Podcasts about First Fruits

Jon Childes Citylights Church is a non-denominational church located in Greenville, SC, that exists to be followers of Jesus devoted to Building Family, Blessing Neighbors, and Bringing Good News to the Nations.

On this year-end episode of the CityLight Podcast, Pastor Mohamed brings a timely word of vision and gratitude, anchored in Isaiah 6. In a year marked by uncertainty, Isaiah saw something that changed everything: the Lord, high and lifted up. When we see God clearly, we can walk into any season—good, bad, or uncertain—with confidence. Pastor Mohamed challenges us to trade performance-based Christianity for faith-filled obedience, reminding us that our steps reveal what we really believe. From testimonies of healing and abundance to powerful moments of salvation, baptisms, and community outreach, this episode celebrates all God has done through CityLight in 2025.(00:00) Seeing the Lord removes fear(04:29) Fear drives Isaiah to the temple(06:05) “Manifested abundance” and keeping your eyes on Him(10:02) Testimony: unexpected provision and gratitude(16:54) Entering 2026: God is unmoved and present(20:26) Healing Rooms testimonies(25:17) Volunteers celebrated and honored(35:25) Giving as worship and First Fruits updatehttps://citylightnyc.com/ 

What if what's holding you back isn't your ability — but your order?In Genesis 4, Cain and Abel both bring an offering to God, but only one brings the first and best. When Cain doesn't receive favor, comparison and resentment take over — and God reveals the truth: Abel was never the problem.This message is a call to realign your heart and start the year by putting God first. As we begin 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting on January 5, 2026, we're choosing to realign our lives and seek God first. First Fruits is giving God the first and best and trusting Him with the rest.Join us for 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting and more at vouschurch.com/prayfirst

