Signs of the Times

Friday, August 14, 2026 Later in Elvis Presley's life, after his concerts were over, his fans didn't want to leave. So the loudspeaker would announce, "Elvis has left the building." In other words, get out of here, Elvis is gone. This can be used as a metaphor for much of Church history. God births a new work, then man builds an organization, a denomination, a cathedral, a chapel - but it often ends up that Messiah Jesus has left the building. So many churches today have an outward structure - but Messiah Jesus is gone - and not just churches - but individuals. If you've become so busy with the things of God but without the presence and heart of God, then you've forgotten your first love - Messiah Jesus has left the building. Is your love for God less than it was in earlier days? If so, don't let it become like an empty cathedral. Put everything else aside and seek Him again. Center your life on Him and the glory will return. Because life without His presence is as meaningless as an Elvis concert from which Elvis has left the building. Scripture: Revelation 2:4-5 Today's Mission - Today, take account of any area in which you may have lost your first love - put busyness aside and come back to your first love. Revelation 2:4-5 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. Source: Jonathan Cahn

First, it simply means to have more. Second, it portrays the concept of expanding — to have more and more and more. Third, it carries the idea of overreaching for more than you need. Fourth, it depicts control. In other words, at some point, you aren’t reaching out for the thing you want more of anymore — now that thing has reached out and grabbed you. Now it has gained control of you. This word “covetousness” describes a man who has money in the heart. He “thinks” money. In fact, he thinks about money almost all the time. He eats, drinks, and sleeps money! Money becomes just about all he wants to talk about. When he goes to bed at night, he’s thinking about money — and when he gets out of bed in the morning, his first thoughts turn to money. When he talks to people, he sees currency on their foreheads! He’s constantly looking for more money, and he sees everything — every encounter, every relationship, and everything he does — as an opportunity to turn a buck. It is this attitude of covetousness that Paul emphatically rejected. His motive for preaching was not to pretend to be something he wasn’t in order to make financial gain from the people God had given him to care for and minister to. And neither can it be our motivation for serving others! Furthermore, people are smart — and if they sense that you are after their money and not their hearts, it won’t be long until they will send you on your way! So make the decision today that you will always be someone who speaks from an authentic, pure heart and seeks only to edify the listener and glorify God, never to receive monetary gain or advantage for yourself. As you make that your constant practice, people will come to know that they can trust the source! They’ll receive your words as genuine, and the power of love behind your words will minister to people’s hearts as God intends! MY PRAYER FOR TODAY Father God, everyone needs money, including me — but I ask You to keep my motivation for serving others free from the contamination of greed for money. Scripture is full of examples of people who were spoiled and suffered ruin because they let money become a motivator for ministry. I thank You for meeting my needs according to Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Keep my heart free from ever serving people with money as a motivator. For my own needs, I look to You, and I trust You to provide for me every step along the way! I pray this in Jesus’ name! MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY I boldly confess that money is not and will never be my motivation for ministry. If making money is what it’s all about, I need to go elsewhere and do something else. God has called me to serve people purely and to trust Him to meet my financial needs and obligations. I look to God, not people, as my Source to meet my needs! I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name! QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER Have you ever known someone whose motive for ministry was financial gain? What happened to that person in the end? When you look at people whom God has brought across your path, do you see them as a financial opportunity or as a ministry opportunity? Your answer to this question is very important! Have you been hurt by someone whose driving motivation was money? Have you forgiven them? If not, you need to forgive them and release that experience so you can move forward in your walk of faith!

