“HISTORICAL BACKGROUND” (Luke 1:5a)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/18/2026 8:26 PM

My Worship Time                                                       Focus:  “HISTORICAL BACKGROUND”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                       Reference:  Luke 1:5a

            Message of the verse: “In the days of Herod, king of Judea,

            We will be talking about Herod in this SD.  Herod (Herod I or the Great) is the first and is the best known of the Herod family that is mentioned in the New Testament as the others are Antipas (Luke 3:1; cf. Matt. 14:1-2; Luke 23:7-12), Philip [Luke 3:1], Archelaus [Matthew 2:22], Agrippa I [Acts 12], and Agrippa II [Acts 25:13; 26:1 ff.]).  Now I am not at this time going to quote all of these verses about all of these men, but can say that there is not a good one in the bunch. 

            I heard a story a long time ago that kind of goes along with what I just said about these men.  The story, if I remember came from Chicago and there was a very rich family who had two brothers in it and one of them died.  The surviving brother wanted to have a proper service for his brother and went to a fairly famous Pastor to ask if he would be willing to do the funeral.  The Pastor really did not want to do the funeral because he really did not anything good to say about this man.  The living brother said that he had to say something good about his brother which made the Pastor even less willing to do it.  He relented and the day of the funeral this Pastor began to say a great deal of really awful things that this man had done, but at the end of his message the Pastor said that this dead brother was really a good man compared to his living brother.  Hope you like the humor in this true story.

            Now Herod’s father, Antipater, had supported Julius Caesar, even risking his life for him during the latter’s war with Pompey, so in gratitude, Caesar made Antipater governor of Judea.  Antipater in turn appointed Herod who was then only 25 years old governor of Galilee.  Herod immediately gained favor with both the Galilean Jews and also the Roman officials by killing a notorious bandit leader and many of his followers.  Now after his father’s death Herod, having fled to Rome to escape a Parthian invasion of Palestine, was declared king of Judea by Octavian and Antony which had to be approved by the Senate, which was done in 40B.C.  With the aid of the Romans, Herod drove the Parthians out of Palestine and established his kingdom becoming undisputed ruler in the year 37 B. C.

            John MacArthur writes:  “Herod was not a Jew, but an Idumean (Edomite).  Since the Edomites (descendants of Esau) were traditional enemies of Israel (Num. 20:14-21; 1 Kings 11:14-22; 2 Kings 14:7; 2 Chron. 25:5-16; Ps. 137:7; cf. Jer. 49:7-22; Ezek. 25:12-14; 35:15; Amos 1:11-12; Obad. 1-21), Herod felt the need to ingratiate himself with the Jewish people.  He married Mariamne, a member of the prestigious and wealthy Jewish Hasmonean family, which had ruled Israel during much of the intertestamental period.  He also utilized all of his considerable diplomatic, oratorical, and administrative skills to increase his standing with the Jews.  Herod conducted a vast public works program, highlighted by the rebuilding of the temple (still ongoing during Jesus’ ministry), and the construction of the port city of Caesarea.  He also revived the city of Samaria and built the remarkable and virtually impregnable fortress of Masada.  He showed favor toward the people by twice lowering their taxes, and during the severe famine of 25 B.C Herod even melted down gold objects from his palace to buy food for the poor.  He was so popular with some Jews that they formed the pro-Herod party called the Herodians (Matt. 22:16; Mark 3:6; 12:13).  Like the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the Herodians were enemies of Jesus (Mark 12:13).”

            Now I guess you could say that these were that good things however in spite of these positive achievements, there was a dark side of Herod.  This man could be ruthless, vicious, and merciless, and was incredibly jealous and paranoid, constantly afraid that someone would come along to usurp his power.  His cruelty and bloodthirstiness manifested itself, among other things, in the murder of his wife, her brother, her mother, and several of his own sons.  Now his barbaric savagery reached a horrifying low point in the slaughter of the innocents (Matt. 2:16-18), which was motivated by his fear that one “born king of the Jews” (Matt. 2:2) would supplant him.  Now as Luke’s narrative opened, Herod’s long reign was ending.

(Matt. 2:16-18)

“16 ¶  Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18  “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.’”

(Matt. 2:2)

“2  saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’”

            MacArthur concludes this section:  “Having laid out the historical background, Luke turned his attention to Zacharias.  He portrayed his personal righteousness, his priestly responsibility, his faithless response to prophetic revelation, and the divine reproof for his unbelieving response.”

            I guess I have my assignment for the next few days.