279. What if this ONE nutritional upgrade changes everything: An Interview with Sue Becker   Proverbs 14:12 NIV "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death."   *Transcription Below*   Sue Becker is a gifted speaker and teacher, with a passion to share principles of healthy living in an encouraging way.  She is the co-owner of The Bread Beckers and founder of the ministry, Real Bread Outreach, all dedicated to promoting whole grain nutrition. Sue has a degree in Food Science from UGA and is the author of The Essential Home-Ground Flour Book. Sue is a veteran home-schooling mom with 9 children and 15 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild so far. She and her husband Brad, live in Canton, GA. Through her teaching, countless families have found improved health.   Sue's Instagram: @suebreadbeckers Sue's Website Sue's Podcast   Questions and Topics We Cover: Will you tell us about your professional background and share what led to a life-changing discovery?  In addition to helping us feel better, how can this swap also affect our weight? We are told gluten is the enemy, but you teach how wheat can actually be the cure, not the cause. . . Will you elaborate why even people who are sensitive to gluten can still enjoy this bread and experience greater health benefits because of it?   Related Episodes from The Savvy Sauce: 14 Simple Changes for Healthier Living with Leslie Sexton and Vasu Thorpe 26 Practical Tips to Eating Dinner Together as a Family with Blogger and Cookbook Co-Author, Rachel Tiemeyer 33 Pursuing Health with Functional Medicine Specialist, Dr. Jill Carnahan 129 Healthy Living with Dr. Tonya Khouri 205 Power of Movement with Alisa Keeton (Revelation Wellness) 212 School Series: Benefits of Homeschooling with Jodi Mockabee 256 Gut Health, Allergies, Inflammation and Proactive Solutions with Emily Macleod-Wolfe 261 Edible Theology with Kendall Vanderslice 270 Female Sex Hormones, Periods, and Perimenopause with Emily Macleod-Wolfe 275 Raising Healthy Kids: Free Tips with Emily Johnson   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:09)   Laura Dugger: (0:11 - 1:29) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.   Have you heard about this one-of-a-kind experience, the Radiant Faith and Wellness event?   It's going to take place January 30th and 31st at the Cannery in Eureka. I hope you learn more or purchase your tickets on this website or check them out on Instagram at @radiantwellnessevent and make sure you stay tuned to find out what the code is so that you can purchase your discounted tickets.   Happy New Year everyone! I am so excited to get to kick off the year with one of the best episodes I can ever remember.   You are in for a treat today with my guest Sue Becker. She is going to enlighten us to the one achievable, easy-to-implement nutritional change that could change everything. Here's our chat.   Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Sue.   Sue Becker: (1:30 - 1:39) Thank you so much for having me. It is a real honor to be able to share my story, share my message with others that can listen and hear.   Laura Dugger: (1:40 - 1:56) Well, it may be one of the times I've most anticipated this conversation, but I'd love to just start by going back. Will you tell us about your professional background and share what led to a life-changing discovery?   Sue Becker: (1:56 - 14:21) Yes, yes. Well, it's a little bit of a long story, but I'll keep it as brief as possible. So, I always say, many years ago, headed off to the University of Georgia as a pre-med student because I loved studying everything about the human body and I wanted to help people and save the world, you know, all the grandiose ideas.   But my big passion was physiology and biochemistry. I loved studying that. Got there and realized, you know, I don't really want to be in school that long and I don't want that type of career after I graduate.   I knew my ultimate goal was to be a stay-at-home mom and I was like, okay, so why am I pursuing this? But I loved the field of study. And so changed my major, got accepted into pharmacy school, spent a quarter there and went, this isn't really what I want to do either.   So then I was led by the Dean of Pharmacy School to the field of food science, which was an up-and-coming industry at the time. I focused my attention more on the microbiology aspect of it and after graduation, I worked for Kraft Foods for almost five years as a bacteriologist in the lab there. I met my husband at the University of Georgia, and we married, actually, our senior year.   And so then, like I said, after I graduated, I started working for Kraft until I had my first child. I did become a mom, for sure. I have nine children, seven biological, two we adopted later in life, ranging in ages now from 45.   My oldest daughter doesn't like me to tell that, but it's too bad. It's what it is. 45 to 29, I believe Olivia is.   Yes, 29. And then I have 19 grandchildren and my very first great grandchild was born just a few weeks ago. So that's been a real blessing and a treat.   But after graduation, because I loved studying, it's funny, I tell everybody I'm a much better student now than I ever was in college. It's funny how you love to study once you don't have to perform with tests and things. But I continued studying physiology, biochemistry, read the works of prominent biochemists of the day and kind of came at everything with believing that we're fearfully and wonderfully made.   Our bodies know what they need and if they're not getting something they need, then chances are we're going to see sickness or lack of health. So, I kind of came at everything from that standpoint. It might be a little simplistic, but I think it's a great starting place.   So, I focused on feeding my family healthy food, you know, supplementing when we needed to. I tell people I grew up Southern. I grew up in a family of cooks and not chefs, but we cooked.   We ate real meat, real vegetables. My husband and I loved to garden. We grew our own corn and peas and beans and tomatoes and all the things.   So, we were eating real food. But we weren't a sickly family for sure, not compared to what others were, but we still had our share, our fair share. And so, we clipped along like this and I, in 1991, because of my interest in physiology, biochemistry, I subscribed to a publication, a health journal.   And the first publication that came into my home was entitled, "How to Greatly Reduce the Risk of Common Diseases." In this journal, the history of white flour was presented. Now, this was very eye-opening information.   Maybe I need to back up a little bit. The food science is not a nutrition degree. It's not a home economic degree.   It's the study of food processing. Everything that has to be done to keep that food safely on the shelf. Something's great. Something's not so great. So, when I read this information, I was like, how did I miss what's done to our bread? Through my studies, I had always read that whole wheat flour was better, but I didn't understand why.   So, in this journal, the history of white flour was presented. All the processing that is done to make that flour sit on the shelf forever, never really. And this is, like I said, what opened my eyes.   I learned that whole grains, real whole grains are the most nutrient-dense food God has given us. But in that journal, I learned that only when they're freshly milled, do they retain all their vital nutrients. You know, like I said, I had read that whole wheat flour was better.   I was trying to buy the stuff in the store, but it was kind of gross, nasty, I say. Didn't make nice bread, certainly not fluffy muffins. So, kind of gave up on that, trying to make bread with the store-bought whole grain flour.   And so, we were just buying whole wheat flour from the store. But I learned in that journal, it's not really what you think it is. And I, so like I said, I also, as a food scientist, what was so enlightening to me, when I read that word enrichment on the bags of flour or the bread products in the store, I thought, wow, we're making this better than it would have been, had we not done this favor.   I soon learned in this journal that that was not a favor that food companies are doing for us. They replace in their enrichment, a mere fraction of the nutrients that are there. And of course, I learned that once the flour is milled, I learned, well, let me, grains are storable, left whole and intact.   They store fairly indefinitely. But once that flour is, once that grain is milled into flour, it begins to spoil. The nutrients begin to oxidize.   So this led to the invention of these huge steel rolling mills that would take out the very nutrient rich bran, the oil laden germ that was causing the spoilage of the flour and leaving only the endosperm part, which is the white flour, protein and starch. Wonderful discovery. This flour won't spoil.   It'll sit on the shelf forever. And like I said, it looked like a wonderful discovery. And this all happened in the late 1800s, early 1900s.   By about 1910, the steel rolling mills had completely replaced the local millers because prior to the 1900s, most of the bread consumed in this country was either milled at home or the flour was purchased from a local miller. The bread was made at home and it was consumed at home. But with this invention, steel rolling, the steel rolling mills displaced the local millers, white flour, white bread became food now for everyone, rich and poor alike.   And can you imagine every housewife going, yay, I don't have to mill my flour anymore. I'll never forget years ago, Brad's 93-year-old grandfather lived with us for a little while. And I was in the kitchen milling some corn for cornbread.   And he went like this from his chair. He went, "I milled a lot of corn in my day." So, you can imagine people were like, hallelujah, we don't have to mill our flour.   But what seemed like an amazing, convenient, life-saving discovery actually turned out to not be so great. Shortly thereafter, the steel rolling mills and white flour became food for everybody. Three diseases became epidemic.   Beriberi, which is a vitamin B1 deficiency, it results in nervous disorders. Pellagra is a vitamin B3 or niacin deficiency, results in GI issues, skin issues, dementia, mental insanity. And that one really interested me because I did some more research on that and actually found out that the first case of pellagra was diagnosed right here in Atlanta, Georgia, which I'm from that area, you know, this area where our store in Woodstock is 35 miles north.   That first year 30,000 cases were diagnosed. Then anemia was the third disease. This puzzled health officials all over the country. They're like, what in the world is going on?   Why are we seeing this outbreak of diseases? And at first they thought beriberi and pellagra were maybe some type of infectious disease. But eventually they traced it to the new white flour that was on the market and the missing B vitamins and iron minerals that were provided by the bran and the germ.   Because for all practical purposes, that's where your nutrients are. The endosperm, white flours, protein and starch, protein and starches that we need, but not without the fiber, the B vitamins, the vitamin E, the inositol, choline, the iron, the calcium, all those nutrients. And so, things kind of clipped along.   They went to the millers and said, you got to put the bran and germ back in because of all the sickness. But the millers were like yeah, no, that's not going to happen because they had found a very lucrative market for the byproducts, which is so often done now in the food industry. Byproducts of the milling process, the bran and germ were sold to the cattle feed industry, white flour to the people.   So they're like, yeah, we're not giving up that money-making market. So things progressed until 1948. And finally, health officials stepped in, the government stepped in and mandated, you've got to fix the flour, you've got to enrich it.   And that's where I discovered what a deceptive term that is for the 35 to 40, who knows really how many nutrients are lost when they take the bran and germ away. They only replaced it with four, three B vitamins and iron. And of course, B1, B2, B3 and iron.   Supposedly, this took care of the beriberi and pellagra. But I always have to stop here and say, how many nervous disorders do we have in our country today? How many, how much GI disturbances and bowel issues, digestive issues?   How about dementia, mental insanity? What about skin eruptions? I don't think it took care of it.   But anyway, they think it did. And then it would take 50 years, 1998, after watching the rising incidence of birth defects and understanding that it was the missing folate that is no longer in the flour, richest food source, or most common, most readily eaten food source of folate, bread. Who knew?   So, they mandated then that a fifth nutrient be added. And that was folic acid, which, let me stop there and say this, these are synthetically produced supplements, vitamins that are being added to your flour. And particularly the B vitamins, this can be very troublesome, because the B vitamins come as a family, they come as a group, they work together synergistically.   When you take one out of context from the other out of balance, it actually depletes you and causes you to have a greater need. We're seeing that now with folic acid and the development of MTHFR, the folate, you know, reductase gene mutation. So anyway, it's caused more problems than it's worth.   And I've always thought about the scripture Proverbs 14:12, I believe it says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death." And we can certainly see that. You know, and if that were not enough, now, we've, we've taken all this away, we produce this beautiful white flour, but the residual oils cause it some yellowing.   So can't have yellowing of that flour. So, they began to choose to bleach the flour and a product called nitrogen trichloride was used for more than 25 years to bleach the flour. It was finally taken off the market because they discovered that this nitrogen trichloride caused seizures in dogs.   Are you ready for this? Hyperactivity.   Laura Dugger: (14:22 - 14:22) Hmm.   Sue Becker: (14:22 - 29:18) When I read that information, it was in 1991. That was the beginning of the scourge of ADD and hyperactivity we're now seeing in our children today. And I couldn't help but wonder, you know, when I read that information, there was one little boy in my son's music class, you know, and, but now, wow, it's pretty prevalent.   So then another bleaching agent is benzoyl peroxide. It's known to destroy B vitamins and vitamin E. And let me just tell you this, grains are one of the, especially wheat is one of the most nutrient dense food groups. Like I said, but it's the, one of the richest food sources of vitamin E and no amount of vitamin E has ever been put back in our enriched right white flour.   So, we lost that source, but now we're using a bleaching agent that's going to destroy it and B vitamins. And then potassium bromate is often used as a dough conditioner. It helps strengthen that gluten structure to help get a better rise in the bread. It's known to cause liver issues and thyroid issues.   And this is what we were consuming. So, wow. Yeah.   Talk about my mind being blown, my eyes being open. And then the rest of the journal was a brief discussion of the common diseases that plague Americans and showed why it was directly related, how it was directly related to our consumption of the processed white flour, lacking the nutrients and the fiber diseases like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, diverticulitis, even varicose veins, skin issues, low energy. I mean, it just went on and on.   And from my, with my background, this made absolute sense. I knew it was scientifically sound, but it was also, it was a Christian publication. It was biblically sound.   And what changed my life here was like I said, always read whole wheat flour, better whole wheat flour, better, but I was buying the stuff in the store and even whole wheat bread in the store. Didn't really see a lot of difference in it. But this introduced me to the idea of an in-home grain mill, buying grain and milling my own flour.   That was life changing. I was like, this is amazing. I can do this.   Wanted a mill. My husband actually bought me a mill for my birthday in 1991. The mill came into our home.   I milled flour. I made bread. I ate bread.   It was delicious. It wasn't gritty. It wasn't heavy.   It wasn't dense. And I tell everyone I pooped the next morning and it was like, what just happened to me? So that was my life-changing experience.   First, first day, you know, my bowel issues were corrected. I had lifelong issues with constipation, struggled with it. Knew I didn't want to take chemical accidents.   So tried to do more alternative solutions, find those and they worked if I did them, but they were, I tell people they were outside of my, your realm of daily eating. You had to do something special. And honestly, sometimes I think we look at alternative methods, you know, supplementation or treatment for ailments that are afflicting us.   And we're not getting, still not getting to the root of the problem. My problem was I was not eating enough fiber. The white bread, the white flour was constipating me.   So this was the only change I made. I tell everyone I've not been constipated since 1991. I know you wanted to hear that, but, but then I had five young children by this time and I, I homeschool my children.   We were active in church and baseball and music lessons and all the things, you know, we were busy. I had nursing baby and, and I, but I'm telling you, when I started just adding this bread to our already real food, we were eating. I noticed significant energy.   Like I said, constipation gone right away. Then I begin to notice first week. It didn't take months.   I was like, wow, I have more energy. My frequent headaches went away. Also with my bowels moving, my chronic constipation went away.   I lived on antihistamines before bread since bread. That's another thing I can stand here and tell you. I've not had an antihistamine or a decongestant of any kind since 1991.   That's pretty amazing. I had frequent migraines, not had one since we started the bread. So those were, I've noticed my sugar cravings went away because now I was getting the real carbohydrates that my body needed and it's sustaining energy.   And then my children, I just noticed they were they were, they would eat and they were satisfied. They love the bread. They love the muffins.   They love the pancakes. It was healthy food. I didn't have to coerce them to eat.   No more snotty noses, no more ear infections for them. And that we just became a much healthier family. And they, my kids didn't necessarily catch every bug that came around.   And if one of them did get sick, didn't necessarily mean that all of us got sick, which a big family, that's, that's pretty significant, you know? And so it was just, and the bread was delicious. When I read that information about whole grains and, and, you know, how bad white flour was, I was, I was thinking that this freshly milled flour was going to be just like the store-bought whole wheat flour I was buying in the store.   And you can probably already tell I'm a very passionate person. So, I read this information. I'm like, we're never eating white bread again.   We're never, white flour's never coming into our house again. And if we have to choke this bread down, we're doing this, you know? Well, we did not have to choke it down at all.   The muffins, the bread, the pancakes, the brownies, cookies, everything I made was absolutely delicious. It was filling and it was satisfying. A lot of people would say, you must spend all your time in the kitchen when all my kids were home.   I'm going, actually, no, we eat breakfast and everybody's satisfied. Nobody snacks. And even my kids begin to notice how other kids snack all the time.   Not my kids, they would eat and they wouldn't eat till the next meal. And so, it was just very, very satisfying. So, I began to share my bread with everybody, bake bread for other people, take it here, take it there.   The next thing I know, so be warned, if you ever start milling and you make bread for somebody, they're going to ask you to make bread for them. So, I did start making bread for other people. And the next thing I know, they're coming to me and saying, my cholesterol dropped 85 points and all I changed was this bread.   You know, I feel better. I have more energy. And the lady with the cholesterol, she, I continued to make bread for her for a while.   And I always laugh. One of the favorite things she liked that I made for her was cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing. And she said, I ate one after every meal and my cholesterol dropped 85 points in just one month.   And I always laugh. I'm like a statin drug with all kinds of side effects, cinnamon roll with cream cheese icing, you know, and she said, it was her testimony. She goes, "I knew it was the bread. I know it is the bread because three doctors, three different medications, three years, nothing has changed. And this is the only change I made."   So, I started hearing this. And of course, she told all her friends, the next thing you know, everybody's wanting me to make this cholesterol lowering bread for them, you know, and I'll never forget. By this point, I had had my sixth child, still homeschooling, still doing laundry, still baseball, church, all the things. And here I was making bread for my family and then making bread for all these people coming to my door.   And I was spending all day every day making bread and for others and myself. And I just got really tired, to be honest with you. And I was making this bread and a thought came to my mind.   And I just looking back now, I know God put those words in my heart and in my mind. That day, I had also had a few people ask me, would I teach them how to make bread? And where could they get a grain mill?   So the idea came to me, met my husband in the driveway. And I said, when he came home from work, and I said, you know what, I don't think I'm supposed to make bread for the world. I think I'm supposed to teach the world to make bread for themselves.   And that was the beginning right there. We sat down on the porch swing and talked about what we would call it. And I said, I want to call it Bread Beckers.   That's, you know, our, it's funny, we didn't know that at the time. But Becker is a German name that means the baker. So, it is bread bakers.   And anyway, so and, and it's funny, because at that point in 1992, my world was four people, four people had asked me about where they could get a grain mill, and what I teach them to make bread. And today, we, well, we, started our business right then in our home, took a little while to, you know, get everything. And we outgrew our home by 1998, what my husband and I and my children could do.   I mean, it just grew from the testimonies of other people. I mean, just like that lady when and then you get hundreds of people sharing different stories and passing it on, people, people start noticing. So we incorporated with a longtime friend and partner in 1998, moved the business out of our home, we're currently in this lovely 10,000 square foot warehouse, we moved here in 1999.   We have a nice studio kitchen, this is where all my cooking classes take place that we can seat 100 people and regularly we fill up classes like that. We have a lot of online classes already for people to view on our YouTube channel. But and then a few years ago, it's back in 2009, we acquired another warehouse because we are passionate about providing God's people with grain.   That first week here, like I said, customer base of four. A week after starting our business, getting all the license and all that really hadn't started getting anything, God woke me up and said that he was raising up Bread Beckers to be like Joseph to supply his people with grain. And I wrote in my journal that morning that it would be a tremendous thing.   And it would take a few months, we invested in a lot of wheat, we took all of our savings, this was before we incorporated, it was just my husband and I and our family and bought some wheat, you know, and had spent all of our savings. Well, I got a little nervous. And I woke up that morning after unloading all this wheat and writing the checks and seeing the money go out of the savings account.   And I'm like, I don't think the electric company is going to take a bucket of wheat, you know, for payment. So this was my fear. And I felt like, you know, maybe I was being deceived, maybe we were being misled.   And I just cried out to the Lord that he would speak to me and confirm to me that this was what we were supposed to do. And this is how I do it. I just cry out to the Lord.   And then I just go on with my regular Bible reading, not looking for something I could have gone to the story of Joseph because he had already spoken that to me. But my verse for the day in one of my devotionals was Proverbs 11:26. And it says "Cursed is the man who holds back grain when the public needs it. But a blessing from God and man is upon the head of him who sells it."   My husband took that vision. I know you talk about, I was like, what? I could hardly wait for Brad to get up. My husband, Brad, you know, I had awakened early because I was stirring and all just anxious and fearful. And the enemy was just coming at me.   And when I shared that all with Brad that he was sleeping next to me, not knowing that I was in all this turmoil. And he just looked at me and he goes, "Sue, I can think of no other verse that God could have given you to answer and your question and to calm your fears." And so he took it to heart.   So, we now have a second warehouse. It's 13,000 square feet. We are probably one of the largest grain packaging facilities in the southeastern United States.   We have hundreds. I don't know how many we're growing everyday co-ops all over the United States. And we bring in two semi truckloads a week.   I mean, I'm sorry, a month, which is actually a little bit more than that. It's about 190,000 pounds of wheat. That's just wheat.   Package it down into these great food grade buckets, plastic buckets. And we package it with carbon dioxide gas. So it's perfectly storable.   We can guarantee that it's bug free. You know, the enemies of grain are moisture bugs and rodents. So that's why we really firmly believe in packaging it all in buckets.   And like I said, we have probably 180 co-ops now. I don't know. It's growing every day.   We ship wheat all over the country, grain and everything we sell. So it's been a real journey and just a real blessing. And then I started a ministry called Real Bread Outreach.   We clipped along locally, kind of providing grain and grain mills for those who truly can't afford it. But then in 2016, God called me to Haiti. I made 15 trips to Haiti.   We built a bakery there. We trained up another team at an orphanage and they were making bread every day. So right now, in Haiti, it's an intense situation, but the bakery is thriving, feeding about 1,200 school children a day.   And then the other, it's about 150 orphans. Then we went to Tanzania in 2021. We built a bakery there, started a feeding program.   We've helped start a bakery in Israel that is ministering to the Jewish people. We helped train a bakery in Uganda and we've sent mills to missionaries in Japan and the Philippines and Nigeria and Kenya, just all over. And I'll close this part with this.   A few years ago, a friend of mine just, she did, she remembered, she said, "Sue, do you remember when you said to Brad, I don't think I'm supposed to make bread for the world, but teach the world to make bread for themselves." And I'm going to tear up a little bit looking back now, like I said, four people, that was my world. Today, it truly is the world.   And not just because of the internet, but because of where God has called us through our ministry. And it's a real blessing. So, my encouragement to everyone is do the small thing.   You never know where God's going to take you in years to come and how it's going to bless the world.   Laura Dugger: (29:19 - 29:21) So I think that was a lot.   Sue Becker: (29:21 - 29:22) I know.   Laura Dugger: (29:23 - 32:39) It was beautiful. And it makes me think of the verse, do not despise small beginnings for the Lord delights to see the work begin. I'm paraphrasing, but I love how much it has blessed the world.   And I remember the first time I heard you, I was trying to just picture what is a mill, but you literally just turn it on and you pour the grain in and it comes out as flour. It's so easy. And so we purchased our own.   After our conversation, I get to stick in our loaves in the oven. They're still rising right now. And now a brief message from our sponsor.   Radiant Faith and Wellness Event is a unique event designed to bridge the aspects of faith and wellness and to live as our bodies, minds and souls were intended and created. So come together with other like-minded women to receive Christ centered teaching on health and wellness, to nourish your body with good food and to renew your mind and help you shine radiantly. At Radiant, wellness goes beyond worldly standards of wellness and self-help.   So, from worship and inspiring speakers to guided movement, meaningful conversation, biblical teaching, every part of this event is crafted to help you reconnect and step forward renewed. It's the perfect time of year to experience something like this. Radiant is more than just an event.   It's actually a transformational experience and supportive community dedicated to helping women grow spiritually and physically. 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First, this may be a little unrelated, but even thinking of feeding people around the world or feeding our children, you mentioned, you know, a lot of times if your kids were picky eaters, you'd say, okay, ditch the bread and just eat the meat.   But because it's so nourishing and nutritious and that Jesus has given us this as a grace gift, this bread, you can ditch the meat and eat just the bread and get so much nutritional value.   