The prayer of John chapter 17 is sometimes called Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer” to His Father for the formation of the glorious church. It calls us into the future to be a gathering of people who are a witness of who He is. We are to be a people full of love, glorious and truly one with Him, each other and the Father.

This prophetic prayer steam rolls through the centuries. There are so many questions. How can this happen? What makes us one? What keeps us together? Is the answer simple? Isn’t it to be in Christ? Are we not to be all born again by the same Spirit of God that unites us? Do we not have but just one Father? Does not that make us brothers and sisters and one family, one church?

So, how is it that this church is so easily divided?

Let’s Take A Journey In Time …

I sometimes imagine Jesus coming to our city and calling all the church (or churches) into an assembly. He is Commander and Chief over all. The excitement is electrifying!

First, the angels go about and separate out those that are not really His into an outside arena. Some well-dressed and highly garbed attendees are shocked to be sifted out of the gathering. They were never His to begin with … just pretenders.

Other relatively unknown attendees are given very prominent positions near the front. Some known to be leaders are behind them. It seems a bit odd. There is apparently a new order and set of priorities being introduced. As Jesus’ eyes scan over the crowd, His face and emotions seem to make a full circle of expressions from loving passion to a forlorn nodding of His head, appearing to say, “They should have known better.”

While walking through the crowd, we all see some people that we avoided. We had disagreements. Oddly, it doesn’t seem to matter now. Being part of the bigger picture of God’s bride is a deeper satisfaction. Hmmm … Jesus was with both of us all the time, but we were against each other … something seems very off about that. The word “grace” hits our ears. It has a ring of thunder to it.

As we all stand there, the same thought seems to go through all our minds at the same time, “Why did we wait so long to come together? We are a mighty army!” A deep, unspoken conviction begins to weigh on the hearts of the masses. We have been divided and full of judgments that God doesn’t carry Himself. We missed it.

The Lord Jesus addresses those gathered, “Please be seated. Before we go on, I want to clear up some matters for the future.” The crowd is curious. “All of you that were leaders and brought division to My body, please stand up.” Suddenly individuals are involuntarily standing as if someone prodded them with a pin. They want to sit down again but cannot.

“Now all of you that taught that My spiritual gifts do not continue to work in today’s church, please sit down … I forgive you.” A large number are awkwardly seated.

“Now all of you that abused your authority and really were not servant leaders, but made yourselves rulers and mediators between Me and My people, please sit down … I forgive you.” Another group is seated.

“Now all of you that rejected anyone who did music and worship outside of your style, please sit down … I forgive you.” Many sheepishly sit.

“Now those that stifled my daughters from their callings in ministry with your ‘women in ministry limits,’ please sit down … I forgive you.” More embarrassed faces sit down.

“Now I address those of you that victimized the innocent spouses for the sin of the unrighteous, covenant-breaking spouses who divorced them. You refused the innocent the liberty to remarry and have family again or even excommunicated them … I forgive you.” Another number of leaders sat.

“Now those of you that persecuted those who did not embrace your end-time teaching and called them heretics … I forgive you.” Several more red-faced people sat down.

“There are others that through idolizing your own opinions or interpretation of my Word, or whose selfish ambitions, or desire for personal gain have brought division into My church. I forgive you of all of this because of My grace that was released on the cross. This type of division shall not carry into My kingdom. It grieves the heart of the Father but it is being removed as far as the east is from the west. Go forward and do not commit this sin of division again.”

A sense of humility comes over the assembly as a wind blows across the grounds. Other sins of carnality and lack of holiness fall off of people under the reality that God sees all. What remains is a sense of Father’s love, full of grace and acceptance in Christ.

The fear of the Lord regarding the dividing of His beloved church has been reestablished. Now they begin to shine as a bright city on a hill. They are ready to go forward to the glorious resolve of becoming one church and bride who are ready.

As I come down from this imagination, I begin to look at myself. “Am I part of the problem? Am I quick to divide and slow to reconcile the body of Christ?

“Would I be among those standing? Has stubbornness and pride squelched the voice of the Holy Spirit? Am I guilty of misguided zeal that has brought division, while thinking I was uncompromising? Can I admit that I may be wrong? Even worse—am I offended or scandalized when Jesus is not?”

