Who are you voting for ?

Following politics in the United States over the last few years has been very educational. If one studies the "War in Heaven"—the great controversy between Christ and Satan—many similarities become apparent. The U.S. political system is adversarial by nature, pitting one party against another: Democrats versus Republicans. While the idea is that different perspectives create a working democracy, a system that constantly pits citizens against each other for the sake of "unity" may work for a while, but it eventually leads to deep division.

It has been said that democracy has a lifespan of about 200 years before it devolves into anarchy, followed by tyranny. Democracy is not inherently sustainable in the long term; it can only function if the people are moral and righteous. When a population becomes unrighteous, democracy can become oppressive—a "tyranny of the majority." Looking at the last few U.S. presidencies, one can see a transition: the nation is slowly descending into tribalism, hatred, and strife.

How does an upcoming presidential election have any semblance to the War in Heaven described in Revelation 12:7-9? Much can be learned. The term used for "war" in this context can be understood as a conceptual or "political" struggle. It was not a physical war of weapons—since you cannot physically attack God—but a campaign for the loyalty of the angels.

In heaven, freedom reigns. However, heaven is not a democracy; it is an absolute monarchy with God as the Monarch. Lucifer, once a high-ranking angel, wanted a change in government. He desired to be part of the ruling Godhead (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). He wanted to be worshipped and thus began a "presidential campaign" to become like God.

Slogans of Rebellion

Lucifer’s campaign was built on the idea that God’s government was unjust and His laws were restrictive. His "slogan" might have been: "Angelic Freedom," or "Make Heaven Truly Great." He preached that the system was crooked and that only he could make things right. This campaign created the first instance of mistrust and division, eventually forming two "political parties" in heaven:

1. The Party of Righteousness: Those who believed Christ was the rightful, righteous ruler.

2. The Party of Rebellion: Those who followed Lucifer, believing that more freedom would be found by rejecting God’s Law.

When reconciliation was no longer possible, the heavenly tribunal judged Lucifer guilty of high treason. He was banished and became known as Satan, the Adversary.

I see this same hardening of positions in U.S. politics today. The division is extreme. One side accuses the other of conspiracy and the overthrow of government, while the other side counters with accusations of deep-seated corruption. Both sides are hardening their positions to the point where they can no longer speak to one another.

In heaven, the angels had to make a choice based on faith. Lucifer claimed to be a freedom fighter while accusing God of being a tyrant. It was difficult for some to know who was telling the truth. God permitted the campaign to continue until every angel had made a final decision. No one could remain neutral; to be neutral was to effectively side with the rebellion.

We are approaching a similar "Election Day" in the Great Controversy. Each of us has a choice to make. We "vote" for a side by the way we live:

• Voting for Christ: Choosing to believe in His Word, confessing our sins, and seeking to live righteously.

• Voting for Satan: Choosing to live in rebellion against God’s Law in the name of "freedom to sin."

Just as voters often make up their minds long before they reach the ballot box, we are making our spiritual decisions now. Human probation is soon to close. Two candidates are running for rulership of your life: Christ, the Prince of Peace, and Satan, the prince of this world.

The candidates are campaigning for your mind and your loyalty. Christ is calling for repentance and obedience, promising eternal life and restoration. Satan is campaigning through deception, promising that "freedom in sin" will bring happiness and that you "shall not surely die."

The real "Election Day" is coming soon. Whether it arrives through the end of your life or the final global crisis, I implore you to cast your vote for Jesus now. Become a member of His Kingdom so that when the final results are in, you are found standing with the Prince of Peace.

Thought I was free in my bondage

 Freedom! Who doesn’t want to be free? America is called the "land of the free and the home of the brave." The cry of this land has long been, "Give me liberty, or give me death!" According to the dictionary, freedom is the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action. To be free is to be independent. We all want to be independent from the power of others, but the problem is that such absolute independence simply does not exist in reality.