Sue Becker: (32:40 - 37:32) Yes, that and that's funny that you bring that up because, you know, one of the things over the years of studying is of the 44 to 46 absolutely essential nutrients needed by your body for health and to promote life. There's only four slightly deficient or missing in wheat, vitamin A, vitamin C. So, God gave us another kind of food.   Remember in Genesis chapter 1:29, he says, “I've given you plants that bear fruit with the seed in them.” So that's our fruits and vegetables. That's where we get our vitamin A, vitamin C.   Then we get our vitamin D from the sunshine if we get out there and get some. And then B12, of course, is low or is not found in any plant product. That's I mean, plant food.   So, you have to get that from your meat, your red meats and things like that. But that's and so learning that you're absolutely right. When my kids were growing up and the bread was my little toddler, how she'd tell me she was hungry, she would say, “I want a roll with honey.”   That was what she wanted to eat. And I would take the meat off the sandwich. And before bread, it was eat the meat.   After bread, it was just eat the bread, you know, because I knew just from that. And I started thinking about when Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone.” He was quoting the Old Testament, but by every word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God, he was reiterating that you think you're living because you have bread and all the biblical, you know, so many of the biblical feasts, Passover and First Fruits, Pentecost, they're around the barley harvest and the wheat harvest.   Grain was a big part of their life and of their sacrifices and all that. And he was saying, you think you're living just because you have bread. But I'm telling you, there's a spiritual life that you have to feed as well.   So, yeah, that was a fun time seeing the change of my perspective of just eat the bread. And, you know, some days, you know, breakfast was typically a pretty big meal for us. Sometimes it would just be pancakes, but a lot of times it would be eggs and freshly ground grits and bread of some sort, muffins.   And then lunch might be muffins and a smoothie because we really weren't that hungry from the bread at breakfast and then dinner. We eat normal. People think we're weird eaters.   But, you know, like I said, I grew up Southern. So, we do country fried steak. We do pot roast.   We do chicken. We do brown rice, mashed potatoes, green beans. You know, we do it all.   And you mentioned something that was funny. When I first started, when I would take bread places, people go, “Oh, my gosh, this coffee cake is so delicious or this bread is so delicious. Can I get your recipe?”   And I'd go, “Well, yeah, you can have my recipe. But you've got to understand, I mill my own flour.” Two things they would always respond with.   And the first one they would go, “You do what?” And I would go, “I mill my own flour.” The second one absolutely intrigued me for years and years until I did a study on what grain mills, the local millers mills, you know, waterwheels and gristmills and ox treading out the grain.   But they would always say to me, “Where do you live?” And I think they thought I must have had a barn and an ox or I lived by a river to have the gristmill to power my mill. Now, you can see my little mill behind me.   It just sits on my counter. And you're right. Turn it on, pour it in, comes out flour in a matter of seconds.   And I tell people, it's really not any slower or more tedious than taking your flour canister out of your cabinet. And I realize we've deviated in this day and time from even using flour and baking things ourselves when we can go to the store and buy it already baked. But it'll change your life.   I have never seen one dietary change bring so many significant across the board, broad spectrum health benefits to myself, my family, and so many people now that share their testimonies with me. It's just been amazing, just absolutely amazing. And, you know, I always, my husband always likes for me to say, you know, in the 25 years of raising my children on this bread, we only had to take them to the doctor twice for an illness.   Twice. And twice on antibiotics. They needed it.   There's a time and place. Twice to the doctor for an illness. In 25 years, there are people and families that go to the doctor more than that in a week.   So, when people say I can't afford it or I don't have time, I'm like, wow, I can just tell you the life-saving and money-saving advantages are, it's hard to describe. So yeah.   Laura Dugger: (37:33 - 38:05) Yeah. And like you said, it's an enjoyable process. It is.   But also, okay, referencing one other thing, just thinking about these ailments. You had quoted, I believe a doctor just saying about constipation that is, and I don't want to botch it, so I'd love to know if you remember this, that most Americans is that three out of five suffer from constipation or even chronic constipation. And that, was it the number one cause of breast cancer and prostate cancer?   Sue Becker: (38:05 - 39:29) Oh, wow. Yes. I'd almost forgotten that.   Yes. I was listening to a CD that someone shared with me, and it was by an oncologist. And I still remember, I would listen to things as we began to travel and share and teach, and I would listen to teaching.   And so, I had this cassette, if you can remember those or even know what those are. And I remember where I was, I was on I-10 headed to Jacksonville to a homeschool show. And this oncologist at the very end of her message, she said, “Toxins are stored in your, let's see, let me see. So, she said toxins are stored in your fatty tissue. In a woman, it's your breast. It's, and in a man, it's his prostate.”   And she said, “When toxins are not carried out of their, your body daily through bowel elimination, then these toxins get absorbed into the body and stored in your fat tissue.” And she said, “So a direct correlation between cancer and constipation is there.” And, and I was just like, what did she just say?   And that blew me away. I mean, that was not me saying it, this was an oncologist. And she's saying one of the leading issues is constipation.   Wow. Yeah, I'd almost forgotten about that.   Laura Dugger: (39:30 - 39:44) Well, and such a simple swap and getting to still enjoy these foods. But in addition to being healthier and the health benefits and making us feel better, how does this also potentially affect our weight?   Sue Becker: (39:45 - 42:33) Well, that's a good question, because we're all told that bread is bad, that bread will make you fat. And I totally agree. The bread that's in the store is devoid of nutrients.   It's devoid of fiber that fills you up. It's devoid of nutrients that satisfy fiber that fills you up. And it's heavily sweetened, sugared, you know, most of the breads we're eating are not just flour, water, yeast, salt. They're usually loaded with other things.   So, they're not satisfying. The fiber in real bread fills you up. So, like I said, you're not going to overeat, you're going to eat and you're going to be satisfied.   You know, I always tell the story when, when we were eating just bread from the store, I had five children, I would make sandwiches, they would, you know, cut them in half, I would make five sandwiches, they would, or I'd make the whole loaf, actually, they would fight over the last one. After bread, real bread that fills you up, I would make five sandwiches, cut them in half, and sometimes they would eat them all. And sometimes they wouldn't.   It was because it was filling, and it was satisfying. And that's something people need to understand. Also, the nutritional deficiency in the foods that we're eating in the store, especially our bread, they're leaving us malnourished, really.   Dr. Denmark, one of the oldest, well, the oldest practicing pediatrician in the country, she lived right here in Georgia. And she said, “We're the most undernourished, overfed people in the world.” We eat a lot because we're never satisfied, because the foods we're eating does not supply our body with the nutrients that we need.   And so, we're constantly craving. I don't think a lot of people don't understand what cravings are. You're craving food because you're needing a nutrient, you know.   And so, we find that we can eat and eat and eat, and, or not we, but Americans can overeat, and they do overeat because they're never satisfied. And so, real bread fills you up, real bread satisfies, it takes those sugar cravings away, which, you know, a lot of high calorie foods, they're loaded with sugars, and that's what we're craving a lot of times. I read something, women tend to crave sweets and chocolate, and men tend to crave salty.   And, but both, if we're craving, you know, processed foods, you know, you can sit down and eat the whole bag of cookies, where you make cookies from freshly milled flour, one, maybe two, if you go three, you kind of go, I really didn't need that one, you know. So, it's just filling, it's satisfying. We have so many people, testimonies of people saying they've lost, one lady said she lost over a hundred pounds, that was over the course of a while, you know, of a year or so, but she did it right.   She just started eating real food that nourishes and satisfies.   Laura Dugger: (42:34 - 44:21) I want to make sure that you're up to date with our latest news. We have a new website. You can visit thesavvysauce.com and see all of the latest updates.   You may remember Francie Heinrichson from episode 132, where we talked about pursuing our God-given dreams. She is the amazing businesswoman who has carefully designed a brand-new website for Savvy Sauce Charities, and we are thrilled with the final product, so I hope you check it out. There you're going to find all of our podcasts, now with show notes and transcriptions listed, a scrapbook of various previous guests, and an easy place to join our email list to receive monthly encouragement and questions to ask your loved ones, so that you can have your own practical chats for intentional living.   You will also be able to access our donation button or our mailing address for sending checks that are tax deductible, so that you can support the work of Savvy Sauce Charities and help us continue to reach the nations with the good news of Jesus Christ. So, make sure you visit thesavvysauce.com.   And throughout the years, you've seen these different trends from Atkins to Paleo, and now a lot of times we're told gluten is the enemy, but I love how you say that wheat can actually be the cure, not the cause.   So, can you elaborate on that, and even why some people with gluten sensitivities may still be able to consume bread that was made with freshly milled grain?   Sue Becker: (44:21 - 1:01:23) Right, so, yeah, I think what people need to understand is what gluten actually is. And gluten's not really even in grains, it's just an easy way to verbalize it, I guess. So, gluten is the stretchy substance that forms from two proteins that are found uniquely in the wheat family of grains.   So, when you mill wheat into flour, and you hydrate it, wet it, mix it, you know, make a dough out of it, those two proteins, gliadin and glutamine, they form this stretchy substance called gluten. Well, it's very important in bread making that you have these two proteins, because when you make a yeast leavened bread, whether it's sourdough or commercial yeast today, those organisms feed on the carbohydrates both in the wheat and in your dough, and they produce carbon dioxide gas. So, that gluten, those stretchy strands of protein, those two proteins, they trap that carbon dioxide gas, and that's what enables the bread to rise.   So, it's unique to the wheat family of grain. It has always been there. It's why wheat is the king of bread making and always has been.   Who put those two proteins in the wheat family of grains? God did. And just so you know, wheat is not genetically modified, and it has not been altered to produce wheat that has a higher gluten content.   What determines the protein content of grain more than anything, which, what did I say gluten is? It's formed from two proteins. What determines the protein content in grain more than anything is rainfall during the growing season.   So, that's why here in the southeastern United States, we can't make yeast bread making wheat. We can't grow it because we have too much rainfall and it's too warm. So, we grow what's called soft wheat or pastry flour.   That's why southerners eat biscuits, because that's the kind of bread that we can make with the wheat grown here. The colder, drier climates in the breadbasket states of the country, they grow the hard bread making wheat. Now herein lies the problem.   When those steel rolling mills came on the scene and began to take the bran and germ out, what did they leave us with? Protein and starch. Those gluten forming proteins and starch are in that endosperm.   God never intended us to eat that white flour, those protein and starches without the vitamins, the minerals, the enzymes, the vitamin E that the bran and germ provide. So, therein lies a lot of the problem and that's what causes so many digestive issues is that we aren't getting the nutrients and the fiber that will keep our bowels clean and our digestive system moving the way it is supposed to. Now herein lies a bigger problem is that in the food industry and the American people's craving for fluffier bread.   In the food industry, they thought, okay, we can give you fluffier bread. If we take the wheat and we wash it until only all that is left is those two proteins, those gluten forming proteins. They get this stretchy substance and then they dry it and powder it and they add even more pure gluten forming proteins to that white bread.   So, now we have an even bigger problem and then and even in that whole grain bread, people want fluffy bread. They don't want, you know, coarser whole grain bread. So, check your ingredients.   That 100% whole grain bread that you might be already buying, third or fourth ingredient gonna be vital wheat gluten or gluten flour, whatever they call it and that is greatly upsetting the fiber to flour ratio and causing digestive issues. And then, you know, just the heavily consumption of that bread and you know, the commercially processed bread is a real problem. So, now what we have is people, you know, Americans consuming this bread.   Now, they have every symptom of something called celiac disease. Celiac disease is real. It is genetic.   I am learning. I used to say it's not reversible, but I am learning something that you might have the genes for celiac disease, but they can be turned on or turned off. So, perhaps what is happening is you might have the gene, but now it's being turned on by eating and consuming this high gluten, if you will, bread out of context, not the way God made it.   But then also what is also happening is so now we have people that have all the symptoms. Well, let me back up and just explain what celiac disease, celiac disease, true genetic celiac disease. You are born with these genes, the inability to break down that and metabolize gliadin.   That's one of those gluten forming proteins, which the whole wheat family has that. So, if you can't break it down, it's going to cause digestive issues, abdominal cramping. It's going to eventually as those that protein gets dumped into your large intestine, your bowel, it's going to lay down the villi.   You're going to have leaky gut. You're going to have all these issues. That is true genetic celiac disease, but it affects less than 1% of Americans have those genes and have it turned on for true genetic celiac disease.   So, what is being diagnosed today? Well, everybody eating the commercially processed high gluten packed or you know bread, they're developing the same symptoms, digestive issues, abdominal cramping, laying down the villi. So, they're being diagnosed with celiac disease when it a lot of times is not true genetic celiac disease and I'm not professing to be a medical professional.   I'm not giving anybody medical advice, but here's the good news that I do want to say to you. Non-genetic celiac disease is totally reversible. And the good news is people are finding some that have been diagnosed with celiac going gluten-free been gluten-free for 20 years.   They're finding they can eat the freshly milled flour because it has the right ratio and the good fiber and the good nutrients to heal their gut, cleanse their gut, and get their bowels moving, cleans out. So, bring that villi back to life and they're thriving. They're not just tolerating the bread.   They're thriving and finding reversal of many, many, many health issues. And another big issue too is people don't understand that for the most part digestion begins in your mouth, carbohydrate digestion. You chew your food, your saliva mixes with your food and there's an enzyme carbohydrate digesting enzyme called amylase.   Once you swallow that down in your stomach, your stomach is where protein digestion takes place. It must have an acid environment for those protein digestive enzymes to work. God knew that we're fearfully and wonderfully made.   He created cells in our stomach to produce acid brings the pH. If y'all know what pH is down to one very, very acidic could eat a hole in your stomach. But he also created these cells that produce mucus that lines our stomach and protects it from that high acid.   So, that's where protein digestion needs to take place. Here's the problem. What is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in America? Prilosec, Nexium.   These are antacids. They're prescribing it for something called acid reflux, which is only compounding the problem. So, these antacids are doing exactly what the name of them describes.   They're alkalizing your stomach acid. So, what's that going to do to protein digestion? It's going to compromise it.   Huh? So, yeah, and the real cause of acid reflux is not too much stomach acid. It is actually too low stomach acid.   Our body's not getting the nutrients that needs to produce that stomach acid. Now, it's acid enough that when it comes back up in our esophagus it burns, but there's a little flap that God created right there at our stomach and our esophagus called the epiglottis. Do you know what's and it's supposed to close so that when that stomachs churning and doing its digestion, it doesn't back that acid doesn't back up into your esophagus, but it closes.   It's stimulated to close by the high acid in your stomach. Do you see what's happening here? So, we're being prescribed an antacid which now we don't necessarily get the burn, but there's all kinds of side effects.   We've compromised protein digestion, which what did we say gluten is protein. Also, do you know the technical term for an allergy a food allergy not a sensitivity or an intolerance the technical term for a food allergy is an adverse reaction to a protein component of your food. I have never seen so many food allergies as we see today.   It's very interesting. Some people are diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity. Well, of course, I think everybody is sensitive to the bread and the store.   Some people can tolerate a little bit better than others, but I know when I occasionally, you know, we go out to a party or an event and we usually avoid bread, but sometimes it's on everything. You know, I know I wake up the next morning and I'm like, I don't feel good. I have a stomachache.   So, I think everybody is sensitive to the bread in the store, but we have now hundreds of testimonies of people who thought they had to be gluten-free or say I have, you know, I haven't eaten bread in 20 years because made me sick. It did this it did that and they are finding they can eat the freshly milled flour because even wheat because it's the right proportions all the nutrients, you know, one of the amino acids that's found abundantly and wheat is glutamine Google it and you'll see a lot of health professionals will actually give you glutamine supplements to heal your gut and it's and it's in the bread. So, then part of the other problem that I see then when people think they're gluten-sensitive or have to be gluten-free now mind you if you truly are genetic celiac, you probably will not be able to eat wheat and I'm saying probably now because I'm learning some things that we can turn those genes off.   I don't know but if you truly are genetic celiac, but that is going to be a diagnosis that probably came when you were young you were going to always have had symptoms of these if you are now 20 or 30 and all of a sudden having these issues and you've been eating wheat all your life chances are you're not true genetic celiac. So, that's something you need to look at but people are finding they can eat the flour. They can eat the wheat and part of a real concern of mine is when you go gluten-free if you don't really need to I've been doing some studying as a food microbiologist gut microbiome has been a big topic.   I've shared I've taught way before it was trendy on, you know probiotics and all of that and fermented foods. I've been teaching it since 1992 but what happens that they're finding on these gluten-free diets. It's actually diminishing your good gut microbiome and encouraging the growth of more pathogenic making you more susceptible to C. diff, E. coli and other sickness causing organisms.   Then you're going to have those organisms are critical for breaking down food that gets dumped into the large intestine and encouraging digestion and enzymes that they create and all kinds of B vitamins and I could go on and on so that is being compromised the next thing, you know, you have allergies to eggs allergies to milk these very restrictive diets change that gut microbiome and they are causing a lot of gut health issues and allergy issues. I've talked to two people in the last few months one lady told to go gluten-free been gluten-free for years. She with tears in her eyes couple of weeks ago came down from Ohio hugged me in was came to our store just wanted to come to our store.   I happen to be here that day. She hugged me tears in her eyes and said I was down to eight foods that I could eat another lady in one of my classes came up and said I was down to seven foods that I could eat, you know, so It puts you on a treadmill that I don't think you want to be on when you start very restrictive diets. It's and not just gluten-free, but even you know, the carnivore and the keto and the paleo the heavy meat diets you need whole grains to break the fats down and cholesterol that those foods are providing and I'm a meat eater.   I mean, that's fine, but to exclude the most nutrient-dense food group God has given us in my mind is very dangerous. Let's see if we can get healing and reverse that I have a podcast and I do it's the bread stories now and I one of my favorites and I recommend it more often than any other is episode 66 sit with Sarah Valentine if anybody that I hear of that say they have to be gluten-free or their celiac, I would say she fit the bill for what surely seemed like a true genetic celiac. She was diagnosed in I think she was around 15 or I don't remember her age.   She was in high school. I think but she had always had trouble even as a little one and she was diagnosed with celiac and she said at the end of the podcast, she goes either God supernatural healed me or it was a misdiagnosis, but she had been gluten-free for 15 years. I believe it was and she told me she said and I she had a dairy allergy.   She couldn't eat dairy and she said, you know dairy I cheated on a little bit because it would just cause me a little discomfort. She goes I never cheated on gluten. Well, her brother and her mother heard about me and they Sarah was off at college and they got a mill and started milling because her brother's children had some health issues.   I think they have warts and my work stories are great. But anyway, bought a mill. She came home from school and they said Sari.   We want you to try this. You nope. Nope.   Nope. I'm I can't finally they talked her into trying a little bit should she ate it no issues at all and she told me on that podcast. She said I pooped the best I've ever pooped.   I have pooped in a long time the next morning. I slept the best. I had no headaches had no adverse reaction and she's become if any anyone My poster child for you know, reversing what appears to be celiac disease and being able to thrive on real bread and freshly milled wheat with the right balance of those protein starches nutrients fiber enzymes vitamin E all the things that bring healing and improve digestion get the bowels cleaned out and the gut healed.   So, yeah, it's something that I think excites me the most and I call it food freedom because what I'm seeing is people are in bondage and you know, when you can't eat this and you can't eat that and I understand there's some I have a granddaughter that has a dairy a true dairy allergy and I get it and those are real and you don't want to you know diminish those but we are seeing so many people that the bread in the store totally disrupts their system and causes all kinds of issues were seeing them not only like I said tolerate bread made from freshly milled flour, but bring healing bring healing and I that is so much our Lord that God knows what he's doing in his intentional design. He is all about healing and freedom versus of setting the captives free.   Laura Dugger: (1:01:38 - 1:01:40) Oh gosh, that was a big one. Yeah.   Sue Becker: (1:01:40 - 1:02:10) Yeah, but it also just one real practical thing as we're talking about gluten and fermentation with sourdough. This is a two-parter because if you feed it with white flour or add that I'm assuming that diminishes effects and if you feed it with fresh milled flour and then add that to bake it in bread, is that like double the benefits because you've got the fermentation and the grain or how does that work?   Sue Becker: (1:02:10 - 1:07:07) You know, I can't find any real definitive information, but let's back up and let's talk about sourdough with white flour there for a while when we were still traveling back in the probably early 2000s a lot of teaching coming out going even celiacs can eat, you know sourdough bread and they were making it with white flour and all of this. Is it better than the stuff you're buying in the store? Maybe but white flour is white flour and it's still process is still been stripped of all the vitamins the minerals and the fiber.   So, in my viewpoint, it is no better for you. If you're making it's kind of a waste of time if you're making sourdough bread with white flour. Now, if you start milling your own flour and making your sourdough with that, that's a whole other realm.   And like I said, I've done lots of studies most what I find when I read is that when we went to commercial yeast, we gave up flavor. So, I get that and that the bread is kind of flavorless now. So, I get that a little bit but as Americans and especially children, we like our fluffy bread, don't we?   Yeah, so, kids, you know, don't fret if you're making bread with commercial yeast. That's the way I make most of my bread. But as a microbiologist and knowing that when those lactic acid organisms feed on sugars, they produce B vitamins.   That's like yogurt. Why yogurt has B vitamins and maybe your milk, you know, just uncultured milk doesn't. So, I know that that increases the availability of those nutrients.   So, I think there is definitely some nutritional advantages that you take it to a whole new level. But what I say that commercial yeasted bread is not healthy and you can't do that that you only need to be doing sourdough, you know, I learned to make sourdough from white flour when I was first married long before milling came into our family by the time I had my children I had vacated that and then when I started milling I used commercial yeast and have for most of my years and we saw tremendous health benefits. So, I don't diminish one over the other but I certainly recognize that yeah, you might have some better nutrient bioavailability. I don't buy into the that you have to do the long fermentations to prevent the anti-nutrients like phytic acid from keeping you from absorbing minerals because I've had mineral checks and we've seen people testify that they had to have blood transfusions regularly because they were anemic all their life.   They start milling making their bread with commercial yeast, you know, and they're no longer anemic and we've seen countless people that and the same with me. I'm never low in my minerals. So, I don't buy into that.   But I say, you know, hey if you feel like you can digest sourdough bread better than commercial yeast leavened bread. I'm not going to argue with you go for it do it. But I also don't want to put a heavy burden on especially young moms that are like it's going to take me three days to make bread, you know, or it's you know, no, it doesn't have to so that's kind of my stance on it.   Do what works for your family sourdough is a rhythm. So, you got to kind of get into it about the time I get into it. We take a trip.   I go speak somewhere. I'm gone for four days and I'm like, okay, where am I with this? So, you know, that's just kind of my viewpoint and what I want to encourage people do what works for you what you want what your family likes.   I love I've got sourdough bread rising right now. There's times when I just like I just want you know, that chewy that nice flavorful bread and then there's other times where I want a soft loaf of bread for a good Southern tomato sandwich or my kids like peanut butter sandwiches, you know, so do what works do for your family do what your family is going to eat and love and you know, my husband has a philosophy if it doesn't taste good. It's not good for you.   So, if your family, your children, especially don't like the texture and flavor of sourdough some people do but if especially if your kids are used to the bread from the store, that's going to be a hard transition for them. And if they're not going to eat it and balk at it, then it's not going to bring them the health benefits that you're trying to do for your family. So, make what's cul