A Cloak of Covetousness Rick Renner For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness; God is witness. — 1 Thessalonians 2:5 As Paul shared his priorities and motives in ministry, he also talked about what didn’t motivate him in ministry — namely financial gain. In First Thessalonians 2:5, he wrote, “For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness; God is witness.” In this verse, Paul specifically dealt with the issue of money in ministry, and he emphatically conveyed that his motives for ministry were not financial gain from those who followed his ministry. Instead, the apostle strove to keep his motives for ministry pure. If Paul hadn’t made this his first motive — to please God and not man — he would have been vulnerable to becoming a man-pleaser and using “flattering words” to exact some kind of selfish gain from the people he ministered to. But Paul’s primary focus was on pleasing the One who called him and who sent him to the precious people in Thessalonica. The same quality should be true of us. Our motives for serving God should be pure and unadulterated, rooted solely in a heart desire to please Him through the fruits of our labor as we do what He asks us to do. Let’s study verse 5 more closely. What exactly does it mean for someone to use “flattering words”? This phrase comes from the Greek word kolakeia, which means to “butter up” someone by saying things he or she wants to hear. Usually, when someone “butters up” another person, he is putting himself in a position to take advantage of that individual. The word kolakeia — “flattering words” — also means to say things with an insincere motive. In other words, when you’re using kolakeia, your words are just a vehicle to get you what you want. They hold no genuine meaning and are spoken for no other reason than that. But in these two verses in First Thessalonians 2, Paul was saying he didn’t do that to the congregation in Thessalonica. He didn’t butter them up so he could get something out of them. He didn’t just say good things about them or tell them how wonderful they were to receive some kind of selfish gain. Paul wasn’t insincere in his dealings with the believers in the Thessalonian church; instead, he spoke truthfully to them as he interacted with them and ministered to them. Now let’s look at the next phrase Paul used in this passage: “cloak of covetousness.” The word “cloak” is the Greek word prophasis, which can be translated as a pretense or something that is phony or not real. The whole idea behind this word prophasis is that a person will be whatever he needs to be to receive some kind of gain from others. Prophasis describes a person who is constantly changing, not according to his conviction, but according to how he can gain something from someone else. This is why the Bible calls it a “cloak.” It is a covering or a pretense — something that isn’t real. The Bible calls this cloak a “cloak of covetousness.” I believe that a better translation would be “a cloak for the sake of covetousness.” In this verse where Paul wrote, “For neither at any time used we flattering words…nor a cloak of covetousness,” he was actually referring to the exploitation of people for gain. The word “covetousness” in First Thessalonians 2:5 is translated from the Greek word pleonexia, which is used in this scripture to describe monetary greed. The word pleonexia carries a few ideas that tend to build upon each other, as in a progression.

People have the idea that the Titanic struck an iceberg and then sank. Instead, the Titanic scraped along the iceberg and it didn't sink until several hours later. At the beginning there seemed to be no change at all. Everything was still level and solid, and only a few people even saw the scraping. People were playing cards and they saw the iceberg through the windows. The general feeling was that there wasn't any real damage. The waters began flooding the chambers. It still seemed steady, though it was mortally wounded, its' fate was sealed. The band continued to play as if everything was fine. But it wasn't, there was a limited time left. That's a real picture of life. It seems steady, but it's an illusion. Beware of growing comfortable in a sinking ship. No matter how much it glitters, it's still sinking and will take your eyes off what is really happening. Put your treasure in what you can't lose. Messiah is the Rock. Build your hope on Him, for all other ground is sinking sand or like the Titanic. Don't get comfortable in this world. Remember you are just passing through. You are Heaven bound. Seek to see everything today in that light. Matthew 6:21

Fauci privately warned of miscarriage risk linked to COVID vaccine while publicly claiming no issues, newly released texts show trib.al/bDcp5GG

Have you ever wondered what worship was like in the church in the first century? How did praise and worship take place? How did believers give offerings? How did they pray for the sick? How loudly did they pray? How did the anointing and gifts of the Holy Spirit operate among them? In 2 Timothy 2:11–13, Paul gives us a brief glimpse into one of the services of the early church. In fact, these words are a verbatim quote from a song that believers sang when they gathered to worship God. Scholars call this passage of Scripture a hymn. This is a quote from a church hymn of the time. The song itself was so well known that Paul included words from it in his letter. It is likely that Paul, Timothy, John, and thousands of other believers sang it. Rick Renner

Ezekiel 34:2 NKJV [2] “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? https://bible.com/bible/114/ezk.34.2.NKJV

People have the idea that the Titanic struck an iceberg and then sank. Instead, the Titanic scraped along the iceberg and it didn't sink until several hours later. At the beginning there seemed to be no change at all. Everything was still level and solid, and only a few people even saw the scraping. People were playing cards and they saw the iceberg through the windows. The general feeling was that there wasn't any real damage. The waters began flooding the chambers. It still seemed steady, though it was mortally wounded, its' fate was sealed. The band continued to play as if everything was fine. But it wasn't, there was a limited time left. That's a real picture of life. It seems steady, but it's an illusion. Beware of growing comfortable in a sinking ship. No matter how much it glitters, it's still sinking and will take your eyes off what is really happening. Put your treasure in what you can't lose. Messiah is the Rock. Build your hope on Him, for all other ground is sinking sand or like the Titanic. Don't get comfortable in this world. Remember you are just passing through. You are Heaven bound. Seek to see everything today in that light. Matthew 6:21

Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Money has played a significant role in determining outcomes at ANC elective conferences. At the 2022 ANC National Conference, half a billion rand was found in somebody’s room on the first morning. Fikile Mbalula openly distributed (“dished”) money at the conference clinic. The money was used to secure Mbalula’s election as Secretary-General and Cyril Ramaphosa’s election/re-election as ANC President. The distribution of money was not secret; it was widely observed by delegates and clinic workers, and reported by the media at the time. Although the use of money to influence ANC conference outcomes is criminal under party rules, it clearly occurred in 2022. Regarding her own narrow loss to Ramaphosa in the 2017 ANC presidential contest, she suggested money may have influenced the result (she had expected to win).

The mosque is the root of Islamic evil. It’s not a house of worship, it’s the command center of a political ideology that seeks to dominate and erase every other faith. Churches, temples, and synagogues gather freely because those religions don’t cancel other beliefs or demand supremacy. Islam does both by design. So if the West wants to stop the spread, it must cut the source: no public mosques, no Friday mass gatherings, no organized Muslim events in public. Muslims in the West can pray alone, behind closed doors. If they want mosques and mass worship, they can keep them in their majority-Muslim countries. This isn’t censorship or discrimination, it’s reciprocity. Islam discriminates against all other faiths and rejects religious freedom by principle. The West has no obligation to import a system that wants to destroy it.

https://x.com/i/status/2085567552730611815

“Qatar bought the Vice President of the European Parliament..." "We know that the mosques they are funding in Europe are places where propaganda and hate preaching are present every day. We are going to stop them,” says Polish MEP Dominik Tarczyński. The infamous Qatargate scandal, which Tarczyński referred to, was the biggest corruption scandal in the European Parliament’s history. Numerous Members of the European Parliament and their associates accepted bribes from Qatar in exchange for promoting its interests in EU politics. Current or former Members of the European Parliament who were detained over Qatargate: Antonio Panzeri (Socialist) Eva Kaili (Socialist) Andrea Cozzolino (Socialist) Marc Tarabella (Socialist)

The post highlights how Iranian leftists and communists supported Ayatollah Khomeini in the 1979 revolution, viewing Islamists as temporary allies against the Shah to advance socialist goals. After seizing power, the Islamic Republic executed thousands of political opponents including many leftists, banned parties and purged universities, betraying its former supporters. The accompanying photo shows smiling leftist students celebrating the revolution with Khomeini's image, underscoring the irony of how the theocracy later devoured its leftist "useful idiots".

The words of Evonik CEO Christian Kullmann cannot be repeated often enough: "The German energy transition has so far cost around 1,000 billion euros. And what has it brought us? Nothing." These 1,000 billion euros are missing today from infrastructure, hospitals, schools, and pensions. The 1,000 billion euros that Merkel, Habeck, Scholz, and Merz spent on senseless projects aren't gone, though. The money is still there; but it has changed hands. The money no longer belongs to you and me, but to the people who, together with our politicians and this insane business idea of climate change, have fleeced us. That's what you call corruption. Just ask your politicians who has our money now. nius.de/wirtschaft/evo…

