January 27, 2019

My Daily Prayer... ♥

I would like to share two of my daily prayers with you. The first is one I received from Paula White Ministries 12 years ago. While the second is one that I personalized for myself. You are welcome to use these prayers. Soon your spirit will personalize one for you. You shall know the Truth when you seek God's face daily. I don't mean in the traditional sense. I mean spending time getting to know Him. You can start by talking with Him like you would a friend. He will guide you on your spiritual path as you grow closer and closer to Him. Allow God's LIGHT to permeate every fiber of your being and transform you from the inside out. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be TRANSFORMED by the renewing of your mind." [Romans 12:2] This has nothing to do with religion. This is about God, your Heavenly Father, Creator of all living things wanting to have a "personal" relationship with you. ♥

God is God all by Himself. The same is true for Jesus (Yahshua), the living breathing WORD of God and the Holy Spirit, the breath of God. God doesn't need a religious group or organization to make Him so. God almighty is above all and sovereign. God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent. God is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. God is INFINITE and ETERNAL. ♥

Christianity has so many denominations. I remain a non-denominational Christian. I have a personal relationship with my Creator. I pray to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The Power Of Prayer from Paula White Ministries

Dear Heavenly Father, I give You praise for my life and all that is in it. You are my Creator, my Provider, my Comforter and I worship You from the depths of my soul. My desire is to know You... to truly know You in an intimate way. Please grant me a mind filled with Spiritual wisdom and a heart that continues to long for You.

This is my prayer personalized...

Thank you God for loving me unconditionally. Thank you God for never giving up on me. Thank you God for always believing in me. Thank you God for taking care of all of my needs. I am an instrument of Your will LORD, use me for Your greater good. I am ready, willing and able to effect change on Your behalf. Awaken Your Spirit within me LORD. Lend me Your strength, Your courage and Your wisdom. I will continue to abide in Your WORD as your WORD continues to abide in me. You are my ROCK and my foundation! Your presence makes me feel unspeakable love and joy. Direct my steps LORD and connect me to the right people that are in line with Your will for my life. I will continue to Trust and Believe in You LORD. I love you. In Yahshua's precious name, AMEN!

I go on to pray, Jesus (Yahshua) please cleanse my spirit from all impurities, please purify me Lord, wash me in Your blood, cover me and protect me against all evil. Please fill my spirit with Your love, Your peace and Your joy. Lend me Your strength, courage and wisdom. AMEN!

God's Divine favor surrounds me like a shield! Amen. ♥


Nothing on this earth can compare to God's love. When you personally feel God's love overwhelm you, you will want everyone else to know that feeling. God's love is above and beyond anything I can ever imagine or think. God's love for me is my rock and my anchor. I can't imagine my life without being in Christ Jesus (the living breathing Word of God).

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 3:33 PM 0 comments

Self Criticism: God Is The Master. I Am The Clay. So Beautifully Expressed. ❤

written by Sarah Holmes; author, speaker, columnist and consultant.
you can contact her at her website: ChemicalFreeLiving.MarketingScents.com
[source: SheLovesGod.com]

On the radio today, the Christian radio host spoke. The host said, “Remember, God is the potter and you are the clay. It isn’t up to us to worry about finishing His work.” This spoke to me. Self-criticism can be a problem for many of us.

I often try to “complete the product.” I analyze myself as I try to figure out what I will look like when God is finished with His process. Often, I even look at myself through my own eyes as a work not completed.

Self-Criticism

The view I have of myself is a negative one or at least neutral at best. God sent his son Jesus to die for me. Because Jesus died, his blood paid for my sins. Therefore, when I accept this forgiveness, God no longer sees me as a sinner. Instead, He views me through Christ’s righteousness.
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10
God sees me as His bride. I am someone He rejoices over!
“For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.” Isaiah 62:5
Not only does He rejoice over me, He sings over me!
“The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
When we are followers of Christ, God doesn’t look at us as sinners.
“He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 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.” Psalms 103:10-12
I am an heir of God through Christ!
“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” Galatians 4:6-7
He is preparing a mansion for me!
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:2-3
He wants to give me the kingdom
“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32
God delights in me and sees me through the righteousness of His son. His still small voice reminded me it is not my job to critique His unfinished work (me). He will do a good work in me. I am not the master. I am only the clay. He is working out the imperfections. My job is to be someone He is able to mold by ensuring my heart is soft and pliable. I do not have the right to judge His unfinished work as good or bad.

I have spent my life looking over His shoulder as the master created His work in me. “Hmmm….I don’t think I am very good. I’m certainly not presentable to the master.”

Am I the Master or the Clay?

What God taught me today is:
  • “Who am I to critique?”
  • “Am I the master or the clay?”
  • “Does the clay get to determine how to create the finished product?” (Isaiah 29:16, Romans 9:20)
The answers are obvious. I can relax. My critique of myself is not needed or wanted from the Master. In fact, my criticism is often lies from the enemy. I do not want my kids telling themselves they are not good enough or believing they do not please me. (Because they do please me immensely!) In the same way, God does not take my view of myself into consideration when He decides whether or not my life pleases Him.

By accepting the forgiveness offered through Christ’s death, I am a new creation. The old me is gone and I am new. Therefore, God sees me as this new creation. He rejoices over me as His virgin bride. He sings over me and he is preparing me a mansion! Wow. Even as I write this, it amazes me. God would love me this much? He does. The scripture clearly teaches us God’s love for us is so overwhelmingly good.

