Podcasts about ministers

Some Aucklanders are worried that the government's proposal to ease alcohol restrictions will harm some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities. It is estimated that alcohol harm currently costs the country $9.1 billion a year. The proposed changes to the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act- which were announced today - include loosening alcohol restrictions with fewer hurdles for bars and bottle stores. Ministers will also be able to declare one-off special trading hours for pubs screening major sport or cultural events. Lucy Xia reports.

First, we talk to The Indian Express' National Legal Editor Apurva Vishwanath about a new bill that was introduced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the Lok Sabha last week which seeks to remove a Central or State Minister who is facing allegations of corruption or serious offences and has been detained for at least 30 days.Next, we talk to The Indian Express' Vineet Bhalla about the Supreme Court's new order on the issue of stray dogs in Delhi NCR. The order that was released on 11th August faced a massive backlash from animal welfare groups and general public, as a result another fresh order with new conditions was released last week.Lastly, we talk about the identification of a Pakistani woman who has been residing in India since the last seven decades. The fact came out during the Special Intensive Revision happening in Bihar. Hosted by Niharika NandaProduced and written by Niharika Nanda and Shashank Bhargava Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Using newly available government records, private papers, and documents obtained through Freedom of Information, The Secret History of UK Vetting from 1909 to the Present (Bloomsbury, 2025) by Dr. Daniel Lomas tells the secret story of UK security vetting from 1909 to the present. Although Britain avoided American-style red-baiting and McCarthy-like witch-hunts, successive UK governments have, like their 'Five Eyes' allies, implemented security procedures to protect government, defence and industry from so-called 'subversives' and 'fellow travellers'.Officially, from 1948 the British government applied political tests to civil servants, a process extended to 'character defects' in the early 1950s with the introduction of 'positive vetting'. However, an unofficial purge had taken place for much longer, facing political backlashes as an infringement of 'civil liberties' and suppression of free speech. Although it's been argued that Britain's secret purge had little impact, this study looks at the experiences of those removed from the 'secret state', those LGBT and BAME individuals discriminated against by government, and the impact of government policy generally, while studying the responses of Ministers and civil servants to spy scandals and international events.Drawing from newly released archival material, Freedom of Information releases and interviews, this book offers new insights into the scope of government security checks on civil servants, defence contractors and armed forces personnel from Edwardian 'spy scares' and the inter-war period, to the Cold War and present day. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Using newly available government records, private papers, and documents obtained through Freedom of Information, The Secret History of UK Vetting from 1909 to the Present (Bloomsbury, 2025) by Dr. Daniel Lomas tells the secret story of UK security vetting from 1909 to the present. Although Britain avoided American-style red-baiting and McCarthy-like witch-hunts, successive UK governments have, like their 'Five Eyes' allies, implemented security procedures to protect government, defence and industry from so-called 'subversives' and 'fellow travellers'.Officially, from 1948 the British government applied political tests to civil servants, a process extended to 'character defects' in the early 1950s with the introduction of 'positive vetting'. However, an unofficial purge had taken place for much longer, facing political backlashes as an infringement of 'civil liberties' and suppression of free speech. Although it's been argued that Britain's secret purge had little impact, this study looks at the experiences of those removed from the 'secret state', those LGBT and BAME individuals discriminated against by government, and the impact of government policy generally, while studying the responses of Ministers and civil servants to spy scandals and international events.Drawing from newly released archival material, Freedom of Information releases and interviews, this book offers new insights into the scope of government security checks on civil servants, defence contractors and armed forces personnel from Edwardian 'spy scares' and the inter-war period, to the Cold War and present day. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

