PROPHECY UPDATE......12/30/2022

 

Warning from the Modern Watchman - by Pastor Mike Taylor - https://pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com/2022/12/by-pastor-mike-taylor-1-word-of-lord.html   1 “Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: 3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; 4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. 6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.” (Ezekiel 33:1-6)   We are in unsettled times. Dark clouds are gathering and danger is all around us. As it was in the days of Israel and Ezekiel was called to be a watchman of their spiritual condition, so today God has set up men who will warn His people of the coming dangers in their world, either spiritual and/or physical.   In the history of the Israel, the people would appoint a man to stand guard on the wall towers, or along the wall and he would scan the horizon for signs of danger. He was the ancient idea of a first warning system. When an enemy was spotted making advances on the city, the watchman would sound an alarm. It could be his voice calling out, or could be blasts of a trumpet, or a striking of a large gong. Whatever was used, it was designed to give the people first hand warning of impending danger and give them time to prepare for the coming advance on their city. Today, as times have changed, so too have the methods of warning the people of impending danger. To reach as many people as possible, the best method is use of the internet. This warning system can spread to all corners of the globe and to those who will listen, give them an advance warning of the coming disaster.   In this era of the last days of modern history before the coming of the tribulation, men stand on the proverbial wall and scan the news of the day, the signs of impending danger that threatens all of us, and then send out warnings based on a solid foundation of events foretold in the only true predictor of human events to come, your bible.   A DANGEROUS WORLD   Everyone knows that danger is in the air, if they have their senses alert. They feel it, they see it, and they even smell it. This sense of something big is about to happen is coming from all avenues of life on this planet including the secular humanist, the man on the street, especially the awake Christian, and every human being that sees the conditions of this dying world. Everyone has their feelings of dread and fear what is coming upon the population of earth. The only portion of humanity that has a handle on what is coming, is the bible believing Christian, as they have the playbook right in front of them and they know how the history of mankind is played out to it's divinely appointed conclusion. The rest are in confusion and fear grips their minds or embrace a false hope.   Jesus gave us the signs of the coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven and spoke of the conditions that will be the first signs of His impending return. Matthew 24 gives us a play by play of those signs. But let us explore how this passage is being enacted right before our very eyes, in real time. Let us take portions of this passage and see how it is being fulfilled in our eyes and ears. Begin in Verse 4:   4 “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” (Matthew 24:4-5)   How many men have proclaimed to be the chosen one, the Messiah? You say, many and you would be right. From Jim Jones, David Koresh, Sun Myung Moon, to individuals whose followers claimed them to be the messiah coming from Jewish, Christian, and even Muslim sects. All are leading up to one man, when the world is in ultimate chaos and they look for someone to make sense of this world and give them some type of “hope”. This ultimate evil ruler is known as the Anti-Christ.   HOPE AND CHANGE??   What gives me pause was the advancement of an unknown political figure, a junior senator from Illinois, that came out of no where and became president of the United States. I don't mean this to be a political piece, but we must understand that a man will arise that will fulfill what Jesus said. Many believed that Obama was the prophesied “man of sin”? I don't know as I don't have evidence that he is or was, but I believe he is a precursor if nothing else. Obama embodies the level men and women will give their allegiance to one man and blindly follow him. Many have called this man, the “black messiah” that has come to liberate his people and the African-American community has been looking for such a man for 200 years. I was reading an article that caught my attention and the details put me back in my chair of a man by the name of Paul Robeson. Doesn't ring a bell? Neither did it me, until I saw the connection to previously labeled Mr. Hope and Change. Here is the excerpt of that article:   “Paul Robeson was called the “Great Forerunner” (of the black messiah to come). For a time it was thought that he could be the prophesied, black messiah, who has been anticipated in the black community for 200 years or longer, a mystical leader, who would overturn the satanic white system and liberate the blacks of the world.   Robeson was the mentor of Frank Marshall Davis, Obama’s own mentor. For this reason it is believable that Davis put the idea of the mystical black messiah in Obama’s head at a very early age. He had contacts via Paul Robeson to people, who could provide funds and help advance Obama in his education and in politics. It was no accident that Obama joined Jeremiah Wright’s church which has a black liberation doctrine, based on a black messiah, who would be an ordinary man.”   How else can we explain the sudden meteor like rise of an unknown junior senator from Illinois, the lack of facts surrounding his background, the sealed documents of his schooling, selective service, and even his birth certificate that came into question? Now, I'm not into conspiracy theories, but the facts surrounding this man are most troubling to even a casual observer that has their ears and eyes open and not “drinking the Kool-Aid”. The main stream media had nearly deified this man in their zeal for their liberal philosophy and may be playing into a nefarious plan to bring America to embrace social justice, a buzz word for spread the wealth around …AKA Fascism. What is Fascism? On page 218 of author Robert Paxton's ground-breaking book, "The Anatomy of Fascism", Paxton defines Fascism as, "...a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victim-hood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which is a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants..." Therefore, Fascism is an extremist ideology. Is this where America is heading? Now Obama is no longer President, but he lurks in the background with his “deep state” cohorts trying to sabotage anything that benefits this country.   JESUS FURTHER WARNED   Let us go on with what Jesus spoke of further into these verses:6 “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.