One of the first steps I need to take to discover God’s will for my life is simply for me to understand God’s love for me. It is hard for me to remember I am the clay and I am not responsible for the quality of His finished work in me.
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” Philippians 1:6
(Scriptures above are quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.)

Additional scripture references:
“Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?” Isaiah 29:16 KJV

“Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?” Romans 9:20 KJV

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 3:27 PM 0 comments

The Potter And The Clay: In God’s Hand Common Clay Can Be Transformed Into Something Truly Remarkable. ❤

sermon given by Pastor Vince Gerhardy
[source: Gerhardy.id.au]
Text: Jeremiah 18:1-8
The Lord said to me, "Go down to the potter's house, where I will give you my message." So I went there and saw the potter working at his wheel. Whenever a piece of pottery turned out imperfect, he would take the clay and make it into something else. Then the Lord said to me, "Don't I have the right to do with you people of Israel what the potter did with the clay? You are in my hands just like clay in the potter's hands. If at any time I say that I am going to uproot, break down, or destroy any nation or kingdom, but then that nation turns from its evil, I will not do what I said I would.
Jeremiah was called to be a prophet of God at an early age. He was a sensitive man who loved God and who loved his people but hated to speak God's word of judgement on his people. Regardless of his feelings the Word of God was like a fire in his heart and he could not hold it back.

The Old Testament prophets use some wonderful imagery to get across God's Word to his people. The Book of Jeremiah is no exception to this. Let’s try to imagine what is happening in our text today.

We aren’t told what Jeremiah was doing at the time God spoke to him but good chances are he is on his knees in prayer. He’s not the most popular guy in town because his preaching has upset so many people including the king. His message is blunt about the sin of the people and the judgement of God on their sin. Because of his unpopularity his bank account is meagre. So we find him in a simple, one roomed, dirt floor house, with a narrow cot in one corner of the room, a low table and a mat in the other. Even though he copped a fair bit of abuse and bad treatment from the locals as he delivered God's message, he was cut deeply when they rejected God's warning. He witnessed God's chosen people being led as captives from the ruins of Jerusalem.

As Jeremiah was praying, he felt a finger poking him in the shoulder. "Jeremiah, Jeremiah, listen to me carefully. I've got a job for you... Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you a message. Off your knees, Jeremiah, get going".

And so Jeremiah heads off down the street to the potter’s workshop. I’m sure the potter must have wondered what Jeremiah was doing in his workshop. He knows who Jeremiah is and the reputation he has. But business is business. He knows Jeremiah doesn’t have much money but there’s no harm in letting him watch as he made another pot. Who knows? Maybe others will come in and buy something.

He sits at his potter’s wheel and takes a lump of clay. He works the clay to get rid of any lumps and unwanted bits. He plonks it on the wheel as the wheel goes round and round the pot takes shape. The scraps are thrown into a bucket. But as the pot takes shape something goes wrong. The pot collapses.

The potter is faced with two choices - to curse and swear at this unruly lump of clay, or to mash it down and start all over again. This sort of thing was a part of a normal day’s work so he squashed the clay down and remoulded it into a fine pot for the kiln. The extra pieces in the scrap bucket are not garbage to be thrown away. They are mixed together and put on the wheel to make another pot.

Nothing is ultimately a failure, nothing is wasted.

Jesus used parables/stories to get across to his listeners important truths they needed to know about God and his kingdom. Here Jeremiah witnesses a parable that explained to him God’s attitude toward his people. The message of this parable is as much for us as it was for Israel in the time of Jeremiah.

God is a master craftsman when it comes to making people. In God’s hand common clay can be transformed into something truly remarkable.

Even though God is a master craftsman the task of moulding humanity is a particularly difficult one. In moulding humanity God has granted the clay free will. Think about it? Think about making a pot from clay that has a will of its own! In the hands of the inexperienced potter it might seem that clay does have a will of its own but that is just an allusion. Clay in the hands of God, the master craftsman, is given a will of its own. God wants us to become beautiful and useful vessels, not to carry water or hold food, but to carry the good news of his love, forgiveness, care and purpose for humanity. He gives his creation a will that is designed to do just that.

Sometimes things go wrong.
  • sometimes it is those around us and worldly attitudes that mould us into shapes that are not the shape God wants us to be,
  • sometimes it is because of a conscious choice we have made and we refuse to allow God to mould us,
  • sometimes it is because events and disasters in our lives have overwhelmed us and we no longer feel the hands of God around us,
  • sometimes it is because we have lost our way as disciples of Christ and no longer believe that Jesus has a total claim on our lives and that loyalty to him takes priority over everything else as we heard in the Gospel reading today.
However, regardless of the reason we go astray, God is always there wishing to reshape and remake and renew us; to make us into the beautiful people he intended us to be.

Sometimes the only thing God can do is to break the clay down into a lump and start again.

This is what Jeremiah warned his people about.

Because of their willfulness and greediness, because of their arrogance and tolerance of injustice and idolatry, God would need to break them down; otherwise they would never reach their potential as his chosen people. God would demolish them, not to throw them on the rubbish heap but to start once more from the beginning.

It is okay to be broken down by God.

It’s not a comfortable experience, even in such loving hands. It had to happen to Israel as a nation and it happens to many of us as individuals. We do need to be broken down by God, and to let the master start again remoulding us.