Join me in praying, “Lord, help me to build with You and not be in the way.”

“… and on this rock I will build My Church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18b).

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”

“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:8-9).

“Search me, O God …” (Ps. 139:23, 24). {eoa}

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Even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it has approved a second COVID-19 “vaccine” known as Spikevax by Moderna, there are still currently no fully FDA-approved licensed shots available. All COVID shots remain under federal emergency use authorization, meaning individuals have the “option to accept or refuse” the product.

In today’s letter to Moderna, the FDA states there is no Spikevax available.

Footnote 9 on page 3 states: “The licensed vaccine has the same formulation as the EUA-authorized vaccine and the products can be used interchangeably to provide the vaccination series without presenting any safety or effectiveness concerns. The products are legally distinct with certain differences that do not impact safety or effectiveness.”

Also, footnote 11 on page 7 states: “Although SPIKEVAX (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) and Comirnaty (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) are approved to prevent COVID-19 in certain individuals within the scope of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine authorization, there is not sufficient approved vaccine available for distribution to this population in its entirety at the time of reissuance of this EUA.”

Spikevax has the same formulation as the EUA Moderna COVID-19 shot and is administered as a primary series of two doses, one month apart.

The FDA played the same shell game last year when it announced it approved the BioNTech injection, Comirnaty.

On Oct. 20, 2021, the FDA sent a follow-up letter regarding the original approval to Pfizer pharmaceutical company that stated, “having concluded that revising this EUA is appropriate to protect the public health or safety under section 564(g)(2) of the Act, FDA is reissuing the August 23, 2021 letter of authorization in its entirety with revisions incorporated to authorize for emergency use the administration of a single booster dose of Comirnaty.”

On page 6 footnote 12 of that letter, the FDA clearly states, “Although Comirnaty (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) is approved to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 16 years of age and older, there is not sufficient approved vaccine available for distribution to this population in its entirety at the time of reissuance of this EUA” (emphasis added).

The FDA did a bait and switch by announcing it approved its “first COVID-19 vaccine” in order to push the “vaccine” mandates and protect the Pfizer pharmaceutical company from legal liability. The Pfizer injection, on the other hand, is still considered experimental under U.S. law.

The CDC stated:

Comirnaty products are not orderable at this time. National Drug Codes are listed per FDA SPL [Structured Product Label] document for the BLA [Biologics License Applications] licensed product. These codes are not included in CDC Vaccine Code Set files at this time. Pfizer has provided the following statement regarding the Cominarty branded NDCs and labels:

Pfizer received FDA BLA license on 8/23/2021 for its COVID-19 vaccine for use in individuals 16 and older (COMIRNATY). At that time, the FDA published a BLA package insert that included the approved new COVID-19 vaccine tradename COMIRNATY and listed 2 new NDCs (0069-1000-03, 0069-1000-02) and images of labels with the new tradename. At present, Pfizer does not plan to produce any product with these new NDCs and labels over the next few months while EUA authorized product is still available and being made available for U.S. distribution. As such, the CDC, AMA, and drug compendia may not publish these new codes until Pfizer has determined when the product will be produced with the BLA labels.

The National Institutes of Health also posted the above statement from Pfizer.

There is a legal difference between products approved under authorization of emergency use compared with those the FDA has fully licensed. The FDA issued another letter for the existing Pfizer shots, which confirms they are still under emergency use authorization are not fully approved and has a liability shield. That means people must be told the risks and benefits, and they have the “option to accept or refuse” the product. The federal emergency use authorization law and the FDA, including the FDA Fact Sheet, state unequivocally that each person has the “option to accept or refuse” the shots.

Liberty Counsel founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “There is currently no fully FDA-approved licensed COVID shot available to the population. Neither Comirnaty nor Spikevax are available. Everything that is available remains under the EUA law. That means that people have the option to accept or refuse the shots.” {eoa}

To read the original article, visit .

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What if all nine Supreme Court justices were white women? Or Black men? What if they were Hispanic? Or Asian American? Or Jewish? Would that rightly reflect our nation? Would it even feel right? Of course, if the only qualified justices were all white women or Black men or Hispanic or Asian American or Jewish, we would have no choice. But assuming that was not the case, by our design and our intent, how diverse should the Supreme Court be?