(Matthew 24:6-8)   You say there have always been conflicts in our history, and the history of the world. Correct, except for one thing, not to the extent that has been our history in the last 100 years. I wrote a sermon on that very fact of the amount of people who have died in wars in the last 100 years compared to all of human history that is recorded. It is known that over 250 million people have died in just the last 100 years or the population roughly ¾ of the USA. That's more than all of recorded human history combined. But this is just the beginning. I went on to say that in the pages of the book of Revelation, God reveals and numbers the amount of the slain to be 2/3 of all mankind or roughly 5 billion people at the end of the age called the Tribulation. Makes the last 100 years of the war dead pale in comparison, doesn't it? That's 20 times the amount killed in the last 100 years in only 7 SHORT years. Can you smell the loss of life? If you witness it, you most undoubtedly will. Folks, the wars being fought now, are just the warming up for the carnage that is coming. We read or hear nightly of the dangers of a Middle East conflict involving Iran and Israel and possibly sending the world into WWIII. Not to mention the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It's not a possibility, it's a fact that will be played out, just as the bible spoke about and will happen in the future sooner than any of you may want. Even now a general in the Iranian army says that they have enough firepower to destroy Israel completely. And you see the build-up of forces from Turkey, Iran and Russia coming ever closer to the Golan Heights preparing for an “invasion”? Can you say Gog-Magog war brewing?   NATURAL DISASTERS INCREASING.   What about famines and pestilences? Have we ever seen the amount of drought, loss of crops, and natural disasters that we have seen in the good ole' USA that we have seen in the last 10 years that has been growing in intensity since the mid 60s? America has by history been the bread-basket of the world, but we may be fast approaching being unable to feed the world, let alone ourselves. What happened in the mid 60s? Oh, yeah, we ended, by Supreme Court decree of the right of prayer in our schools brought about by a lawsuit by an atheist known as Madelyn O'Hare. We have been ever more kicking out our Creator from the halls of the government ever since. A nation that was founded upon the principles found in our bibles embodied in the Ten Commandments has steadily become more and more secular and abandoning our founding principles. How about earthquakes? The earth is violently shaking to the point that a day doesn't go by that you don't hear about another quake and loss of life. Like a pregnant woman, the birth pains are drawing closer and closer. Then you hear the prediction that if the Yellowstone Cauldron Volcano erupts, not if, but when, then it would destroy most of the USA by impact and the famine it will produce.   As the USA has become more and more a nation with a government that defends every conceivable deviate notion of live and let live, we have entered into the age of “tolerance” that only come from one place, demon and satanic inspiration. In the last 50 years, what have we done, or should I say allowed into our land? First came the misguided “separation of church and state” which is not found in our constitution or bill of rights, then Roe V. Wade that made it legal to kill an unwanted child. The Supreme Court granted evil men and women to have illicit sex without the fear of raising a child, which could be conveniently and without remorse, aborted in the beginning of the gestational period. Oh, but we didn't stop there, as it evolved into partial birth abortion that allows a “doctor” (sic) to either severe the spinal cord of a half birthed baby from the mother's womb or stab it in the back of the head and suck out it's brains before it is fully delivered....We have destroyed in this nation a full generation of tax paying citizens that deserved the right to live. How dare we say we need entitlement reform, when what we needed was a transformation of the heart to prevent such an atrocity to be perpetuated in the first place. God help us, as we have become an abomination in the sight of God for killing our children. There was another time and place where God pronounced judgment on a people such as ours:   4 “Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, that they knew not, they and their fathers and the kings of Judah; and have filled this place with the blood of innocents, 5 and have built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons in the fire for burnt-offerings unto Baal; which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: 6 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter. 7 And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.” (Jeremiah 19:4-7)   This was the disgusting practice of appeasing a pagan god by giving their little ones, sons and daughters to be burned in the fires of an idol. Have we not done the same? Has this nation killed their sons and daughters in the name of their pagan god, “sexual immorality” and lust of the flesh? We all know it has been done to the tune of 60+ Million of potential USA citizens whose only crime was their right to be born.   Let's us not forget those who wish to be a privileged class amongst us!! I speak of the homosexual crowd. Since the beginning of ancient history, there has been evil among us. God has shown His disgust and condemnation of those who practice this deviate lifestyle. When God came to Abraham during the time of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and it's surrounding cities, the sin was mainly the sin of homosexuality. Genesis,   4 “But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house; 5 and they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them." (sexual perversion of the same sex)”(Genesis 19:4-5)   It's quite possible that disease was rampant among these people because of their sin, the bible doesn't say, but it would be in line with what has happened in our own society in the scourge of AIDS. God wiped the earth of these people with fire and brimstone that could be correlated to what a nuclear blast would be like...it was complete. Paul speaks of this abomination in Romans,   24 “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet............ 32 “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” (Romans 1:24_27, 32)   Even from ancient times, homosexuality was condemned by God along with sexual uncleanness: Leviticus,   21 “ And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. 22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.(Leviticus 18:21-22)   Does that not describe our culture and it's “tolerant” view of this change to human existence? Of course it does. Jesus goes on to warn of the sign of the end of days, Matthew,   12 “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Matthew 24:12-21)   Most all of these signs have been fulfilled. The love of a neighbor, or fellow human being is non-existent. More so in other countries, as women and children are viewed as cattle and expendable, but we are just as guilty here in other ways as they are. The murder rate is exponentially increasing. Men destroy other men financially, emotionally, physically, and ultimately spiritually. Jesus said that the gospel will be preached in all the world, THEN the end would come. In the age of technology, the use of satellite TV and more importantly, the internet, the Gospel has reached the four corners of this world. No one who is listening and willing to repent, has failed to hear the name, Jesus Christ and the coming Kingdom of God. In the last part of what Jesus warned, comes the warning to Israel, the only part starting in verse 15, that is still future, as I have many times advocated that Jesus was speaking to Israel in particular and the focus of the coming tribulation is bringing that nation to the realization and acceptance of their Messiah, Jesus Christ.   