God does this through speaking his clear Word to us that defines what kind of people we ought to be. It could be an application of the Ten Commandments or Jesus’ radical interpretation of God's will for our lives that brings to our attention our brokenness in our relationship with God and the people in our lives.

It could be that our hearts have been hardened by a lack of forgiveness. God smashes us down with "Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?" "No, not seven times, but seventy times seven". These words remind us how stingy we have been with our forgiveness and let self-righteousness and indignation dictate how we treat those who have offended us.

Or maybe our speech has been anything but kind and caring and God smashes us down with "Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed" (Eph 4:29).

Or it could be that we have let other things or people or activities come between us and our worship of our God and Saviour or we have let our loyalty and commitment to Jesus be compromised and God smashes us down with the words we heard in the Gospel reading, "None of you can be my disciple unless you give up everything you have" (Luke 14:33) or with the words of biblical command to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind.

Or maybe we have become self-centred and selfish and refuse to offer help to those in need. We hear God smash us down with "Help carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will obey the law of Christ" (Gal 6:2).

Like the wobbly pot on the potter’s wheel we are imperfect and not the beautiful creation the potter intends us to be. Our flaws are clear, our blemishes are exposed, our weaknesses and defects are laid bare by the Word of the Lord. It’s clear that the potter needs to start again.

This starting again begins with trusting in God and turning to him in repentance. Repentance is a painful business. It strikes not just at our comfort but at our pride. It is admitting that what we have made of ourselves is not good enough. It is letting go of the familiar, the distorted shape of our lives, and going back into almost obscurity (like a shapeless lump of clay). It is becoming a nobody that we might, by the mercy of God, become really somebody - a somebody who is made a joint heir with Jesus Christ – a somebody who in God's eyes is about as perfect as anyone can be because of the blood of Jesus.

Our repentance is really a work of the potter as he begins to reshape us and mould us into something beautiful and new and perfect. It’s not just a matter of patching up the old pot and trying to make it good enough to sell but it’s a matter of smashing down the clay and with careful strong fingers God takes our rough clay and makes something new.

Our God is an incredibly patient potter. I would imagine that if any of us were to have a go at making a clay pot and the clay didn’t do what we expected it to do or because it was too wet or too dry or too crumbly we would lose patience, throw the whole lot in the garbage and get a fresh lot that might be more successful at being what we intend it to be.

Our God is not a throw away God but one who seeks to redeem that which has gone badly wrong. God does not give up on us but tragically, some people use their free will to give up on God. God does not discard them, they discard God. They choose a misshapen existence. They prefer to be anything but perfect (like the people to whom Jeremiah was sent). Our God is our Saviour who is always willing to start again and again as many times as necessary and gladly makes us into perfect pots.

This message of the potter and of the clay is a beautiful message because it tells us that we always have another chance;
  • that when we have failed;
  • that when we have lost the beauty that we should have;
  • that when we have gone off on a path that is not helpful;
  • that when we have become discouraged and dejected;
  • that God can rework us;
  • that God can salvage us, and make us beautiful;
  • and that it is God's purpose to do so.
In fact, so intense is God in his plan to remould and remake us that he sent Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit to renew, remould and remake us. He forgives our weaknesses and flaws. In Jesus Christ he even takes on the form of a lump of clay and becomes one with us and makes it possible for us to repent, to turn around, to be remade into what God intended us to be. It is the Holy Spirit who awakens in us the need to be remade and remoulded and leads us to look to Jesus Christ (Yahshua ha-Mashiach) as the only one who can do it.

No matter what our age may be, or what the cause of our variety of ugliness might be, God wants to save us. God is a not a throw away God, but a God full of grace, a redeeming God, a God of love and power. ❤

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 3:17 PM 0 comments

God Is The Potter We Are The Clay

sermon given by Pastor Ken Crow
[source: SermonCentral.com]

Summary: We are a creation of God for a specific purpose.

God Is The Potter We Are The Clay

Isaiah 64:8 (King James Version)

8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

1. We are a creation of God designed for a specific purpose.

Jeremiah 1:5 (King James Version)

5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations

Many people today are searching for the meaning of their life .

We are created for God’s plan.

2. Jeremiah 18:1-6 (King James Version)

Jeremiah 18

1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

2 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.

3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.

4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

In the days of Jeremiah all pottery was for some specific use. The clay was shaped and formed into vessels . All vessels were not alike. Each vessel was unique in some way and were designed according to need. Each vessel was important . No vessels were created that were not useful or needed.

Today each one of us is created to serve God. We are all unique in some way. We are all needed and important to God.

A potter is patient . Sometimes the vessel becomes marred. The potter reshapes it again and again and works out the marred places in the vessel. The clay is never thrown away by the potter.

God loves us and never throws us away.

No matter how bad we are marred we still have the opportunity with God to be what he created us to be. As long as breath is within our body we can allow Jesus Christ to form us and shape us into his will.

3. The clay is totally submitted to the potter. Completely at the will of the potter.

Jesus even prayed to God the father the following in Luke 22:42:

nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

We are all clay.

I submit to you today that no one is their own potter.

We have an enemy who desires to see us marred.

We live in a world where circumstance and situations tend to creep in and determine our direction.

God was telling Jeremiah that Israel could have a new beginning if they would submit to him and obey his word and will.

We too this morning can have a new beginning in Jesus Christ.

We will close this morning with three scriptures that we need to remind ourselves daily .