Therefore, have faith in God.  Let faith be all eye and ear, the surrender to let God make His full impression, and reveal Himself fully in the soul.  Count it one of the chief blessings of prayer to exercise faith in God, as the living mighty God who waits to fulfill in us all the good pleasure of His will, and the work of faith with power.  See in Him the God of love, whose delight it is to bless and impart Himself.  In such worship of faith in God the power will speedily come to believe the promise too: “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”  Yes, see that thou dost in faith make God thine own; the promise will be thine too.     Precious lesson that Jesus has to teach us this day.  We seek God’s gifts:  God wants to give us Himself first.  We think of prayer as the power to draw down good gifts from heaven; Jesus as the means to draw ourselves up to God.  We want to stand at the door and cry.  Jesus would have us first enter in and realize that we are friends and children.  Let us accept the teaching.  Let every experience of the littleness of our faith in prayer urge us first to have and exercise more faith in the living God and in such faith to yield ourselves to Him.  A heart full of God has power for the prayer of faith.  Faith in God begets faith in the promise, in the promise too of an answer to prayer. Take Time     Therefore, child of God, take time, take time, to bow before Him, to wait on Him to reveal Himself.  Take time, and let thy soul in holy awe and worship exercise and express its faith in the Infinite One, and as He imparts Himself, and takes possession of thee, the prayer of faith will crown thy faith in God.     “LORD, teach us to pray.”     O my God!  I do believe in Thee.  I believe in Thee as the Father, infinite in Thy love and power.  And as the Son, my Redeemer and my Life.  And as the Holy Spirit, Comforter and Guide and Strength.  Three-One God, I have faith in Thee.  I know and am sure that all that Thou art to me, that all Thou hast promised Thou wilt perform.     Lord Jesus!  Increase this faith.  Teach me to take time, and wait and worship in the Holy Presence until my faith takes in all there is in my God for me.  Let it see Him as the Fountain of all Life, working with almighty strength to accomplish His will on the world and in me.  Let it see Him in His love longing to meet and fulfill my desires.  Let it so take possession of my heart and life that through faith God alone may dwell there.  Lord Jesus, help me!  With my whole heart would I believe in God.  Let faith in God each moment fill me.     O my blessed Savior!  How can Thy church glorify Thee, how can it fulfill that work of intercession through which Thy kingdom must come, unless our whole life be faith in God.  Blessed Lord, speak Thy word, “have faith in God” into the depths of our souls.  Amen.

The Secret Of Believing Prayer By Andrew Murray (1828 – 1917)     “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever...shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:22-24).     “Have faith in God.”  Believing God is just looking to God, and who He is, allowing Him to reveal His presence, giving Him time and yielding the whole being to take in the full impression of what He is as God, the soul opened up to receive and rejoice in the overshadowing of His love.  And it is when we enter into this living fellowship with God Himself, in a faith that always sees and hears Him, that it becomes easy and natural to believe His promise as to prayer.  Faith in the promise is the fruit of faith in the promiser:  the prayer of faith is rooted in the life of faith.  And in this way the faith that prays effectually is indeed a gift of God.  Not as something that He bestows or infuses at once, but in a far deeper and truer sense, as the blessed disposition or habit of soul which is wrought and grows up in us in a life of communion with Him.  Surely for one who knows his Father well, and lives in constant close fellowship with Him, it is a simple thing to believe the promise that He will do the will of His child who lives in union with Himself.     It is because very many of God’s children do not understand this connection between the life of faith and the prayer of faith that their experience of the power of prayer is so limited.  When they desire earnestly to obtain an answer from God, they fix their whole heart upon the promise and try their utmost to grasp that promise in faith.  When they do not succeed, they are ready to give up hope.  The promise is true, but it is beyond their power to take hold of it in faith.  Listen to the lesson Jesus teaches us this day:  have faith in God, the living God.  Let faith look to God more than the thing promised.  It is His love, His power, His living presence will waken and work the faith. Revelation of God     Just note how distinctly this comes out in the saints of old.  Every special exhibition of the power of faith was the fruit of a special revelation of God.  See it in Abraham: “...The word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram:  I am thy shield....  And He brought him forth abroad, and said....  And he believed in the Lord” (Gen. 15:1-6).  And later again, “The Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God....  And Abram fell on his face:  and God talked with him, saying, As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee...” (17:1-4).  It was the revelation of God Himself that gave the promise its living power to enter the heart and work the faith.  Because they knew God, these men of faith could not do anything but trust His promise.     God’s promise will be to us what God Himself is.  It is the man who walks before the Lord, and falls upon his face to listen while the living God speaks to him, who will really receive the promise.  Though we have God’s promises in the Bible, with full liberty to take them, the spiritual power is wanting, except as God Himself speaks them to us.  And He speaks to those who walk and live with Him.

In Yemen, 90% of men and 50% of women chew khat daily. A quarter of all their household income is spent on this plant. Alcohol is haram, but everyone is a drug addict. Make it make sense.

https://x.com/i/status/2084561956703264944

The ONLY way our government could inject the entire population with experimental gene therapies was to FRAUDULENTLY claim ivermectin didn’t work. We now have 106 studies involving 200,000+ patients showing ivermectin: CUT mortality by 47% CUT hospitalizations by 34% CUT infections by 79% BOOSTED viral clearance by 44% IMPROVED recovery by 39%

https://x.com/i/status/2084313805975097780