WHAT TIME IS IT?   But back to what I started. I believe this country is scheduled for judgment. That judgment has been slowed due to the administration that we had, because of Trump being a nationalist instead of “One World Advocate” and is reported to have been saved by the leading of an Evangelist that prayed with him and other ministers laid their hands upon him and confessed Jesus Christ as Savior. It is why the left and the leftist media hate him so much..He is stood in their way...Otherwise, although we may have received a short reprieve from judgment, it has been coming on for a generation or more. No nation in all of the annals of history has been so mired in the sins of the flesh, that has not had the judgment of God come down about their heads. The USA was an idea like no other in all of history. In a sea of human suffering, men who put their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor on the line for freedom to speak their mind, to worship or not to worship the God of the Bible, and to be responsible for their own destiny as found in the opening lines of our Declaration of Independence. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” formed this republic called the United States of America.   What can we do? Much like Israel and other nations who turned away from God, maybe not much as there comes a time when God's patience wears out and He passes judgment and the sentence is carried out. When it comes past the time of delaying judgment, God's will may be set and it will come to pass. Can I say that it is too late for America? No, I'm not a prophet, only a watchman sending out a warning who sees what is happening and am sounding the alarm to any and all who will listen. We as citizens of this country, and citizens of the coming Kingdom of God in the near future, must stand for righteousness. We cannot stand silent and by our silence condone what we know is against the laws of Almighty God.   We look at the political climate that affects all our lives and wonder what has become of our government and our God given freedoms? Is this not what we sent our elected officials to do in our name? Are not our elected representatives there for us, not for themselves or their own lust for power?   IS AMERICA TO BE DESTROYED?   I was truly saddened by the debacle that was displayed by the party of Truman, Roosevelt, and Kennedy at a prior Democratic (sic) convention. It seems the “party of the people” is now populated with atheist, Muslims, and secular humanist liberals who have a disdain for their Creator. How can any Christian support a political entity that takes three voice votes on if God should or should not be part of the language of the party platform? If you saw the proceedings, you know that 2/3 voice vote was not achieved to ratify the words God and Jerusalem, the latter as the capital of Israel. I believe that at least half of the party delegates are anti-God and antisemitic. This party has added to their platform language positions that support abominations that I have just covered. This is on top of where our country is economically, politically, and ultimately spiritually. Economically, we have been at the cliff's edge. The stock market is at an all time high, but everyone knows that it sits on a very inflated bubble. Collapse could happen at any moment. It could get really hard to feed your family, or yourself. Marshall law could be enacted to bring order of the resulting chaos of people looking out for #1 and riots like in Greece could develop. Things could get really dicey, really quick.                                           A LEADER PLACED BY GOD FOR JUDGEMENT   So what have we got to look forward to in the next two years or beyond, if we have that kind of time before Jesus Christ burst through the clouds and says, “come up hither”? If you look at the last administration, I expect more of the same or worse. There is no doubt in my mind that the job Mr. Obama wished to finish, or the final nail in the coffin that was the United States of America that we have grown up with. I believe that is what he means when he said “Forward”or Economic reset"which is a Marxist slogan of days gone by. If it comes to pass, gone will be our freedoms we have enjoyed. Gone will be our right to speak our mind. Gone will be the ability to worship as we choose. And gone will be our rights given to us by God, but replaced with the government who knows all, sees all, and controls all. It is all falling into place. We are being invaded right now, by illegal immigration and those who are bringing diseases into this country in the name of “amnesty”. There is a big push for a physical wall to protect this country from this southern invasion. What president would allow an invasion of our country by executive order, all for political gain to swell the ranks of his party and destroy the American dream? Obama sure tried, and Trump is trying to push it back, but those in Congress that used to want a border wall, now are against it, because Trump was for it.   What president in the past upholds the right to destroy human life through abortion and claims to be a Christian? What man, be he president or the common Joe, embraces every secular humanist philosophy known to man and claims to be a proponent of the Bible's clear teachings? You can put lipstick on a pig, but it doesn't make him a Christian pig. This big brother government has attempted to muzzle the religious community by enforcing by intimidation a law called the “Johnson Amendment” passed in 1954 by voice vote, that prohibited the right of Christian pastors to speak politically in the pulpit. I, for one, won't be silenced. (Praise God, our POTUS signed a religious freedom act to protect our God given rights) As men ordained by God, pastors must stand for what is right in this country. Who do we follow, God or man? After all, this is not Iran, yet! America could very well be in the throes of judgment right now. Have you ever seen the like of natural disasters that have come upon our own land from the West, into the Midwest, and up into the Northeast down to the Gulf? We’ve all seen things get pretty crazy before, but not to the extent we have seen in the last, say 10 years. It seems to me, that our nation has gone near stark, raving crazy in it’s lunacy surrounded by natural disasters. Until that time comes when Jesus breaks through the clouds with a trumpet call, all we can do is be in faith and believe Psalm 91 and it’s promises of protection and continue the work Jesus proclaimed us to do, in His Name.   