Romans 8:38-39 (King James Version)

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (King James Version)

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

God Bless and Amen

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 3:01 PM 0 comments

Daniel Is Terrified By A Vision Of A Messenger. But Then Is Told By God's Messenger Archangel Gabriel, "Don't Be Afraid." God Has Heard Your Prayer.

[source: Biblegateway.com]

Daniel Is Terrified by a Vision of a Messenger

1 In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) had another vision. He understood that the vision concerned events certain to happen in the future—times of war and great hardship.

2 When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks. 3 All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed.

4 On April 23, as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River, 5 I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist. 6 His body looked like a precious gem. His face flashed like lightning, and his eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and his voice roared like a vast multitude of people.

7 Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. The men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly terrified and ran away to hide. 8 So I was left there all alone to see this amazing vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak. 9 Then I heard the man speak, and when I heard the sound of his voice, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground.

Daniel Is Comforted by Archangel Gabriel
side note: Daniel is not visited by Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ does not need Michael's help to overcome demonic spirits. Demons tremble in great fear at the name of Jesus Christ. Gabriel is God's messenger. (emphasis mine)
10 Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. 11 And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling.

12 Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. 13 But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia [a demonic territorial spirit. (emphasis mine)] blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia [a demonic territorial spirit. (emphasis mine)] . 14 Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.”

15 While he was speaking to me, I looked down at the ground, unable to say a word. 16 Then the one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing in front of me, “I am filled with anguish because of the vision I have seen, my lord, and I am very weak. 17 How can someone like me, your servant, talk to you, my lord? My strength is gone, and I can hardly breathe.”

18 Then the one who looked like a man touched me again, and I felt my strength returning. 19 “Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!”

As he spoke these words to me, I suddenly felt stronger and said to him, “Please speak to me, my lord, for you have strengthened me.”

20 He replied, “Do you know why I have come? Soon I must return to fight against the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia [a demonic territorial spirit (emphasis mine)], and after that the spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece will come. 21 Meanwhile, I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one helps me against these spirit princes except Michael, your [celestial (emphasis mine)] spirit prince.

[source: Biblegateway.com]

1 I have been standing beside Michael to support and strengthen him since the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede.)

Kings of the South and North

2 “Now then, I will reveal the truth to you. Three more Persian kings will reign, to be succeeded by a fourth, far richer than the others. He will use his wealth to stir up everyone to fight against the kingdom of Greece.

3 “Then a mighty king will rise to power who will rule with great authority and accomplish everything he sets out to do. 4 But at the height of his power, his kingdom will be broken apart and divided into four parts. It will not be ruled by the king’s descendants, nor will the kingdom hold the authority it once had. For his empire will be uprooted and given to others.

5 “The king of the south will increase in power, but one of his own officials will become more powerful than he and will rule his kingdom with great strength.

6 “Some years later an alliance will be formed between the king of the north and the king of the south. The daughter of the king of the south will be given in marriage to the king of the north to secure the alliance, but she will lose her influence over him, and so will her father. She will be abandoned along with her supporters. 7 But when one of her relatives becomes king of the south, he will raise an army and enter the fortress of the king of the north and defeat him. 8 When he returns to Egypt, he will carry back their idols with him, along with priceless articles of gold and silver. For some years afterward he will leave the king of the north alone.

9 “Later the king of the north will invade the realm of the king of the south but will soon return to his own land. 10 However, the sons of the king of the north will assemble a mighty army that will advance like a flood and carry the battle as far as the enemy’s fortress.

11 “Then, in a rage, the king of the south will rally against the vast forces assembled by the king of the north and will defeat them. 12 After the enemy army is swept away, the king of the south will be filled with pride and will execute many thousands of his enemies. But his success will be short lived.

13 “A few years later the king of the north will return with a fully equipped army far greater than before. 14 At that time there will be a general uprising against the king of the south. Violent men among your own people will join them in fulfillment of this vision, but they will not succeed. 15 Then the king of the north will come and lay siege to a fortified city and capture it. The best troops of the south will not be able to stand in the face of the onslaught.

16 “The king of the north will march onward unopposed; none will be able to stop him. He will pause in the glorious land of Israel, intent on destroying it. 17 He will make plans to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will form an alliance with the king of the south. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom from within, but his plan will fail.

18 “After this, he will turn his attention to the coastland and conquer many cities. But a commander from another land will put an end to his insolence and cause him to retreat in shame. 19 He will take refuge in his own fortresses but will stumble and fall and be seen no more.

20 “His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. But after a very brief reign, he will die, though not from anger or in battle.

21 “The next to come to power will be a despicable man who is not in line for royal succession. He will slip in when least expected and take over the kingdom by flattery and intrigue. 22 Before him great armies will be swept away, including a covenant prince. 23 With deceitful promises, he will make various alliances. He will become strong despite having only a handful of followers. 24 Without warning he will enter the richest areas of the land. Then he will distribute among his followers the plunder and wealth of the rich—something his predecessors had never done. He will plot the overthrow of strongholds, but this will last for only a short while.

25 “Then he will stir up his courage and raise a great army against the king of the south. The king of the south will go to battle with a mighty army, but to no avail, for there will be plots against him. 26 His own household will cause his downfall. His army will be swept away, and many will be killed. 27 Seeking nothing but each other’s harm, these kings will plot against each other at the conference table, attempting to deceive each other. But it will make no difference, for the end will come at the appointed time.