The truth is there is only one absolutely independent being in the universe: God. He is the self-existent One who sustains Himself. All other beings are dependent upon Him and subject to His laws. Therefore, the idea of being completely independent and doing your own will without restraint is a fallacy. While God allows us the freedom to make choices contrary to His will, we are never free from the consequences. As the scripture says, "The wages of sin is death."

God has a law, and He expects all intelligent creatures to submit to it. This is the Law of Love, also known as the Law of Liberty. It consists of two parts: supreme love for God and loving your neighbor as yourself.

To transgress this law is to place yourself in opposition to the most powerful Being in the universe. Persistence in this rebellion can only lead to death.

Here, the "evil brilliance" of the Devil is revealed. Because God’s law is a constant reminder that we cannot simply do whatever we want, Satan accuses God of being a tyrant. He whispers, "God’s laws are against your happiness; they restrain you from reaching your true potential. Don’t follow them—do what makes you happy, and you will be truly free."

Satan promises liberty in disobedience. He suggests that to be free, you must follow your own will rather than God's. But what is God’s will? It is to love Him through obedience and to love your neighbor by not killing, robbing, lying, or committing adultery. The Devil calls this "bondage" and encourages us to "follow our hearts" instead.

Once the Devil persuades us that God’s way is bondage, he offers his own version of "freedom":

• "Respect no one." * "Be a rebel."

• "Do whatever makes you happy, even if others are hurt in the process." But many of us miss the catch: your "will" becomes the Devil's will. It is the Devil who is directing your life. He convinces us that we are independent, yet we ignore the fact that he has become our guide. By listening to him, we don’t become free—we become his slaves. Satan's brilliance lies in making it appear that you are acting independently when, in reality, you are under his control. He promises liberty while bringing you into cruel bondage.

In the grand scheme of the universe, there are really only two wills:

1. Obey God and do His will.

2. Disobey God and do Satan’s will.

Satan is the leader of rebellion, and all who practice sin are under his control. The most perfect form of slavery is to make the slaves believe their bondage is actually freedom.

We see this today: people go from relationship to relationship because of selfishness, experience mental health crises, and remain enslaved to diverse lusts—all while claiming they are "free." We are often miserable and exhausted, serving the cruelest of masters, yet we cling to the illusion of independence.

"Whoever sins is a slave of sin... but if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:34-36)

Only Jesus can save us from Satan’s power and deception. Many people believe they are doing their own will until the Holy Spirit opens their eyes to the reality of spiritual slavery. Only Christ can break the chains of sin.

Unless you allow Him to set you free, you remain a slave to the Adversary. It is only in obeying God that we find true liberty. Let us proclaim this liberty and point those in bondage toward Jesus, for He is the only One who can set the willing soul free.

God is consistent in His dealings!

 God is consistent in His dealings with us! He can be trusted and relied upon. In this life, we face endless inconsistencies—our jobs change, our neighbors move, and our friendships fluctuate. We never know what tomorrow will bring, but the Lord is the same day in and day out. Consistency builds trust, and you can always trust in God because He never changes.

God is consistent in how He handles rebellion. We see this through three major historical examples:

1. Lucifer: God anointed Lucifer as the covering cherub, the highest created being in the universe. He blessed him with countless gifts and honored him above all creation. Yet, Lucifer became proud. He refused to serve and wanted to be God Himself. Because of his rebellion, the Lord cast him out of heaven.

2. King Saul: God anointed Saul as the first king of Israel, providing the Holy Spirit as his counselor and the prophet Samuel as his guide. Saul began well, but pride led him to act independently of God. He rejected the Word of God, and in turn, the Lord rejected him as king, replacing him with the shepherd boy, David.

3. The Nation of Israel: God called Israel out of Egyptian bondage to be a holy priesthood and a light to the nations. Despite constant rebellion, the Lord pleaded with them through prophets. Finally, He sent His Son, whom they crucified. Because of this persistent rejection, the Lord turned to the Gentiles to form the Christian church—the "True Vine"—while the nation that rejected Him was cast into darkness.

