Isaiah
Chapter 33

1 Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.

2 O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.

3 At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered.

4 And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.

5 The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.

6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

7 Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.

8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.

9 The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

10 Now will I rise, saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.

11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

12 And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.

13 Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.

14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

16 He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

17 Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.

18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?

19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.

20 Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.

21 But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.

22 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

23 Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.

24 And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.

DHS Arrests Over 17,500 Criminal Illegal Immigrants Under Laken Riley Act

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/dhs-arrests-over-17500-criminal-illegal-immigrants-under-laken-riley-act-5962898?utm_source=ref_share&utm_campaign=copy

#UnitedKingdom
#DonaldTrump Admin Condemns #UK Fascist Communist Prosecution (actually persecution) Of #ProLifer For Silent #Prayer, Says It’s ‘Monitoring’ The Case - The prosecution of a #British pro-life advocate for praying violates ‘fundamental #freedoms’ and ‘the shared values that ought to underpin US-UK relations,’ a State Department official said. (Time to break ties from the UK!) https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trump-admin-condemns-uk-prosecution-of-pro-lifer-for-silent-prayer-says-its-monitoring-the-case/

The Fire That Knows My Name

The elders say
There is a heat that does not destroy.
It sharpens purpose,
teaches the heart when to stand firm
and when to step aside.

I learned that courage is not fury,
but clarity—
the strength to protect what is sacred
without needing to be seen.

Some paths are walked alone,
not from exile,
but from duty.
A watchful spirit must sometimes choose distance
to keep balance intact.

What burns within us
is not meant for conquest.
It is meant to light the way.
to remind us who we are
When the world tries to rename us.

So I move with steady resolve,
guided by an old flame—
one that honors ancestors,
guards the living,
and carries the promise
that survival, when rooted in respect,
becomes legacy.

Artist and storyteller: Dorothy Sep

#JeffreyEpstein
#JeffreyEpsteinFiles - Survivor And Former #DonaldTrump Voter Calls For His Impeachment #DOJ published another 30,000 pages of documents, photographs and other material related to Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday morning. They include hundreds of references to #POTUS Donald #Trump, and two subpoenas to his Mar-a-Lago estate in #Florida ..... https://www.newsweek.com/new-epstein-files-mention-trump-multiple-times-live-updates-11258633

Isaiah
Chapter 28

1 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!

2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.

3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:

4 And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.

5 In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,

6 And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.

7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.

8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.

9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.

12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.

21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.

22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.

23 Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.

24 Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?

25 When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place?

26 For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.

27 For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.

28 Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.

29 This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.

#MichaelSavage - #DonaldTrump flew on #JeffreyEpstein’s private jet ‘MORE times than we knew’… along with pedophile and 20-year-old woman, new files reveal https://michaelsavage.com/trump-flew-on-epsteins-private-jet-more-times-than-we-knew-along-with-pedophile-and-20-year-old-woman-new-files-reveal/

Why Some #Doctors Are Turning Against #Vaccine Mandates https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/why-some-doctors-are-turning-against-vaccine-mandates-5959922

#DonaldTrump calls the #NewYorkTimes ‘a threat to national security’ in late night #socialmedia rant https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-new-york-times-truth-social-b2889566.html

Brethren, it is human nature to desire honor. We wish to be first, to be important, to sit at the head of the table. Yet Christ tells us, “When you are invited…sit at the last place” (Lk. 14:8-10). Then the one who invited you will have opportunity to say, “Friend, move up higher” (Lk. 14:10).

This is a lesson in humility. Many times over Scripture exhorts us to be humble; for Christ showed the ultimate humility in laying aside His glory in taking on flesh to sacrifice Himself for us. So we are instructed, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Phil. 2:3-4).

We are admonished, “God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:6). We are encouraged, young and old alike, to clothe ourselves with humility toward one another (1 Pet. 5:5). And most importantly, we are commanded to humble ourselves before God and, like the one making invitation in Luke, He will exalt us at the proper time (Jas. 4:10; 1 Pet. 5:6).

Dear Christian, do not allow pride to bring you down. Instead, humble yourself, and God will give you wisdom and honor (Pr. 11:2, 29:23).

——————
Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, December 23

"Friend, go up higher." Luke 14:10

When first the life of grace begins in the soul, we do indeed draw near to God, but it is with great fear and trembling. The soul conscious of guilt, and humbled thereby, is overawed with the solemnity of its position; it is cast to the earth by a sense of the grandeur of Jehovah, in whose presence it stands. With unfeigned bashfulness it takes the lowest room.