28 “The king of the north will then return home with great riches. On the way he will set himself against the people of the holy covenant, doing much damage before continuing his journey.

29 “Then at the appointed time he will once again invade the south, but this time the result will be different. 30 For warships from western coastlands will scare him off, and he will withdraw and return home. But he will vent his anger against the people of the holy covenant and reward those who forsake the covenant.

31 “His army will take over the Temple fortress, pollute the sanctuary, put a stop to the daily sacrifices, and set up the sacrilegious object that causes desecration. 32 He will flatter and win over those who have violated the covenant. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him.

33 “Wise leaders will give instruction to many, but these teachers will die by fire and sword, or they will be jailed and robbed. 34 During these persecutions, little help will arrive, and many who join them will not be sincere. 35 And some of the wise will fall victim to persecution. In this way, they will be refined and cleansed and made pure until the time of the end, for the appointed time is still to come.

36 “The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself and claiming to be greater than every god, even blaspheming the God of gods. He will succeed, but only until the time of wrath is completed. For what has been determined will surely take place. 37 He will have no respect for the gods of his ancestors, or for the god loved by women, or for any other god, for he will boast that he is greater than them all. 38 Instead of these, he will worship the god of fortresses—a god his ancestors never knew—and lavish on him gold, silver, precious stones, and expensive gifts. 39 Claiming this foreign god’s help, he will attack the strongest fortresses. He will honor those who submit to him, appointing them to positions of authority and dividing the land among them as their reward.

40 “Then at the time of the end, the king of the south will attack the king of the north. The king of the north will storm out with chariots, charioteers, and a vast navy. He will invade various lands and sweep through them like a flood. 41 He will enter the glorious land of Israel, and many nations will fall, but Moab, Edom, and the best part of Ammon will escape. 42 He will conquer many countries, and even Egypt will not escape. 43 He will gain control over the gold, silver, and treasures of Egypt, and the Libyans and Ethiopians will be his servants.

44 “But then news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in great anger to destroy and obliterate many. 45 He will stop between the glorious holy mountain and the sea and will pitch his royal tents. But while he is there, his time will suddenly run out, and no one will help him.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 1:13 PM 0 comments

Daniel Thrown In The Lion's Den. God Sent His Angel To Shut The Lions’ Mouths So That They Would Not Hurt Him.

[source: Biblegateway.com]

The Plot Against Daniel

1 Darius the Mede decided to divide the kingdom into 120 provinces, and he appointed a high officer to rule over each province. 2 The king also chose Daniel and two others as administrators to supervise the high officers and protect the king’s interests. 3 Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire.

4 Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. 5 So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.”

6 So the administrators and high officers went to the king and said, “Long live King Darius! 7 We are all in agreement—we administrators, officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions. 8 And now, Your Majesty, issue and sign this law so it cannot be changed, an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.” 9 So King Darius signed the law.

Daniel in the Lions’ Den

10 But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. 11 Then the officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking for God’s help. 12 So they went straight to the king and reminded him about his law. “Did you not sign a law that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions?”

“Yes,” the king replied, “that decision stands; it is an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.”

13 Then they told the king, “That man Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, is ignoring you and your law. He still prays to his God three times a day.”

14 Hearing this, the king was deeply troubled, and he tried to think of a way to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day looking for a way to get Daniel out of this predicament.

15 In the evening the men went together to the king and said, “Your Majesty, you know that according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, no law that the king signs can be changed.”

16 So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.”

17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed the stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles, so that no one could rescue Daniel.

Daniel Saved from the Lions

18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn’t sleep at all that night.

19 Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions’ den. 20 When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?”

21 Daniel answered, “Long live the king! 22 My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.”

23 The king was overjoyed and ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den. Not a scratch was found on him, for he had trusted in his God.

King Darius Honors God

24 Then the king gave orders to arrest the men who had maliciously accused Daniel. He had them thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. The lions leaped on them and tore them apart before they even hit the floor of the den.

25 Then King Darius sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world:
“Peace and prosperity to you!
26 “I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel.
For he is the living God,
and he will endure forever.
His kingdom will never be destroyed,
and his rule will never end.
27 He rescues and saves his people;
he performs miraculous signs and wonders
in the heavens and on earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”
28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 1:11 PM 0 comments

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: A Story of Uncompromising, Courageous Faith in the Face of Death. Hallelujah, Glory Be To God In The Highest.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
written by Mary Fairchild
[source: About.com]

About 600 years before Jesus Christ was born, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged Jerusalem and took captive many of Israel's finest citizens. Among those deported to Babylon were four young men from the tribe of Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

In captivity the youths were given new names. Daniel was called Belteshazzar, Hananiah was called Shadrach, Mishael was called Meshach, and Azariah was called Abednego.

These four Hebrews (Israelites) excelled in wisdom and knowledge and found favor in King Nebuchadnezzar's eyes. The king put them into service among his most trusted wise men and counselors. When Daniel proved to be the only man capable of interpreting one of Nebuchadnezzar's troubling dreams, the king placed him in a high position over the whole province of Babylon, including all of the wise men of the land. And at Daniel's request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as administrators under Daniel.