Speaking in favor of President Biden’s promise to nominate a Black female justice to the Court, Sen. Lindsay Graham said on CBS News’ Face The Nation, “Put me in the camp of making sure the court and other institutions look like America. You know, we make a real effort as Republicans to recruit women and people of color to make the party look more like America.”

But that is how our court systems work?

Last week, incoming Georgetown law professor Ilya Shapiro created a firestorm of controversy when he tweeted, “Objectively best pick for Biden is Sri Srinivasan, who is solid [progressive] and [very] smart. Even has identity politics benefit of being first Asian (Indian) American. But alas doesn’t fit into last intersectionality hierarchy so we’ll get lesser black woman. Thank heaven for small favors?”

He added, “Because Biden said he’s only consider [sic] black women for SCOTUS, his nominee will always have an asterisk attached. Fitting that the Court takes up affirmative action next term.”

Was Shapiro demeaning Black women as “lesser”? Obviously not, although, as he admitted, his tweet was poorly worded.

His point was that, objectively speaking, given Biden’s values and vision, Sri Srinivasan would be the best available candidate.

But what if the composition of the court were terribly imbalanced? What if a significant sector of the population had never been represented on the court? And what if someone from this sector were highly qualified? Would it be wrong to nominate that judge for the purpose of having a more diverse court? And could such a nomination be called “affirmative action”?

Republican Sen. Roger Wicker came under attack when he said, “The irony is the Supreme Court, at the very same time, is hearing cases about this sort of affirmative racial discrimination and while adding someone who is the beneficiary of this sort of quota. The majority of the court might be saying, writ large, it’s unconstitutional. We’ll see how that irony works out.”

Graham, for his part, disagreed, saying, “You know, we make a real effort as Republicans to recruit women and people of color to make the party look more like America. Affirmative action is picking somebody not as well qualified for past wrongs.”

In that sense, without a doubt, affirmative action has no place in nominating justices to the highest court in the land. The very thought of it is frightening. What would happen if unqualified justices had the power to make generation-impacting, landmark decisions? (Some would argue that some of our current justices are not truly qualified, but that’s another discussion.)

In my view, as a complete layman when it comes to legal matters, Biden’s great error was in drastically limiting his pool up front, saying that he wanted to nominate a Black woman.

It would have been far better had he said, “We will carefully review the most qualified candidates available. And if one of those is a Black woman, I would consider it a privilege to put her forward for consideration.”

That would have been far less controversial or objectionable, since all of us know that gender or ethnicity have come into play when nominating previous justices. Not only so, but there are always a number of potential candidates, each of them reflecting different judicial philosophies and having different, unique qualifications.

And so there was purpose in selecting a first Black justice (or female justice or Hispanic justice), and that purpose was welcomed and affirmed by others.

Not only so, but President Trump promised to nominate a female justice to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg. To quote him exactly, “It will be a woman.”

And President Reagan promised to nominate our first female Supreme Court justice. To quote him directly, he said, “I am announcing today that one of the first Supreme Court vacancies in my administration will be filled by the most qualified woman I can possibly find. … It is time for a woman to sit among the highest jurists.”

Why, then, was this OK, but Biden’s pledge, first made during a presidential debate, is not OK?

The answer, again, would be that he drew much too small of a circle, thereby prejudicing his choices in an unfair and potentially discriminatory manner.

But the idea that the Supreme Court should be diverse and representative of our nation is a positive concept and, in and of itself, hardly controversial anymore.{eoa}

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The actress Whoopi Goldberg has apologized for saying the Holocaust was not about race, comments that caused a backlash.

She made the initial comments on ABC’s The View program on Monday morning. Her apology came in a tweet hours later

.

The hosts on The View were discussing a Tennessee school board’s banning of Maus, a graphic novel about the Nazi death camps during World War Two. The board cited nudity and profanity as its reasons for banning the book, which has won several literary awards, including a Pulitzer Prize.