Message from Greg Neal on January 4, 2026

On this festive episode of the CityLight Podcast, Pastor Bo calls us to pursue the presence of God above all else. Pastor Bo emphasizes that God is found by those who seek Him, and that worship, waiting, and receiving are key to cultivating a life saturated with His Spirit. From soaking in God’s presence to receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we’re invited to lean into deeper intimacy and spiritual empowerment.  Rooted in Psalm 16, this episode will encourage you to step into 2026 with boldness, confidence, and faith for God’s sudden breakthroughs. In His presence is fullness of joy—and that’s what we’re after.(00:00) Repentance brings you home(06:05) Bringing God your best(18:35) Choosing stillness over striving(32:54) Jonah’s detour and destiny(46:17) Being led step by step(50:32) Hearing God in dark seasons(55:53) First Fruits and closing prayerhttps://citylightnyc.com/ 

Rm8:14-25 The Firstfruits of the Spirit

Today is the celebration of our First Fruits. Pastor Lynn will preach an inspiring message on how our First Fruits are dangerous to the enemy! The celebration of First Fruits comes from Deuteronomy 21:1-11. This was an offering given to the Lord from the first of the harvest, in anticipation for what was to come later. Deuteronomy 21:2 says, “Take some of the First Fruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name.” This offering was freely given by the people, but it was also to be sacrificial. This free will offering was given in anticipation of what God would do in the future as He brought forth the harvest. The Celebration of First Fruits signified the recognition that EVERYTHING comes from the Lord and that God's people would never idolize the blessings, but would keep the Lord their “First Love” (Exodus 20:3; Matthew 22:37). During our response time at the end of the service, we will be giving our free-will, sacrificial, offerings to the Lord. This is a celebration of expectation regarding all the good things the Lord has in store for us in 2026!

The Gospel of John Week 25 Scripture: John 19:25-20:19 Today's study will take us from the depths of hell to the heights of heaven! We start at verse 25 of John chapter 19 and it starts with who is at the foot of the cross: His mother, His aunt, His cousin (John the author of this gospel) and  another aunt who was the wife of His step-father's brother  - all family.  The disciples have all run except John and this group of women. Family.  Verse 28 we read, "Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." By saying this Jesus again fulfilled prophecy from Psalm 69:21 and from Psalm 22:15. But also let's remember what Jesus said in John 18:18 when He told Peter to put his sword away and said, "Will I not drink the cup my Father has given me?" And here we see Jesus drinking the cup because as verse 28 says, He knew that everything had now been finished. He took all the judgement of human sin upon Himself and then verse 30, "When He had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' And with that He bowed His head and gave up His spirit." Pastor spends time digging into how the drink was given to Jesus and the correlation between the hyssop plant used at Passover and the hyssop plant used to give Jesus a drink. And we see …. God is in control. Our discussion turns to Jesus as the fulfillment of the Passover Lamb - He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  Pastor talks about the Greek word for "finished" and its secondary meaning of an accountant's terminology for a debt "Paid in Full." Jesus paid in full for every sin, every rebellion against God, everything we have done and ever will do, all paid for in full by the Lord Jesus on the cross. Pastor shares interesting information about what was going on in the Temple at 3pm - the time of Jesus' death. What he shares emphasizes what Jesus had said earlier, "No one takes my life from me. I have the power to lay it down and the power to take it up again." And He chooses the exact time when He bows His head and gives up His spirit. It is Friday. The Passover went for 8 days. On the first day of the week, Sunday, following the first Sabbath of Passover (Saturday) the Jewish people celebrated the Festival of First Fruits. And this is the day - Sunday - that Jesus rises from the grave. Paul writes, "He (Jesus) is the first fruits of those who rise from the dead." Because Jesus rose, He is the guarantee that we will be raised when He returns! As we continue with the story of what John witnessed. A soldier goes to break Jesus' legs, but He's already dead so the soldier pierced Jesus' side with a spear. Pastor shares some medical information and the way the Roman spear was used to give a death blow - aimed right at the heart. Jesus not getting his legs broken and being pierced with a spear all fulfill prophecy and show God is in the details, He is in control, always has been and always is. Next Joseph of Arimathea - a Jesus follower, asks for Jesus' body. Nicodemus is with Joseph. He brings a mixture of myrrh and aloes, and the two of them wrapped Jesus body with the spices, in strips of linen as was the Jewish burial custom. In a garden there was a new tomb, it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. Pastor shares the possibility that we may know where Jesus was buried. The history surrounding the location and where it can be found today, sharing the information about the current church built on what may be the actual site of Jesus' tomb. We continue with John 20:1 with several women going to the tomb and finding the stone moved away from the entrance. Mary shares with several disciples and they discover the strips of linen lying there inside along with the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus' head. They leave the tomb with many questions. Mary Magdalene comes again to the empty tomb and is crying outside it and she looks in the tomb and there are two angels and then she meets a man she thinks is the gardener, and then recognizes Him as Jesus!  Jesus is alive! He is risen from the grave!  Jesus tells her to tell the others. She goes and tells the others the news, "I have seen the Lord!" Our website – https://www.awakeusnow.com Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01     ⁃    The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels.      ⁃    The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible.  Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most "Gentile/Greek" of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before. Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!

Transferable Concept #3: Teach them to MANAGE their wealth wisely.A theology of stewardship:God owns EVERYTHING -Ps 50:12God has entrusted His things, time, talent, TREASURE, to us to manage for Him -Mat 25:14-30God expects a POSITIVE return on His investment -Mat 25:26-28God will hold you ACCOUNTABLE -2 Cor 5:6-10God wants you to share in His JOY -Mat 25:21Old Testament roots: Gen 1:26-28, Job 1:20-21Biblical profiles: Nehemiah, BarnabasNew Testament command: Luk 16:11-15How to become faithful in the "little" things:1. Help them recognize the three purposes of money are GIVING, saving, and spending -1 Tim 6:17-192. Encourage them to commit to honor God with FIRST FRUITS of every paycheck to remind them that it's GOD'S money, not their own -Pro 3:9-103. Encourage them to make time with GOD their #1 priority so they'll know how to invest the time, talent, and treasure entrusted to them -Mark 1:35Life message: Your life is a SACRED stewardship!Broadcast ResourceDownload Free MP3Message NotesYear End MatchDouble Your Gift TodayMinistry ReportAdditional ResourcesChristmas GiftsConnect888-333-6003WebsiteChip Ingram AppInstagramFacebookTwitterPartner With UsDonate Online888-333-6003

Transferable Concept #3: Teach them to MANAGE their wealth wisely.A theology of stewardship:God owns EVERYTHING -Ps 50:12God has entrusted His things, time, talent, TREASURE, to us to manage for Him -Mat 25:14-30God expects a POSITIVE return on His investment -Mat 25:26-28God will hold you ACCOUNTABLE -2 Cor 5:6-10God wants you to share in His JOY -Mat 25:21Old Testament roots: Gen 1:26-28, Job 1:20-21Biblical profiles: Nehemiah, BarnabasNew Testament command: Luk 16:11-15How to become faithful in the "little" things:1. Help them recognize the three purposes of money are GIVING, saving, and spending -1 Tim 6:17-192. Encourage them to commit to honor God with FIRST FRUITS of every paycheck to remind them that it's GOD'S money, not their own -Pro 3:9-103. Encourage them to make time with GOD their #1 priority so they'll know how to invest the time, talent, and treasure entrusted to them -Mark 1:35Life message: Your life is a SACRED stewardship!Broadcast ResourceDownload Free MP3Message NotesYear End MatchDouble Your Gift TodayMinistry ReportAdditional ResourcesChristmas GiftsConnect888-333-6003WebsiteChip Ingram AppInstagramFacebookTwitterPartner With UsDonate Online888-333-6003

Transferable Concept #3: Teach them to MANAGE their wealth wisely.A theology of stewardship:God owns EVERYTHING -Ps 50:12God has entrusted His things, time, talent, TREASURE, to us to manage for Him -Mat 25:14-30God expects a POSITIVE return on His investment -Mat 25:26-28God will hold you ACCOUNTABLE -2 Cor 5:6-10God wants you to share in His JOY -Mat 25:21Old Testament roots: Gen 1:26-28, Job 1:20-21Biblical profiles: Nehemiah, BarnabasNew Testament command: Luk 16:11-15How to become faithful in the "little" things:1. Help them recognize the three purposes of money are GIVING, saving, and spending -1 Tim 6:17-192. Encourage them to commit to honor God with FIRST FRUITS of every paycheck to remind them that it's GOD'S money, not their own -Pro 3:9-103. Encourage them to make time with GOD their #1 priority so they'll know how to invest the time, talent, and treasure entrusted to them -Mark 1:35Life message: Your life is a SACRED stewardship!Broadcast ResourceDownload Free MP3Message NotesYear End MatchDouble Your Gift TodayMinistry ReportAdditional ResourcesChristmas GiftsConnect888-333-6003WebsiteChip Ingram AppInstagramFacebookTwitterPartner With UsDonate Online888-333-6003

Luke 1:39-45"At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,for he has been mindful      of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,      for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him,     from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;      he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones     but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things     but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel,     remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever,      just as he promised our ancestors.”