ISRAEL IS AGAIN FRONT AND CENTER IN PROPHECY   The political climate is near ripe for the coming of the lawless one. We see Israel and the Palestinians right now, fighting a long overdue war from Gaza and Israel believes it has a right to defend herself from non-stop salvos of missiles being fired at their citizens. Or the trouble at the Gaza border trying to invade the country...Or the push for a two state solution that the Arabs do not want. The only thing Abbas and his kind want is to push Israel into the sea and drown them. I hear many pundits calling on Israel to stop “war crimes” against humanity. What other country, and especially here in the USA, would allow missiles to rain down on their citizens? Would we tolerate Mexico or Canada doing the same as Hamas? No, we would not tolerate it, and invasion would be imminent against the perpetrators for this act of war. Human rights bleeding hearts and the lame stream media fail to realize that Hamas started the fights, and I pray Israel finishes them with God's help.   I read just the other day, that many of the surrounding nations are considering coming to assist and fight alongside Hamas in this Gaza conflict….if that happens, can you say Psalm 83 that is prophesied that Israel will destroy those who come against them in a siege to remove them as a nation and as a people? Read the passage and judge for yourself. With God’s help, (behind the scenes for the moment), Israel will be victorious and it is promised that they will own or conquer land from the great river in Egypt to the Euphrates to the east and north into Syria and south into Arabia….It will be the only time that Israel can claim to be in safety and security when their surrounding enemies are neutralized. How long will that security last? Will it be two years, ten years, or will it be less. If Israel is allowed to control their own economy and expand their discovery of natural gas and oil, they will own a majority of all oil producing wells in the world, plus billions of metric tons of natural gas to be exported to Europe and the surrounding Middle East. Who is the major supplier of natural gas for that population now? That would be Russia, the old Soviet Bear is rising in the region and will it allow a major competitor into their territory? Can you say Ezekiel 38-39?    AGAIN, WHAT TIME IS IT?   Readers, how much time do we have? A week, a year, two years, or maybe a little longer? God only knows, but Jesus said “Occupy till I come”Luke 19:13b. We must be about our Father's business, and that extends to our obligation to promote what is right in our own lives, our community, our town/city, and by extension to our country reaching as many as we can with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We cannot be silent. We cannot stand idly by and say there is nothing we as God's people can do. In all things, exercise your individual convictions based on your only source of truth, God's Holy Word. Time is running out for salvation for your neighbor, your family member, or even yourself to make a decision for Jesus Christ. When America falls, you may just look around and wonder where everyone went? I for one, will be at a marriage feast. Till then I plan to fight the good fight and stand for up for righteousness...won't you join me?   We are at the very end of the Age of man's rule of this planet, as Jesus proclaimed that when these things begin...that's BEGIN to happen, then...   28 “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. 29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:28-32)   As I have spoken of many times, Israel is the door to end time prophecy and Jerusalem is the door. Jesus said the generation that saw Israel reborn in 1948 will still be alive when Jesus breaks through the clouds and cries, “Come up hither” and we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. That generation according to Psalm 90 was completed last year, as Israel turned 73 years old as a nation again. The outside is 80 years by strength, so how much longer will Jesus tarry? No predictions allowed, but it reveals just how close we actually are to the end of this age, known as the Church Age, and the beginning of the Tribulation.   We see all this happening around us now. And ask you, ARE YOU READY for the return of our Savior and King, Jesus Christ? It could happen at any moment. Don't be caught by surprise and drowning in your own sins without forgiveness or repentance. How must you be ready? Two short passages give you the way to be ready to meet the Lord in the air, what we call the rapture...   16 “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)   AND..........   8 “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:8-13)   There are many other verses that address your lost condition, but these two passages give you the recipe to find forgiveness of your sins, and become a child of God. Don't wait, for as a minister that sees the landscape forming for the coming of our Lord.....remember these words again.   28 “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Luke 21-28)   This is Pastor Mike Taylor praying God's salvation comes into your life through Jesus Christ our Lord. If you need counseling, prayer, or just a friendly ear, email me at or visit me online at pastormiktaylor@yahoo.com . for more biblical lessons from the Word of God. God bless you all, till we meet at Jesus feet.

The World Will Continue To Deteriorate – By Amir Tsarfati - https://harbingersdaily.com/worldview-with-amir-tsarfati-the-world-will-continue-to-deteriorate/   This past week, former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev released a list of his predictions for 2023. In this wild catalog of speculation, he included events like the collapse of the EU, the creation of a Fourth Reich, war in Western Europe, civil war in the US, and Texas seceding and forming an allied state with Mexico. While this may be Medvedev’s grown-up Christmas list, I’m not quite as pessimistic as he is. However, neither am I optimistic about what is coming in this next year. For all the difficulties that the globe has seen in this past year, I believe that 2023 will be much worse.   I know that this is hard for some Christians to understand. Many have been deceived by bad theology and are waiting for a golden age of righteousness to be ushered in by the church. That’s not going to happen. The golden age of righteousness will come, but it will not be established by Christians but by Christ Himself when He returns with the church following the seven horrific years of the tribulation. Because I know through the Bible what God has planned, I can be pessimistic for the world, while, at the same time, being optimistic for those who have received Jesus as their Savior and Lord. The earth will continue to deteriorate, as will the world’s cultures. But the day is coming soon when our Messiah, Jesus, will come in the clouds to receive His church unto Himself. Lord, hasten the day when we will see our Savior face to face!   Israeli Government Sworn in Thursday   Benjamin Netanyahu was once again sworn in as Prime Minister of the State of Israel today. Finally, the debacle of the previous “government of change” can be relegated to the dustbin of history.   This 37th government of Israel will be the most conservative that the nation has ever had. The small but loud, media-backed LGBTQ movement is prepared to protest all across the country. Netanyahu will have much work ahead righting many of the wrongs left by the previous administration.   