2/18/2026 9:04 PM

 

PT-1 "Inevitable Judgment" (Nahum 3:8-13)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/18/2026 9:28 AM

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  “Inevitable Judgment”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                            Reference:  “Naham 3:8-13”

            Message of the verses:  “8 ¶  Are you better than Thebes that sat by the Nile, with water around her, her rampart a sea, and water her wall? 9  Cush was her strength; Egypt too, and that without limit; Put and the Libyans were her helpers. 10  Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity; her infants were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; for her honored men lots were cast, and all her great men were bound in chains. 11  You also will be drunken; you will go into hiding; you will seek a refuge from the enemy. 12  All your fortresses are like fig trees with first-ripe figs— if shaken they fall into the mouth of the eater. 13  Behold, your troops are women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars.”

            I will continue quoting the commentary on Nahum by John MacArthur:  “The opening words ‘Are you better than’ set the tone for God’s rebuke of Nineveh in this final section of Nahum’s prophecy.  The question emphasized that despite Assyria’s arrogance, its capital city would not escape God’s judgment.  In its pride, Assyria even considered itself to be like God.  As Zephaniah declared:  “This is the exultant city which inhabits securely, who says in her heart, ‘I am, and there is no one beside me’” (Zephaniah 2:15; cf. Isaiah 14:13-14; 45:5-6; Ezekiel 28:2, 6).”

(cf. Isaiah 14:13-14; 45:5-6; Ezekiel 28:2, 6)

“13  You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’”

“5 ¶  I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, 6  that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.”

“2  "Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,’ yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god”

“6  therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you make your heart like the heart of a god,”

“The Ninevites never imagined that they would be the objects of God’s wrath.  They saw themselves as supreme and invincible.  But they were profoundly mistaken.

            “To expose the folly of their overconfidence, Nahum referred to the city of No-amon, which translated means ‘the city of Amon’ (the chief god of Egypt).  This town, which is modern-day Thebes, was destroyed by the Assyrians in 663 BC.  Describing his victory over Thebes, the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal wrote:

“Upon a  trust (-inspring) oracle of Ashur and Ishtar, I, myself, conquered this town completely.  From Thebes [I] carried away booty, heavy and beyond counting:  silver, gold, precious stones, his entire personal possessions, linen garments with multicolored trimmings, fine horses, (certain) inhabitants, male and female.  I pulled two high obelisks, cast of shining zahalu-bronze, the weight of which was 2,500 talents, standing at the door of the temple, out of their bases and took (them0)to Assyria.  (Thus) I carried off from Thebes heavy booty, beyond counting.  I made Egypt (Musur) and Nubia feel my weapons bitterly and celebrated my triumph.  With full hands and safety, I returned to Nineveh, the city (where I exercise) my rule.” (Pritchard, ed.. The Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 295.)

“Since this conquest had been recent to Nahum’s generation, the Ninevites would have readily remembered the destruction of No-amon, especially because the parallels between No-amon and Nineveh was surrounded by three rivers (the Tigris, Khosr, and Tebiltu).  As Nineveh’s rivers brough the city prosperity, so the waters of the Nile, including the network of waterways that branch out from the Nile, brought wealth to Thebes.  Being in a prime location, Thebes, like Nineveh, was its nation’s capital, containing key monuments of Egypt’s grandeur and housing the royal family.  The city had numerous temples, streets lined with sphinxes, and even one hundred gates.  The military successes of  their armies gave both Nineveh and Thebes great renown.”

2/18/2026 10:06 AM

2/18/2026 11:43 AM

            “Thebes also boasted of the protection provided by the water surrounding her.  Like Nineveh, the waters around No-amon acted as a natural moat, keeping potential enemies at a distance.  Thebes also had a rampart which was the sea itself.  The rampart is the most outward fortification or defensive structure of a city.  For Thebes, the sea provided a formidable buttress, since the Mediterranean and the Nile delta formed a natural obstacle against foreign invaders.  These bodies of water, which were north of Thebes, were such an effective protection that Nahum declared that No-amon’s wall consisted of the sea.  To brings troops, war machines, and weapons against Thebes through such waters presented an immense challenge for any invading force.

            “Thebes also had additional protection through political alliances, in that Ethiopia, a Cushite dynasty, was the dominant power in the region, ruling even over Egypt.  Ethiopia’s strength provided security for Thebes on its southern and southeastern sides.” (5) “Renze, The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, 170.)  “On the northern flank of No-amon, Egypt was their defense without end.  Though Egypt was not a strong at that time as it had been in prior generations, it was still a constant thorn in Assyria’s side, putting up resistance seemingly without end (cf. 2 Kings 18:21, 24).”