As was common at the time, King Nebuchadnezzar built a huge golden image and commanded all the people to fall down and worship it whenever they heard the sound of his musical herald. Anyone who failed to bow and worship the image would be thrown into an immense, blazing furnace.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were determined to worship the One true God only, and thus were reported to the king. Courageously they stood before him as the king pressured the men to deny their God. They said, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." (Daniel 3:16-18, ESV)

Furious with pride and rage, Nebuchadnezzar ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than normal. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were bound and cast into the flames. The fiery blast was so hot it killed the soldiers who had escorted them.

But as King Nebuchadnezzar peered into the furnace, he marveled at what he saw: "But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods." (Daniel 3:25, ESV)

Then the king called the men to come out of the furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged unharmed, with not even a hair on their heads singed or the smell of smoke on their clothing.

Needless to say, this made quite an impression on Nebuchadnezzar who declared, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God." (Daniel 3:28, ESV)

Through God's miraculous deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that day, the rest of the Israelites in captivity were given freedom to worship and protection from harm by the king's decree. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego received a royal promotion.

Points of Interest from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego:
  • The fiery furnace was not a small household oven. It was a huge chamber used to smelt minerals or bake bricks for construction. The death of the soldiers who escorted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego proved that the heat of the fire was not survivable.

  • Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were young men when their faith was severely tested. Yet, even threatened with death, they would not compromise their beliefs.

  • Who was the fourth man Nebuchadnezzar saw in the flames? Whether he was an angel or a manifestation of Christ Jesus, we cannot be certain, but that his appearance was miraculous and supernatural, we can have no doubt. God had provided a heavenly bodyguard to be with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego during their intense time of need.

  • God's miraculous intervention in a moment of crisis is not promised. If it were, believers would not need to exercise faith. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego trusted God and determined to be faithful without any guarantee of deliverance.
Question for Reflection:

When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego courageously took their stand before Nebuchadnezzar, they didn't know with certainty that God would deliver them. They had no assurance they would survive the flames. But they stood firm anyway. In the face of death could you boldly declare as these three young men did: "Whether God rescues me or not, I will stand for him. I will not compromise my faith, and I will not deny my Lord."
The term 'Palestine' was made up by the British kingdom and only used for 9 MONTHS. Afterward, the British kingdom divided the land that they had in their control to map out Iraq, Syria, Jordan AND ISRAEL. All are SOVEREIGN nations, including Israel. Those who call themselves the 'Palestinians' are ALL Islamist REFUGEES. It goes against the United Nations charter for any refugee group to go past one generation. But the so-called 'Palestinians' have remained Islamist REFUGEES for several generations and many are not even from that region. Islam calls it the right to return to their native land. Huh? Isn't Mecca their holy land, ergo their NATIVE LAND? Isn't Mecca where Islam was born? And these so-called 'Palestinian' Islamist REFUGEES have the nerve to DEMAND THEIR OWN NATION yet are solely dependent on foreign aid to survive. They still get their water and power from the nation of Israel that the so-called 'Palestinians' want to annihilate. THEY ARE ISLAMIST REFUGEES demanding to be recognized as their own nation. The rest of the world needs to take note of all the Islamist refugees you're taking into your nations because they're going to do the same to you. (emphasis mine)

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 1:10 PM 0 comments

PHILIPPINES: Islamist Militant Necromongers Exploded Two Bombs Inside Catholic Christian Cathedral During Mass And Outside Of The Church. 20 People Murdered And 81 Were Wounded.

While all of you Marxist Democrats go on a zombie feeding frenzy hating Christians, Islamist are actually massacring innocent souls every day ALL AROUND THE WORLD. Islam works really hard to pass Islamic blasphemy laws also known as Hate Speech Laws in the Western world to stop news sources from mentioning Islam or Muslims in these kinds of stories. Not one person or organization is allowed to say anything negative about Islam or Muslims, not even actual terror attacks committed by Islamists for Islam. They claim these laws are for all people. But Christians and Jewish people are verbally assaulted regularly without any repercussions. So, when you go to do a search about Islam or Muslim terror attacks or honor killings, you will hardly find anything. Only from people who keep watch that have been smeared by Islam and Marxist. That's one way Islam maintains the "religion of peace" label.
(emphasis mine)
The Wall Street Journal
written by Associated Press
Sunday January 27, 2019

JOLO, Philippines — Two bombs minutes apart tore through a Roman Catholic cathedral on a southern Philippine island where Muslim militants are active, killing at least 20 people and wounding 81 others during a Sunday Mass, officials said.

The first bomb went off inside the Jolo cathedral in the provincial capital, followed by a second blast outside the compound as government forces were responding to the attack, security officials said. The explosions blew away the entrance to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and ripped through the main hall, scattering the wooden pews and toppling other doors.

Police said at least 20 people died and 81 were wounded, correcting an earlier toll due to double counting. The fatalities included 15 civilians and five troops. Among the wounded were 14 troops, two police and 65 civilians.

Troops in armored carriers sealed off the main road leading to the church while vehicles were transporting the dead and wounded to the town hospital. Some casualties were evacuated by air to nearby Zamboanga city.

“I have directed our troops to heighten their alert level, secure all places of worships and public places at once, and initiate proactive security measures to thwart hostile plans,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement.

Jolo island has long been troubled by the presence of Abu Sayyaf militants, who are blacklisted by the U.S. and the Philippines as a terrorist organization because of years of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings.