Learn more about Bethel Cleveland and discover how you can be part of what God is doing here. Visit us at bethelcleveland.com

Discover the profound meaning behind Christ's resurrection and why it changes everything about how we live today. This powerful exploration of 1 Corinthians 15:20 reveals why Jesus is called the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep and what this means for every believer's future hope and present calling. Learn how Old Testament first fruits offerings provide the perfect picture of Christ's resurrection as both dedication to God and guarantee of our own resurrection victory.Understand the crucial connection between Christmas and Easter - why both events were absolutely necessary for our salvation. Explore how death entered through Adam's rebellion and why Christ needed to be both fully God and fully man to serve as humanity's substitute. Discover the shocking truth that Christ is reigning right now, not waiting until his second coming to begin his kingdom rule.This biblical teaching examines how Christ's enemies are being gradually placed under his feet through the spread of the gospel over the past 2,000 years. See how Christianity has transformed world history by eradicating human sacrifice, elevating women's dignity, and advancing humanitarian causes wherever the gospel takes root. Learn why death is called the last enemy and what it means to live in the already but not yet period of kingdom victory.Find out how understanding Christ's present reign should radically transform your perspective from passive waiting to active participation in his ongoing victory. Discover your role as part of Christ's body in exercising his authority in this world and spreading his kingdom influence into every area of life and society. This message challenges defeat mentality thinking and calls believers to live with confidence that Christ is already King and his kingdom is advancing.Perfect for anyone seeking to understand resurrection hope, kingdom theology, biblical eschatology, Christian victory, gospel transformation, and practical Christian living. Whether you're struggling with defeat mentality or want to understand your role in God's kingdom purposes, this teaching provides biblical foundation for victorious Christian living and active gospel participation.

Jesus fulfilled Passover to the in that He is our Passover Lamb that was sacrificed for us on the Passover. He fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened bread in that His holy body saw now decay or corruption. He fulfilled the Feast of Firstfruits in that he was raised from the dead on the very day of the feast. He is the firstfruits of those who will come forth from the grave. And on the day of Pentecost (first day of the Feast of Pentecost), the Holy Spirit descended and baptized the church. He permanently indwells believers. He brought believers into union with Jesus and one another.

In today's podcast, Kids Ministry Director Jared Campbell talks about the fruit of our labor for both God and man.Reading Plan: Old Testament - Ezekiel 44-45Psalms - Psalm 136:23-26Gospels - John 12:37-50New Testament - Revelation 7:1-8Visit https://www.revivalfromthebible.com/ for more information.

Listen to Chuck Pierce speak on "Kislev Firstfruits: Making Adjustments as YOU War for Your Promise!"

This week’s message calls believers back to the spiritual power of putting God first—in our day, our priorities, and our trust. From Jesus rising early to pray, to the widow who honored Elijah with a cake, to the biblical commands of firstfruits, Scripture shows that giving God the first is an act of love and allegiance. When the first is holy, the rest is blessed; when it’s withheld, everything else is hindered. As we look ahead to the end of 2025 and beyond, we’re challenged to reorder our hearts, practice opening ourselves to God, and let our “first” declare who truly sits on the throne of our lives.(00:00) Walking in Victory With God(02:43) The Concept of Firstfruits(08:00) Prioritizing God in Everyday Life(21:26) Provision Through Honoring God First(26:47) The Power of First Fruits(34:58) Faithful Giving and Prioritizing God(48:20) The Joy of First Fruits Givinghttps://citylightnyc.com/ 

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 - Firstfruits and Tithes 26 When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, 2 take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name 3 and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” 4 The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. 5 Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, subjecting us to harsh labor. 7 Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. 8 So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. 9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; 10 and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. 11 Then you and the Levites and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.

What if gratitude could become a way of life—even on the hard days? Pastor Matt explores how seven ancient festivals from the Old Testament point us toward seven powerful reasons to live with overflowing thankfulness every day. Discover how Passover, First Fruits, Pentecost, and four other feasts all foreshadow Jesus and reveal what we have in Christ: forgiveness, new life, resurrection hope, empowerment, cleansing, and God's constant presence. Whether life is amazing or difficult right now, this message offers practical ways to cultivate lasting gratitude through faith.

I. An unlikely place II. An unlikely person III. A glorious profession 

Who truly sits on the throne of your heart? In Part 3 of our Kingdom Impact series, Pastor Travis Hearn delivers one of the most honest and spiritually challenging messages yet: The Battle for First Place. This isn't just a sermon about priorities—it's a revelation about possession. What owns your decisions, your emotions, your values? Is it fear, money, opinions, shame—or is it Jesus Christ? We kick off with Savvy's powerful testimony, and story after story of how God has transformed lives through Impact Church. From a man on the edge of suicide who found purpose in Christ, to a couple whose broken marriage was resurrected through surrender and service, this is what Kingdom Impact looks like! With passion and realness, Pastor Travis dives deep into the spiritual battle that rages daily for first place in our hearts. He reminds us: “Whatever is first place in your life sets the pace in your life.” In this message, you'll discover: Why the throne of your heart is the most contested territory in your life How money—more than anything else—tries to dethrone God Why tithing isn't about giving money, but proving trust The blessing God promises when we test Him in this area (Malachi 3:10) It's more than a teaching—it's a wake-up call. It's not about God needing your money. It's about whether He has your trust, your heart, and your allegiance. This is the moment to reorder your life. To put God back where He belongs—FIRST. Because when He's first, everything else falls into place. When He's not... everything else falls apart. Let's make an impact. Let's win the battle for first place.

Firstfruits are the Best Fruits

Amos concludes our God's Got Room series on Commitment Sunday

Welcome to Orrville Christian Church!Chapter Timecodes & Key Points:0:00 – Introduction & Holiday Context – Discusses Christmas services, preparing homes, and the metaphor of a cluttered garage representing spiritual life.1:53 – Spiritual Clutter – Distractions, neglected priorities, and unattended sins slowly creep in, affecting our relationship with God.3:37 – Malachi 3 Overview – Encourages honest reflection on self-deception and drifting spiritually; God calls for a return to Him.4:09 – The Three C's of Malachi 3 – Constant: God's unchanging character and people's unfaithfulness.7:20 – Confrontation – God challenges Israel on tithes and offerings; the principle of returning to God through giving.9:37 – The Challenge – Practical teaching on tithing: first fruits, Levitical tithe, festival tithe, and poor tithe.15:06 – Trust & Obedience – God calls for trust in adverse conditions; returning the whole tithe demonstrates faith.16:07 – Biblical Principle of First Fruits – Proverbs 3:9-10 emphasizes honoring God with the first and best of finances.18:09 – Practical Illustration with Apples – Visualizing financial stewardship and prioritizing giving back to God.21:46 – Practical Takeaways – Enroll in Financial Peace University, start a 90-day tithing challenge, and grow in generosity.26:22 – Closing & Prayer – Encouragement to put God first, live for His mission, and give with faith and joy.Scripture References:Malachi 3:6-12Exodus 3:14Proverbs 3:9-10 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We're so glad you're here! Visit us online at www.orrville.church Or connect with us on:• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orrvillechristian.church/ • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orrvillechristian/• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@orrvillechristianchurch5959 If you'd like to partner with us in giving, you can give online here: https://www.occgive.com/ As our guest, please feel no pressure to give—this is for those who call OCC home. Let us know you're listening! Fill out a Connection Card: https://www.orrville.church/connect We'd love to meet you in person! Join us any Sunday at 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 AM

When the day of Pentecost came . . . they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. — Acts 2:1-3 Many of us view rules or laws negatively. Speed limits can seem to bog us down, and who wants to pay extra taxes? Even God's law can feel restrictive at times. But, of course, all of these things are important.The Feast of Weeks—taking place seven weeks after the Feast of Firstfruits (see Nov. 20)—celebrated the wheat harvest, and it became an occasion to thank God for the gift of his law. Yes, that's right—as the Israelites lived in the presence of a holy God, his law taught them how to live in a way that was pleasing to the One who had redeemed them.Of course, Israel's struggle was that obedience was not just difficult—it was impossible. And the same is true for us. Look back over the past day or so, for example. Have you kept from saying unkind words? Have you resisted every bitter thought? Have you avoided the subtle sins of greed and impatience? Not one of us can obey God's law perfectly.On the Feast of Weeks, God sent his Spirit to renew us in terms of celebrating the harvest as well as the law. The Spirit empowers us for the greater harvest that God has prepared, bringing people from every nation into his kingdom! And the Spirit transforms us to act with true obedience from renewed hearts. If you have received Jesus as your Savior, his Holy Spirit is shaping you for mission and obedience! Father, help us to live with glad obedience to you, in gratitude for all that you have done for us in Jesus. Amen.

Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. — 1 Corinthians 15:20 A member of my church was diagnosed recently with terminal cancer. Another family close to me is watching as dementia robs their family member of memories, one at a time. A colleague recently died unexpectedly, leaving behind a dear wife and two children. Daily headlines announce war, disease, and natural disasters. In short, we live in a world marked by death.The Feast of Firstfruits pointed to a glimmer of hope on the horizon. The people offered God a portion of the first crops of their barley harvest. The offerings were given in gratitude and as an act of trust that God would continue providing for his people. This feast signaled that the first of the crop would lead to more.On the Sunday after Jesus' death, the sun rose bright on the Feast of Firstfruits. Jesus, the firstfruits of resurrection, opened his eyes from the sleep of death and walked out of the grave, alive! He was the first, but he will not be the last. All who believe in him will also rise from the grave, brought out of death into life!To know what we will be like after rising from the grave, we need only look to Jesus. A perfected body and mind. No more dementia, no more cancer, no more Parkinson's, no more depression, no more wearing out of bodies and minds!The Feast of Firstfruits invites us to trust that Jesus' resurrection was just the beginning—and there is more to come! Lord of life, comfort and sustain us with the hope that we will join you in resurrection! In your powerful name we pray. Amen.