(cf. 2 Kings 18:21, 24)

“21  Behold, you are trusting now in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.’

“24  How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?”

“Rounding out No-amon’s protection to the west and southwest, Put and Lubim were among her helpers.  Put referred to the country of Libya which is west and southwest of Egypt (cf. Jeremiah 46:9; Ezekiel 30:5).

(cf. Jeremiah 46:9; Ezekiel 30:5)

“9  Advance, O horses, and rage, O chariots! Let the warriors go out: men of Cush and Put who handle the shield, men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.”

“5  Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya, and the people of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.”

“The term Lubim, infrequent in the Old Testament, described the Libyans of North Africa including the military forces of Put (cf. 2 Chr. 12:3; 16:8).  Like Nineveh, No-amon enjoyed economic prominence, physical protection, and political support.”

(cf. 2 Chr. 12:3; 16:8)

“3  with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 cavalrymen, and countless people who came with him from Egypt—Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians.” (HCSB)

“8  Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand.”

Spiritual Meaning for my life Today:  I have to admit that Nahum has been difficult for me to understand, but I am learning things that I certainly did not know before, and hope to continue to do so.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trusting the Lord for my wife to continue to do good with her cancer treatments, and trusting the Lord to help me to get Sunday’s Sunday school lesson ready.

From Dr. David Jeremiah:  “Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main ends of his life and studies; to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all knowledge and learning and see that the Lord only giveth wisdom.” (John Harvard [Harvard University])

“If you receive My Words, and treasure My commands within you…Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.  For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge, and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:1, 5-6)

2/18/2026 12:17 PM

 

 

 

 

PT-2 Intro to Luke 1:5-14, 18-25

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/17/2026 8:05 PM

My Worship Time                                                   Intro to PT-2“God’s Revelation to Zacharias”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  “Luke 1:5-14, 18-25”

            Message of the verses:  “5 ¶  In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6  And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7  But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 8  Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9  according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10  And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11  And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12  And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13  But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14  And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,”  “18  And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19  And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20  And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." 21  And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22  And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23  And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24  After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25  “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.’”

            It is my desire to finish this introduction to verses above which John MacArthur has entitled his second chapter in his commentary on Luke “God’s Revelation to Zacharias.”

            MacArthur continues:  “Malachi’s prophecy had included God’s pledge to send a ‘messenger’ (‘herald’ ‘forerunner’) before the coming of the Messiah (3:1).  The arrival of that messenger would signal the breaking of God’s long silence toward His people.  His preaching would be a beacon of light in Israel’s spiritual darkness; he would proclaim the long-awaited news of ‘the true Light’ (John 1:9), Messiah’s imminent arrival (Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:2-3; Luke 3:4-6; John 1:23), and call the people to prepare their hearts to receive Him (Mark 1:4; Luke 1:16-17; 76-77; cf. Isaiah 40:3; Mal. 3:1).”  I think that I will have enough space to quote these verses above in the order that they appear.

 (Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:2-3; Luke 3:4-6; John 1:23)

“3  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’”

“2  As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3  the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’"

“4  As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5  Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, 6  and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’"

“2  He was in the beginning with God. 3  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4  In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

(Mark 1:4; Luke 1:16-17; 76-77; cf. Isaiah 40:3; Mal. 3:1)

“4  John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

“16  And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17  and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.’”

“76  And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77  to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,”

“3 ¶  A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

“1 ¶  "Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.”

            “It was essential that Luke begin the saga of salvation with the story of that forerunner, John the Baptist, for several reasons.  First, doing so connected the Old and New Testaments.  They do not teach two different religions or propose two different ways of salvation.  Rather, they are one unified revelation from God, offering the hope of redemption through faith in the true and living God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

            “Second, John the Baptist was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies.  That fulfillment demonstrates the accuracy of those predictions, further linking the Old and New Testaments, and placing the New Testament as Scripture on a par with the Old.

            “Third, as noted above, it was through John the Baptist that God broke His centuries-long silence.  Gabriel’s appearance was the first supernatural communication and John was the first prophet in 400 years.

            “Fourth, John’s birth was miraculous, in that his parents (like Abraham and Sarah) were beyond child-bearing age.  That foreshadowed the even more miraculous virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

            “Finally, and most significantly, the story of John the Baptist establishes that he was the divinely prophesied forerunner of the Messiah.  Therefore, his testimony concerning Jesus (cf. John 1:29) verifies that Jesus was the Messiah.”