No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

It came nearly a week after minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation endorsed a new autonomous region in the southern Philippines in hopes of ending nearly five decades of a separatist rebellion that has left 150,000 people dead. Although most of the Muslim areas approved the autonomy deal, voters in Sulu province, where Jolo is located, rejected it. The province is home to a rival rebel faction that is opposed to the deal as well as smaller militant cells that aren’t part of any peace process.

Western governments have welcomed the autonomy pact. They worry that small numbers of Islamic State-linked militants from the Middle East and Southeast Asia could forge an alliance with Filipino insurgents and turn the south into a breeding ground for extremists.
Catholic Herald
written by Staff
Sunday January 27, 2019

Two bombs have killed at least 27 people attending Sunday Mass at a cathedral in the southern Philippines.

The first explosion took place inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on Jolo island at 08:45 local time.

The second device was detonated in the car park as soldiers rushed to help victims of the first blast.

Most of the victims are civilians.

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana deplored the attack and urged locals to work with the authorities to “deny terrorism any victory”.

No group has so far claimed responsibility, but Islamists are active on the island.

 UPDATE 1/27/19 at 6:05am: I added tweets below.
Yahoo News
written by AFP staff
Sunday January 27, 2019

At least 18 people were killed Sunday when a double bomb attack hit a Catholic church on a southern Philippine island that is a stronghold of Islamist militants, the military said, days after voters backed expanded Muslim self-rule in the region.

A powerful first blast shattered pews and left bodies strewn inside the cathedral in the Catholic-majority nation's restive south as mass was being celebrated.

Just moments later a second explosion outside killed troops who were rushing to help the wounded in the smoking and heavily damaged church on Jolo, which is overwhelmingly Muslim.

It is one of the deadliest bomb attacks to strike the insurgency-plagued southern Philippines in years, and shows the violence in the region is not over despite recent steps toward peace, experts said.

The bloodshed came less than a week after voters' decisive approval of a plan to give Muslims in the south more control over their own affairs, which sparked hopes of quelling long-time separatist violence.
Read the paragraph above again. The "moderate" Muslims want autonomy in the region they have a majority of the population. They were demanding the right to impose Islamic sharia law. That's what "give Muslims in the South more control over their OWN AFFAIRS" means. So, basically, the Muslims will stop bombing and killing people if you let them takeover the region. Isn't that colonizing? (emphasis mine)
"Just because the (referendum) has passed does not mean that things are going to get better overnight," said Gregory Wyatt, director for business intelligence at PSA Philippines Consultancy.

"There are still militant groups that will continue to be active and pose a security threat," he told AFP.

Manila swiftly vowed to hunt down the attackers, but no group has claimed the bombing.

"We will pursue to the ends of the earth the ruthless perpetrators behind this dastardly crime," presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement. "The law will give them no mercy."

Five soldiers, a member of the coast guard and 12 civilians were among the dead while 83 other people were wounded, said regional military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Besana.

The regional police chief Graciano Mijares put the toll slightly higher at 20 dead, lower than a figure of 27 he gave initially.

The second bomb was left in the utility box of a motorcycle in the parking area outside the church, a military report said.

Authorities said the notorious Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group could be behind the blasts.

"When you talk about terrorism in Sulu, the primary suspect is always the (Abu Sayyaf) but we are not discounting the possibility that there are other perpetrators," Besana told AFP.

The remote island of Jolo is a base of the Abu Sayyaf, which is blamed for deadly bombings, including an attack on a ferry in Manila Bay in 2004 that claimed 116 lives in the country's deadliest terror assault.

- Peace spoilers? -

The Abu Sayyaf is a loose network of militants formed in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, and has earned millions of dollars from banditry and kidnappings-for-ransom, often targeting foreigners.

It is among armed networks based in the strife-torn region of Mindanao, some of whose members have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Abu Sayyaf is not part of the decades-long peace process with the nation's largest separatist group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, that culminated January 21 with the resounding approval of a new Muslim led-region in the south.

Rebels and the government in Manila hope the new so-called Bangsamoro area will finally draw the investment needed to pull the region from the brutal poverty that makes it a hotspot for radical recruitment.

Despite Sulu province -- which includes Jolo -- voting against creating the new region, the area will still be part of the Bangsamoro.

The timing of Sunday's bombs raised questions on whether the attack was meant to derail the peace process.

Mujiv Hataman, a regional leader in the Philippines south, said the blasts highlighted the urgency of implementing the peace law.

"I hope the (law) is implemented well so it could be a solution to stop the spread of terrorism," Hataman told AFP.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said "extremist criminals" plotted the bombings.

"We will not allow them to spoil the preference of the people for peace," Esperon said. "Peace must prevail over war."
I'm sharing this video with you for all of you who keep defending the Rohingya Islamist militants and get worldwide sympathy by calling them Islamist refugees. They have wives that they captured for sex slaves after massacring a Hindu, Christian, or Buddhist village in nation of Myanmar. The Rohingya Islamist militants force all captured women and little girls to convert to Islam like in this video. People of the world should want to rescue these captured women who were forced to convert to Islam and their offspring from the Islamist militants who kept them in captivity after massacring their villages in Myanmar. This also happens in India and many parts of the world. (emphasis mine)

UPDATE 1/27/19 at 8:04pm: I added the tweets below.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 5:19 AM 0 comments

VENEZUELA: Venezuela’s Top Military Officials Took To The Airwaves To Deliver Their Vows Of Loyalty To Maduro NOT THE NATION. Cocaine, Payola: Read How Maduro Keeps Top Military Brass In Line.