Manifesting First Fruits (1) (audio) David Eells 11/19/25 Jesus Is Coming in His First-Fruits Teddy Lishan Desta - 06/22/2005 You shall rise up in My Name, you shall stand in My very Glory. In the majesty of the Name of your God, you shall shepherd My flock (Micah 5:4-5). For the sake of My Name, which I have bestowed on you, and for the Divine strength I have put in you, the obedience of the nations shall be yours, and all the nations of the earth shall bring their homage to you. All the nations shall be blessed through you (Genesis 49:10; Psalm 72:11). For your God has anointed and glorified you, you shall be made princes and leaders to the nations; and a people who knew not you, shall follow you (Isaiah 55:4; 32:1). You have eaten from the hidden manna; you have received the white stone. You have passed through the deep waters of afflictions, and you have overcome your trials. Therefore, I have given you access to My presence; I have made you My cherished heritage. You have been made a royal vessel, a chosen seed to carry My Name. Arise now and display the white stone and manifest the Name written on it (Revelation 2:17). Arise and proclaim the hidden manna, I have fed you all these years. What you have heard in secret, now you should proclaim in the public; what you have been told in the ears, now you have to shout it from the rooftops (Matthew 10:27). I have made you the express image of My Son, and the manifestation of His invisible power (Hebrews 1:3; Revelation 3:12). You shall soon leave My hiding place, and you will carry His Name before the nations. And those who do not bow down to this Name, they shall fall and never rise again (Psalm 45: 5-7). This is the day your Lord has chosen to magnify His Holy Name above all names. I have shaped you all these years in the furnace of affliction. You have languished under a heavy burden and endured the rod of My chastisement. I have intended you to be a caring leader, so I have chosen you by fire (Isaiah 49:11). But look, I shall come to you to open your grave and to release you from your dungeon. I shall come to you to shake off your dust and to change your humble state. When I exert My resurrection power on your behalf and raise you from the dead and sit you on a throne in the highest place of this world, then you shall be like one who dreams. I shall place you above all dominion, principalities and powers, and all those who will see this will acknowledge that I have exerted the exceeding power of My strength on your behalf. I have anointed you for My grand purpose. You are the chosen instrument to bring to an end the groaning and sighing of creation (Romans 8:19). You shall gather the little ones in your nurturing arms, and they will thrive under your protective care. The poor and the needy shall get solace under your guidance, and you shall destroy their destroyer and make their Earth to rest in peace. You shall be the spring shower on the dry land. The lives that have been blighted by sin shall be healed and restored. The weak and the oppressed shall have their lives revived under your sight. You shall raise the dead and restore the deceased. You will be made the dew of light, which shall make the earth to sprout her dead back to life. The rubbles of generations you shall rebuild. But you shall burn also like a fire (Malachi 3:1-2). Your blaze shall sweep the world; it shall devour all that causes offense. You shall serve Me as the gatekeepers of My Kingdom lest the uncircumcised of heart enter My Kingdom and defile My Sanctuary. Your all-seeing eyes shall keep out the wicked, the arrogant, and the pervert from My holy city. To understand all these, look what I did in the life of Moses when I took him from the vocation of a shepherd to make him a leader of My people; study what I did for Joseph when I led him out of the recesses of the dark dungeon to sit him next to the king, and discern My mighty deeds how I glorified Mordecai lifting him up from his humble state to make him a viceroy of the Persian Empire. My people, all these are types of your end-time destiny; it shall be so with you in these last days. I have promised that the overcomer shall inherit My Name and sit with Me on My Divine Throne. He shall be My son and I shall be his Father; and He shall rule the nations with the rod of iron (Revelation 2:26-27, 3:21-22). Get ready, your day of visitation hastens to its fulfillment.   Jesus Will Soon Bring Us to the Father  Amos Scaggs vision - 03/01/2006 I was on the side of a mountain with another person who I knew to be one of the sons of the prophets. I was tending a solid white lamb that had an ever-smooth, slick coat of wool. I was holding a white rope that was attached to the lamb's neck while it was grazing. All of a sudden, the lamb started to move around the side of the mountain and then went straight up towards the top. The son of the prophets did not go with me. As I gave the lamb more rope, it started running full speed higher and higher. I was so amazed that I could keep up with the lamb running like that. I never let go of the white rope that was around the lamb's neck. When the lamb broke into a full gallop, it sensed its owner and master. At the top of the mountain was an old white-haired man with a white beard who was slowly descending the mountain to meet the lamb. But it seemed that the old man had not moved more than 5ft from the top of the mountain until the lamb had reached him. The old man caressed the lamb, and I was still holding on to the white rope that was around the lamb's neck. Jesus, the Lamb, through the Holy Spirit, the rope, will very quickly cause us to ascend the mountain of the Kingdom to our Father. I believe this will soon happen. The sons of the prophets failed to receive the anointing that I did. In 2 Kings 2:15-18 the sons of the prophets didn't believe that Elijah had been taken into the presence of God but thought he was still on earth and so were not included in the gathering. They represented those who were trained by the school of the prophets and, as such the Church System.   First-Fruits Rise as World Falls The Trumpet Bill Burns -- 12/26/2005 You shall be astonished as you walk forward from this day. I tell you that I am going to build My house. It is a house that no man can build, and I will build on the mountain tops, and I will build in the places that people will flow into. I will build a house of power, for indeed this is the season of the horse (of power) when the sons of My right hand shall arise to their positions. I shall dispel the lies that I no longer move in power. I shall break through the darkness, for I Am the Light of this Day. I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life. Truth is going to be revealed in an unprecedented way as I come forth in power and build My house. It will be a house that I can dwell in, a place of healing and resurrection life, a place of revelation knowledge. You, My people, will see that house. Arise and rejoice, for I come, says the Lord!   Small Straws in a Soft Wind Marsha Burns - 12/26/2005 There is a rumbling; it is My power in the earth. It is resurrection power. I have been touched with the feeling of your infirmities. I have been touched by your grief and sorrow. Come forth. Rise up and come forth. You have been bound in grave clothes, but I call to you to come forth! I will bring you up and loose you from your bondages. I will cause you to overcome and to be victorious even over the death in the things you have experienced, says the Lord.   Glorified in His Saints Aaron Lim - 10/02/2006 I received this vision as I was listening to a talk by David Eells. In the vision, the whole land was dark, and nothing could be seen in the background. I saw the Lord Jesus Christ with a light around Him on the cross on top of a hill in the middle of the land. All around, at the bottom of the hill, I saw people who looked exactly like Jesus, like they were clones of Him. They were all wearing the exact same garments as each other and had the same light around them as Christ did, and they were all looking up towards Him on the cross. Praise His name! 2 Cor.3:18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. 2 Cor.4:11 For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. Gal.2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that [life] which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, [the faith] which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. 2 Thes.1:10 when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day. 11 To which end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfil every desire of goodness and [every] work of faith, with power; 12 that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. After the vision, I knelt down to pray and closed my eyes, and I pictured Jesus Christ on top of the hill, as if through the eyes of one of the saints, and I said to Him a prayer from King David: “With all my heart have I sought you, don't let me wander from your commandments.” He looked at me and said, “Ask the Father, because anything you ask of Him will be done by the Father”. So I looked up to the sky and asked our Father, and tears started flowing from my eyes. To Him be the kingdom and the glory forever and ever. My brothers and sisters, seek diligently and keep your eyes on the Son because everything else is darkness, and in Him there's hope. Ask the Father to lead you by the hand to our Lord because we can't find Him on our own. I have faith in His power to perfect all of us in Jesus Christ.   Greater Works Coming  Rex Veron - 10/04/2006 Last night, around 1:30 or 2:00 AM, I dreamed; actually, it was like I was translated to this place. I was among many people of all walks of life and backgrounds. All of them were between 16 - 20 years old, except me. We were working as a team, casting out demons, praying, and exalting Jesus. We would speak and it would come to pass; healings, prophesying, deliverances, growing and replacing of limbs, it was awesome. It replayed several times, and I remember thinking I'm actually here with these people doing this. The feeling of presence was overwhelming. The people were non-descript, nothing distinguished one from another, and all had in common the love, reverence, and fear of the Lord. I have a strong sense this morning that this has something to do with the birth of the man-child and how the corporate body will function.   A Bird of Prey Teddy Lishan Desta (David's notes in red) What I have purposed from eternity that I will perform in its appointed time. My eternal counsel shall stand, and what I have purposed will be done. I am not a man to lie, not a son of man to change My mind. I will do what I counsel to do; I cannot deny Myself. Many have written about My plan for the last days. But did they truly learn from Me, or did they hear from My eternal counsels? Did they partake of the secrets of their God; did they visit the inner recesses of My word? Were the mysteries of the Holy One of Israel disclosed to them? Had they known My counsel, they would have declared My mind. Had they truly heard from Me, there would have been no error among My people. But what they spoke was of man; what they wrote was out of the learning of man. Neither the wise of this world could know about My doing, as it is discerned by My Spirit. None of their learned men could predict about My plan, as this was My much-kept secret. Jer.23:16 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they teach you vanity; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of Jehovah. 17 They say continually unto them that despise me, Jehovah hath said, Ye shall have peace; and unto every one that walketh in the stubbornness of his own heart they say, No evil shall come upon you. 18 For who hath stood in the council of Jehovah, that he should perceive and hear his word? Who hath marked my word, and heard it? 19 Behold, the tempest of Jehovah, [even his] wrath, is gone forth, yea, a whirling tempest: it shall burst upon the head of the wicked. 20 The anger of Jehovah shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall understand it perfectly. 21 I sent not these prophets, yet they ran: I spake not unto them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my council, then had they caused my people to hear my words, and had turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. My people, listen to Me as I speak My heart to you; and carefully weigh My words which are from My heart. My secrets I disclose to you, and that which has not been known to past generations I reveal to you. You have not heard it before; only now I lift the shroud and reveal that which has been hid from the ages. You are My chosen generation, so I reveal My truths to you. This I do so that you shall build My Kingdom on earth and bring Me the glory (Isa 48; Eph.1:17-20; Rom.16:26-27). This is My will, My eternal counsel. Your God will stir a bird of prey, His instrument of judgment from its abode. God has readied His bird for these days. God shall use it to bring His eternal plan to pass on earth, and God's hand shall guide it into action. God will call it from the valleys of the Jordan, and make it to emerge from the lowest parts of the earth. As the phoenix rises from its ashes, so shall My bird rise from the furnaces. It will come forth from the smoldering fires, so it will gleam like burnished steel. It will ascend to the heights and strike across the skies like lightning. The world will be taken by surprise; its appearing shall strike fear among many. I have fully equipped the bird to fulfill all that I have called it to do. (This phoenix is the first fruits sons of God, in whom Jesus is resurrected from the death of the Jordan to do His works of old when He was the first fruits. They will bring truths hidden from the foundation of the world and authority to bring judgment on the beast and harlot.) Its eyes are like those of the eagle, penetrating and discerning from afar. Its wings are large and strong; it will not weary or tire. Its talons and beak are sharp and strong; none of its prey can escape its grips. My bird shall strike fear in the hearts of the kings of the earth, and the girdles of their loins will untie. Those who eat My people as one who eats bread, they shall be judged by My hand. Those who say they reside in their strong towers, them it shall attack and humble for their pride. Many will cry out to God for His mercy and forgiveness; many may find the door of repentance closed. But to you, My sons and daughters of the Faith, the bird shall come to you as a comforter, carrying healing in its wings. To you, it shall bring good tidings, the news of eternal joy and rest. You shall get protection under its wings and deliverance from your mortal enemies. With your eyes, you shall see the destruction of the wicked, and none of the pestilences coming to your gates. Mal.4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings; and ye shall go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall. 3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make, saith Jehovah of hosts. You shall see My salvation coming to the earth; you shall see as the captives go free. You shall see your corporate prayers answered and your righteous petitions granted. I will wipe away your tears from your faces, and your mouth shall be filled with mirth. You will see the righteousness of God filling the world, as the Word of God is honored by all. Hos.6:2 After two days will he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him. 3 And let us know, let us follow on to know Jehovah: his going forth is sure as the morning; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth. Mal.5:2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. 3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she who travaileth hath brought forth: then the residue of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. 4 And he shall stand, and shall feed [his flock] in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God: and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. Therefore, My people, wait upon your God expectantly as I AM to begin to fulfill My eternal plans. But many others will attempt to fight My will, but they shall fail. Many will try to shoot down My bird of prey, but no weapon fashioned against it can prosper. I AM your God Who does His eternal counsels faithfully in its appointed time. I do that which is truth, and I owe no one an apology, says the Lord. Word From the east, I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill My purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do (Isa.46:11). I am calling a man to come from the east; he will swoop down like a hawk and accomplish what I have planned. I have spoken, and it will be done (Isa.46:11). For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man (Mat.24:27, NIV).   Man-child and Tribulation Approach He Shall Come to Be Glorified in His Saints Word given to Debra Klein - 02/08/2004 You cry out to me, My love, in heavy labor, groping for the touch of My hand ... the comfort of My Words in thy ears! You are drunk and delirious with the birth pangs to deliver my Son from thy womb! The tears of your pain have clouded thy sight and discernment as to where you are! You are here ... in the labor room ... in the holding pattern, laboring to bring forth My Son! I am with you, though you cannot see Me through your suffering and labor. Do you not hear the tender words of comfort I whisper in thy ears? Am I not so close that you do not feel my heart beating with yours as the labor increases? For in just a little while, He shall come forth from thy womb and we will rejoice in Him! My Child in you is stirring and restless, and also labors to come forth from you. The two of you labor together through the writhing pain, and I labor with you also. The Child is still now as He comes through the birth canal ... still and waiting for the last powerful thrust and push to come forth from thy womb to be delivered onto the earth and manifest My Glory! Fear not My Beloved. I am with you! Lean on me heavily as the labor grows hard! For I hold you completely in My Arms and wipe the sweat of your brow through these last excruciating pains before the final thrust! Listen, My love ... do you hear His heart beat within you? His heartbeat is increasing as He rises up within you! Any moment now My Beloved, He will come forth! Let Me wipe the tears from your eyes so that you can focus on Me as the labor grows. Focus on My Face and do not turn your eye from Me during these last pains. Hold tight to Mine Arm and the work of Mine Hand will deliver thee! Just a little while, My Beloved! Hold tight to Me! And the world will know that I, the Father, have brought forth My Son through you! Fear not My Love, the dragon lies cunning in anticipation of His birth, but I am here and will protect Him and you from the evil one who desires in his heart to devour Him. He has no victory over My Hand that delivers My Son onto the earth! Rest My Love, between the pangs of labor, for you will need to be strengthened to endure the final moments of the labor. Lay back in My Arms and rest heavy upon Me, for soon, very soon My Son will come forth and I will deliver you into My Glory!   Tribulation Translations to Safety Javier Keefe - 03/01/2012 (David's notes in red) In the dream I had this morning, there was a nuclear missile that was heading to Earth. There were three types of people whom I saw when it was known that this missile would be crashing to Earth. The first group just gave up and started partying and drinking, reasoning, Well, we're all going to die, so we'd might as well enjoy our last moments. The second type of people thought, everyone for themselves, and a hoarding spirit prevailed in them. (Even though this missile could be a natural sign of what will come to many places on Earth, this missile is a symbol of coming catastrophe. Many people know that the end is near and lean upon whatever they trust in or gives some comfort to them.) The third type of people knew that when this missile hit the Earth, the yoke of this world system will be broken off of them supernaturally and that an anointing of protection with every need provided by the hand of their Father would be speedily met. They knew that the Lord's power and great grace, like could only be imagined by the heart, would become reality. (These saints knew that the end of hope in the world system brings the freedom of a new beginning. People can stop worrying about going to college and getting ahead and seek to know God and be in the “Secret place of the Most High”, Jesus Christ. The renewed imagination of faith in the promises of God's Word will supply every need, including protection.) This third group of people found they were able to fly and be translated to help the first two types of people. (See my dream below of translations to come.) The third group of people had so much faith in the good news of the latter rain anointing that they were a great help to many, and they were able to bring some to a safe house. (Those who believe the Gospel of Jesus bearing the curse for us can be delivered from it -- Galatians 3:13.) Even though some people were told about the safe house, some non-believers complained, “Nothing can help us from this coming tragedy”, and they refused to enter the safe house. (The safe house represents abiding in the Word, the Ark of Jesus Christ, and also physical places protected by the angels for people who are in the Ark of Jesus.) The missile was seen in the air like a large, bright star falling to Earth, but everyone knew it was a nuclear missile that would change the world forever once it hit. (America has been seen as a falling star. In the natural, one nuclear missile could bring America down to third-world nation status if exploded miles in the air to “hit Earth” with an EMP to destroy all electronics. Iran has tested their missiles for a high air burst. Javier never saw the missile hit Earth. Many have seen in dreams electronics come to a standstill in America.) The third group of people were at times, like Peter walking on the water; although they could fly at times, the awe of this phenomenon troubled them and kept them from continuing to fly. (Like Peter, when we pay attention to the wind and the waves, it drags our mind down into the natural and causes us to lose faith and sink.) As these people battled with their flying trouble, they got their eyes more on themselves. They thought they were failing to lift off the ground because they were not taking off fast enough, so they started to run and tried catching speed to lift off. Then, when that wouldn't work, they thought they had to be up off the ground and jump off something to catch air. (Salvation in all forms is by faith and not by self-works.) They finally realized they just had to stop confessing they “couldn't fly” and when they simply professed “they could fly,” they could fly again. (We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Once this confusion of works versus grace through faith is past, there will be consistency to walk in the steps of Jesus under the latter rain anointing. Although in the spiritual we fly, or overcome the world, by faith, real translations were common in the New Testament, early rain and will be more so in the latter rain.) Overall, there was a great peace within the third type of people and it was spreading to some others and the scriptures of God's promises were being quoted non-stop, and the Word was the most important thing in the world that was held onto. Mar.11:23 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it. 24 Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. According to this verse, if you were caught in a place of apparent danger, since you are not under the curse, you could believe God to translate you somewhere else.)   David Eells - 08/18/2010 I was translated from Louisiana many years ago to preach in tongues in some Eastern European church. It was clear they were expecting me to appear in the pulpit, but were very excited when it happened. More recently, I asked the Lord for this gift and have expected it after the Man-child latter rain ministry begins, since it was also common in the early rain. Jesus “disappeared” in the numeric -- John 5:13; Luke 4:28-30; Acts 8:39; John 10:39? In type -- Ezekiel 3:14; 1 Kings 18:12. The boat translated in John 6:16-21. I believe in answer to this prayer, I received a dream in which I saw large, beautiful, tasty strawberries. (Which I believe represent the first fruits Man-child ministry, since strawberries are a spring fruit.) As I examined them, they were inside a dead fish with all kinds of nasty mud and trash around it. (I believe this represents the Man-child being born out of an apostate religious system represented by the fish and the mud and trash represent all the garbage doctrine and living associated with this system.) Also, I saw a war in which the enemy had large plastic tanks with metal straps around them (the kind used in the chemical industry where poisons and corrosives would destroy metal tanks.) We sought to destroy these tanks. (This poison represents strong demonic delusions sent in lying words and doctrines to destroy God's people. We are seeing some of this now.) Then I saw that I had been given a gift to translate from place to place and also to move people out of harm's way by this method. A group would stand beside me and be translated with me to a safe place. (The Man-child took the Woman into the wilderness refuge. Rev.12:5 And she was delivered of a son, a man-child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days ...) When we translated, I said to the translated ones, “And we didn't even have [natural] wings”. (In Javier's dream, flying was translation. 14 And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness unto her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. These next two verses could refer to the poison in the plastic tanks of strong delusions, which we sought to destroy. 15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman water as a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream. 16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth.)

