THINK ABOUT IT

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:9 The Bible says, "the devil deceives the whole world." What does it mean by it? Is it figurative speech, or is this a reality that all of us are deceived? I don't think the Bible is speaking figuratively when it says that. The truth is, all of us are deceived in profound ways; In ways so deep that only the Spirit of God can reveal to us our deception. The devil deceived the whole world by his initial act of deceiving our first parents in the garden of Eden. At that time, there were only two human beings and both came under the dominion of Satan. Satan deceived Eve by telling her that satisfaction exists outside of God; That one can find true development in opposition to His will. Life in the flesh  Deception continues by the fact that we are born in the flesh. What does it m...

 "Why is my life so hard? Why are these things happening to me? I pray to God for healing, but there is no healing. I pray for better finances, but no money is forthcoming. I am so tired of these struggles; I am on the verge of giving up. I might as well live life the way I want to and hope to die soon. Have these thoughts ever come to your mind? These are thoughts many will encounter as they ascend the mountain of God. For many of us, life began well. We had a great time in our youth; we believed in love, we believed the future was bright, and we felt whole as a person. But somewhere along the way, hardship showed up. An illness, a broken heart, the death of a loved one, or broken aspirations sent us into despair and grief. Suddenly, life became dark and hopeless. But then, we heard the voice of God. We heard someone preach, 'Come to Jesus and all will be well; come to Jesus and He will give you the desires of your heart.' So we came to Jesus, hoping that we were back on ...

"Recent economic turmoil in the stock market, caused by the tariffs introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump, has led investors to flee volatile stocks in favor of purchasing gold. Gold is considered a safer investment, and its price has increased significantly. If you know anything about economics or finance, you’ll understand that gold is a precious asset—and those who possess it in abundance are truly wealthy. If you want to grow your wealth, invest in gold. How is gold processed? There are a few key steps: Extraction from ore. Refining to remove impurities. Melting and casting for various applications. We are living in a time of spiritual poverty, and Jesus is telling us to buy gold from Him—'gold tried in the fire' (Revelation 3:18). Jesus said if you want to be rich, you must invest in this gold. How do I know if I am spiritually poor? According to 2 Timothy 3:1–5, I am poor if I am: A lover of self. Covetous, boastful, or proud. Disobedient to parents. Unthankful...

  Love. Love is something we all desire. The airwaves are filled with love songs; we find love in movies and literature, and these stories appear so beautiful to us. The idea of love makes us feel good; just thinking about it awakens beautiful emotions in our hearts, leading us to wonder, "Why isn’t this my reality?" or "Why can't I find that kind of love?" Love begins to feel difficult to find the moment we start believing, "I deserve love." Do I deserve love? It sounds crazy for me to ask that, right? You might ask, "What do you mean?" or "Of course you deserve love." But let me ask you: Why do you believe you deserve it? What is it about you that makes you worthy of being loved? You see, many times we say things without fully understanding their meaning—and as a result, we end up suffering. According to the dictionary, the word deserve means: To do something, or have or show qualities, worthy of a reward or punishment. In other...

"If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?" ( Luke 16:11, KJV ) The New International Version puts it this way: "So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" Would you want to be rich? You likely already know the answer, but the truth is that the majority of humankind would prefer to be rich rather than poor. And yet, only a few people are truly wealthy, while the rest remain in the middle class or in poverty. Which would you rather be: A farmer? A beggar? I know the answer already. You would choose to be a farmer. Who in their right mind would want to be a beggar? A farmer provides for society; he is a person with resources. A beggar, on the other hand, simply begs and consumes. A farmer works hard to produce and provide, while a beggar waits for resources to be given to him. One of the reasons the wealthy are few is that it requires sign...

  "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." ( Matthew 24:12, KJV ) The New Living Translation says: "Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold." Sin Destroys the Heart Sin destroys the heart and, by extension, destroys love. The Bible defines sin as the transgression of the law—specifically, the law of God, which is the law of love. No matter how minute, sin destroys something within us. As sin increases in our lives and the world around us, suffering of all types follows in its wake. Sin is essentially selfishness at work. It is the desire to exalt the self and prioritize one’s own feelings, even at the cost of someone else. "Me, myself, and I" is the ultimate goal of sin. Why do people commit sin? We often do so because we want to feel good, to be loved, or to gain something for ourselves. While it seems insane because sin leads to death, it is a human reality. No one commits sin because they want e...

This life is full of trouble, sorrow, and misery. From the moment we are born until the day we die, we will experience trials and tribulations. It doesn't matter who you are—rich or poor, famous or unknown, wise or ignorant, man or woman—trouble will find you wherever you are. Our lives are short and full of struggle.  Some people try to escape life's troubles through escapism, numbing the soul with a constant search for pleasure, seeking to make life a "grand carnival." Sadly, a life of pleasure-seeking leads only to deeper misery and emptiness, followed by depression and mental grief. Pleasure and escapism are not the ways to engage life's problems. Others try to stand and fight life's problems face-to-face, but this often leads to anger and bitterness. Still others seek peace by burying themselves in constant activity, working incessantly and moving from one thing to the next so they have no time to reflect on the painful reality of suffering. Ignoring life...

  U.S. President Donald Trump has promised a new "Golden Age" for America—a time of prosperity and pride, and a greatness such as we have never seen before. It sounds appealing, for who wouldn't want prosperity, especially after the inflation and high cost of living we have experienced over the last four years? The Refining Process The first question we must ask ourselves is: How is a golden object made? The two primary gold refining methods are the Miller process and the Wohlwill process. The Miller process uses gaseous chlorine to extract impurities while the gold is at its melting point; the impurities then separate into a layer on the surface of the molten gold. According to President Trump, illegal immigrants are among the "impurities" that must be purged to "Make America Great Again." He once remarked that immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country." While America is a melting pot of ethnicities, cultures, and religions, he sug...

"For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man b e." — Matthew 24:38–39 Jesus said that in the last days, marriage would consume the minds of many. To many, marriage has become a sort of idol. Many believe that marriage will solve all of life's problems, yet as this idolatry has increased, so have divorces. Many are getting married only to end up divorced. Divorce is on the rise because people do not understand what marriage truly is. In order to understand something, we must understand the mind of its Author. God created marriage, and marriage is about God. Because God is love, marriage is designed for the development of the love of God within our hearts. True love is other-centered; it is the desire to please someone else. Marriage is about pleasing another as they please y...