General Articles

A New Day :: By Holly Spate

Published on: by RR7

“This is the beginning of a new day.
You have been given this day to use as you will.
You can waste it or use it for good.
What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.
When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever.
In its place is something that you have left behind…
Let it be something good.”

I can’t remember the first time I saw this profound quote, but I’ve always loved it. It’s so true. I remember in high school, one of my closest friends telling me, “Holly, a day is what you make of it.” I have never forgotten that wise advice. Yes, a day is what you make of it, and as believers in Christ, we are called to happily proclaim this wonderful truth as Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Today is a new day! We’re to rejoice and be glad.

God has given You a new day… a fresh new beginning!

Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”

God’s great love allows us to leave the past and its mistakes and regrets behind and start fresh. And when we ask for His merciful forgiveness, He promises to forgive our sins and to remember them no more. The following verses remind of this beautiful promise:

Psalm 103:11-12: “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”

Hebrews 8:10-12: “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”

God is so good and gracious…so merciful and amazing that He gives each of us the opportunity to repent of our mistakes and sins and to start fresh every. single. day.

Let’s focus on some other wonderful scriptural truths as you begin a new day:

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Romans 15:13).

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee” (Isaiah 60:1).

“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up” (Psalm 5:3).

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

“Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee” (Psalm 143:8).

“Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun” (Ecclesiastes 11:7).

AWESOME!

Each day is truly another chance to do better than the day before. Each day is another day to walk out our faith and stand on His promises and share His great love with others.

Like the quote at the beginning of this article attests to, what we do each day really does matter. How we spend our time each day really does matter. How we treat others really does matter. How much time we spend with our Heavenly Father really does matter. Each decision made today matters. What we each choose to do today (what YOU choose to do today) matters and could have a lasting impact. What you do right now, in your circle of influence, could forever change a life.

Each day is a gift. And each choice an opportunity… a chance to plant a seed in someone’s heart and potentially help provide positive change in our world that could carry into eternity.

As believers, we are called to humbly, with a servant’s heart, seek God’s best for our lives. And, one of those “bests” is to be an instrument He can use to be a positive influence in the lives of others. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”

We’re put on this earth to love and worship Him, but also to be His love in action to those He brings into our lives. We’re nothing without Him, but with Him, we have everything we need to make a positive mark on the world.

Our world desperately needs light. Our world desperately needs hope. Our world desperately needs peace. All three can be found in the Savior. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the only One who can satisfy. He is the only One who can truly lift burdens, break the chains of one’s past, and bring salvation to lost souls. He is the only way to the Father, the only bridge to heaven, and the only true path to a new beginning.

As the world continues to grow darker by the day, we must allow God to shine through us. We must shine the light of truth and must always hold to this hope and share all we have because of all Jesus, our beautiful Savior, gave. Because of Him, we can venture into a new day with joy and a fresh new start. Because of Him, we can have a new beginning, experience forgiveness, and begin again.

In closing, I want to share a poem I wrote many years ago. I hope it brings encouragement as you hold close to Jesus and step into another new day.

May God richly bless you!

spate.holly@gmail.com

A New Beginning :: By Holly Spate

Every ending has a new beginning
I will learn to trust You with it all
Come what may, despite my feelings
Clinging to grace, I’ll answer Your call.

Every day, another chance You bring me
A blank slate wrapped in a pretty bow
Pages to be filled, moments to be made
Another gift of a brand-new day.

Afraid to make the same mistakes
Sins forgiven long ago never feel erased
Mercies washing messes left in the wake
Cycles of regret like a record play.

Turn my eyes toward You
The Maker of all good things
Release the pressures that overwhelm
The pace that this world brings.

Free me from the prison
That won’t let me truly live
Help me feel the cleansing
Of the forgiveness that You give.

Wrap Your arms around me
Let me feel Your presence near
For condemnation is no longer mine
And its weight I no longer need to bear.

Every day another chance You bring me
A blank slate wrapped in a pretty bow
Pages to be filled with Your joy and love
Another gift of Your immeasurable grace and hope.

Paul’s Forewarning in Prophetic Spotlight :: By Terry James

Published on: by RR7

In what might be considered a sign of God’s hand still restraining the evil, as given in 2 Thessalonians 2:6–7, the left-wing press has exposed the treachery of one of its ideological own.

This past week, with regard to Bob Woodward (of All the President’s Men fame) breaking the story of how Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley’s alleged treacherous, collusion-like dealings with America’s number-one nation-state enemy, the question remains. “Why?” Not “Why did Milley do it?” But “Why did Woodward—an avowed left-winger posing as a fair and balanced journalist, out a fellow left winger?”

