When God, through Moses, led Israel out of their captivity and slavery in Egypt, He took them out into the wilderness. Despite all they had seen from God leading to their release and the destruction of Pharaoh, the Israelites still grumbled. They were not trusting God.

One of their complaints was lack of food. “Would that we had died by the LORD’S hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (Exo. 16:2-3).

Thus, God decided to test them. He would send quail every evening for meat and manna every morning for bread, but each was to gather only what he needed for that particular day. Anything left until morning would breed worms and rot. Except, on the day before the sabbath, they were to gather two days worth, and what was left until the sabbath did not rot.

All this was God’s way of determining whether the Israelites would place their trust in Him and rely on Him daily.

Which, dear brethren, brings us to…us. Are you trusting in God daily to provide for you, rather than grumbling or doing your own thing? Or do you look to a different “god,” money, or something or someone else? Are you depending upon God continually, or do you trust in the strength of your own arm?

Believer, God wants us to depend on Him. This is why Jesus said not to worry for food, drink, clothing, but seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, and these needs would be met (Mt. 6:31-33).

Trust in Him. Humble yourself before Him. Cast all your anxiety before Him, because He cares for you (1 Pet. 5:6-7). Do this, and God will provide, and will exalt you at the proper time.

Believer, how blessed are we that we should be called children of God (1 Jn. 3:1). We were once enemies of God, by nature children of wrath, separated from Him, dead in our sin (Eph. 2:1-3). But He in His mercy demonstrated His love for us in that, while we were yet sinners, He sent His son to die on a cross for us (Rom. 5:8).

This was not because of any deeds of our own righteousness, but according to His mercy (Tit. 3:5). He is rich in mercy, and while we were yet dead in our sins, He made us alive with Christ (Eph. 2:5)!

How amazing! How humbling! We were nothing, not worthy of anything but condemnation. Yet God loved us and has given us eternal comfort and hope (2 Thes. 2:16).

We were not a people, but He made us His people (1 Pet. 2:10) and has said to us, “I will be their God” (Jer. 31:33). Hallelujah! Praise God for His mercy and love! Come out from the world and be separate as He has called us to do, for He is our God, and we are His people, His children (2 Cor. 6:16-18)!

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, January 9

"I will be their God." Jeremiah 31:33

Christian! here is all thou canst require. To make thee happy thou wantest something that shall satisfy thee; and is not this enough? If thou canst pour this promise into thy cup, wilt thou not say, with David, "My cup runneth over; I have more than heart can wish"? When this is fulfilled, "I am thy God", art thou not possessor of all things? Desire is insatiable as death, but He who filleth all in all can fill it. The capacity of our wishes who can measure? but the immeasurable wealth of God can more than overflow it. I ask thee if thou art not complete when God is thine? Dost thou want anything but God? Is not His all-sufficiency enough to satisfy thee if all else should fail? But thou wantest more than quiet satisfaction; thou desirest rapturous delight. Come, soul, here is music fit for heaven in this thy portion, for God is the Maker of Heaven. Not all the music blown from sweet instruments, or drawn from living strings, can yield such melody as this sweet promise, "I will be their God." Here is a deep sea of bliss, a shoreless ocean of delight; come, bathe thy spirit in it; swim an age, and thou shalt find no shore; dive throughout eternity, and thou shalt find no bottom. "I will be their God." If this do not make thine eyes sparkle, and thy heart beat high with bliss, then assuredly thy soul is not in a healthy state. But thou wantest more than present delights- thou cravest something concerning which thou mayest exercise hope"; and what more canst thou hope for than the fulfillment of this great promise, "I will be their God"? This is the masterpiece of all the promises; its enjoyment makes a heaven below, and will make a heaven above. Dwell in the light of thy Lord, and let thy soul be always ravished with His love. Get out the marrow and fatness which this portion yields thee. Live up to thy privileges, and rejoice with unspeakable joy.

Sounds like a strange parasite and whatever it is, it doesn’t sound like anything I’d want in my body.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/scientists-discovered-a-new-creature-that-exists-at-the-fringes-of-life/ar-AA1So3MO?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=6947593c46e94e42a27264999e648a6d&ei=13

Christian, what is the purpose of your life? To what end do you live it?

We all should be able to exclaim with Paul, “for me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). Likewise, we should know with certainty that “to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).

We are but sojourners here, subjects of the King, awaiting our entry into His Kingdom, just as were those great men of faith who lived long ago (Heb. 11). Let us then put aside any love for this world and the things in it; for such is not from the Father but from the world (1 Jn. 2:15-16).

Shall we not instead allow Christ to live through us, living by faith (Gal. 2:20), as slaves of righteousness (Rom. 6:16-20)? We were bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20), purchased by God’s own blood (Acts 20:28). How then can we not give ourselves over to Him who purchased us?

