In his essay, Sir John Glubb identifies six stages in the rise and fall of empires, drawing from 3,000 years of historical data. These stages offer a lens through which to understand the trajectory of nations, including the United States. The first stage, the Age of Pioneers, parallels the Revolutionary War and the nation’s founding. Following this, the Age of Conquests symbolizes the Western Expansion…
Story Category: Creation
The Power of Cultural Bubbles – Donald Winchester vision.org
The universal relevance when considering the pervasive impact of culture on our lives. Culture, an intricately complex concept, molds our thoughts, words, and actions. Our views on politics, religion, and even trivial matters like food preferences are influenced by the cultural environment. Culture operates as a powerful force of exclusion, shaping our perspectives and influencing decisions. The dangers of cultural entrenchment are evident in the…
Permission to Fail – Jeremy Lallier sabbaththoughts.com
Striving to emulate God in human form inevitably leads to imperfection, and embracing failure is intrinsic to Christian growth. Just as artists discard thousands of subpar creations to refine their skill, our journey involves countless flawed attempts at embodying spiritual virtues. Each failed effort is a step toward mastery. Rather than avoiding situations requiring spiritual fruit, we confront them despite inadequacies. Failure isn’t isolated but…
Am I Really Forgiven? – Jeremy Lallier sabbaththoughts.com
Part 1 introduced the subject of Christian impostor syndrome, a topic that resonates with many. Part 2 explores the first of three crucial questions that can help in confronting self-doubt and insecurities. The primary question, ‘Am I really forgiven?’ carries profound weight, manifesting in varied forms. Sometimes it’s, ‘What if I haven’t repented correctly?’ or ‘What if I forgot a sin?’—often leaving us with an…
What Makes You Think You Belong Here? – Jeremy Lallier sabbaththoughts.com
Traditionally, the Feast of Tabernacles prompts the question “Why are you here?” However, the author poses a more uncomfortable query: “What makes you think you belong here?” delving into the phenomenon of “Impostor Syndrome.” This pervasive feeling of inadequacy, often discussed in professional contexts, extends into various aspects of life, including Christianity. Emulating Jesus, a perfect being, may evoke a sense of spiritual fraudulence. Acknowledging…
The 2024 Relationship Challenges – Brian Orchard leadingtolife.org
In today’s world, a focus on self is causing the deterioration of relationships at various levels, with nations and communities turning inward due to the rise of “Identity Politics” and “New Tribalism.” Cancel culture, defined as publicly rejecting or boycotting individuals for perceived unacceptable views, intensifies this trend at a personal level, contributing to relationship breakdowns. This emphasizes the importance of concern for relationships within…
Seven Things Satan Wants for Your Life ucg.org
In the Bible, God outlines various desires for humanity, including repentance, obedience, love for Him and neighbors, trust, and commitment. Conversely, Satan aims to destroy mankind by leading individuals away from God. Recognizing Satan’s tactics is crucial, as he exploits our weaknesses, often targeting the mind. Seven common harmful mindsets and habits influenced by Satan include doubting God’s existence, living in fear, prioritizing the temporary…
Thanksgiving Day: More Than Just Being Thankful – Don Hooser ucg.org
Thank you—two simple yet profound words that hold immense value in any language. The satisfaction of doing a good deed often lies in hearing those two words as a reward. Unfortunately, gratitude seems underused. Gratitude is the foundation of virtue, inspiring positive attitudes. It’s challenging to maintain a bad attitude when feeling grateful. Ingratitude, on the other hand, is a prevalent sin, easier to criticize…
Is There A Secret Rapture Coming? thebiblesaysthat.com
Many Christians mistakenly point to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 in support of the idea of a secret rapture. There is a lot packed into these verses but a secret rapture is not one of them. For one, it confirms the biblical teaching that the dead are in the grave and not in heaven or hell, specifically pointing to the dead in Christ – “And the dead…
Post-modernism: Marxism in Disguise – Tomorrow’s World youtube.com