John 1:29 “29 ¶  The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

            “Like any competent historian, Luke knew the importance of placing his narrative in its proper context.  Therefore, he began his account with a brief description of the historical setting before relating the amazing story of Gabriel’s announcement to Zacharias regarding John.”

            As I was going through this introduction and thinking about those dark spiritual years of 400 years it reminded me of the prophecy in Daniel chapter nine, which speaks of 490 years, something that I have written about in many earlier SD’s.  I have mentioned that this starts in Nehemiah chapter two, that is these 490 years, and it ends when the Lord Jesus Christ came into Jerusalem to offer Himself and the Messiah, and was turned down with seven years left on that prophecy.  Now the point that I want to make has to do with the 400 dark years that Israel experienced, and to do that I have to look at Daniel chapter nine.  Let us look at Daniel 9:25 in the NASB “So you are to know and understand that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with streets and moat, even in times of distress.”  The NASB makes it easier to understand this verse as it is saying that this 490 year prophecy will be divided up into different sections: “there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;”  Ok the seven weeks is 49 years, and my point is that from after that time period of 49 years the Old Testament will have been written and Israel would go spiritually dark, then as mentioned the prophecy ends with 7 years on it when the Lord came into Jerusalem as mentioned above.

2/17/2026 8:40 PM

 

 

 

“A Certain Judgment” (Nahum 3:18-19)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/17/2026 9:38 AM

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  “A Certain Judgment”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                          Reference:  “Nahum 3:18-19”

            Message of the verses:  “18  Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with none to gather them. 19  There is no easing your hurt; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?” (ESV)

            In this morning’s SD I begin to look at the last two verses in the book of Nahum, and as I normally do I will quote this introduction from John MacArthur’s commentary.  Also in this introduction I will pick and choose as to which verses that I will be quoting from the verses that are referenced in MacArthur’s commentary.

            “The wicked assume they will never face God’s judgment.  Describing the mindset of such a person, the psalmist wrote, ‘He says in his heart, ‘God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see it’’ (Ps. 10:11).  The unbelieving fool thinks he can avoid divine accountability, saying to God, ‘You will not require it’ (10:13).  Those who practice evil also insist that the Lord will never return to this world in judgment, stating, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?  For since the fathers fall asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation’ (2 Peter 3:4; cf. Isaiah 5:19).”

Isaiah 5:19 “19  who say: "Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!"”

“But as Peter explained, while God may delay His wrath in keeping with His patience, the full fury of His judgment will certainly come.  When it does, the result will be the ‘destruction of ungodly men’ (2 Peter 3:7).  Though the wicked mock the Lord in their unbelief, they will ultimately be put to everlasting shame (cf. Ps. 2:4).”

Psalm 2:4 “4  He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.”

            “In pronouncing the prophecy of Nineveh’s destruction, Nahum confronted the arrogant presumption of an empire that denied the reality of divine judgment.  The Assyrians believed they were immune to the wrath of God.  But Nahum declared that their judgment was inevitable (Nahum 3:8-13), inescapable (3:14-17), and irreversible (3:18-19).  To prove this point, the prophet pointed to the then recent destruction of Thebes, a city much like Nineveh.  If God could destroy Thebes, He could also destroy the capital of Assyria.  Though Nahum’s prophecy against Nineveh was fulfilled many centuries ago, it serves as a timeless reminder that no unrepentant sinner is exempt from the holy judgment of God.”

            Now that is the entire introduction to these two last verses in the book of Nahum, and so in tomorrow morning’s SD, Lord willing, I will begin to look at the first sub-point in these last two verses in Nahum.

            Spiritual Meaning for my Life Today:  As I look at this introduction I think about the highlighted portion from above, and what it makes me think about is that it is my prayer that as I write these Spiritual Diaries each day that the Holy Spirit of God will use them in order to convict unbelievers who read them of the necessity of salvation, salvation that can only come through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ as He died for sinners on the cross.

            My Steps of Faith for Today:  I am trusting the Lord to help me prepare for the Sunday school lesson that I am to give this coming Sunday Morning.  I am trusting the Lord for His perfect will to be done for my wife as she continues to allow the doctors to give her chemo every three weeks.