On this episode of the CityLight Podcast, we’re diving into what makes prayer powerful—humility, boldness, and real faith. Tune in as Pastor Bo draws from the example of Solomon, amongst other biblical moments, to remind us that effective prayer is about posture rather than performance.     You’ll learn why confidence in the name of Jesus matters, how to pray with clarity and authority, and what it looks like to align your desires with God’s will. From miraculous provision to the principle of First Fruits, this episode will stir your faith to pray big, believe boldly, and walk in the overflow of God’s grace.(00:00) The Power and Purpose of Prayer(15:05) The Power of Humble Prayer(29:37) The Power of Bold Prayer(46:11) Principles of Effective Prayer(58:26) First Fruits End of Year Offering(01:02:58) Overflowing Blessings and Gracehttps://citylightnyc.com/ 

This episode we cover the first silver mine in Japan, as well as the way that this sovereign is approaching offerings to the kami and handling family matters. For more check out: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-138   Rough Transcript: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is Episode 138: Offerings and Covenants   A gentle summer breeze blew through the cherry-tree-covered hills of Yoshino valley.  The royal residence, a kind of summer home for the royal family, normally somewhat quiet, was suddenly abuzz with activity.  The regular groundskeepers and those who tended the site throughout the year mingled with servants sent from the capital to make it ready for a royal visit.  Rooms were aired out and swept. Metal fixtures were polished.  The kitchen was stocked and ready to go. It had been some years since the prince—now sovereign—had resided in the valley as an attempt to proclaim he had retired from the world.  Now he was sitting at the top of the state government, but as such, he was more often than not living in the grand palace in Asuka, which he had renovated at the start of his reign. This, the Yoshino palace, was left as more of a vacation home—though "home" hardly did it justice given its majesty compared to the meager dwellings that otherwise surrounded it. And now there was a massive royal procession on their way.  Sure, it was the sovereign and his queen, and only a handful of princes, but they would each need their own quarters and likely have their own household staff that would no doubt need to be fed and housed.  In such a way a "simple" outing for the royal family was so often anything but for those who had to make it happen. And yet, such labor was much preferred to toiling in the fields, especially as the heat of the day started to rise, and the height of summer loomed large in the all-too-immediate future.   Alright, so we are in the midst of the reign of Ohoama, aka Temmu Tennou, the brother of Naka no Ohoe, who came to power through the use of military force—purportedly used in self-defense—and the sovereign who would have a profound effect on solidifying the Ritsuryo state, as well as the Chronicles and the history of the archipelago as we know it.  We've talked about Ohoama's ascension to the throne, and even his first year.  We mentioned how, during his reign, he rewarded those who helped him, tweaked the rank system, and we talked a bit about what we know of the clothing and the material culture of the period. This episode, we continue looking at what occurred during Ohoama's reign.  Specifically we'll be covering some of the ways in which Ohoama and his court were shaping the government and the structures of power to serve him and his family.  This includes everything from ritual, such as making offerings to various kami, to the way that he seems to have centralized power to himself and his family, which would have lasting impacts through the Asuka and Nara periods. First, though, a tiny little digression about silver.  We start in the 3rd lunar month of the second year since Ohoama ascended the throne, or the year 674 by the western calendar.  We are told that Woshiumi no Miyatsuko no Ohokuni, the governor of Tsushima, the island that formed the main border between the archipelago and the mainland, reported that silver had been produced there for the first time, and sent in some as tribute.  This is the first recorded instance of silver being produced in Japan. At this time, silver mining was mostly limited to finding a vein of silver on the surface and digging it out as far as one could possibly go into the rock and stone.  Still, silver would eventually become an important resource for the archipelago.  Tsushima would continue to produce silver through modern times.  Granted, production was limited until new refining techniques were introduced from Joseon Korea in the 16th century.  This was just as Ming dynasty deposits were declining, and as such, silver would become a major export from the archipelago to the mainland.  Indeed, by the 17th century, it is said that Japan accounted for one quarter to one third of the entire world's silver production. For now, however, the discovery of native silver was certainly a good start, but the Yamato court wasn't switching to a silver coin currency just yet—rice and cloth were still the major currencies for tax and trade purposes.  Still this find seems not insignificant, and clearly the chroniclers thought so as well -- as did the court.  They granted Ohokuni, the governor of Tsushima, the rank of Lower Shoukin.  The silver produced by the mine was offered to the various kami of heaven and earth, and presents were made to the high ministers and others of the rank of Shoukin and above. Now back to the Chronicles, and to the meat of what I'll be talking about this episode. On the 3rd day of the 8th lunar month of 674, we are told that the Royal Prince Wosakabe was sent to Isonokami shrine to polish up the divine treasures, at which point the sovereign made a rather spectacular decree:  he declared that all of the precious things originally deposited in the sacred treasuries by the various houses should be returned to their descendants. This appears to be a reference to the long-standing practice by Yamato of demanding that those they had gained some level of hegemony over turn over their sacred objects for Yamato's keeping.    We talked about this back in episodes 19 and 29, for example, when we talked about how Mimaki Iribiko, aka Sujin Tenno, and Ikume Iribiko, aka Suinin Tenno, had both requested treasures from Izumo and elsewhere, to be stored in the treasure house of Isonokami. We aren't told what all of these treasures were, but we can deduce that these were sacred treasures of the different houses and localities, much as the mirror, jewel, and sword were sacred treasures of Yamato.  These were items that early on distinguished the elite class in the archipelago, and had come to be gathered in the divine store houses.  You may recall how, early on, we saw mentions in the Chroncles that ships sent out to meet with others from different lands would place such treasures on a makeshift tree on the deck as a way of depicting who they were—who they represented. It would seem that these sacred objects came to represent the divine ancestors of the elites, and so eventually were associated with the idea of power and authority.  As Yamato spread its influence, possibly as much through the spiritual authority of Mt. Miwa as through its economic and military capability, it seems to have demanded that the various lands that came under its sway place their sacred treasures in Yamato's storehouse—a powerful image of Yamato's authority.  In a sense, this was a kind of hostage situation: recognize our authority, or your most sacred treasures, representing your ancestors, will be at risk .  One wonders if this isn't part of the reason that we find buried caches of bronze ritual items, including weapons, bells, and other such things, perhaps as a means of keeping them safe from those who would steal them away. However, in the new era of the Ritsuryo system, those objects, while still considered divine and sacred, did not hold the same value as they once had.  Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but this really seems to me to be particularly illustrative of the idea that the cultural imaginary of state power and authority had shifted.  Yamato's power and authority was no longer based on its role as a spiritual powerhouse as much as it was centered on the continental framework of a heavenly mandate and a system of laws and punishments.   And so, the sovereign could return the sacred items back to their descendants, because to do so did not cost him anything, and at the same time would no doubt earn him goodwill.  He could appear magnanimous and, in so doing, solidify his position as the supreme hegemon of this new state.  In many ways this acknowledged the importance of the divine treasures to the people and to the kami while also no doubt reinforcing Confucian stereotypes of the benevolent ruler. More importantly, this shows how Ohoama was restructuring the rituals of the state.  After all, he had the Jingikan, an entire governmental department dedicated to administering the various shrines and sacred rituals; so even if the sacred treasures were returned, they were still technically under the control of the state apparatus.  We've already talked about the Daijosai, the Feast of First Fruits for a new reign, a central ritual to which Ohoama had added further pomp and circumstance.  But as no less a scholar than Herman Ooms has written about, Ohoama also initiated the practice of ordering regular centralized offerings to not just one particular kami, but to several or even a number of kami, or shrines, at any given time.  We see this in the following year, on the 23rd day of the first lunar month of 675, in an almost off-hand remark. Later, in the 10th month of 676 offerings were made to all of the "Ahimbe" kami of Heaven and Earth—that is all of kami that were part of the festival of first fruits held on the first day of the rabbit on the 11th lunar month.  Offerings were also made to all of the Heavenly and Earthly kami on the second day of the year in 681. Of course, these offerings would not just be enriching the shrines of these various kami, but it would also reflect on the various uji connected to each of those shrines, as well. Another example of the court's involvement in these ritual innovations appears to be the worship of the deities at Tatsuta and Hirose.  The first example of that is also in 675, in the 4th month of that year.  Prince Mino and Saheki no Muraji no Hirotari were sent to the Wind-gods at Tateno, in Tatsuta.  Aston notes that there is a litany to the Wind-gods mentioned in the Engishiki, a 10th century collection of information on various rituals of the time, so this practice seems to have taken hold, at least enough to persist over 3 centuries later.  Also in the 4th month of 675, Hashibito no Muraji no Ohobuta and Sone no Muraji no Karainu were sent to worship the Oho-imi deity at Kahawa, in Hirose. The Oho-imi appears to be a "big abstinence" deity, whom Aston identifies with Waka'ukahime, responsible for food.  Worship is again paid twice in the year 676, once in 677, then twice again in 679, continuing twice a year, almost exclusively in the 4th and 7th lunar months, through the end of the reign.  Why were these particular deities chosen for special worship by the court?  Ooms notes that these shrines were built downstream along the Yamato river, which, along with its tributaries, was responsible for the irrigation of the crops in the Nara basin.  This mirrors, in some ways, the responsibility of rulers in the Yellow River and Yangzi river regions to help ensure the flow of the rivers while preventing devastating flooding – a very continental idea of the responsibilities of the sovereign, though expressed here with a particularly Japanese style. Indeed, Aston associates the deity at Hirose, with the deity of food.   Likewise, the Wind-deities at Tatsuta were also related to helping to grow crops.  After all, Tatsuta would have been situated near the break in the mountains that surrounds the Nara basin, where the Yamato River flows out towards the Kawachi plain.  As anyone who lives near a mountain gap is no doubt familiar, those areas are notorious for channeling weather phenomena, including storms, which can bring rain, but could also bring terrible winds.  So it does seem a natural point to pray for good weather for your harvest or otherwise, given the geography that made up the sovereign's world. We also have, in this reign, considerably more discussion of Ise than we've seen, previously.  In 673 we have the Royal Princess Ohoku no Himemiko entering the Saigu, the Abstinence, or Purification, Palace, where she was to be purified before going to Ise, which she did in the 10th lunar month of 674.  Ohoku is said to have been the first official Saiou, the unmarried royal princess sent to oversee shrine operations, of Ise Shrine.  This is a practice we see at multiple shrines, although it's most prominent at Ise. The term for the position in general is Saiou, although at Ise the royal princess would also be known as the Saiguu, after the purification palace.  Although Ohoku is said to have been the first Saiguu at Ise, this is muddied somewhat by some earlier mentions in the Chronicles.  There are those who are said to have been sent as Shrine Princesses to Ise back in the time of Mimaki Iribiko and Ikume Iribiko, but the process was largely discontinued—or at least rarely mentioned—until this period.  There are certainly several named individuals who are said to have served the Deity of Ise previously, starting with the presumably mythical Yamato Hime, who is credited with founding the shrine.  There are also various royal princesses are noted as either having served or as having been made ineligible due to their indiscretions. However, those earlier mentions rarely go into the detail we see here —starting with the abstinence hall, where the would-be Shrine Princess must purify herself prior to approaching the shrine, a process that took some time.  Certainly we first really see this put into action with Ohoku, and from that time the position of Saiguu or Saiou at Ise does appear to have been regularly filled.  That Ohoku was actually the first "Saiguu" shrine princess appears to be confirmed by the "Fusou Ryakki", which states that the first Saiou was appointed when then Prince Ohoama, in the midst of the Jinshin war, made a prayer to Ise and offered the royal princess Ohoku no Himemiko in exchange for victory.  In fact, a lot of the focus on Ise seems to stem from its apparent involvement, at the behest of either Ohoama or his consort, Uno no Sarara Hime, in the conflict. The following year we are told that the Royal Princesses Towochi and Abe proceeded to Ise Shrine as well, though presumably just for a brief visit.  Towochi, you may recall, was Ohoama's daughter who had been married to Ohotomo, aka Koubun Tennou, whom Ohoama had defeated to take the throne.  Abe was a daughter of Naka no Oe, half-sister to Ohoama's queen, Uno, and would eventually go on to marry the Crown Prince, Kusakabe.  That gives you some idea of the position of those were going to the shrine. Princess Towochi herself would fall ill a few years later in 678.  In fact, it was just as the sovereign himself was preparing to go pay a visit to the abstinence palace, perhaps so that he could also head out to Ise.  The court had a divination to figure out when he would leave, officers had cleared the roads, and the public functionaries were in a line of procession when word came that Princess Towochi, suddenly took ill and died within the palace.  This stopped everything in its tracks, and in that year there was no sacrifice made to the kami of heaven and earth.  I suspect that this was in part due to mourning and in part due to the pollution more generally associated with death. Two weeks later, she was buried at Akaho, and Ohoama raised a lament for her. Later, in 686, we are told that the Royal Princess Taki, the Princess Yamashiro no Hime, and the Lady Ishikawa were all sent to Ise Shrine, though Princess Taki returned in less than a fortnight. Why all this focus on Ise?  Remember that the Chronicles were begun in this era, and so the "truth" they would tell would be the truth that Ohoama and his immediate successors orchestrated. The focus on Amaterasu, her shrine at Ise, and the role of the sovereign as Heavenly Descendant was thus part of the overarching narrative that the Chroniclers tried to promote.  Still, hints that the focus on Ise shrine may have been something largely created in this era, however, are scattered throughout the existing literature, despite the Chroniclers' best efforts. For one thing, it is fairly clear that early on, the focus in the Chronicles is on  Mt. Miwa and the deity  Ohomononushi, rather than Amaterasu.  We also see the fingerprints of deities like Takami no Musubi, who in one story is the one who is actually responsible for sending the Heavenly Grandchild down to earth in the first place. It also seems telling that Amaterasu is not mentioned in earlier court rituals.  Worship of Amaterasu by the royal family takes place at Ise shrine.  Meanwhile, there are various rituals preserved within the traditions of the palace that include many other, seemingly older deities. I have also noted in the past how Ise shrine isn't even the primary shrine of Ise no Kuni.  In fact, that is claimed by Tsubaki shrine, the shrine to Saruta Hiko no Ohokami, with a separate shrine to Ame no Uzume, who are both said to have met the heavenly grandchild on his descent. None of this is to say that Ise Jingu was brand new at the time of the Chronicles' writing —there does seem to have been a shrine on that spot for some time, though even the Chronicles suggest that it might have been moved from a shrine originally housed in the Nara basin.  It is also possible, and even likely, that the rise of Ise and Amaterasu coincided with other trends at the time.  Even if the Sun Goddess had not always been centered in Yamato ritual, she was not a new deity, and it may have been the case that her prominence, and that of her shrine in Ise had been growing in prominence before this time, and so the court was now adopting that popularity for themselves.  Of course, Ohoama and Uno don't exactly spell out what they were attempting to achieve, beyond the unification of the archipelago, more broadly.  How, exactly, their focus on Ise Shrine was meant to play into that I don't know that I could fully state, but it certainly seems to have allowed the sovereign to create a new cultic focus for kami worship with a story that touched on regions from Kyushu all the way to the eastern shore of the Kii peninsula. Given the decentralized nature of kami worship, I don't believe it was possible to completely rewrite all of the stories—hence the numerous and conflicting accounts given in the Chronicles.  However, that is also what would have made it easier to hide newly fabricated—or perhaps simply exaggerated—stories in the mix.  And of course, it wasn't necessarily that the Chroniclers were creating things out of whole cloth, but they were able to choose those things that people would remember and what would be lost and forgotten over time.  They had to make the decision, for instance, which story they told was the "main" storyline, and which were listed as coming from "other books", implying a degree of separation from the truth. Through all of this, it certainly seems that propping up the royal family and its lineage was a central focus—even if that lineage was largely something that had recently been created.  As a reminder, we see a lot heavier reliance at this point on royal princes as opposed to other elite families, and an actual or implied reliance, in particular, on the royal family, as that is where Ohoama was consolidating most of the power and authority. Kitayama Shigeo coined the term "Koushin Seiji" to refer to this idea of a consolidated royal—or imperial—family managing the affairs of state.  Literally it is something like "Imperial Family Government".   In Shigeo's concept this was specifically an autocratic authority executed by the sovereign, and those of his immediate family.  Of course, writing in the post-war era, it is more than a little likely that Shigeo and others were looking at the concept of Tennou in the 20th century compared with many other world monarchs.  In that vein, the Asuka and Nara periods do seem to have been one of the rare times—perhaps even the last time—that the sovereigns had such a direct hand in the government and the making and establishment of law and tradition. That said, not everyone ascribes entirely to the idea that Ohoama was a completely autocratic despot—after all, it was clear that there were still plenty of powerful families in the archipelago, and the Ritsuryo state itself was also being strengthened.  Still, it does seem that Ohoama had brought his queen, Uno no Sarara, and his descendants into government.  And they would not only assist him, but continue his work for the next generations, such that even though the histories would not be finished until well after Ohoama's death, they would still show his influence on events. The dedication of the royal family to work as one is perhaps most clearly demonstrated in the events of the 5th lunar month of 679.  It was then that the sovereign, and his family, proceeded to the Yoshino Palace.  Now Ohoama had plenty of offspring—among them 10 sons.  And as long as he was around, there would be a certain amount of civility, but he knew all too well how things could break down after a sovereign's death.  And so he brought them together and he made them enter into a pact, which we know as the Yoshino Covenant, or Yoshino no Meiyaku.  Besides Ohoama himself, there were several others in attendance, presumably those who might stand to one day inherit the realm.  These included his partner and queen, Uno no Sarara Hime, as well as her son, Prince Kusakabe, who would be named Crown Prince, only a couple of years later.  It also included the Royal princes Ohotsu, Takechi, Kawashima, Osakabe, and Shiki.  All of these individuals were made to swear an oath to support each other, even though they were all from different mothers, and they agreed. But so what?  Why does it matter?  It is all well and good that Ohoama brought them together for a bit of kumbaya in his old digs away from the capital, but was there anything really to this covenant. This covenant is significant in several ways.  First off, it is clear that Ohoama was pulling in his family and trying to ensure they were onboard with what he was doing and what was planned.  Furthermore, it set out a clear line of succession, something that had not really been done up to this point. We have ideas on what would have made a candidate eligible, but other than naming a particular crown prince there hasn't exactly been any clear process or rules of precedence for who would assume the throne.  Here, though, we have a list that appears to be in order of precedence, since it otherwise may not seem to make sense, at least from a modern perspective. A key clue in the Chronicles is often the order of the names.  The most important or highest ranking person is usually given first, and then names are typically given in descending order of precedence.  There are clues that this is the case, but it becomes even more stark when we actually see reference to an individual's court rank or the size of their fief.  Since this period brings about court rank even for royal princes, we have some of that, at least in later records.  As such, there is the idea that this order was actually providing for a line of succession.   As I mentioned, up to this point, the contest for the throne was a toss up with each monarch's death.  Claims from competing princes were often considered equally valid until one proved their claim through a political or military victory.  Ohoama appears to have been trying to add greater structure to this.  Specifically, we see that Uno no Sarara's son, Kusakabe, is given pride of place.  In fact, throughout the Chronicle it is typical that we see the Chroniclers designate a queen—a Kougou—that is considered the primary wife.  This queen is almost always found to be the descendant of previous royalty, granting their child a doubly royal lineage, through both the maternal and paternal lines.   There has been plenty of reason to doubt that this was actually the case, and it often seems like the Chroniclers stretched things more than a bit to make it all work out.  However, now we are almost more concerned with the very *truth* that the Chroniclers were attempting to burn into the social consciousness rather than the historical facts, because that gives us direct insight into how the court of the day viewed succession and legitimacy.And that does lead to another possible thought:  since the Chroniclers knew how things turned out it is possible that they were the ones ensuring that the order was as we have it.  So we cannot definitively say that this exactly mirrors's Ohoama's idea, but it certainly seems in line with his history and intentions and helps set the stage for us, at least, regarding what would later transpire in regards to succession.. Getting back to the covenant, as I noted, the first person listed, after Ohoama and Uno no Sarara Hime, is Prince Kusakabe.  He would be about 17 or 18 years old at this time, which is probably why he wasn't formally named Crown Prince until a couple of years later.  He isn't the eldest son, however.  Rather he was the second son.  Ohoama's eldest son, Prince Takechi, was actually third in line. Takechihad been with his father helping to lead the troops during the Jinshin War. While he was some 8 years senior to Kusakabe, he was nonetheless a son of Amago no Musume, one of Ohoama's consorts from a powerful clan, but not a royal princess like Uno no Sarara, Kusakabe's mother. Between Kusakabe and Takechi, in the second place spot for succession, was actually Prince Ohotsu, whom we also mentioned during the Jinshin War.  Ohotsu was likely 16-17 years old around this time.  While he was the third eldest child, he, like Kusakabe, was the son of a Royal Princess, Princess Ota, daughter of Naka no Oe, giving him greater bonafides than Takechi, apparently. So, in the top three slots, we have: Ohoama's eldest son by a royal mother, Ohoama's second eldest son by a royal mother, and finally Ohoama's eldest son by a non-royal mother. Fourth in line, and the 4th eldest, presumably, though I don't know that we have an actual age for him, is Prince Wosakabe.  He likely wasn't too young, however, as he had been given the task, previously, to polish the divine treasures in Isonokami's storehouse. It would appear that six of Ohoama's other sons didn't even get a mention.  That includes Princes Naga and Yuge, born to another daughter of Naka no Ohoe, Ohoye no Himemiko.  Then there is Prince Toneri, son of Royal Princess Nittabe, not to be confused with Royal Prince Nittabe, Ohoama's son by way of a daughter of Fujiwara no Kamatari.  Finally there was Royal Prince Hodzumi, a maternal grandson of Soga no Akaye, and Prince Shiki, a full brother to Prince Wosakabe. Prince Toneri is particularly conspicuous in his absence.  We know that he held the 5th rank, and two positions in government—that of Nagon, or Councillor, as well as the Minister of the Household, our Kunaikyou.  This may be because he was not doing so well.  We aren't told the story until the following year, on the 2nd day of the 7th lunar month of 680, when we are told that Prince Toneri took ill and was on the point of death.  His half-brother, Prince Takechi, went to check on him, and a day later Toneri passed away.  The way these are written it would be easy to believe that it all happened in a pretty short timeframe, but it is also just as likely that illness lingered, especially without modern medicine.  So it is possible that Prince Toneri was too sick at the time of the original covenant, though there could be some other reason we weren't told. This doesn't necessarily hold for all of the others, though.  For instance, we have the Princes Naga and Yuge mentioned in 693, well over a decade later, being granted the 2nd Broader Pure Rank at the same time that Prince Takechi is granted the 1st Broader Pure Rank.  So we can at least see that they were ranked below Takechi.   Similarly we see Prince Hodzumi likewise attained 2nd Broader Pure Rank at some point, and was still around to have his own fief and to receive houses to it in the following reign.  Hozumi even ranked above some of the others were in Yoshino, and yet was not present. It is possible that the princes not mentioned, assuming they had not met with an untimely end that was not mentioned in the record somewhere, could have been too young or too junior at the time of the meeting.  After all, when we look at the known ages of those who were there, we see that Prince Takechi may have been 25 years old, but Prince Kusakabe and Prince Otsu were just under 20, and it is unclear if others were older or younger than they were. There are two other princes who were part of the covenant who were not, perhaps surprisingly, sons of Ohoama.  Rather they were his nephews, sons of Ohoama's brother, Naka no Ohoe.  They were the princes Kawashima and Shiki. Kawashima is mentioned several times throughout the record.  Kawashima's mother was from a high ranking noble family, but given that Kawashima was married to his cousin, one of Ohoama's daughters, that may have brought him closer to the family.  He was about 22 years old at the time, too.  We see him often teaming up with Prince Osakabe on various projects, including the project to compile together the history of the royal household.  In fact, Prince Kawashima always precedes Prince Osakabe when they are mentioned together.  That said, we have evidence of Kawashima only being awarded up to 3rd Greater Pure rank, below even that of some who were not present, such as Prince Hodzumi.  His importance and impact, however, is noted through his numerous appearances in the record. In contrast, Prince Shiki has almost no mentions in the record.  It doesn't help that there are two Princes Shiki, one born to Naka no Ohoye and one born to Ohoama.  Their names are spelled differently, however, and although the first character of "Shiki" used in the Yoshino record matches neither name, the second character suggests that this was the son of Naka no Ohoye and not the Shiki that was brother to Prince Osakabe—though given that one followed the other in the record, there may have been some confusion on this point. And with all of that we have our apparent line of succession, as well as an idea of who the movers and shakers might be within the royal family.  From Ohoama and Uno no Sarara, we have Princes Kusakabe, Ohotsu, Takechi, Kawashima, Osakabe, and Shiki.  Six princes, four directly descended from the current sovereign, Ohoama, and two from the Naka no Ohoe lineage. Obviously, promoting the idea of a strictly patrilineal succession of father to son would have caused some problems for Ohoama's own legitimacy, not that anyone was going to gainsay him while he was on the throne.  However, with Kusakabe they seem to have established that in a de facto format, at least.  Furthermore it provided a blueprint for succession might fall to the other lines should the main line not work out.  This put Prince Ohotsu as next in line, should anything happen to Kusakabe, followed by Takechi.  That Kawashima may have had a shot over Osakabe and then Shiki is interesting as it suggests that it wasn't strictly about who descended from whom. We'll have to wait for Ohoama's death before we can fully appreciate how well this worked, of course.  Throughout history, agreements and covenants amongst powerful interests are often only as permanent as long as all of the interests remain aligned with one another, whether through mutual benefit or threat of consequences.  Once the power shifts, as it always does, those promises and treaties are almost always up for renegotiation, unless they are supported by some higher authority, whatever that might be. Following the royal family's off-site, they returned to the palace in Asuka.  There they had a formal ceremony in the Great Hall, the Ohodono, where the six princes all demonstrated their allegiance and paid respects to Ohoama.  Given the timing of this event, one can likely assume that it was a kind of public acknowledgement of the covenant and the agreement that they would all be working together as a united front on the project of the government. And with that, I think we can bring it to  a close for now.  There is plenty more about this reign to discuss before we move on, but we'll get there. Until then, if you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  