But, in after life, as the Christian grows in grace, although he will never forget the solemnity of his position, and will never lose that holy awe which must encompass a gracious man when he is in the presence of the God who can create or can destroy; yet his fear has all its terror taken out of it; it becomes a holy reverence, and no more an overshadowing dread. He is called up higher, to greater access to God in Christ Jesus. Then the man of God, walking amid the splendours of Deity, and veiling his face like the glorious cherubim, with those twin wings, the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, will, reverent and bowed in spirit, approach the throne; and seeing there a God of love, of goodness, and of mercy, he will realize rather the covenant character of God than His absolute Deity. He will see in God rather His goodness than His greatness, and more of His love than of His majesty. Then will the soul, bowing still as humbly as aforetime, enjoy a more sacred liberty of intercession; for while prostrate before the glory of the Infinite God, it will be sustained by the refreshing consciousness of being in the presence of boundless mercy and infinite love, and by the realization of acceptance "in the Beloved." Thus the believer is bidden to come up higher, and is enabled to exercise the privilege of rejoicing in God, and drawing near to Him in holy confidence, saying, "Abba, Father."

So may we go from strength to strength,
And daily grow in grace,
Till in Thine image raised at length,
We see Thee face to face.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/state-department-recalls-29-ambassadors-5961462?utm_source=Goodevening&src_src=Goodevening&utm_campaign=gv-2025-12-22&src_cmp=gv-2025-12-22&utm_medium=email&est=iTkNgbQsjq3/uDd//RGoTaFH6w3+I5oIn/oylZ0t43OzFta2PDQXomsB5YvquElmNWvfJw==



STATE DEPT. RECALLS 29 AMBASSADORS - ALL BIDEN APPOINTEES

Brethren, be strong, but realize our strength comes not from within. We can do all things, but we do them through Him who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13). God says, “I will strengthen you” (Isa. 41:10). Therefore, let us not fear, nor be anxious (Isa. 41:10).

At times we may feel weak, but this is when God’s strength is able to shine through. Paul explains this when he in his own weakness writes, “He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9-10).

Let the power of God dwell in you (2 Cor. 12:9); let Christ live through you (Gal. 2:20). Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might (Eph. 6:10). Do not rely on your own strength, but humble yourself before God, and let Him exalt you when the time is right (1 Pet. 5:6).

——————
Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, December 22

"I will strengthen thee." Isaiah 41:10

God has a strong reserve with which to discharge this engagement; for He is able to do all things. Believer, till thou canst drain dry the ocean of omnipotence, till thou canst break into pieces the towering mountains of almighty strength, thou never needest to fear. Think not that the strength of man shall ever be able to overcome the power of God. Whilst the earth's huge pillars stand, thou hast enough reason to abide firm in thy faith. The same God who directs the earth in its orbit, who feeds the burning furnace of the sun, and trims the lamps of heaven, has promised to supply thee with daily strength. While He is able to uphold the universe, dream not that He will prove unable to fulfil His own promises. Remember what He did in the days of old, in the former generations. Remember how He spake and it was done; how He commanded, and it stood fast. Shall He that created the world grow weary? He hangeth the world upon nothing; shall He who doth this be unable to support His children? Shall He be unfaithful to His word for want of power? Who is it that restrains the tempest? Doth not He ride upon the wings of the wind, and make the clouds His chariots, and hold the ocean in the hollow of His hand? How can He fail thee? When He has put such a faithful promise as this on record, wilt thou for a moment indulge the thought that He has outpromised Himself, and gone beyond His power to fulfil? Ah, no! Thou canst doubt no longer.

O thou who art my God and my strength, I can believe that this promise shall be fulfilled, for the boundless reservoir of Thy grace can never be exhausted, and the overflowing storehouse of Thy strength can never be emptied by Thy friends or rifled by Thine enemies.

"Now let the feeble all be strong,
And make Jehovah's arm their song."

Still not ready for prime time - you are a test driver!

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/12/new-york-parents-furious-state-mandated-electric-buses/

It's about time...now others will know what many of us knew....plus we should know even more.

It's far past time to hold these Judges and DAs accountable for the harm they allow to occur!
If someone in a car can be held accountable for a murder someone else in the car committed these people should be held accountable for their actions as well!

https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2025/12/18/illegal-walks-free-after-committing-murder-immediately-commits-murder-again-n2197257

A Lie And #Propaganda : #TulsiGabbard Fact-Checks Reuters' #Russia Scaremongering In Real Time https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/lie-and-propaganda-gabbard-fact-checks-reuters-russia-scaremongering-real-time

What The Magi Mean To Christmas, Part 2
John MacArthur
https://youtu.be/tBmwEqMcNDo?si=ezqmkIiBuVSssFlu
#SundaySentiments #Christmas

John MacArthur
The Theology of Christmas
https://youtu.be/uhbWlk88kEE?si=V4POhbAebJ7EZ2Oa
#Christmas #SundaySentiments

The Supernatural Birth of Jesus
#JohnMacArthur
https://youtu.be/CYWoxbP1kOE?si=--SSya-Bg4FCZBQh
#Christmas #SundaySentiments