From the pen of David Jeremiah who quotes Billy Graham:  “Knowledge is horizontal.  Wisdom is vertical—It comes down from above.” (Billy Graham)

“If any  of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)

2/17/2026 10:06 AM

             

PT-1“God’s Revelation to Zacharias” (Luke 1:5-14, 18-25)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/16/2026 8:18 PM

My Worship Time                                                  Intro to PT-1“God’s Revelation to Zacharias”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  “Luke 1:5-14, 18-25”

            Message of the verses:  “5 ¶  In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6  And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7  But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 8  Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9  according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10  And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11  And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12  And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13  But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14  And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,”  “18  And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19  And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20  And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." 21  And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22  And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23  And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24  After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25  “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.’”

            Now as has been my custom I will quote from John MacArthur’s introductory comments so that we will have an idea of where we will be going as we look at these verses.

            “The opening of Luke’s narrative finds Israel in the midst of a long night of spiritual darkness.  The nation’s history had been marked by blessing and cursing, faithfulness and apostasy, obedience and rebellion.  But all through the centuries—from the call of Abraham, the father of the nation, to the 400 years of bondage in Egypt, the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the conquest and occupation of Canaan, the chaotic days of the judges, the zenith of Israel’s power and glory under David and Solomon, the captivity and dissolution of the northern kingdom, the seventy-year and subsequent return of the southern kingdom, and the period of Gentile domination culminating with the nation’s subjugation to Rome—what sustained the faithful, believing remnant was the hope that one day light would break through the darkness.  In Luke 1:78-79 Zacharias expressed the fervent desire of those who feared God that the ‘Sunrise from on high’ (the Messiah) would come and dispel the spiritual darkness that had held the nation in its grip for so long.

            “Zacharias undoubtedly had in mind the promise God had made four centuries earlier through the prophet Malachi:  ‘But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall’ (4:2).  The prophecy looks forward to the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will deliver all who savingly believe in Him from the darkness of sin (cf. Isa. 9:2; Matt. 4:16; Luke 2:25-32; John 1:5; 8:12; 12:35-36, 46; Acts 26:18; Eph. 5:8; Col. 1:13; 1 Thess. 5:4-5; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 1:6-7).  Further, the Savior and Deliverer who was to come would be God Himself according to Malachi’s prophecy it would be ‘the Lord, whom you seek, [who] will suddenly come to His temple’ (3:1).

            “The Old Testament, then, ended with the most positive, hopeful promise.  The sun of righteousness would arise, and His glorious light would dispel the spiritual darkness that engulfed the people.  But just as the darkness is deepest just before dawn, so also the four centuries since Malachi’s day had been the darkest time of all for Israel.  The Jewish people had sunk deeper and deeper into apostasy.  The nation had abandoned the Old Testament truth that salvation is by faith alone (Gen. 15:6; cf. Rom. 4:3, 9, 20-22; Gal. 3:6) in favor of salvation by legalism, self-righteousness, and meritorious works.  Their religion consisted of empty, self-serving (cf. Matt. 23:5-7) ritual that could not save (Rom. 3:20) and drew the Lord’s scathing rebuke (cf. Deut. 9:4; Isa. 29:13; 64:6; Jer. 12:2; Matt. 23:27-28; Mark 7:6-7; Luke 15:15).  As the apostle Paul sorrowfully concluded; ‘For I testify about them [the unbelieving Jews] that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.  For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God’ (Rom. 10:2-3).  In the face of such hypocrisy, God had remained silent; He had not communicated with His people through prophet, revelation, or miracle during the four hundred years  since Malachi’s day.”

            I guess what staggers my mind is the mention of 400 years and the reason it does that is because our country is not near at all to that many years.

2/16/2026 8:52 PM

           

PT-4 “Vengeance For Spiritual Harlotry” (Nahum 3:4-7)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/16/2026 7:10 AM

My Worship Time                                              Focus:  PT-4 “Vengeance For Spiritual Harlotry”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Nahum 3:4-7

            Message of the verses:  All because of the many harlotries of the harlot, The charming one, the mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations by her harlotries And families by her sorceries.  “Behold, I am against you,” declares Yahweh of hosts; “And I will uncover your skirts over your face And show to the nations your nakedness And to the kingdoms your disgrace.  I will throw detestable filth on you And display you as a wicked fool And set you up as a spectacle.  And it will be that all who see you Will flee from you and say, ‘Nineveh s devastated! Who will console her?’  Where will I seek comforters for you?”   (NASB)

            This morning I continue to look at this very long section from John MacArthur’s book on Nahum.  He writes “The Lord would use Nineveh to demonstrate that idolatry is not only filthy (cf. Ezek. 16:16-34; Hos. 8-9) but also foolish as He declared He would ‘display you [Nineveh] as a wicked fool.’”