By Tim Pebworth - In what state will those people be who live through the Tribulation into the Kingdom of God. Many, if not all, will be suffering emotional and mental impacts of what they've been through. It will be incumbent on the First Fruits to help Christ heal their trauma.

In this Bible Study we walk through Leviticus 23 looking at the major Holy Days or Festivals. The Sacred Assemblies to the Lord include Sabbath (Shabbat), Passover (which includes the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Firstfruits. We also look at the Festival of Weeks (Shavout), the Festival of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The last celebration we look at is the Festival of Tabernacles (Sukkot).Lots to look at as we unpack each of these Sacred Assemblies.

In this powerful kickoff to our brand new series Kingdom Impact, Pastor Travis Hearn delivers a raw, personal, and deeply challenging message about surrender, sacrifice, and putting God first. From a teenage dream of playing in the Arizona All-Star Game to choosing a missions trip instead, Pastor Travis shares how giving up what mattered most opened the door to a purpose he never imagined—ultimately becoming the chaplain for the Phoenix Suns for over two decades. But this message isn't just about his story—it's about your story. It's about that thing in your life that's fighting for first place. It's about burying the seed of selfish ambition so God can raise a harvest of Kingdom impact. Rooted in Luke 9:23–24 and John 12:24, “Give It UP” challenges us to examine what's really #1 in our lives. Are we holding back something God is asking us to surrender? Are we making excuses that sound valid but keep us from obeying His voice? This sermon will stir your soul to stop negotiating with God and start honoring Him with your firstfruits—your time, your talents, your treasure, your heart. Because when we give God the first and best, He blesses the rest. This isn't just about money—it's about mastery. Who's really Lord of your life? Join us as we begin a journey toward radical obedience, sacrificial generosity, and eternal significance. Because what you give up in faith, God uses to impact the Kingdom.

Listen to Chuck Pierce speak on "Firstfruits Celebration for the Month of Cheshvan: Change, Renewed Expectations, and the New Anointing!"

In the fourth message of our series called Feasts, Pastor Mel explains the Jewish "Shavuot" which means "Weeks". God instituted the feasts so the people of Israel would celebrate His provision, memorialize significant events, and foreshadow things to come. The Feast of Weeks celebrates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, as well as the wheat harvest in the land of Israel. Pentecost is the Greek name for the Feast of Weeks which occurs 50 days after the Feast of Firstfruits. God orchestrated the feast schedule so that a crowd of Jews from various nations were gathered into one place when the Holy Spirit was poured out on them. Robert Baer said, "Bethlehem was God with us, Calvary was God for us, and Pentecost is God in us."

The adventures of the many flying-squirrels continue and as the oldest Lenz child is getting close to driving age, now comes the choices of getting a job, paying for insurance and gas, buying a car - all those fun things!  Pastors Zac and Ashley discuss some of thier early employment ventures and it seamlessly transitions into financially preparing for the holidays, because in just a few short weeks we'll all be decking the halls!  Topic Ideas:  info@hpc.church 

In the season finale of The Make, Pastor Trevor unpacks why tracking your spending isn't just financial — it's formational. Discover how clarity, accountability, and first-fruit generosity can shape spiritual habits, reduce anxiety, and bring lasting peace to your financial life.