No, let us not be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds, presenting ourselves, our bodies, as holy sacrifices to God (Rom. 12:1-2). And let us for Christ’s sake consider as loss those things which the world treasures, and set our sights on the knowledge of Christ, the value of which surpasses anything this world may offer (Phil. 3:7-8).

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, January 7

"For me to live is Christ." Philippians 1:21

The believer did not always live to Christ. He began to do so when God the Holy Spirit convinced him of sin, and when by grace he was brought to see the dying Saviour making a propitiation for his guilt. From the moment of the new and celestial birth the man begins to live to Christ. Jesus is to believers the one pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we have. He has so completely won our love, that it beats alone for Him; to His glory we would live, and in defence of His gospel we would die; He is the pattern of our life, and the model after which we would sculpture our character. Paul's words mean more than most men think; they imply that the aim and end of his life was Christ- nay, his life itself was Jesus. In the words of an ancient saint, he did eat, and drink, and sleep eternal life. Jesus was his very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live up to this idea? Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? Your business- are you doing it for Christ? Is it not done for self- aggrandizement and for family advantage? Do you ask, "Is that a mean reason?" For the Christian it is. He professes to live for Christ; how can he live for another object without committing a spiritual adultery? Many there are who carry out this principle in some measure; but who is there that dare say that he hath lived wholly for Christ as the apostle did? Yet, this alone is the true life of a Christian- its source, its sustenance, its fashion, its end, all gathered up in one word- Christ Jesus. Lord, accept me; I here present myself, praying to live only in Thee and to Thee. Let me be as the bullock which stands between the plough and the altar, to work or to be sacrificed; and let my motto be, "Ready for either."

January 5th, five years ago. I looked in my review mirror and seen something that a parent should never see. My son, Jamie's truck, was on the drivers side, in the middle of the road. I can't say anything, because it is going through court. He had a broken neck and has a blood spot in his back. He had the surgery for his neck. Has nerve burning for his back. Jamie, is doing well. There are times, when his back, neck and body hurt.

I am in prayer, still, that everything will be settled out of court. There is yet, another court date set for the week of July 27th.

This has been very trying, for both my son and I.

I ask that if you pray, that you will keep my son in prayer. Thank you.

#NYC Mayor #ZorhanMamdani Tenant Czar Called To Seize #PrivateProperty Calls Home Ownership #WhiteSupremacy https://www.zerohedge.com/political/mamdanis-nyt-tenant-czar-called-seize-private-property-calls-home-ownership-white

More on Venezuela Operation Absolute Resolve
https://johnhouk.substack.com/p/more-on-venezuela-operation-absolute

SUMMARY: Yesterday I posted, “21st Century Monroe Doctrine Exerted as Trump Military Arrests Maduro & Wife in Venezuela”. It was an off-the-cuff post where I also shared how the CCP-China & Putin-Russia (Maduro Allies) were impotent to do anything but whine in their tea and/or vodka. … I’m cross posting below Jonathan Turley’s thoughts on removing Maduro is more than the Narcoterrorism crimes. Narcoterrorism was the key that opened the U.S. Constitutional door, but oil and keeping the CCP out was the end game. …TAKE A LOOK!
#OperationAbsoluteResove

Brethren, do you make time for prayer? Do you make it a priority?

Countless times in the New Testament we are exhorted to pray. In the garden, Jesus admonishes His disciples to “keep praying,” warning that, though the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak (Mt. 26:41), and even to pray for those who would mistreat them (Lk. 6:28). James explains that the fervent prayer of a righteous man is effective and accomplishes much (Jas. 5:16). The Apostles, at the founding of the Church, devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 6:4). In fact, all those who followed their teaching also devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 2:42).

Paul over and again encourages his readers to “pray at all times” (Eph. 6:18), to not be anxious about anything, but pray (Phil. 4:6-7), and to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17).

With so many passages imploring us to pray, how can we not do so? A relationship cannot exist without communication, thus we must give ourselves to prayer if we wish to have a relationship with our God who saved us. He communicates with us through His word, and He urges us, “devote yourselves to prayer” (Col. 4:2) so that we may communicate with Him.

Let us not neglect our communing with the Lord through prayer, but make it a regular practice at the outset of the day, during moments when we are unoccupied, when concerns arise, before we lie down at night, whenever we are able. Disciplining ourselves to have a strong prayer life will lead to a closer walk with Him.