Thankfully, he will have a strong economy in which to work. The Economist just ranked Israel number four on their list of the best economies in the world. While there are certainly social and domestic issues on Netanyahu’s plate, the number one concern that he will have to deal with is stopping Iran from becoming a nuclear nation. As Netanyahu has already said, “Our main goal will be to thwart Iran’s nuclear arsenal.”   Ukrainian Drones Hit Russian Airbase   For the second time this month, a Ukrainian drone hit Engels airbase 600 km inside Russia on Monday. A control center was the target and three Russian servicemen were killed in the attack. Interestingly, the New York Times reported that US forces are helping Ukraine attack sites where Iranian drones are hosted and launched from. Does this mean that the US just assisted in a strike on an important Russian airbase?   Putin Claims to Want to End the “War”   In comments to reporters, Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted at a desire to end the fight with Ukraine, saying, “Our goal is not to spin the flywheel of military conflict, but, on the contrary, to end this war.”   What caught the attention of pundits around the world was not the irony of the primary aggressor claiming a goal of peace. Instead, it was that this was the first time that Putin is on record calling the conflict a “war” rather than a “special military operation.” Critics immediately pounced claiming he should be prosecuted in the same way others have been for using this censored word.   The Kremlin was quick to say that it was simply a slip of the tongue, much like accidentally uttering the word “water” instead of “clear, wet liquid” and “dog” instead of “four-legged, slobbery canine”.   Russia Demands Ownership of Three Churches on Mount of Olives   Former Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin has submitted a claim to the Israeli courts in behalf of the Kremlin for ownership of three churches on the Mount of Olives.   The Russians claim that the Church of Mary Magdalene, The Chapel of the Ascension, and the Viri Galilaei Church belong to them. President Putin also made an earlier demand for control of the Alexander Nevsky Church in the Old City of Jerusalem.   Stepashin is accusing Israel of unnecessarily delaying the process, saying, “We worked for five years to obtain all historical documents for our claim, but since everything that happened in Ukraine, Israel is avoiding the matter. Russia will pressure Jerusalem to gain control of the property.”   Serbia Builds Up Military on Kosovo Border   Claiming a concern for the protection of Serbs in Kosovo, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic ordered his interior minister to place the nation’s security troops to the “full state of combat readiness”. Serbia has never recognized the independence of the republic that broke away from it in 2008, and has recently been building up its troops and weapons along the shared border.   Tensions have been growing in Kosovo between ethnic Serbs and Kosovars since the beginning of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. NATO has been backing the Kosovo government, while Putin is siding with Vucic which is just adding to the mess.   Shooting in Paris Leads to Rioting   A 69-year-old man, who had recently been freed while awaiting trial for a saber attack at a Paris migrant camp, targeted members of Paris’s Kurdish community, killing three and wounding four others. This led to three days of rioting by Kurds in Paris and other French cities, claiming that the gendarmerie is not doing enough to protect them against racially based attacks.   North Korean Drones Breach South Korean Airspace   When North Korea sent five of its drones into South Korean airspace on Monday, the South’s military scrambled warplanes and attack helicopters to meet the breaching UAVs. Unfortunately, the only aircraft that went to the ground was one of South Korea’s KA-1 light aircraft. Despite one of the drones making it all the way to Seoul, not one UAV was taken down.   Tuesday saw the South Korean military apologizing to the nation for its colossal failure and promising to do better next time.   Iran Threatens to Knock Ukraine Back to Pre-Industrial Times   The war of words between Iran and Ukraine is heating up. Despite pieces of Iranian-made drones being found in Ukraine, Tehran still denies they’ve supplied them to Russia.   Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani went so far as to threaten the Ukrainian president, saying, “Mr. Zelenskyy had better know that Iran’s strategic patience over such unfounded accusations is not endless.”   Then, after Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to President Zelenskyy, called for the destruction of Iran’s defense enterprises, Iranian journalist Reza Abbasi responded, “The slightest action that threatens the security of the Iranian people will return Kyiv to the pre-industrial era…. This is not a threat; this is a warning.”   Iran’s Strategy of Nuclear Weapons and Cyberterrorism   Zohar Palti, former head of Israel’s Defense Ministry’s political-military bureau and former intelligence director in the Mossad, warned that Iran is days to weeks away from enriching uranium to the 90% military grade level.   He said that this “does not mean they can immediately build a nuclear weapon… but it’s very bad, and we’ve never been closer to it.” The lack of delivery technology for Iran could be getting a boost from Russia due to the growing military collaboration between the two nations. Russia gets drone technology and manufacturing from Iran, while Iran gets nuclear missile technology from Russia.   Meanwhile, the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, chastised the West for its continued attempts to negotiate a halt to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. He said that Iran’s true intentions can be seen in their continued nuclear development even as they say they are conferring.   Their duplicity is also seen in their continuous terrorist attacks against Israel, including cyberattacks that are being dealt with by Israel on a daily basis.   Middle Eastern Economies Collapsing   The economies of many nations in the Middle East are failing in spectacular fashion. The currencies of Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt are all in free fall. Expect to see much unrest throughout the region in 2023.   Will Brazil Turn Into Another Venezuela?   Sunday, January 1, will see the swearing in of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to the presidency of Brazil. With Lula’s ascendency, we sadly see another South American country fall into the hands of a criminally corrupt socialist. Will Brazil turn into another Venezuela as a result? Let us pray for the sake of so many wonderful Brazilian people that it does not.   US and Other Nations Mandate COVID tests from China   With the rampant surge of COVID in China, the US has joined India, Italy, Japan, and Taiwan in requiring a negative COVID test prior to departure for all travelers arriving from China, Macao, and Hong Kong. Be prepared, this could rapidly become very ugly once again.

Prophecy Update Videos Must Watch Videos!