The lesson is clear: God is no respecter of persons. His dealings with angels, nations, and individuals are the same. God calls each of us and anoints us for a specific work—whether as a preacher, a musician, a mechanic, or a medical missionary.

However, if we rebel or seek to act independently of His restraint, He will send warnings to lead us to repentance. If we refuse those warnings, He will cast us off and replace us. We must learn that while God loves us infinitely, we are not irreplaceable. God does not need any specific individual to move His work forward.

Sometimes as Christians, we become fearful of losing people and begin to tolerate sin. But God is not afraid of losing people; He desires an obedient people, not a rebellious mass.

When we start to think the work of God depends on us, we are in the greatest danger of falling into pride. The work will go forward with or without us. As Mordecai told Queen Esther:

"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14)

God is doing a great work of "replacing" the fallen angels with redeemed humanity. He calls us and anoints us with His Holy Spirit to cooperate in this mission. Those who walk humbly with Him will be exalted and enlarged, but those who rebel will eventually be cut off.

Let us stop worrying about numbers and focus on our own obedience. Let us encourage one another to stay in the way of the Lord, never forcing the work, but always cooperating with the Spirit. God is consistent with us, and He wants us to be consistent with Him.

Lord, keep me humble and faithful in the work You have given me. Amen.

Learning to love: Relationship with God ❤

 Jesus said in John 17:3, "This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." Many people desire to go to heaven or to possess eternal life, but they often ignore one crucial truth: eternal life is a life of relationships—a life of love with God. Without love, eternity would be an "eternal hell." In fact, many of us experience a shadow of that hell on this planet simply because we lack loving connections.

God is love, and heaven is built on relationships. Eternal life means having an everlasting, loving bond with God, Jesus Christ, the angels, and all of creation. We know that sin began in heaven—a place of perfect love. What, then, is sin? Sin is the opposite of love; it is selfishness. It is doing things that destroy our relationship with God for the sake of our own desires.

Lucifer, the covering cherub, was created perfect, meaning he originally had a perfect relationship with the Lord. But he desired to be first. Step by step, he chose his own path over God’s, destroying that bond. The pursuit of selfish desires at the expense of God’s will is what turns a heart toward the path of the Adversary. To enjoy eternal life now, we must put aside selfishness and learn from God what love truly is.

Love is about truly knowing someone. But how do we get to know God? We must learn the definition of love from Him. God shows that He knows us by pursuing us. While I was still in sin and "dead in my trespasses," the Lord Jesus pursued me.

• He showed me kindness for my coldness.

• He blessed me when I didn't deserve it.

• He pleaded with me when I wanted to pursue my own path.

• He forgave me when I wronged Him.

Jesus showed me that loving someone means making that person feel as if they are the only one in the world. He didn't just die for the "whole world" in a general sense; He died for me. He would have died for me even if I were the only one who needed saving. That is what it means to love.

To love someone is to know them, and to know someone involves spending time with them, listening to them, and walking with them. But how do we know God if we cannot see Him?

Think about the frustration of feeling misunderstood. People often misjudge us because they haven't made us a priority; they "hear" us speak only to give a response, not to comprehend. God is different. He listens to help us, and He wants us to do the same for Him.

You get to know the Lord Jesus by reading His "text messages" and sending Him your own throughout the day:

1. Morning Prayer: When you wake up, send Him a "Good Morning text" through prayer. Thank Him for the day, ask Him to wash away your sins, and invite the Spirit to help you understand His heart.

2. Reading the Word: After you "text" the Lord, read His messages to you. Open the Bible and hear what He has to say to your heart today.

Relationships go two ways: God pursues us, and we pursue Him in return. We speak, and He listens; He speaks, and we listen. Throughout the day, you can "text" the Lord in your mind by speaking to Him about your tasks, and He speaks back by placing holy thoughts and peace in your mind.

The more He pursues me, the more I want to pursue Him. The relationship grows stronger. I start to pray, "Lord, help me to love You as You love me. Help me make You a priority, just as You have never been too busy for me."