(cf. Ezek. 16:16-34;)

“16  You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be. 17  You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore. 18  And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them. 19  Also my bread that I gave you— I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey— you set before them for a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord GOD. 20  And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter 21  that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them? 22  And in all your abominations and your whorings you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your blood. 23  "And after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! declares the Lord GOD), 24  you built yourself a vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every square. 25  At the head of every street you built your lofty place and made your beauty an abomination, offering yourself to any passerby and multiplying your whoring. 26  You also played the whore with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, multiplying your whoring, to provoke me to anger. 27  Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you and diminished your allotted portion and delivered you to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. 28  You played the whore also with the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; yes, you played the whore with them, and still you were not satisfied. 29  You multiplied your whoring also with the trading land of Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied. 30  "How sick is your heart, declares the Lord GOD, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, 31  building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. 32  Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! 33  Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings. 34  So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different.”

“In Scripture, the wicked fool is the worst of all fools, the apostate who rejects God and makes reprehensible and destructive choices in accordance that his wicked character (Ps. 14:1; 53:1).”

(Ps. 14:1; 53:1)

“The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.”

“The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.”

“Nabal, whose name means wicked fool was the embodiment of such irrationality, dying of shock upon being informed of the recklessness of his actions.  Nineveh acted in folly as it placed its hope in idolatrous worship (cf. 2 Kings 29:37), military might (cf. 2 Kings 18:28-35; 19:11-13; 2 Chr. 32:13-19), and national prosperity (cf. 2 Kings 18:31-32; Nah. 2:8).  God exposed this folly, desecrating Nineveh’s idolatrous worship (Nah. 1:14; 3:6), devastating its military force (1:12-13; 2:13), and deploying its rivers to decimate its defenses (cf. 1:8; 2:6).  Idolatry may promise insight and sophistication bit in reality leaves one completely unfit (cf. Isa. 44:9-20; Rom 1:28).  God would set Nineveh up as a spectacle of devastation and disgrace, literally in Hebrew as ‘something to see,’ so that the city would become a permanent reminder of the catastrophic consequences of rejecting the true God for false deities.”  There were far more verses in this section for me to look up as if I did then it would take many more SD’s to finish this section, so I chose not to put them in this SD.

            “Third, the city would serve as an historic object lesson of the vengeance of the Almighty.  Describing the outcome of His judgment, the Lord proclaimed, ‘And it will be that all who see you will flee from you.’ Flee conveys the act of frantically trying to escape from danger (cf. Gen. 31:40; Esth. 6:1).  Though Nineveh was once an oasis in the desert to which travelers came, it would become a place that people purposely avoided, being horrified by the aftermath of God’s judgment.  Those who bypassed the city would say in astonishment, ‘Nineveh is devastated!’ recognizing its irrevocable ruin (cf. Isa. 23:14).”

 (cf. Isa. 23:14).

“14  Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste.”

“Reflecting on the severity of God’s judgment, the onlookers would ask, ‘Who will console her?’ Console carries the idea of shaking one’s head out of sympathy or empathy.  The question being asked is rhetorical.  No one would come alongside Nineveh to soothe its anguish for fear that divine judgment would fall on them also.  Emphasizing the city’s devastation, the Lord Himself added:  Where will I seek comforters for you?’  Nineveh’s abandonment would be so comprehensive that not even God would seek a comforter for the ruined city.  Comforters in Hebrew comes from naham, the same root of the prophet’s name Nahum, the one who delivered this message of Nineveh’s devastation, then any hope of comfort for the city was certainly lost.  No one would comfort the doomed city after God’s judgment fell.

            “On the other hand, nahum also appears in Isaiah 4:1, in which God said concerning Israel, ‘Comfort, O comfort My people.’  In keeping with other portions of Nahum’s prophecy, this near prophecy about the destruction of Nineveh guarantees that the more distant prophecies will also be fulfilled with equal precision.  The Lord demonstrated through Nineveh that while the wicked will ultimately have no comfort, He will provide comfort for His people.  Moreover, while the destruction of Nineveh would bring temporary comfort to Israel, Isiah prophesied of the everlasting comfort that includes the forgiveness of sins and restoration of all things in Christ (Isa. 40-53).  As the Israelites would behold the fulfillment of Nahum’s prophecy, they would know that God is faithful both to avenge and to comfort His people.”

Spiritual Meaning for my Life today:  As I go through this life on planet earth with all of it problems, I am thankful that the Lord saved me and that He gives me comfort like we touched on in this SD.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I am trusting the Lord to continue to give me wisdom to teach the Sunday school class that I am attending at this time as our teacher is on vacation.  I am also thankful that the Lord gave me calm yesterday in teaching this class.