Bloomberg News
written by Patricia Laya and Andrew Rosati
Friday January 25, 2019

Vladimir Padrino is Venezuela’s defense minister. Gerardo Rangel is a major general in the army. Nestor Reverol is a former National Guard commander who oversees the Interior and Justice Ministry.

They are also, according to the U.S. Treasury, drug runners and graft-schemers who operate within the criminal enterprise that is the Nicolas Maduro regime.

Money laundering, fraud, illegal mining and more allegedly form the bedrock of this business, which is what critics contend is at the heart of the powerful bond between the military and Maduro. The clear understanding, as IHS Markit analyst Diego Moya-Ocampos put it, is that “if Maduro falls, they fall.”

Which is why Juan Guaido, the National Assembly leader who claims he is now the legitimate president of the country, faces such an uphill battle in trying to get top military brass to turn on their commander-in-chief.

At every crucial moment in the decade-long slide into authoritarianism in Venezuela, the military has been there for the rulers, Maduro and his mentor Hugo Chavez before him.

“Maduro leads a military government and the high command are part of the government,” Moya-Ocampos said. “It would be extremely naïve to think they are going to do something different.”

Guaido has been aggressively pushing for soldiers and generals alike to recognize him as president, something the U.S. and a host of other foreign governments did this week. As hard a sell as that is for the new face of a reinvigorated opposition, it’s one he has to make to succeed in his bid to bring Maduro down. The Bolivarian National Armed Forces are arguably the most important constituency in the crisis-torn country.

So far, Guaido and his compatriots in the National Assembly have made this offer: amnesty protection for alleged corruption and human rights abuses to any member who defects.

That, Moya-Ocampos said, “may serve for middle or lower ranks. But for higher ranks, they don’t see that as enough.”

Maduro has simply handed them too many lucrative prizes, which the U.S. contends have allowed them to accumulate huge fortunes. The top ranks control the ports, have contracts for hundreds of social housing projects and valuable mining and oil services concessions and hold the reins to Venezuela’s crown jewel, Petroleos de Venezuela SA.

Even at this ugly stage in the country’s devastating decline, it would be surprising if most military leaders didn’t continue to back the regime, said historian Tomas Straka, a professor at Andres Bello Catholic University in Caracas. “Their economic interests and vision are completely fused with Maduro’s.”

Those interests, in the view of the U.S., are illicit and damning. Nikki Haley, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to the UN, has called Venezuela a “criminal narco-state that is robbing the Venezuelan people blind.”

Since 2015, the U.S. has sanctioned over a dozen current and former high-ranking security officials on allegations of corruption, cocaine trafficking and human rights abuses for their alleged roles in cracking down on dissent during anti-government protests.

Maduro has condemned the U.S. sanctions as baseless, the result of fabricated charges.

He can still muster support. A day after Guaido proclaimed himself the rightful president before adoring crowds in Caracas, Padrino, the defense minister, and eight regional commanders took to the airwaves to swear allegiance to Maduro. One by one, they pledged loyalty and denounced a “coup” by Guaido. The armed forces “swore to die for the fatherland” and rejected an “imposed government,” Padrino said from Caracas’ main military base.

Maduro declared victory for his side. “Venezuela’s military has spoken and they’re with the constitution and the people," he said in a speech. “The military’s voice is firm and clear."

Maduro may have to test the military’s appetite for conflict over the next 36 hours as a deadline for U.S. diplomats to exit Venezuela looms. After Donald Trump quickly sided with Guaido on Jan. 23, Maduro severed ties with the U.S. and ordered all government employees to leave by the afternoon of Jan. 26. The U.S. thus far has rejected the order as being given by an illegitimate leader and Guaido has called on staff to stay in place.

While the generals and admirals may be shielded from the misery of daily life in a country whose economy has been broken by Maduro’s brand of socialist rule, those farther down the chain of command are struggling. They have to rely on their often meager salaries -- for some as little as minimum wage, about $10 a month. They have to deal with shortages of food and medicine, with blackouts, with water taps that run dry.

To be sure, dissent has simmered in the military since before Maduro’s tenure. In 2002, Chavez was briefly deposed in failed coup by some soldiers; he was reinstated by loyalists less than 48 hours later.

But recently, there have been reports of increases in desertions and early retirements. The government has moved against some dissenting troops, who it has accused of and conspiring against the regime. According to the Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy, a Caracas legal group, 163 members of the military are behind bars for political reasons.

On Monday, two dozen national guardsmen raided Caracas military outposts, stealing weapons and holding other soldiers captive before gathering in a fort near the city center. Videos posted on social media show guardsmen arguing with their hostages about why they wouldn’t turn their backs on Maduro given the state of the country, while others called on civilians to rise up.

“Didn’t you want the military to take the streets and light the fuse?’’ a guardsmen who identified himself as Sergeant Luis Bandres said in one video. “We’re lighting it here.’’

At this point, Guaido has provided little detail about his amnesty plans. He has said he will “hand in” the measure adopted by the National Assembly, but didn’t specify where or how.

Meantime, he has continued to lobby. The 35-year-old lawmaker, whose grandparents served in the Navy and the National Guard, told military members that “you have my respect, because I know how you live,” in a recorded video this week. “We’re not asking you to enforce a coup d’etat, instead, to defend the peoples’ right to be heard and be free.”

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 2:50 AM 0 comments

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