Jesus is beautiful. The more time I spend with Him, the more I love Him. The more I know Him, the more alive and beautiful my life becomes. To know God is to know love, and to know love is to have eternal life.

As we learn to love God, we naturally learn how to love others. To love is to know, and to know is to pursue. Love is the language of heaven and the very way of life. Let us learn to love God, and we will finally know how to truly love one another.

Do not hide from the Lord!

 God is love! He is compassionate, merciful, gracious, and abounding in goodness and truth. God loves you, and God loves me. He loves me with an infinite love—a love that will take me eternity to even begin to understand. God loves me more than I can ever love myself, and more than anyone else ever could. He so loves you and me that He would rather die than lose us for eternity. God's love is truly incomprehensible. God loves you!

But sin has created a breach of trust between us and God, so we now often see our loving Creator as someone seeking to destroy us. The moment Adam and Eve sinned, their perception of God changed. Whereas they used to come to God, they instead fled from His presence. They used to enjoy His presence; now, they hide for fear that He will destroy them. But God did not come after them to destroy them; He came to save them from ruin, to give them a promise of hope, and to lay down His life for them.

Many of us are continuing on the same path as Adam and Eve. We continue to hide from God, fearing Him and thinking He is out to destroy us or that He doesn't want us to have fun. Many hide because, deep down, they don’t think God has their best interests at heart. We fear that if we surrender our hearts to Jesus, our lives will become boring, we will no longer be "cool" to the world, or we will lose the things we love. So, many run away from the call of God and hide from the loving Jesus.

Many are in the church physically but are inwardly hiding from the Lord. There are pastors, elders, deacons, and praise team members participating in the service while remaining in deep hiding. Adam and Eve were still in the Garden of Eden—the Garden of God—while they were hiding. So, how do we hide from God when He can see all things? We hide by masking our true selves as if He couldn't see us. The Lord does not force Himself on us, and He will not enter our lives unless we invite Him in.

What the world sees is not who we truly are. The world sees our physical exterior, but our true identity is the person within: the thoughts, the feelings, and the heart. We hide from God by keeping these things from Him. A man can be preaching in a pulpit while living a secret life of sin; if he does not speak to God about these struggles, he is hiding from God while standing in His house. Hiding only destroys us because God truly does see us; we are only fooling ourselves and denying ourselves the experience of His love and true freedom.

Recently, the authorities caught an escaped fugitive, Danilo Cavalcante. He was a convicted murderer who had managed to escape from prison. The police hunted him down to return him to justice because he was desperate, armed, and a threat to the public. Many of us are fleeing from God and the justice of His law. We are armed with defense mechanisms, desperate and dangerous to ourselves and each other. Jesus is also pursuing us, but the good news is that He is not pursuing us to lock us up, but to free us from the power of sin that has captured us. Jesus pursues us with love, not with weapons of war. He took the death we deserve to give us His life of joy and freedom. There is no need to hide from such a Pursuer.

Friends, we need to stop hiding! How do we do that? We stop hiding by coming to His presence exactly as we are. We expose our inner selves to Him in prayer. Speak to God about the real you—your real thoughts, your secret sins, and your faults.

For example, if you struggle with lying, come to the Lord and say: "Lord, I am a liar. I lie for no reason. Please purify my lips and help me to speak the truth." We stop hiding when we reveal our secrets to Him: "Lord, I am proud; help me be humble. Lord, I struggle with sexual sin; help me be pure. Lord, I struggle with suicidal thoughts; give me the victory. Lord, I feel like I hate You because of what happened; help me to love You. Lord, I don't think You have my best interests at heart; help me understand that You want what is best for me."