From Dr. David Jeremiah:  “Pray the largest prayers.  You cannot think a prayer so large that God in answering it will not wish you had made it larger.  Pray not for crutches but wings.” (Phillips Brooks)

“You will pray to Him and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows.  What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.” (Job 22:27-28 NIV).

2/16/2026 10:26 AM

 

PT-3 “Luke The Theologian and Pastor” (Luke 1:3b-4)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/15/2026 9:10 PM

My Worship Time                                               Focus:  PT-3 “Luke The Theologian and Pastor”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                   Reference:  Luke 1:3b-4

            Message of the verses:  “to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.” (NASB)

            It is my desire to finish looking at the verses from above this evening, which will actually finish the very first chapter in John MacArthur’s first commentary book on the gospel of Luke, and all I can say that this may be as much as a five year time period to get through what is the longest of the four Gospels in the Word of God from the New Testament.  I know that I have been quoting many of the verses that MacArthur has in his commentary, but I think for the book of Luke I will have to pick and choose which ones that I want to quote.

            I will begin with a quotation from MacArthur’s commentary “Though the main doctrinal emphasis in his gospel is the person and work of Jesus Christ, Luke did not neglect other important realities.  Luke not only revealed God’s sovereign  control over history, but also described His tender, compassionate concern for lost sinners.”  You can see this compassion that he has for lost sinners in the many different parables that are found in the book of Luke, and I believe that Luke has more parables than any other of the four gospels.  Now that is not to say that the doctrine of salvation is not critical in Luke’s gospel, for it most certainly is.  MacArthur writes “his is the gospel that refers most specifically to the doctrine of justification.” Here is a list of verses which helps make that point, and I may pick a few of them to quote (Luke 18:14; cf. 7:36-50; 15:11-21; 19:1-10).

(Luke 18:14; cf. 7:36-50; 15:11-21; 19:1-10).

Luke 18:14 “14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.’”

Luke 19:1-10 “  1 ¶  He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2  And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3  And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4  So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5  And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6  So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7  And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8  And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9  And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’”

MacArthur goes on “In fact, the cross is the focus of more than half of his gospel, from 9:53 to the end of chapter 23.  Luke also focused more on the ministry of the Holy Spirit than the other gospel writers, and recorded the Lord’s teaching on His second coming.  Now in addition, Luke the theologian addressed several areas of practical theology, such as worship, forgiveness, mercy, thanksgiving, and prayer.  Profiles of discipleship are presented.”

            “Finally, Luke’s prologue reveals his pastor’s heart.  He addressed this massive work to a single, individual, a man whom he called most excellent Theophilus.  No personal details are known about him, but the title most excellent suggests that he was likely from the upper level of society.”  If one looks at Luke’s other writing, the book of Acts we will see that he used the same phrase to write about the governors Felix and Festus.

            “Theophilus had already been taught certain things about Jesus.  But some of that teaching had been unclear or incomplete and Luke wanted him to know the exact truth.”  Theophilus was somebody that we do not really know a lot about, but I suppose that there are many people we read about in the Word of God that we don’t know a lot about, and that includes some of the apostles, but I suppose that is one of the things that we may find out more about when we as believers get to heaven. 

            Let’s take a look at the word that is translated exact, means which can be similar to “reliable,” certain,” or “accurate.”  So we can be assured that Luke will make that clear while writing this book that was actually penned for Theophilus, and we also get the benefit of it too.  What we will be reading is the same letter that Theophilus read, and that is the truth as Luke pens this letter because it and the book of Acts are the two letters that Luke sent to him, and they are both in the Word of God.  As stated we do not know much about this man, but can believe that he must have been a very wealthy man, and perhaps because of Luke being a doctor that may be how they were knew each other. 

            MacArthur concludes that chapter by writing “In the remarkable providence of God, the Holy Spirit ensured that the book of Luke wrote initially to one man would be disseminated about the world.  The beloved physician, historian, the theologian, and pastor had the privilege of becoming the instrument God used for the salvation and edification of millions throughout history (cf. 24:44-53).”

(cf. 24:44-53)

“44  Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45  Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46  and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47  and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48  You are witnesses of these things. 49  And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."  50 ¶  Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51  While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52  And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53  and were continually in the temple blessing God.”

            These are the ending verses in the book of Luke.