Postmodernism is a movement that came out of the 20th century. It is one of the Neo-Marxist philosophies that came about as a result of the utter failure of Marxism or Socialism over the course of that century. It’s often characterized by relativism or skepticism – having a healthy suspicion of reason and known truth. Marxism views all history as the struggle between classes. This,…
Is It Wrong for a Man to Have Long Hair? – Erik Jones lifehopeandtruth.com
Most today are guided merely by fashion and desire in how they wear their hair – this includes men. To consider a hair style for reasons outside of yourself will seem foreign and archaic to most. For Christian men (subject of this article), being called to a life of service is the point. A calling that is to represent God, His authority, His designed and…
Bring Every Thought Into Captivity – Jeremy Lallier lifehopeandtruth.com
This article addresses an interesting principle that cuts contrary to modern belief – bringing every thought into captivity. An idea that we are not subject to whatever enters our mind, instead we can rule over and control what we think about. Like the trick in trying to remove air from a cup the only way to remove unwanted thoughts is to fill the mind with…
What Does It Mean to Turn the Other Cheek? – Jeremy Lallier lifehopeandtruth.com
The concept broached here, like so many, gain depth with a little clarification and understanding. To “turn the other cheek” is less about making yourself a doormat just like an “eye for an eye” was not about vengeance but more about legal protections. The best way to understand Christ, who sometimes spoke in hyperbole for emphasis, is to look at His and other examples. In…
The Secret Is Showing Up – Jeremy Lallier sabbaththoughts.com
For readers of this article the title sums it up quite nicely. The overarching theme is something we each face in one way or another. Life happens and the struggles there of, we become overwhelmed, and our spiritual obligations are neglected. We often justify the lapse because we can’t give it our best effort. What we fail to see is so often those times we…
6000 Year Old earth? tomorrowsworld.org
One common misinterpretation of the Bible is that the earth is only about 6,000 years old. To get the complete story, it helps to begin at the beginning, at least the Bible verses that describes a time before creation itself. 1“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God… 2 He (the Being that became Jesus [John 1:14]) was in the beginning with…
God, Science and the Bible – Mario Seiglie, Scott Ashley, Tom Robinson ucg.org
Many wonder about the historical accuracy of the Bible. Some, by faith, believe that God inspired various servants down through time, to accurately record various historical events for mankind’s benefit. Others, however, put their trust in science, believing in physical evidence alone. Very recently though, God and science have been brought together! This past summer, archaeologists have been able to identify the ancient Philistine city…
What Is Truth? – Gary Petty ucg.org
Pilate asked of Jesus a rhetorical, sarcastic, and cynical question that feels extremely relevant today: “What is truth?” he posed. With limitless information at our fingertips, we can “know” anything. But society has never been less sure of truth. Somewhere along the way, it became subjective. Now, we seem to have given up on the idea all together. A lot of thinking that has undermined…
Are People Lost Because of Adam’s Sin? – Herbert Armstrong hwalibrary.com
Christian teachings concerning the “fall of man” hold that God made man complete, perfect, with an immortal spirit soul. Further, that this creation was then corrupted by Satan, forever condemning humanity to hell, and that God has ever since been trying to “save” men in a contest with Satan for these fallen souls. That’s not what the Bible says. Man is mortal. He does not…
Remember Your Creator – Ulysses Ronquillo thefatherscall.org
King Solomon’s depth of experience – good and bad – allowed him to accumulate (with God’s help), a great deal of wisdom. Toward the end of his life he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes in order to leave a legacy of his wise conclusions. The final chapter of the book pulls together his powerful observations regarding life and life’s priorities. It begins with an admonition…
Original Sin – Sam Sweat ucg.org
Original Sin is a cornerstone of popular Christianity that claims human beings are born evil; i.e. Adam transmitted guilt for his sin to each of us by virtue of simple heredity. This is a fundamentally wrong premise with far reaching bad consequences throughout modern history for both Christians and non-Christians. The doctrine was championed by St. Augustine, who was a Gnostic blending paganism and Greek…