Goldberg said: “I’m surprised that’s what made you uncomfortable, the fact that there was some nudity. I mean, it’s about the Holocaust, the killing of 6 million people, but that didn’t bother you? If you’re going to do this, then let’s be truthful about it. Because the Holocaust isn’t about race. No, it’s not about race.”

Joy Behar said that the Nazis said Jews were a different race.

“But it’s not about race. It’s not. It’s about man’s inhumanity to other man,” Goldberg replied.

Ana Navarro responded: “But it’s about white supremacy. It’s about going after Jews and Gypsies and Roma.”

Goldberg said: “But these are two white groups of people.” {eoa}

Sara Haines pointed out that the Nazis didn’t see Jewish people as white.

“But you’re missing the point!” Goldberg said. “The minute you turn it into race, it goes down this alley. Let’s talk about it for what it is. It’s how people treat each other. It’s a problem.”

Greenblatt thanked Goldberg late Monday night.

“Thanks @WhoopiGoldberg for correcting your prior statement and acknowledging the #Holocaust for what it was. As #antisemitism surges to historic levels, I hope we can work together to combat ignorance of that horrific crime and the hate that threatens all,” he tweeted. {eoa}

© 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Let’s Pray for Radical Conversion Among American ‘Christians’: I read with interest Dr. Michael Brown’s commentary on Brady “Phanatik” Goodwin’s announcement that he was renouncing his Christian faith. What caught my eye was the impersonal and sterile nature of the faith he was renouncing. In explaining his decision, Goodwin said,

“I sent a letter to my church withdrawing my membership and saying that I am denouncing the Christian faith that I have believed, professed, proclaimed and defended for the last 30 years of my life.”

My heart goes out to Goodwin, but it sounds as though his Christianity was rooted in externals such as church membership and a set of doctrinal beliefs that he has “defended” for much of his life. There is little indication of a warm and personal heart relationship with Christ.

By contrast, when we read the words of the early martyrs of the church, it is obvious they were not laying down their lives for an institution or set of doctrines. Their testimonies are warm and passionate concerning their love and commitment to Christ.

For example, Polycarp (circa A.D. 69-155), pastor/bishop of Philippi, was martyred for his faith late in life. Brought before the pagan proconsul of the region and given the option of renouncing Christ or being burned alive, Polycarp passionately replied, “For eighty-six years I have been His servant, and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”

Polycarp obviously did not see himself dying for a mere set of doctrines. It was a person he was representing, and this person meant everything to him. This is not to downplay the importance of doctrine but to remind us that it is a person who saves us, not a doctrine.

John Wesley discovered this in a very dramatic fashion. He was ordained as a minister in the Anglican Church and even went to Georgia as a missionary; but according to his own testimony, he was a Christian in name only for his faith was in the external forms of Christianity and not Christ Himself. This all changed when he visited a Moravian society where someone was reading Martin Luther’s Preface to Romans.

As Wesley listened to how Luther described the change that comes when a person puts their faith in Christ and Him alone, he had a life-changing experience that he considered to be the time of his conversion. He wrote, “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt that I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for my salvation and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sin, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

Wesley was never the same. After this conversion experience, he spearheaded the great Methodist Revival that transformed the British Isles and impacted the church around the world.

I am not suggesting that Goodwin was not truly saved. Only God knows the heart. His words, nonetheless, remind me not only of Wesley’s experience but also that of Pandita Ramabai (1855-1922), a remarkable Christian woman whose life was transformed when she came to the realization that she too was a Christian in name only.

Pandita was reared in a devout Hindu home in India but decided to convert to Christianity as a young woman while studying in England. She, therefore, joined the Church of England, was baptized and began studying to defend her new religion to family and friends.

But two years after her conversion, she came to the realization that she had, as she put it, merely “changed religions.” Her faith was in the external formalities of Christianity, not the person of Christ. She realized she was a Christian in name only.

She bowed before the Lord and gave herself completely up to Him. Her life was revolutionized as she experienced the new birth of which Jesus spoke. Her faith was now in Christ Himself, and it was very personal, heartfelt and dynamic.

In 1905, she began a prayer meeting with the 500 residents of the orphanage she had founded. She announced that the purpose of the prayer meeting was to pray for the conversion, not of the Hindus or the Muslims, but of all the Christians in India.