In July, Mark Carney made it clear to public workers that there would be a tightening of the belt. Ministers were told to save 15% from their departmental budgets over the next three years. The deadline to do so is next week, August 28th. What that looks like in practice is pretty bleak. By 2028, it has been estimated that over 57,000 full-time equivalent workers will be laid off. Who will be laid off? And is this type of austerity bad governance?Meanwhile, in Ontario, Doug Ford is mandating a return to office for all workers, five days a week, come January 2026. Who will this affect?Host San Grewal and reporter Stacy Thomas break it down.Host: San GrewalCredits: Tristan Capacchione (Producer), Lucie Laumonier (Associate Producer and Fact Checking), tom sayers (Audio Editor), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor)Guest: Stacy ThomasPhoto: Creative edit by Tristan Capacchione, with photos from Gage Skidmore and Simon DawsonFurther reading on our websiteSponsors:oxio: Head over to canadaland.oxio.ca and use code CANADALAND for your first month free! BetterHelp: Visit https://BetterHelp.com/canadaland today to get 10% off your first month. If you value this podcast, support us! You'll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You'll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you'll be a part of the solution to Canada's journalism crisis, you'll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Using newly available government records, private papers, and documents obtained through Freedom of Information, The Secret History of UK Vetting from 1909 to the Present (Bloomsbury, 2025) by Dr. Daniel Lomas tells the secret story of UK security vetting from 1909 to the present. Although Britain avoided American-style red-baiting and McCarthy-like witch-hunts, successive UK governments have, like their 'Five Eyes' allies, implemented security procedures to protect government, defence and industry from so-called 'subversives' and 'fellow travellers'.Officially, from 1948 the British government applied political tests to civil servants, a process extended to 'character defects' in the early 1950s with the introduction of 'positive vetting'. However, an unofficial purge had taken place for much longer, facing political backlashes as an infringement of 'civil liberties' and suppression of free speech. Although it's been argued that Britain's secret purge had little impact, this study looks at the experiences of those removed from the 'secret state', those LGBT and BAME individuals discriminated against by government, and the impact of government policy generally, while studying the responses of Ministers and civil servants to spy scandals and international events.Drawing from newly released archival material, Freedom of Information releases and interviews, this book offers new insights into the scope of government security checks on civil servants, defence contractors and armed forces personnel from Edwardian 'spy scares' and the inter-war period, to the Cold War and present day. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

Using newly available government records, private papers, and documents obtained through Freedom of Information, The Secret History of UK Vetting from 1909 to the Present (Bloomsbury, 2025) by Dr. Daniel Lomas tells the secret story of UK security vetting from 1909 to the present. Although Britain avoided American-style red-baiting and McCarthy-like witch-hunts, successive UK governments have, like their 'Five Eyes' allies, implemented security procedures to protect government, defence and industry from so-called 'subversives' and 'fellow travellers'.Officially, from 1948 the British government applied political tests to civil servants, a process extended to 'character defects' in the early 1950s with the introduction of 'positive vetting'. However, an unofficial purge had taken place for much longer, facing political backlashes as an infringement of 'civil liberties' and suppression of free speech. Although it's been argued that Britain's secret purge had little impact, this study looks at the experiences of those removed from the 'secret state', those LGBT and BAME individuals discriminated against by government, and the impact of government policy generally, while studying the responses of Ministers and civil servants to spy scandals and international events.Drawing from newly released archival material, Freedom of Information releases and interviews, this book offers new insights into the scope of government security checks on civil servants, defence contractors and armed forces personnel from Edwardian 'spy scares' and the inter-war period, to the Cold War and present day. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/national-security

Diese Folge des SPIEGEL-Podcasts »Firewall« ist ursprünglich am 24. Juli 2025 erschienen. Im Rahmen des aktuellen Highlight-Programms während der Sommerpause von »Acht Milliarden« veröffentlichen wir sie hier noch einmal. Andreas Scheuer steht für einen der größten Polit-Skandale der letzten Jahre: das Debakel um die PKW-Maut. Trotzdem stand er bei Wahlkampf-Spendern hoch im Kurs. Mindestens 132.000 Euro flossen 2021 in die Kampagne des damaligen Bundesverkehrsministers. Das geht aus einer geheimen Liste hervor, die dem SPIEGEL vorliegt. Viele der Geldgeber waren, ausgerechnet, im Verkehrssektor tätig. Die Unterlagen zeigen, wie deutsche Unternehmer und ihre Vertreter einen Bundesminister umgarnten. Hat sich Scheuer von den Zahlungen beeinflussen lassen? Er selbst sagt zu einzelnen Spenden nichts. Sein Anwalt wirft dem SPIEGEL eine „Skandalisierung von Sachverhalten“ vor, die »mit der Rechtsordnung und dem Parteiengesetz im völligen Einklang stehen und von der Rechtsordnung sogar gewünscht sind«. Der SPIEGEL-Podcast »Firewall« erzählt, wie Wahlkampf-Spender sich offensiv mit ihren Anliegen in Scheuers Ministerium meldeten. Und er rekonstruiert, wie Scheuer mit der PKW-Maut scheiterte, zum unbeliebtesten Minister des Landes wurde. Heute baut er sich eine zweite Karriere in der Wirtschaft auf. Und wieder unterstützen unterstützen ihn einige seiner damaligen Gönner. Auszüge aus der Spenderliste und noch mehr Details lest ihr hier (S+) und unsere große Recherche zum Maut-Debakel findet ihr hier.+++ Alle Infos zu unseren Werbepartnern finden Sie hier. Die SPIEGEL-Gruppe ist nicht für den Inhalt dieser Seite verantwortlich. +++ Den SPIEGEL-WhatsApp-Kanal finden Sie hier. Alle SPIEGEL Podcasts finden Sie hier. Mehr Hintergründe zum Thema erhalten Sie mit SPIEGEL+. Entdecken Sie die digitale Welt des SPIEGEL, unter spiegel.de/abonnieren finden Sie das passende Angebot. Informationen zu unserer Datenschutzerklärung.