2/15/2026 9:47 PM

 

PT-4 “Vengeance For Spiritual Harlotry” (Nahum 3:4-7)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/15/2026 7:10 AM

My Worship Time                                              Focus:  PT-4 “Vengeance For Spiritual Harlotry”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Nahum 3:4-7

            Message of the verses:  All because of the many harlotries of the harlot, The charming one, the mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations by her harlotries And families by her sorceries.  “Behold, I am against you,” declares Yahweh of hosts; “And I will uncover your skirts over your face And show to the nations your nakedness And to the kingdoms your disgrace.  I will throw detestable filth on you And display you as a wicked fool And set you up as a spectacle.  And it will be that all who see you Will flee from you and say, ‘Nineveh s devastated! Who will console her?’  Where will I seek comforters for you?”   (NASB)

“4  And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute, graceful and of deadly charms, who betrays nations with her whorings, and peoples with her charms. 5  Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts, and will lift up your skirts over your face; and I will make nations look at your nakedness and kingdoms at your shame. 6  I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle. 7  And all who look at you will shrink from you and say, "Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her?" Where shall I seek comforters for you?” (ESV)

            I continue with this rather long section from the book of Nahum by continuing to quote from John MacArthur’s commentary picking up with the second point:  “Second, Nineveh would serve as an object lesson on the futility of idolatry.  God declared to the nation, ‘I will throw detestable filth on you.’  While detestable filth certainly relates to the physical ruin of the defeated city, the word primarily conveys the despicable nature of idolatry (Deut. 29:17; 1 Kings 11:5, 7; 2 Kings 23:13, 24; Isa. 66:3; Jer. 4:1).”

(Deut. 29:17; 1 Kings 11:5, 7; 2 Kings 23:13, 24; Isa. 66:3; Jer. 4:1)

“17  And you have seen their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them.”

“5  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.”

“7  Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.”

13  And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.”

“24  Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.”

“3  "He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck; he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig’s blood; he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations;”

“1 ¶  "If you return, O Israel, declares the LORD, to me you should return. If you remove your detestable things from my presence, and do not waver,”

“In using this particular expression, God indicated He was condemning the spiritual filth of the city’s false religion.  Formerly, the nations may have found Nineveh’s gods, pagan rituals, and religious squalor would demonstrate that its deities were impotent and its idolatry as repugnant as excrement (cf. Phil. 3:8).”

(cf. Phil. 3:8)

8  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”

Nineveh’s demise would punctuate the point that destruction, not delight, is the true end of false religion (cf. Prov. 16:25; Ezek. 32:16-32; Rom. 6:23; Rev. 18:1-24).”

(cf. Prov. 16:25; Ezek. 32:16-32; Rom. 6:23; Rev. 18:1-24)

“25 ¶  There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

“16  This is a lamentation that shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over all her multitude, shall they chant it, declares the Lord GOD."   17 ¶  In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 18  "Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, and send them down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, to the world below, to those who have gone down to the pit: 19  ’Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised.’ 20  They shall fall amid those who are slain by the sword. Egypt is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and all her multitudes. 21  The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: ‘They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’ 22  "Assyria is there, and all her company, its graves all around it, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, 23  whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit; and her company is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living. 24  "Elam is there, and all her multitude around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into the world below, who spread their terror in the land of the living; and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit. 25  They have made her a bed among the slain with all her multitude, her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for terror of them was spread in the land of the living, and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are placed among the slain. 26  "Meshech-Tubal is there, and all her multitude, her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they spread their terror in the land of the living. 27  And they do not lie with the mighty, the fallen from among the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose iniquities are upon their bones; for the terror of the mighty men was in the land of the living. 28  But as for you, you shall be broken and lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. 29  "Edom is there, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit. 30  "The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, for all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit. 31  "When Pharaoh sees them, he will be comforted for all his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Lord GOD. 32  For I spread terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.’”

23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

            Revelation 18:1-24 is the whole chapter and so I will not quote that here but let you read it on your own.  This section from MacArthur’s commentary has many more verses to look up, and so I will stop here and Lord willing, pick it up in the morning.

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at the wrath that God is pouring out on the city of Nineveh and the entire country of Assyria, I certainly makes me very thankful for what the Lord Jesus Christ did on the cross for me.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust the Lord to get me through the Sunday school lesson that He has given me to teach this morning, that it will be convicting, and informative and that the Spirit of God will use it for the glory of my Savior and Lord.

From David Jeremiah:  “If you pray for bread and bring no basket to carry it, you prove the doubting spirit which may be the only hindrance to the gift you ask.” (D. L. Moody)

“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 26:19)

2/15/2026 7:38 AM