Samuel said to Saul:

The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭10‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day.
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭10‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There’s been a resurgence of signs and prophecies reported pointing to end times that are upon us.

Signs and prophecies were once the guides to entire societies, directing its leaders and people to actions and victories.

Today, few follow or believe in them as little more than conspiracy theories or rants from religious extremists.

As history continues to unfold before us, there are clear signs that much of what was once predicted did indeed appear in scripture long ago.

Adherents will continue to warn us of what’s just around the corner and what’s soon to come, using arguments increasingly hard to ignore.

To be best prepared for the days ahead, we recognize the writing on the walls and acknowledge that while signs and prophecies may detail and confirm our present circumstances, it might be that they were given writ large to build our faith in God during these increasingly difficult times.

Or both.

End times are always upon us. They have been for centuries.
And they will continue to be until the day of the Lord arrives which none of us truly know.

Takeaway: Readiness and preparedness are not difficult to attain if you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

This verse appears several times in the book of Judges:

In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.
‭‭Judges‬ ‭21‬:‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Without a standard or authority, individuals acted based on their own desires and interpretations of right and wrong, resulting in widespread chaos, corruption and violence.

The foreshadowing of the need for a king was obvious if society was to survive.

People have a need to be governed to thrive, flourish, and remain safe. Reasonable guidance with reasonable consequences are primary functions of social governance.

Problems accrue when government forces, controls, constrains, and constricts in excess.

As a takeaway, we need enough freedom to make our own individual good or bad choices but not so much freedom that political, philosophical, or social anarchy prevails.

God never forces his hand.

His standards lie in that realm of human choices: to love God and his standards that bring life, or to be lovers of self where everyone does as they see fit to their own eventual demise.

And then there’s Samson and Delilah…

The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”
‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

After sharing three very wrong answers with her…

“Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.””
‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In spite of his love for her, she had evil motives in discovering his secret and he’d provided himself with three opportunities to realize this.

Is love blind?

Her shaming and manipulation eventually brought down Samson, stealing the true secret of his strength and eventually his own life.

Love is blind. Or at the very least, it can too easily weaken our resolve.

I realize this may be the simplest takeaway of many we can derive from their story, but because of his arrogance and ignorance, it consequently turned deadly.

Samson was captured and had his eyes gouged out by the Philistines, which both ironically and symbolically illustrates my point so poignantly.

Love is blind.

This is what the Lord says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty—: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭44‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If we are exceptionally good at anything, it’s creating gods for ourselves. 

People elevating things to a status or place of worship is commonplace in the Bible and is a primary offense to God. 

Often unintentionally, drugs, drinking, eating, sex, and a host of other vices become the gods we worship, obey, and choose to spend the most time with.

But our God is a jealous God. 

To watch you make a conscious choice directing your affections elsewhere breaks his heart and violates his intentions. 

People were made for worship. It’s embedded in our personal constitution. 

We were created to worship our creator, of whom, despite our circuitous attempts, there is no substitute. 

I, you, we, are owned. 

That makes God’s jealousy make perfect sense. 

He wants you. He fights for you. He gave his only son as a sacrifice for you. 

Let go of things you try to constitute as god and come back to your creator, the real thing. 

Unlike most others, I find few things ‘amazing’ in daily life.

‘Great,’ ‘unexpected,’ ‘surprising’ even, but rarely ‘amazing.’

I’d always learned that truly amazing experiences are reserved for the unexplainable, logic-defying, fortuitous things that they are and always will be.

A huge turnout at your party, a tasty lemon chicken, or a flurry of friendly visits when you’re sick in bed just doesn’t meet criteria. Furthermore, ‘amazeballs’ isn’t a word. Don’t even go there.

On a final note, if something is indeed truly amazing, tell the world.

We all desperately need inspiration by something genuinely wondrous, mysterious and magical these days.

“He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.

It is used as fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.

But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.

Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill.

He also warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”

From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships.

He prays to it and says, “Save me! You are my god!””
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭44‬:‭14‬-‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To his credit, this man seeks an experience with God but fails to identify with Him apart from the experience which God provided for his care and comfort.

God is spirit, not the sum of our experiences.

He is impossible to create from our physical world despite our longing for a physical representation of Him.

Whether it’s a pendant on a chain around our neck or a statue in the yard, God’s power doesn’t emanate from things of his creation.

His spirit and power is held intangibly only within our hearts and minds.

A piece of wood.
A pendant.
A statue.
All are idols when we seek to imbue them with a spirit or power beyond that for which they were created.

All praise be to the spirit of God who is above all things.

On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.
There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭10‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The extended daylight allowed the Israelites a decisive victory over the Amorites and underscored Joshua’s unique relationship with God as an undefeatable ally of Israel.

Not every winning strategy is initiated by God. He allows and welcomes the initiative and wisdom of his people to carry out his will.

All too often we put off decisions in wait to hear from God when he clearly has already equipped us to think and decide prayerfully for ourselves.

Hasty decisions are often those stuck in and overwhelmed with emotions. But if you can reason to a good decision or conclusion, you should. There’s little sense to be made for further delay.

And leave some wiggle room for an unexpected miracle or two provided by God as a reward for your wisdom, boldness and confidence.

We wish you the best
And all wishes come true.
Health, good fortune, success,
All good things you pursue.

Mostly we wish you a kind year
With all the mysteries it holds
And an effervescence of life
As each month unfolds.

Raise your vision and standards
Raise your hopes for this earth
For all these are wishes
That raise your net worth!

Turn the page for another
Meet their need, gift a smile
Let this New Year reflect
A good life lived worthwhile.

And then maybe next year
On this day one year later
Keeping true to your wishes
This world will be greater.

Happy New Year to all
and to all a good night!

Don & 🐕

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.””
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Crossing the Jordan River to claim the land promised by God was as much an anticipated turning point for the Israelites as was their exodus from Egyptian slavery.

They were preceded by Levites carrying the ark of the Lord which was a miracle itself as its weight was crazy heavy.

They were ready. Communities ahead were nothing short of petrified, and the revered ark of the covenant was advancing ahead of their victories.

The long awaited moment had arrived.

There’s something powerful to be said for having a plan sanctioned by God with assured victory in your path.

For some, the new year symbolizes manifestations of new goals and big changes.
Cheers to them.

Cheers also to those who have faithfully and successfully executed bite-sized plans all year long and enjoy the equally divine results of a disciplined life.

Whatever gets you to your promised land best, may the Lord bless your journey and give 2026 victoriously over and into your hands.