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, January 2

"Continue in prayer." Colossians 4:2

It is interesting to remark how large a portion of Sacred Writ is occupied with the subject of prayer, either in furnishing examples, enforcing precepts, or pronouncing promises. We scarcely open the Bible before we read, "Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord;" and just as we are about to close the volume, the "Amen" of an earnest supplication meets our ear. Instances are plentiful. Here we find a wrestling Jacob- there a Daniel who prayed three times a day- and a David who with all his heart called upon his God. On the mountain we see Elias; in the dungeon Paul and Silas. We have multitudes of commands, and myriads of promises. What does this teach us, but the sacred importance and necessity of prayer? We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives. If He has said much about prayer, it is because He knows we have much need of it. So deep are our necessities, that until we are in heaven we must not cease to pray. Dost thou want nothing? Then, I fear thou dost not know thy poverty. Hast thou no mercy to ask of God? Then, may the Lord's mercy show thee thy misery! A prayerless soul is a Christless soul. Prayer is the lisping of the believing infant, the shout of the fighting believer, the requiem of the dying saint falling asleep in Jesus. It is the breath, the watchword, the comfort, the strength, the honour of a Christian. If thou be a child of God, thou wilt seek thy Father's face, and live in thy Father's love. Pray that this year thou mayst be holy, humble, zealous, and patient; have closer communion with Christ, and enter oftener into the banqueting-house of His love. Pray that thou mayst be an example and a blessing unto others, and that thou mayst live more to the glory of thy Master. The motto for this year must be, "Continue in prayer."

"Shada’s Case: Rape and Trafficking with Child Welfare as the Pimp?"

"Part 1
Shocking news for them. Is our beloved Norway starting to resemble a country we don’t like to compare ourselves to? A banana republic where almost anything is possible? If you have the right connections and wield the necessary power, any crime can be concealed. Who are these people, and why is it so important to protect them—pedophiles with ties to the highest levels of Norwegian public life?"

https://x.com/Herr_Bowen/status/1963211778541646174

"President Truman, 21 July 1947, diary entry:

“The Jews, I find are very, very selfish. They care not how many Estonians, Latvians, Finns, Poles, Yugoslavs or Greeks get murdered or mistreated as displaced persons as long as the Jews get special treatment. Yet when they have power, physical, financial or political, neither Adolf Hitler nor Joseph Stalin has anything on them for cruelty or mistreatment to the underdog. The Jews have no sense of proportion nor do they have any judgment on world affairs”."

https://x.com/WorldByWolf/status/2002400751369220097

#NYT
#NewYorkTimes Declares War on #Homeschooling & Parental #Rights https://www.freedomproject.com/2025/12/17/tnr121725/

Video - Pastor Bryan Denlinger - Can #Communist #China Make Anything Right? Pastor Bryan "I bought a brand new "PelPro PP130" pellet stove in late October of this year, and it broke down in less than 2 MONTHS! I wasn't even running it everyday. We can all see the absolute collapse of manufacturing. Is it all the result of no quality standards in Communist China? Or is there something bigger going on?" https://youtu.be/yuLXjTCl1yk?si=OdC8eqhWcsBvQuXC

#DonaldTrump Files $10 Billion Suit Against #BBC Over Documentary https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/15/us/politics/trump-sues-bbc.html?unlocked_article_code=1.9E8.MZch.fgQIis_i0FA3&

Anything to stay in power...

"Senator John Kennedy reads an internal memo from the Minnesota Attorney General’s office

They openly say they did not stop the Somalia immigrant fraud because Democrats would lose votes

“Here’s what a fraud investigator in the Attorney General’s office said. She said, There is a perception that I’m quoting now, that forcefully tackling this issue would cause political backlash from the Somali community, which is a core voting block for Democrats”"

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/12/senator-john-kennedy-reads-damning-memo-that-explains/

Most doctors know it's dangerous as do pharmacists, even if they don't say anything.

Christian, to what length are you willing to go in order to reach the lost? Paul declared, “I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some” (1 Cor. 9:22).

But what does this mean? Did Paul become an adulterer in order to reach adulterers? Or a homosexual that he might draw homosexuals to Christ? Did he become a thief in order to save thieves? While Paul explains that, to the Jews he became as a Jew, and to those without the law, he became as one without the law, his statement of becoming all things is clearly not literal.

Paul here is making the point that he met people where they were, just as did Jesus Himself. Paul was willing to sacrifice his liberties (not to go against his beliefs or violate them) in order to have opportunity to preach the gospel.

Make no mistake - Paul did not water down the gospel, he used no “hook,” he did not entertain to be heard, nor use enticing or eloquent speech. For what does Paul say?

“I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified…my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:1-5)

Paul preached in or near the synagogues, in jail, on the streets. The purpose was to carry the good news of the kingdom to the lost and hurting, to a dark and dying world. He regarded his reputation, his freedom, any worldly possessions, as worthless compared to reaching the lost. We would do well to do the same.