Prophecy Update: The End-Game: Hiding in Plain Sight – Jan Markell, Pastor Jack Hibbs & Charlie Kirk 2022 12 29 John Haller Midweek Update This is HOW The ANTICHRIST MAY DO IT!!! – Pastor James Kaddis Revival After the Rapture – Lee Brainard & Pete Garcia 2023 is ALREADY in TROUBLE, and were still in 2022!!! – Pastor James Kaddis & Monkey Werx Will People Really Do This? The Bible Says They Will... – Britt Gillette 30 Seconds After The Rapture – Watchman River Tom

MAKE YOUR END OF THE YEAR SUPPORT COUNT FOR ALL OF ETERNITY!!! Final 2 Days!!! Your Year End Support is Important to this Ministry   Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift! II Corinthians 9:15     Worthy of Your Support?   It has been said, one of the most reliable ways to determine if a ministry is worthy of your financial support is to examine its fruits. If Prophecy Update is keeping you informed and if that information inspires you and causes you to draw closer to the Lord, if Prophecy Update equips you with valuable information and knowledge to share with and encourage other believers and open the eyes of non-believers and if Prophecy Update keeps you connected to current events relating to Bible Prophecy then you are partaking of the fruit produced through this ministry. None of this would be possible without the Lords blessings and your support. I believe where the Lord guides, the Lord provides and most of the time He provides through the willing and generous hearts of believers just like you and me.   Like most ministries, a large amount of our support comes from people giving during Christmas and the End of the Year. Every year since 1998, this ministry has grown exponentially, and 2022 has been no exception. As a matter of fact, we have had a record numbers of visitors to the website, record subscribers to the newsletter, and record subscribers and viewers to our videos on Rumble, and Roku! One of the hardest and most humbling things I must do, is occasionally bring attention to the fact that Prophecy Update needs your support.   I genuinely believe that Prophecy Update and many other like-minded ministries, are needed now more than ever! The world is getting darker daily, almost hourly, but never has the light of the Word of God shone so brightly. Never in our history has there been such a thirst for Truth and a need for a Savior! The Prophecy Update website, newsletter, and Video Channels are all dedicated to providing the truth, encouraging and informing believers, and prayerfully opening the eyes and hearts of non-believers with the Gospel, but none of it would be possible without your prayers and support.   So, I am asking everyone to please pray about supporting this ministry. Please pray about becoming a monthly supporter, or even giving a one-time gift. If every one of the nearly 40,000 subscribers to the Prophecy Update Newsletter gave even a one-time gift, I would never have to ask for your support!   We have created a special fund on our donations page just for the End of the Year Support, so that we can keep track and keep you updated. If you mail in a check or money order, please write End of the Year, thanks!   DONATE HERE (You can donate to our General Fund or enter our End of the Year donation drawing for a brand new iMac computer below!) 2022 End of the Year Support Donation Drawing A Chance to Win a Brand New 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display -- most importantly, you will be helping to Support Prophecy Update! With the following configuration:   ·     3.8GHz 8-core 10th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz ·    8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory ·    Radeon Pro 5500 XT with 8GB of GDDR6 memory ·    1TB SSD storage ·    Gigabit Ethernet ·    Magic Mouse 2 ·    Magic Keyboard - US English   This system is valued at $2,499, and you might win, for a little as $25!!! It's already that time of the of the year when we have to start budgeting and planning for the coming new year! We pray that the proceeds from this Donation Drawing will greatly offset our End of the Year needs so that we can end the year in the black!    Donation Drawing Fund   We have set up a special fund for this donation-drawing on our donations page. For each donation of just $25, your name will be entered into our drawing for the iMac one-time. For each additional $25 increment, you will receive additional entries into the drawing. If you donate $100 dollars for example, your name will be entered four times into the drawing, you can enter as many times as you like! The offer starts today and the drawing will be held and announced on 12/31/22.   This would make an excellent gift for a student, for your family, or for those who work from home. For a little as $25, you might win this awesome iMac, but most importantly, you will be helping to support this ministry!  (CLICK HERE TO ENTER DRAWING) You can also mail in your entry to: PROPHECY UPDATE PO BOX 40516 BAKERSFIELD, CA 93384 (Please mark entry "End of the Year Drawing")

Are You A “Thought Criminal”? - by Michael Snyder - http://endoftheamericandream.com/are-you-a-thought-criminal/   If we are not free to think what we want, we do not have a free society. It really is that simple. Unfortunately, there is now an overwhelming consensus among elitists in the western world that radical measures must be instituted to control what people think. If you insist on being a rebel, there is a very good chance that you will be punished for holding unorthodox views. You won’t necessarily be put in prison, but our system has countless other ways that it can punish you. For example, those that insist on embracing unacceptable thoughts will find that their career choices are quite limited, and there are certain positions that they will be prohibited from ever holding under any circumstances. Not only that, but if your thoughts are offensive enough you may have a financial account suddenly shut down or credit denied for seemingly no reason. This sort of thing was unheard of a decade ago, but now it is happening all the time. Of course you can forget about having any sort of a substantial social media presence if your thoughts do not conform to current “societal norms”. Even the “free speech platforms” are banning and shadow banning countless accounts every single day.   If any of the things that I have just described have happened to you, that is probably because you are a “thought criminal”.   