal relationship with Him through salvation in Jesus Christ, He is our Father!

Adam Keim

From the Archives:

Scripture Study – The Tribulation Temple

I’ve always loved these reassuring words of Jesus, spoken to his disciples on the night before the cross, “Let not your heart be troubled…. I go to prepare a place for you … [and] I will come again and receive you to Myself that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3). In his letter to the Thessalonians the Apostle Paul later explained the Lord’s coming in this way, “We … shall be caught up together … in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thes. 4:17).

This promised return of Jesus is commonly called the Rapture of the church, and following the Rapture there will be an awful seven-year period of worldwide tribulation, highlighted by the rise of a wicked ruler named the Antichrist. Initially he will make a peace treaty with the nation of Israel that in part will provide cover for their construction of a temple in Jerusalem and the resumption of sacrificial worship (Daniel 9:27). However, 3½ years into the treaty, he will suddenly halt the sacrifices, brazenly enter the new temple, and desecrate it by sitting “as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thes. 2:4; cf. Matt. 24:15).

For the Antichrist to sit in that temple there must first be a temple, of course, and right now there isn’t one. The Romans destroyed the last temple in 70 A.D., and it hasn’t been rebuilt. Today on the spot where the temple once stood you will find a golden-domed, Islamic shrine called the Dome of the Rock. According to Islam, Mohammad ascended into heaven from there, and thus it’s revered as their third holiest site.

Even so, the Bible says that a temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem, and many religious Jews will not be satisfied until it stands where the Dome of the Rock now stands. How can this be without causing major political and religious upheaval? How could this possibly take place without the threat of violence from Islamic world rulers? Yet it is certain that the day will come—perhaps very soon—when a Jewish temple will once again dominate the skyline in Jerusalem.

Answer to the Trivia

D. The Pilgrim Road

Who We Are

Shalom Y’all Ministries is a 501(c)(3) organization, and all gifts to our ministry are tax-deductible. SYM was formed in 2021 to teach the Bible and lead tours to Israel. Our teaching and presentations feature the acronym S-H-A-L-O-M, which means “peace” in Hebrew.

Our Mission

To teach and encourage those who love the Bible, the land of the Bible and the people of the land and to lead educational tours to Israel that forever change the way you read your Bible and worship the Lord

Our Prayer

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).

Week Forty-Nine, 2025

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3).

“How many are you running?” is a code from one pastor to another which translates to: “How many are attending your church?” It acts as if volume in the pews is the most important thing.

Often, dialogue from the pulpit designed to increase numbers gets in the way of sound doctrine. Too many people go to church to hear what they want to hear. That is more prevalent today than ever—take, for example, the “Name It and Claim It” gospel.

Paul wrote a sound warning to Timothy, saying that a time will come when people will want something other than sound doctrine. Instead, they will want to hear only what pleases them. He speaks of “itching ears,” where people seek teachers who confirm their own desires rather than offering biblical truth.

This term comes from 2 Timothy 4:3–4, which states that people will “gather around them a great number of teachers who say what their itching ears want to hear” because they will not put up with sound teaching. This describes individuals who desire messages that affirm their own lifestyle and desires, rather than messages that challenge them to change. This passage warns against false teachers who, in their greed, exploit people with deceptive words.

We should compare the Word of God to a doctor delivering an accurate diagnosis: it is the necessary truth, even if it is not what the patient wants to hear. The true nature of God’s Word prioritizes truth over comfort to bring conviction and a path to change. True listening means having no agenda and being prepared to be told to do things that may be inconvenient.

I want a pastor who tells the truth and preaches the Gospel, even if it makes me squirm in my seat. I want to hear a Gospel message that may not always be what I want to hear, but what I need to hear.

A sign of spiritual maturity is a hunger for God’s Word and an increased awareness of actions that do not please Him.

How about you?

Sometimes True Stories

THE ARMOR PRAYER:

Dear God, today we put on the full armor to guard our lives against attack.

We put on the Belt of Truth to protect against lies and deception.