Exposing the inner person to God in prayer is how we draw nearer to Christ. As we draw nearer, we move from darkness to light. As we open up, the Holy Spirit begins to wash us with the blood of Christ and purify us. You will start to feel the burden of guilt and shame lift, and you will experience true freedom. God is not seeking to destroy you, but to set you free from the sin that is already destroying you. He seeks you out to give you abundant, eternal life. Let us be vulnerable with Him; let us open our hearts in prayer, and He will surely heal us.

https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-prison-escape-danelo-cavalcante-brazil-057903609fa9a6815c19d9614988b349

The real issue with us

 What is the real problem with us and with society? Is it mental health? Is it economics? Is it loneliness? Is it a lack of education or physical health? While all these things are problems, they are only symptoms of the real issue. The root of our struggle is not physical at all; it is spiritual and always has been. The real problem is our separation from God, the source of life!

Immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, they realized something they had never felt before. They realized they were naked. Nature seemed to change, and they quickly sought to cover their nakedness with fig leaves. But what was the real issue? Was it a physical issue? Was it mental? Was it an environmental issue? No. Adam and Eve had a spiritual problem, yet they sought a physical solution: "fig leaves."

The real issue was their separation from God. Adam and Eve had disobeyed Him and transgressed His law, resulting in an internal separation. The Spirit of God, who had previously dwelt within them, was gone. The result was emptiness—a nakedness of the soul. They felt naked because the Holy Spirit, who had covered them with the light of God, had departed. Sin causes the Spirit of God to withdraw, and the result is always a nakedness of the soul.

Fig leaves cannot cover sin, nor can they cover our infirmities. Adam and Eve tried to solve a spiritual problem with physical means, and it proved to be a failure. At the approach of God, they fled and hid from His presence. Ever since that day, human beings have attempted to cover spiritual issues with earthly means. Sin leads to separation from God, and that separation leads to all sorts of earthly issues. Mental health struggles, poverty, wars, hatred, and loneliness are all the results of this inward separation.

Like Adam and Eve, we have been deceived into looking solely for earthly solutions. When we commit sins, our mental health is impacted; but instead of going to God for healing, we rely only on the "fig leaf" of therapy. While therapy is good and helpful, it cannot bring a lasting covering on its own. At the approach of conscience, we will still flee. Repentance should go hand in hand with therapy. Repentance from sin is the beginning of true mental healing.

Poverty, political strife, and loneliness are all results of sinful human beings seeking ways to cover their own nakedness, often by taking advantage of one another. Satan is constantly at work to lead us astray, making us think we can find solutions through earthly means alone. His goal is to separate us from God and keep us separated by pointing us toward human solutions. But seeking solutions from humans alone will only leave us more broken and empty.

Friends, our real issue is separation from God, and no human means can solve this. There is only one man who can bridge the gap between us and God: the Man, Jesus Christ. Jesus alone can bring true healing to our souls, and the confession of sin is where the healing process begins. Earthly means can bring temporary relief, but Jesus Christ brings a permanent solution. He will abide in the soul itself and cover our nakedness. Let us come to Jesus and pray for healing and for the Holy Spirit. We will be united with God again and find healing for our souls. Only then will we start to live truly healthy lives, because we have finally found the real solution.

For better or worse

 God is immutable, while we are mutable. Immutable means unchanging over time or unable to be changed. God is unchanging! Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God doesn’t change; there is not even a shadow of turning with Him. It is impossible for God to change since He is eternal and infinite in wisdom. God knows all things. Change implies learning new things or gaining new information, but God doesn’t learn; He already knows all things, created all things, and rules over all things. God is immutable!

All created beings are mutable. Every created being, from the highest angel to the lowest insect, changes—simply because all created beings are finite. It is impossible for a created being to know everything. We are constantly learning and changing as we grow. Because change is a reality for us, we face two simple choices: we are either changing for the better or for the worse. All around us, we see people moving in one of these two directions.

How do we change? We change by what we behold—by what we look at. We change for the better by beholding Jesus, who is infinite in goodness, love, and mercy. We change for the worse by looking toward the "self," which is broken, corrupt, and frail. Lucifer found out the hard way that he was not like God. He thought he could be better by becoming his own god, so he turned away from Christ—the light of truth—and looked to himself, a finite being. He thought he was wiser than God, and so he changed. A once-perfect being transformed into a devil. Even as he was changing into an evil being, he refused to repent because he believed he could improve himself by depending on himself.