You are not supposed to contradict the conditioning that you have received from our education system, from the news media, from our politicians and from the corporate entertainment that you are being fed for hours each day.   When you deviate from socially acceptable viewpoints, you are guilty of “thoughtcrime”. This is how “thoughtcrime” is defined by Wikipedia…   Thoughtcrime is a word coined by George Orwell in his 1949 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. It describes a person’s politically unorthodox thoughts, such as beliefs and doubts that contradict the tenets of Ingsoc (English Socialism), the dominant ideology of Oceania. In the official language of Newspeak, the word crimethink describes the intellectual actions of a person who entertains and holds politically unacceptable thoughts; thus the government of the Party controls the speech, the actions, and the thoughts of the citizens of Oceania.   Sadly, we truly have become an “Orwellian society” at this point.   In fact, a woman in the UK was just arrested for thoughts that she was thinking within her own mind…   The U.K. March for Life director was recently arrested after police found her praying silently outside of an abortion clinic, according to a press release by Alliance Defending Freedom U.K.   Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a charity volunteer and Christian, was approached by police officers outside of BPAS Robert Clinic in Birmingham, England, and asked if she was praying, according to ADF’s press release. Vaughan-Spruce told the officers she “might be praying silently” and was later arrested.   “It’s abhorrently wrong that I was searched, arrested, interrogated by police and charged simply for praying in the privacy of my own mind,” Vaughan-Spruce stated in the release. “Nobody should be criminalized for thinking and for praying, in a public space in the UK.”   Once she was taken in to the station, you would think that those in charge would realize that a huge mistake has just been made.   But instead of releasing her, she was ruthlessly interrogated.   Apparently they were absolutely determined to discover whatever evil thoughts that this vicious thought criminal had been thinking.   And apparently they found something, because now she has been charged on four counts…   WATCH: https://twitter.com/i/status/1608104306783457283   She insists that she is not a criminal.   But she doesn’t understand that the world has changed.   Anyone that thinks unauthorized thoughts in now a criminal in this system.   And at this moment there are countless intelligence agents all over the western world that are scouring social media sites for more thought criminals.   Thanks to the release of the Twitter Files, we now know that the FBI has spent an enormous amount of time, effort and energy looking for unauthorized thoughts on our largest social media platforms.   When the FBI found unauthorized thoughts on Twitter, requests were made to ban specific accounts. This represented a gross violation of our First Amendment rights, and apparently it kept happening over and over again.   The FBI was confronted about this, and this is how they responded…   “The correspondence between the FBI and Twitter show nothing more than examples of our tradition, longstanding and ongoing federal government and private sector engagements, which involve numerous companies over multiple sectors and industries.   As evidenced in the correspondence, the FBI provides critical information to the private sector in an effort to allow them to protect themselves and their customers.   The men and women of the FBI work every day to protect the American public.   It is unfortunate that conspiracy theorists and others are feeding the American public misinformation with the sole purpose of attempting to discredit the agency.”   And it has also come out that the FBI has been paying Twitter and other social media companies millions of dollars for some reason…   The Federal Bureau of Investigation is declining to specify what other social media companies the federal agency gave money to after Fox News confirmed that it paid Twitter nearly $3.5 million.   FBI officials told Fox News that the nearly $3.5 million payment to Twitter was a “reimbursement” for the “reasonable costs and expenses associated with their response to a legal process… For complying with legal requests, and a standard procedure.”   The FBI officials also said that Twitter isn’t the only social media company that is being paid by the federal agency, telling Fox News “We don’t just reimburse Twitter.”   What exactly was that money for?   We deserve to know.   New Twitter CEO Elon Musk recently stated that “almost every conspiracy theory that people had about Twitter turned out to be true.”   Reading that should chill you to the core.   Of course many other big tech companies have also been colluding with the government to suppress free speech, and one recent survey found that the vast majority of Americans want answers…   A recent poll shows that 63 percent of Americans want Congress to investigate “whether the FBI was involved in censoring information on social media sites.”   The Twitter Files disclosures show that not only did Twitter collude with the FBI, it also worked with other government agencies like the CIA and the Pentagon to suppress information.   Musk said in a post on Dec. 27 that “*Every* social media company is engaged in heavy censorship, with significant involvement of and, at times, explicit direction of the government.”   As time rolls along, those that choose not to conform to “societal norms” will be increasingly pushed to the utter fringes of society.   If you continue to choose to be an “independent thinker”, getting a “good job” will be exceedingly difficult.   Just think about it. Right now, how many of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are “independent thinkers” that have unacceptable belief systems?   If you want to rise in the pyramidal structure of our society, you have got to believe what the system tells you to believe.   Of course if all independent thought is eliminated, our society will become the sort of dystopian nightmare that authors such as George Orwell and myself have been warning about for a very long time.   Even though I do not like much of what my fellow Americans have to say, I vigorously defend the right to say those things.   Freedom of thought and freedom of speech are non-negotiable, and our system of government simply will not work without them.