We put on the Breastplate of Righteousness to protect our hearts from the temptations we battle.

We put the Gospel of Peace on our feet, so we’re ready to take Your light wherever You send us this day.

We choose to walk in the peace and freedom of Your Spirit and not be overcome with fear and anxious thoughts.

We take up Your Shield of Faith that will extinguish all the darts and threats hurled our way by the enemy. We believe in Your power to protect us and choose to trust in You.

We put on the Helmet of Salvation, which covers our minds and thoughts, reminding us we are children of the day—forgiven, set free, and saved by the grace of Christ Jesus.

We take up the Sword of the Spirit, Your very Word, the one offensive weapon given to us for battle which has the power to demolish strongholds. It is alive, active, and sharper than any double-edged sword.

We ask for Your help in remembering to put on Your full armor every day, for You give us all that we need to stand firm in this world.

Forgive us, God, for the times we’ve been unprepared, too busy to care, or trying to fight and wrestle in our own strength.

Thank You that we never fight alone, for You are constantly at work on our behalf—shielding, protecting, strengthening, exposing deeds of darkness, bringing to light what needs to be known, and covering us from the cruel attacks we face even when we’re unaware.

In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen. —Rob Taylor

Quotes You Can Use

The name of Jesus Christ is hell’s terror, heaven’s delight, and the earth’s hope. —Charles Spurgeon

You don’t know who you are until you know God, and you don’t know how to live until you have settled the question of how to die. —Alistair Begg

Prayer isn’t about your circumstances. It’s about who God is.

Worship should be designed to please God. —R.C. Sproul

Be a free thinker and don’t accept everything you hear as truth. Be critical and evaluate what you believe in. —Aristotle

It doesn’t matter what you think about it. The Bible is true whether you accept it or not. —Billy Graham

The worst sort of clever men are those who know better than the Bible. —C.H. Spurgeon

Don’t trust everything you see. Even salt looks like sugar. In this wicked world, discernment is key.

Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the airplane while the pessimist invents the parachute. —George Bernard Shaw.

Don’t bother to give God instructions. Just report for duty. —Corrie ten Boom

I want to be so full of Christ that if a mosquito bites me, it flies away singing there is power in the blood.

When people come into your life like a non-stop rain, remember that God is always your umbrella.

Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error. —Cicero

The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion. —Paulo Coelho

***

Your feedback is welcome and if you want to contribute your ideas and thoughts, address all items and comments to [email protected].

© 2025, Thoughts on Life

– General William Tecumseh Sherman

December 4, 2025

Although I was born in 1940, sixteen months before the United States actively entered World War II, I didn’t taste my first candy bar, sip a coke, or lick an ice cream cone until after the end of the war. Why? Because sugar was the first food rationed and the last removed from the ration board’s list.

But as a small child, I had no idea what I was missing, and if I had, my concern would have been frivolous compared to the enormity of horrors faced by hundreds of millions around the world, horrors from which I was shielded.

The people of the USA suffered far more than my innocent little eyes were permitted to see. The United States suffered over 400,000 deaths directly attributed to the war, but few on our own soil. And in spite of Germany’s so-called Fifth Column, and in spite of a large German population in the United States, little damage was done on this continent by spies, and none by an invading army. Perhaps we did more direct damage to our own civilian population than did the Axis powers.

Since the Germans were not easily distinguised from most Americans, but the relatively loyal and benign Japanese Americans were – and in spite of the fact that many Germans were very active in pro-Nazi and anti-American activities prior to our entry into the war – it was the Japanese who suffered most.

With the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, made prior to their declaratioin of war, there was a massive reaction against Japanese citizens in the United States. To our shame, Earl Warren of California was successful in having the property of loyal second and third generation Japanese Americans seized, and the Japanese were incarcerated isent to prison camps. It was a great shame on our nation, and it thaat shame was compounded because its instigator, Earl Warren, was later appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

The scope and intensity of the war grew. It is estimated that just prior to the war, when a few nations were diverting resources in anticipation of involvement, that the United States invested just 2% of it’s gross national product in preparation, while the British, who had just survived World War I, its people war weary and hoping for peace, spent 7%.