Daily, the people around us are changing for better or for worse. Those who look to Jesus daily—meditating on His matchless love, His beauty of character, His compassion, patience, and sacrifice—are being transformed into His image. We slowly but surely become more loving, compassionate, patient, and sacrificial. The more we look at Christ, the more we see His beauty, and the more our own ugliness is revealed. This leads us to cry out, "Lord, change me into Your image; help me to be like You."

The more we behold Christ, the better we become. The angels of heaven keep their eyes upon Jesus, and they become more perfect and lovely every day. Conversely, we become worse by looking to ourselves. We are broken creatures living in a corrupt world; to look to ourselves for improvement is to spiral downward. The angels who fell with Satan became devils when they looked to a created being (Lucifer) and turned away from the Creator. They followed his example and became as corrupt as he was. Created beings, unless they are beholding Jesus, are liable to error and will lead you astray.

People are becoming worse because they look up to everyone but Christ, the Unchanging One. They look to Hollywood celebrities, "Instagram influencers," crooked politicians, arrogant athletes, and deceptive leaders. They look to the broken self for direction and find themselves sinking lower into the pit of moral degradation. Yet, they will not come to Jesus so that He may uplift them.

The reason many of us will not come to Jesus—even as we see ourselves getting worse—is that, like the Devil, we believe we have sufficient wisdom to fix ourselves. We believe that sooner or later, we will "get it right" and then come to Jesus. Friends, if that is your mindset, you will only continue to decline. No fallen being can fix itself. We lack the wisdom to understand what God made. To attempt to fix yourself is like a child attempting to fix a spaceship; you will only make things worse.

The worse we become, the more corrupt our thinking becomes, and the more corrupt our "solutions" become. When David sinned with Bathsheba, his thinking became so warped that his solution was to commit murder to cover his tracks. When Satan rebelled, his corrupt reasoning led him to try to destroy humanity, thinking that if God rescued us, He would have to rescue him too. This is the result of sin: corruption.

To sin is to choose corruption, and we add to it by trying to fix it with corrupt logic. This is why many seek to "fix" a situation by committing another sin, leading to a further loss of light. It is a vicious cycle. But how do we change for the better? We go to Jesus today, acknowledging that our whole being is corrupted and we cannot fix ourselves. Let us say, "Lord, save me, for I perish! Transform my mind and help me see things as You see them."

We are either getting better or worse every day. We get better by looking at Jesus and bringing everything to Him in prayer. Let us repent of our folly and stubbornness, keeping our eyes on His perfection until that perfect day.

Cling to Jesus

This world is getting worse by the day. Temptations, like an overwhelming flood, are sweeping many people into the darkness of the world and toward everlasting destruction. Everywhere we look, we see misery and ruin. Many are looking to politicians to solve the problems of the world, but politicians cannot fix them. The problems of the world are beyond the capacity of human beings to repair. The struggles of our lives are spiritual in nature, and we need a spiritual solution.

We must cling to Jesus when we face alluring temptations; He will keep us standing. We must cling to Jesus when life seems overwhelming; He will hide us under His wings. We must cling to Jesus when we face problems at home, at school, at work, or with family and friends. Cling to Jesus, and you will not be moved. Cling to Him, and He will keep you.

Life is unbearable without Jesus as your anchor. Without Him, fear, anxiety, and depression will overwhelm you. But with Jesus as your anchor, you shall not be moved when the winds of difficulty blow; you will remain firm. Oh, friends, seek Jesus on a daily basis! Do not try to go through life on your own, or you will drown in the deceptions and temptations of this world. Make Jesus your anchor. Cling to Him no matter what, and He will carry you through the stormy seas of this life and onto the shores of eternal life. Cling to Jesus, and you shall have peace.