Nearing Midnight: The Left’s Fixation on Power – Todd Strandberg - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/   The leftist organizations are Satan’s greatest tool for controlling the world. About 90% of all the news, social media, and universities are in the control of people who are allied with the Democratic party. Having monopoly-level control over these entities is not enough for them. They want 100% control of all forms of media and academia. There are three areas that show their obsession with power: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Fox News.   Normally when a President leaves office, they disappear for several years. Trump has been out of office for two years, and he is constantly in the news. I was looking at Drudge Report last Wednesday, and the top eight headlines were about him. The press stays focused on him because he’s a leading Republican presidential candidate for 2024.   Trump is the center of well over a dozen investigations that have no link to a real crime. The Justice Department has wasted thousands of man-hours investigating this one person. I’m just shocked that the American people have not collectively said, “Enough already.”   The Democrats are talking about releasing all of Trump’s tax returns to the public. They claim the move would help the American public better understand Trump’s financial ties to foreign governments and potential conflicts of interest. Trump’s tax returns are his business. The right to keep your financial information private is a key factor that made America the land of the free.   If they do release Trump’s tax returns, I’m sure the press will be shocked by the data. Since he has been under constant investigation for nearly a decade, Trump would be a fool to break any major law. A larger amount of his tax returns has already been leaked to the media.   One of the worst things about the fixation on Trump is how negative the press is in writing stories about him. About 20 years ago, it was unthinkable for the media to be disrespectful to acting or former Presidents of the United States. I was reading one article about Trump, and it was clear the reporter was straining to make every sentence as hateful as possible.   When Elon Musk purchased Twitter, the media went crazy. People were saying this was going to be the end of democracy. We quickly found out why the left was so upset by the move. Musk quickly released information that showed that Twitter was in bed with Democrats and was talking to the FBI about how to suppress Republican leaders.   Now that Twitter is in the hands of someone who wishes to promote free speech, the government is snooping for legal issues. The US Federal Trade Commission is widening an investigation into the company’s handling of user data and police in Southern California, seeking information about an alleged vehicle assault that might involve a member of Musk’s security detail.   FTC lawyers questioned two former senior executives in the past month about whether Twitter has been able to comply with the agency’s 2011 consent order since Musk took over, said three people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named, discussing a confidential investigation. Musk’s Oct. 27 acquisition led to an exodus of many of the social media company’s legal, privacy, and compliance executives, prompting the wider investigation.   All the bad press has likely caused Musk to probably regret buying Twitter. Tesla’s stock has dropped by over 50%, and Musk is no longer the richest man in the world. He recently posted a poll asking if he should step down as CEO. The poll had 57% saying he should quit the position.   Fox News has been under constant attack since it was founded 26 years ago. I often wonder if they have reporters locked in a room where they are forced to watch the Fox channel all day long. If Tucker Carlson says something that can be claimed as controversial, it will quickly become news on the leftist news networks.   I also wonder about the state of mind of the reporters. I would be on suicide watch if I had to watch CNN as my main job. My guess is they look at Fox like a Komodo dragon watches an injured water buffalo. Because Fox mainly reports on truth, the Leftists want to shut down the news network.   You can’t have total darkness if there is a single source of light. The day will come when all opposition to the left is silenced. We don’t know what political party the Antichrist will use to come to power. He would certainly find a friend home with the Democrats.   “To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18).

Daily Jot: The Farm Chronicles: New Year’s shotgun - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com   For many years, there was an old rusty 10-gauge shotgun sitting in the corner of the milk house. The stock was split and was bound together by some cloth. The wood was old and dry. Nobody ever said much about that old shotgun, which looked like a cannon. It just became part of the milk house, and we never gave it much thought. In fact, curious as it was, we never really noticed it while we were passing in and out during chore times. But this old shotgun has a story behind it—one that could have ended very badly because there is something about New Year’s Eve parties, a moderate amount of adult beverages, and firearms that doesn’t and shouldn’t ever mix.   Mom and Dad had a great set of friends. They all had pretty much grown up together in our small farming community. There was Doris and Ernie Evans and Ernie’s brother Eddy and his wife Marge. There was Betty and Gene Flynn, and Lloyd and Sue Pardee, Warren and Sue McCarthy, and Earl and Jean Jones. Gene, Lloyd, Warren, Earl and Jean were all veterans of WWII, and decorated war heroes from our little small community in Paris Township. These were responsible men and women in our community. They were carpenters, farmers, teachers, postal workers, factory workers. Responsible, but ornery. Throughout the year, they played jokes on one another, had weekly get-togethers, and were a happy bunch, helping one another through the good and the challenging times.   Every New Years Eve, they had a party. They rotated from house to house, with a different couple hosting each year. This was the one time of the year that us kids were not allowed to be with our parents. It was adults only. We stayed at one of the non-hosting couple’s houses—older kids babysitting the younger. These parties usually lasted all night. They laughed and ate and told stories and played games and joked around. Us kids could only pick up bits and pieces of what they did from the stories told, sometimes years later. One such story involved the old 10-gauge shotgun. Seems as though Jean Jones had been drinking a little and she got it in her head that she wanted to shoot off that shotgun at midnight. She was a petite woman—about five feet tall, hardly 90 pounds.   Dad told her the shotgun kicked like a mule and that’s why they never used it. But Jean insisted that, after all, she was in WWII, and she knew how to handle weapons. After much discussion—even her husband told her not to do it–Dad gave in. So, when everyone thought it was midnight, Jean took aim at the sky, and pulled the trigger. That shotgun kicked so hard that it lifted Jean about four feet off the ground and 10 feet backwards. And when she came to, she was mad at Dad and everyone else for not stopping her. Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkens unto counsel is wise.” That shotgun was retired for good that night with counsel that no one ever use it again. And Jean never forgot the lesson. She often spoke of that New Year’s shotgun and how nobody tried to stop her from shooting it.

Daily Devotion: Set Your Focus - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org   We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. —Hebrews 12:2   https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/set-your-focus/ - Listen   In the ancient Olympic Games, the judge stood in full view of the runners, holding a crown of leaves for the victor to wear. If you were running that race, you could look ahead and see the judge holding your reward as you came around the bend. It was in plain view. That was where you would set your focus. You wouldn’t look at the people next to you or behind you. You would focus and run.   In the same way, we are in a race—the race of life. And as we are coming around to perhaps our final lap, we need to look forward and look at Jesus.   Hebrews 12:1–2 tells us, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (NLT).   We need to cut loose any excess weight that will hurt us or slow us down. The key is keeping our eyes on Jesus. Then we won’t have to fear the passing of years. We can look forward to it because that means we are closer to eternity, to seeing the Lord.   If we run the race for others, we will be disappointed. If we put our eyes on people, they may let us down. And if we put our eyes on the world, it can discourage us and overwhelm us.   Keep your eyes on Jesus, and you’ll make it. Run the race for Him. That is where you start, and that is where you must end.