I’m sure that even now, many who suffer angst over such questions are delving deeply into the whys at every level.

Regardless of their findings—and there will certainly never be a consensus—I believe it is proper that we who hold to the veracity of Bible prophecy conclude that the Lord’s restraining hand can be clearly seen in bringing Milley’s alleged traitorous behavior to light.

And “traitorous” is the operative designation, if the allegation is anywhere near true. It shouldn’t surprise anyone who has studied the issues and events of recent times. What happened this past week has prophetic overtones that are…well…much more than mere overtones. It is as if Heaven is shining the prophetic spotlight directly on this most recent insanity displayed by this administration and those closest to it.

Here is what the Apostle Paul says about what I believe has just happened with regard to General Milley and all that pertains to the story.

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall be…trucebreakers, false accusers…traitors, heady, high-minded” (2 Timothy 3:1-2, 3-4).

Again, if the story broken through Woodward’s book and the Washington Post (another left-wing purveyor of propaganda) is anywhere near true, it can, in my opinion, be considered Heaven’s spotlight of restraint overruling the lack of transparency usually veiling leftist evil.

These are perilous times, as most students of societal and cultural matters, as seen through the prism of God’s prophetic Word, can attest. Much of the evil being perpetrated by the minions in high places over the past weeks and months has been unveiled for all who are willing to see and understand the wickedness. The revelations of things going on in the case of America’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs have brought that wickedness more into focus.

Just to frame where General Milley’s reported actions seem to fit Paul’s perilous-times prophecy, let’s consider the following.

The Woodward-Costa book reportedly has Milley admitting to keeping President Donald Trump from knowing about his (Milley’s) dealings with his Chinese military counterpart. This was done deliberately because Milley—and all who opposed Trump’s presidency—intended to countermand anything Mr. Trump did. Milley was a “trucebreaker,” as Paul forewarned. The military agrees to follow the commander-in-chief’s (president’s) commands and keep him informed. If they aren’t willing, they are to resign and let the president have the military support the Constitution edicts. Thus, General Milley has broken the truce he agreed to in accepting his military commission—and his job as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Milley, the book claims, told then minority leader of the House, Nancy Pelosi, in secret conversations, that Trump was dangerous and must not be allowed to make decisions in important foreign policy matters. The general was a false accuser, in this lie. He reportedly told Pelosi and others that Trump was “unhinged”—meaning mentally unbalanced. This, if Milley said it, too, was a false accusation.

Milley is reported to have told the Chinese general that he would give him a heads-up if and when there was to be a US military attack coming. This is traitorous by any stretch—especially so coming from a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

Those who have presumed to believe they are smarter and should be in charge regardless of the American voters’ decisions are indeed heady and high-minded. They are the dangerous ones—the ones who add to the perilous times Paul forewarned of.

This brief excerpt gives an encapsulation of the prophecy coming to pass in these days so near Christ’s return.

On Tuesday, the Washington Post published excerpts of the upcoming book “Peril” by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, which alleges Milley had two secret phone calls with Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army, four days before the Nov. 3 election and two days after the Jan. 6 riot.

Earlier Wednesday, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said in a Fox News interview that if the secret calls are confirmed, Milley should be removed as chairman and court-martialed.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Okla., said Wednesday on “Fox & Friends” that Congress will “ensure” that Milley addresses the report. Milley is scheduled to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee later this month.

[Cotton said], “The idea that an American military general is going to warn an adversary that an attack is coming, as you say, when Donald Trump was never even thinking about a military attack against China? The whole thing is pretty far-fetched.”

“This was treacherous, it’s dangerous, it’s unconstitutional, and General Milley needs to answer questions about it,” the senator [Marco Rubio] said.

Rubio said it appears now that Milley himself was the authors’ source.

“I think he told [Woodward and Costa], ‘This wasn’t normal, I had to do this for the good of our country.’”

Rubio surmised that Milley did it “because he wanted to make himself look good.” (Art Moore, “Treason-mania grips U.S.: Pressure builds on ‘treacherous’ Gen. Milley,” WorldNetDaily, September 15, 2021)

Again, it is wise to ask: Why do left-wing acolytes such as Bob Woodward and those at the Washington Post expose one of their own so that controversy broils out of control? Perhaps there will be another answer come forth. But for now, I prefer to believe this is the Lord’s way of showing us He is indeed restraining this avalanche of evil.