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Evening, December 7

"I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." 1 Corinthians 9:22

Paul's great object was not merely to instruct and to improve, but to save. Anything short of this would have disappointed him; he would have men renewed in heart, forgiven, sanctified, in fact, saved. Have our Christian labours been aimed at anything below this great point? Then let us amend our ways, for of what avail will it be at the last great day to have taught and moralized men if they appear before God unsaved? Blood-red will our skirts be if through life we have sought inferior objects, and forgotten that men needed to be saved. Paul knew the ruin of man's natural state, and did not try to educate him, but to save him; he saw men sinking to hell, and did not talk of refining them, but of saving from the wrath to come. To compass their salvation, he gave himself up with untiring zeal to telling abroad the gospel, to warning and beseeching men to be reconciled to God. His prayers were importunate and his labours incessant. To save souls was his consuming passion, his ambition, his calling. He became a servant to all men, toiling for his race, feeling a woe within him if he preached not the gospel. He laid aside his preferences to prevent prejudice; he submitted his will in things indifferent, and if men would but receive the gospel, he raised no questions about forms or ceremonies: the gospel was the one all-important business with him. If he might save some he would be content. This was the crown for which he strove, the sole and sufficient reward of all his labours and self-denials. Dear reader, have you and I lived to win souls at this noble rate? Are we possessed with the same all-absorbing desire? If not, why not? Jesus died for sinners, cannot we live for them? Where is our tenderness? Where our love to Christ, if we seek not His honour in the salvation of men? O that the Lord would saturate us through and through with an undying zeal for the souls of men.

Can We Agree #Kids Don’t Need #Doritos at #School? https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/opinion/kids-ultraprocessed-foods-school.html

God Will Meet You Where Your Faith Is
https://johnhouk.substack.com/p/god-will-meet-you-where-your-faith

SUMMARY: I’m one of those Word of Faith adherents condemned by so many mainline Christians. Many Word of Faith critics claim the movement takes Scripture out of context yet fail to actually and validly show anything out of context… When a Preacher or Teacher expounds the Word of God to help the listener line up with the Word of God – THAT IS GOOD! When a Preacher or Teacher uses the Word of God to increase donations – THAT IS EVIL! … In early November I went in for a checkup with my Primary Physician. I pointed out a large bump bottom left from my eye. … The Mohs Surgery was undertaken on 12/11/25. It went well and was pronounced skin cancer free. …THANK YOU JESUS! …YOU CAN READ ALL.
#ChristTheHealer

Christian, whom do you serve? Jesus said you cannot serve two masters (Mt. 6:24).

Are you serving men? Yes, we are called to do so in a proper manner, but our service to others is an extension of our service to God.

Are you serving money? Being consumed by a desire for material wealth leads to grief (1 Tim. 6:9-10). God promises if we seek first His kingdom, He will provide our needs (Mt. 6:33), and with that, Paul teaches, we should be satisfied (1 Tim. 6:8).

Are you serving self? This is the most difficult master from whom to separate. Yet Jesus exhorts that, in order to follow Him, one must deny himself (Lk. 9:23)

It is Christ we are to serve (Col. 3:24), and God through Him. We are to be steadfast in this, abounding in the work of the Lord, not working as though for men, but for God (Col. 3:23). We have no excuse to do otherwise. God provided what we need to be fully equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16). Let us by faith, therefore, set about the good works for which God called and saved us, which He prepared beforehand for us that we might walk in them (Eph. 2:10).

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Evening, December 11

"Ye serve the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:24

To what choice order of officials was this word spoken? To kings who proudly boast a right divine? Ah, no! too often do they serve themselves or Satan, and forget the God whose sufferance permits them to wear their mimic majesty for their little hour. Speaks then the apostle to those so-called "right reverend fathers in God," the bishops, or "the venerable the archdeacons"? No, indeed, Paul knew nothing of these mere inventions of man. Not even to pastors and teachers, or to the wealthy and esteemed among believers, was this word spoken, but to servants, ay, and to slaves. Among the toiling multitudes, the journeymen, the day labourers, the domestic servants, the drudges of the kitchen, the apostle found, as we find still, some of the Lord's chosen, and to them he says, "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." This saying ennobles the weary routine of earthly employments, and sheds a halo around the most humble occupations. To wash feet may be servile, but to wash His feet is royal work. To unloose the shoe-latchet is poor employ, but to unloose the great Master's shoe is a princely privilege. The shop, the barn, the scullery, and the smithy become temples when men and women do all to the glory of God! Then "divine service" is not a thing of a few hours and a few places, but all life becomes holiness unto the Lord, and every place and thing, as consecrated as the tabernacle and its golden candlestick.

"Teach me, my God and King, in all things Thee to see;
And what I do in anything to do it as to Thee.
All may of Thee partake, nothing can be so mean,
Which with this tincture, for Thy sake, will not grow bright and clean.
A servant with this clause makes drudgery divine;
Who sweeps a room, as for Thy laws, makes that and the action fine."

#NYT
#NewYorkTimes warns America is unprepared for #war with #China despite $901 billion defense budget https://www.naturalnews.com/2025-12-11-america-unprepared-war-china-defense.html