By 1944, as the end of the war in Europe drew near, the Nazis were on a total war footing, devoting 75% of their GNP on their war machine, with England at 54%, and the USA, 42%. Many people in the USA were simply inconvenienced, with gasoline and many foods rationed. In many countries, however, people were starving. The figures for Germany, however, are misleading, as they pillaged every country they conquered, and then made slaves of millions of people, forcing them to work in war plants on starvation rations.

Our efforts to help the people of Britain were hindered by the German wolf packs,submarines preying on our cargo ships and oil tankers.. At one point, half the cargo ships we sent to England were sunk by German submarines, sending to the bottom of the Atlantic precious food and clothing that would never benefit anyone. But these numbers cannot begin to express the human misery, deprivation, suffering, dislocation, economic loss, and physical destruction of property, much less the deaths of millions.

It’s estimated that 16-million military personnel and 45-million civilians lost their lives, including 405,000 from the USA and 384,000 from Great Britain, not to speak of 5.3-million Germans and an incredible 26-million from Communist Russia.

War brings casualties, and civilians are often referred to as collateral damage or incidental damage, innocuous phrases that gloss over the deaths of non-combatants. I don’t call them “innocent civilians,” as the victims of crime and warfare are often characterized. For none of us is truly innocent. But there’s an important lesson here, for those who have been made righteous because they trusted in Christ, who are not simply prone to collateral damage, but are often targets of the world and the devil. Most people consider their deaths as defeats for Christianity, just as others consider the death of Christ to be a victory of Satan over God.

But they are wrong. Jesus came to this world with the express purpose of dying for our sins, and he proved it by raising himself from the dead.

“Sometimes what looks like defeat is victory,” as a Holman Study Bible commentator wrote, “as when believers die for their faith.”

But as the three Hebrews who faced Nebuchadnezzar said,

“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.”

Daniel 3:17

Jesus Christ observed that “there will be wars and rumors of wars,” but God doesn’t motivate mankind to go to war. So when the faithful are targeted by enemies of God, as were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they know that they will be delivered out of the hands of the enemy—whether through life or death—because “…to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8); and they “…will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6).

We all inevitably face death, and we had better have that holy confidence that we will ultimately see God. Few of us will pass quietly into that dark night, just falling asleep and awakening an instant later in paradise. Most of us face the trials of injury, accident, and illness; and yes, the vicissitudes of war. And you might face your very own fiery furnace for a moment in time, but if you are born again, it will be just like a snap of the fingers, and you will be in heaven. But those who reject God will face a fiery trial forever.

Consider Job, who Satan tempted and tortured mercilessly. Yet Job proved faithful, and triumphed, as do those written about in The Revelation. And just as you will triumph as you hang on to Jesus. The beloved disciple John tells us what will happen to Satan who tried Job and continues to harasses us.

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Revelation 12:10.

And what will be the outcome for those who turn to Christ during the coming great tribulation?

And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Revelation 12:1

Each of us has a major part in this epic adventure called life. Jesus provided for our salvation by dying for us, by taking the penalty for our sins, so that we would not have to suffer for all eternity. We prove our faith by testifying that he is Savior and Lord, and by our willingness to pass through the darkness of death into his marvelous light. We reveal that we are serious with God because we live through whatever comes by trusting him to ultimately deliver us.

If you feel challenged today—if an enemy has attacked, or you’ve been betrayed by a loved and trusted relative, friend, or associate; or you are suffering from a physical ailment, mental breakdown, severe privation, or even by murderous assault; whether you are thrown to lions, or pass away in your sleep, remember, we all live forever–some in God’s presence and the others under everlasting judgment.

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Hebrews 9:27

Are you one who will overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of your testimony, or will you awaken from death only fo find yourself facing the second death?

“War is hell,” but you may overcome by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, and by your faith in him.

Copyright 2025, Frank Becker

File: 3DEC25, War Is Hell