She realized from her own experience that many who called themselves Christians had only a superficial faith based on the outward formalities of Christianity. Their faith was in church membership or the fact they had once been baptized or the fact they attended church. Their faith was not in Christ Himself.

Out of this prayer meeting, a great revival was ignited that spread throughout India. Multitudes of “Christians” encountered the living Christ and their lives were transformed. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, young orphan girls went out preaching the gospel in the surrounding Indian villages.

The revival attracted visitors from far and near, including American missionaries who were in awe of what they observed. So great was Pandita’s social impact that in 1989, the Indian government issued a postage stamp in her honor with her picture.

If Goodwin’s faith was like that of Wesley’s or Pandita’s before their conversion, I pray that he will turn to Jesus with all his heart and come to know Him in a real and personal way. This is what Christianity is all about, for Jesus Himself said in John 17:3 (MEV), “This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”

It is safe to say that our nation is filled with those who are “Christian” in name only. Perhaps we would do well to pray for their conversion. When such nominal (name only) Christians awaken to their condition and turn to Jesus with all their hearts, the church comes alive and becomes a transformative force in society.

It happened with Wesley in 18th-century England and with Pandita in 20th-century India, and it can happen with us in 21st-century America. {eoa}

Dr. Eddie Hyatt is a Bible teacher, author and revivalist. His books, America’s Revival Heritage and 1726: The Year that Defined America, undermine the modern “woke” secularist revision of American history by documenting how the 18th-century Great Awakening had a direct bearing on both the founding of America and the ending of slavery on this continent.

This article originally appeared at .

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Syd is a minister and pastor’s wife whose life almost ended. One night during a revival service, she snuck out of church to complete her suicidal plans. A childhood trauma left her wounded and struggling in silence. Yet the Lord had other plans for her life that night. When she was about to drive into the concrete embankment, the Spirit filled her car with His presence, and healing began. God did not completely restore her that night, but He started a process of restoration.

It is in the continued relationship with the Lord that we accomplish all that He has designed us to do. We must do our part and allow Him to work in us and through us. We can stop the process at any time, so hunger for transformation and the truth must dismantle the masks we wear and the lies we believe. Relinquishment of fear, shame, guilt, anger and unforgiveness is necessary and required. Syd began her journey of wholeness that fateful night, and in order for us to accomplish all that the Lord has planned for us in 2022, we too must allow the Spirit to heal all our wounds.

To be transformed, we must walk every day knowing His love for us. The devil is the father of all lies (John 8:44). Sometimes, we believe the lies of the enemy instead of walking in the truth of His love. Nothing will ever separate us from His love (Rom. 8:35).

We must also be mindful of the Lord. In the stillness, we know He is God. In order to walk in the boldness and authority of Jesus, we must know He is always with us and will never leave us. {eoa}

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The hugely popular television series The Chosen is the first multi-season story about the life of Jesus Christ. Garnering millions of dollars in support, it has become the top crowd-funded media project of all time.

So far, The Chosen’s worldwide audience has paid it forward to completely fund Seasons One, Two and Three, with the hope of having a fully funded Season Four in 2023.

The series continues to captivate audiences and has even inspired one renowned painter to capture a poignant moment between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Dallas Jenkins, the show’s writer, producer and director, met with artist Liz Lemon Swindle, who illustrated the powerful “You are mine” scene from Episode One where Mary Magdalene is delivered by Jesus.

“This moment here, without even a close second, [is] the single most important moment in the whole show,” Jenkins said to Swindle. “The whole gospel is encapsulated in this moment. She ran from Him. He met her where she was. He met her in a bar … at her lowest point. He chases her down and then she finally surrenders. Thank you for capturing it,” Jenkins said while holding back tears.

The artist explained why she chose to capture that particular moment on canvas.

“I was her. I’m not wild by any means but I find myself putting a lot of things before Him and just getting busy with life, and He kind of gets set over here until I can get to Him,” Swindle explained. “For me, it really made Him a priority because He made me one. I look at it and think, that could be me at so many different stages in my life. Not just one time, over and over and over.”

To read the rest of this story, please visit our content partners at CBN News. {eoa}

Reprinted with permission from . Copyright © 2022 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

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