A round-up of the main headlines in Sweden on August 19th, 2025. You can hear more reports on our homepage www.radiosweden.se, or in the app Sveriges Radio. Presenter/Producer: Kris Boswell

Have you ever apologised for something that was neither your fault nor your responsibility? Do you feel guilty when things at your church go less than perfect even when they are not under your control? False guilt is something we all experience, particularly as leaders who feel strongly about the success of our churches and our parishoners. In this episode, Dr. Tim Maness talks about false guilt: what can cause it, why we feel it, and the things we can do to avoid or manage it.

Rewards of Giving and Receiving (audio) David Eells – 8/17/25 Father, we thank you so much for being in our midst. We are so privileged, Lord. The overwhelming majority of the world doesn't know You and we'd certainly like to be Your vessels through whom You reveal Yourself to them, and we pray toward that end earnestly. Lord, forgive us of our sins and our foolishness. Give us Your grace. Please rise up in us and do Your wonderful work in these days. Please anoint us and give us wisdom. Lord, we want to return to what You gave the early church and even go beyond that. We want You to teach us, Lord; show us how to walk in Your steps. We just ask for Your mercy and grace today. We see old world crumbling around us and we need Your wisdom now. We want to come out of this world and totally into Your kingdom. We want to know the difference and know Your principles. Lord, we've been reading them and studying them, and we ask You to help us put them into effect in our lives and in our midst. We just need You, Lord. We need You now more than ever. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen. So we're hidden in Christ. Most people never think to pray about those kinds of things, to be hidden from the Beast and take our name out of their system. There is a new Beast in town that is much more favorable to Christians. I believe the Lord is getting ready to prepare us to separate somewhat from this new system soon because it's rising only to fall again as history repeats. There's no use in us continuing to hemorrhage Kingdom supplies to the Beast. As I've said, we're headed back to the Book of Acts. We know we're going there, and you need to be prepared. Failure doesn't have to happen for us because we live in a different Kingdom, and we need to be living according to that Kingdom and according to the Word of God. We have a precedent in the scriptures to follow, and we know from the scriptures that it's important for us to work. I had a lady ask me years ago, “Was I supposed to be working in a secular job?” I said, “Well, why don't you go ask the Lord that?” And so she did. And she came back and said, “No, the Lord told me you were doing exactly what He told you to do”. And I said, “Well, that's right”. But it wasn't always that way with me. I worked for a long time, enjoyed it, and I had a very fruitful ministry when I was doing what the world calls a part-time ministry. But it really wasn't part-time ministry because I got to minister to a lot of people I never would have touched otherwise. Toward the end of that kind of a ministry, I was working for Exxon, and we had gatherings every day of men and women from across the plant. It was a very large plant, which took up a good portion of downtown Baton Rouge on the river. When Christians around the place heard that we were having Bible studies, they would flock from every corner of that plant and join in. We started having two meetings like that -- one in the field and one in the central mechanical building, and we had a large church assembled out there, and lots of miracles were happening. Multitudes of religious people were finding out that God was bigger than they originally thought. They were coming out of their structured churches and fellowshipping with other Christians and learning that there was more to Christianity than what they thought in their little sheltered clique that they were in. I believe the same thing is going to happen soon. I really believe that there are many people for us to reach, and that's going to happen. I think one way it's going to happen is that we will have something in common with them, with other Christians, and that is, we're coming into tribulation soon. Even before The Tribulation, we're coming into tribulation, and that kind of draws people together. It causes them to drop their sectarianism for the sake of survival. I'm not worried about survival. I don't know about you, but I'm not doing this because of survival; I'm doing it because it's scriptural. I believe that if we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these other things will be added unto us. We won't have to worry about a thing. But if we're seeking God and His righteousness, let's face it, we're going to be doing some things that those first disciples did. If we get what they got, we'll do what they did, as I've said so often. And if we do what they did, we'll get what they got. And so we have a precedent here in the scriptures. The apostle Paul worked for many years in a fruitful ministry, tent making, which led him from city to city with other people in the same business. He didn't like relying on people; he didn't like being a burden on people; he said so. And I felt the same way. I mean, I didn't get out of my ministry at Exxon, and having Bible studies. I didn't get out of that and start into what they call the full-time ministry because I wanted to wait on the Lord and this was bearing fruit. I just told the Lord, 'Hey, Lord, I need more time to study; I'd like to have more time to share,' but I waited. And I waited for a few years until the Lord told me, Okay, it's time. I didn't choose that for myself; the Lord is the one Who has to open the doors. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. We have to be led of the Lord. We shouldn't be making steps on our own. Now we know from Paul's testimony that he did this, and we know it's scriptural. We'd all like to just live by our faith and sit out there and meditate on God and let Him drop manna out of heaven, and there's no doubt we'll get into situations where He's going to do just exactly that. But the Lord has multiplied food for me and even put it in my stomach when it wasn't there, so I know God's a mighty God. And Jesus multiplied the fishes and the loaves, and we're going to do the exact same thing. But where did the fishes and the loaves come from? Have you ever thought about that? Well, somebody had those fishes and loaves before Jesus multiplied them. So, I believe that it's scriptural for us to be effectively working, according to the scriptures. I'll just share a few with you. (1Th.4:11) And that you study to be quiet and to do your own business and to work with your hands even as we charged you... You think there's any difference today? I don't think so. Now, we know that we're in the process of easing ourselves out of this worldly business and into the King's business all the time, and that's good. Ultimately, that's all we're going to be doing because soon the world is not going to accept us doing any business with them anymore, and so God's going to use that to put us totally in the wilderness. But there's no reason not to be walking out a little into that wilderness right now because we're going to need to prepare for what's coming. I believe it's good and right and proper for people who have good-paying jobs to continue to work because, if we're successful in doing what they did, a lot more of our finances are going to stay with us and a lot less of it is going to go out into the world. And for people who have jobs, there is still a need for money to pay monthly bills, etc.. I mean, be useful where you are until God moves you. I found a very useful, very fruitful ministry while working at Exxon and I was enjoying that, and when I went into what they call the full-time ministry and God moved me to Florida. I was there a little while when I said, 'Lord, I think I was bearing more fruit there doing that than I am now.' But I was studying the Word and digging in the Word, and I asked, “Lord, do You want me to go out and knock on doors?” He said, “No, I want you to do just what you're doing now, except a lot more of it”. I said, Okay. There is a very fruitful ministry out there among the people who won't come into a church; they won't listen to a preacher. You know, you can talk to them where you are. So I'm not talking about departing from that yet, but I am saying this: Some of us have some time on our hands that we could fulfill some other things that we see in the scriptures. (1Th.4:12) ... that you may walk becomingly towards them that are without and may have need of nothing. So he says to work with your hands so you won't have any needs. Well, we can pray it all down out of heaven, can't we? Yes, but it's scriptural. You still have to obey these principles. And certainly, when we get into a spot, and we will get into spots where we need a miracle, a creative miracle, praise the Lord, these creative miracles are going to convert a lot of people. I received many of them in my wilderness before the Lord moved us to TN. I believed we could have good association with the people around this area too. There are a lot of Christians here and there are some innocent people here. Some of them might be ignorant, but that doesn't make them evil because, if you're walking where you know to walk and you're walking as close to the Lord as you understand, you are innocent and the Lord looks upon them that way and we should look upon them that way, too. We're supposed to be making friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness so that they can receive us into eternal tabernacles, right? (Luk.16:9) So we're supposed to use everything around us, to have associations with these people, not to go into the corrupt lifestyles that some Christians are in or into the apostasy that they're in, but we still have to love them, and we still have to share with them graciously. We're going to be close together in the end times and I believe that when we start living the way we see in the scriptures, we'll be able to associate with them and they will see some things in us and they will want some things we have.  We'll be able to share, not just how to bake bread with them or how to raise chickens with them, but more about the Gospel. You'll have something in common. We all have a need, right? So I think what he says right here is very plain: “So we can walk becomingly towards them that are without and have need of nothing.” (Eph.4:27) Neither give place to the devil. But let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need. So, one reason we work is not just for ourselves, but to give to people who have needs, which I did for many years. There are a lot of people who won't know where we're going right now, and they're going to have needs because they haven't been prepared, and that's going to put them at the mercy of God and, in some cases, at our mercy. So we work in order to be prepared to give to those who have need. There will be many Christians and many neighbors who have needs. We are about to have great abundance and we can give. This world is going to persecute Christians and do what they have done in the past; they're going to separate them, and they're going to plunder them. The further we separate from the dependency upon this system, the better. We don't need to be dependent upon this system; we need to be dependent upon God. That's what the wilderness was about. Now, we've been studying faith and that is good; you'll need that all the way through the Tribulation, but there are some things I believe we can do to be more like the early church and less dependent upon this world. You know how often you need to go to the grocery store, right? You know how often you need what they have. Well, I believe we ought to come to the place where we need a whole lot less of what they have and not be dependent upon them because the powers that be are using that dependency to bring you under their thumb. There are a lot of ignorant people out there who are walking with God where they are, who are going to take the mark of the Beast because they don't know God supplies. They don't know that they don't have to because they haven't been taught the Truth of the Gospel. They don't know that God supplies. They don't know how a Christian community works because they go to church, as a spectator, they get up, and they go home. They don't know that God still does these things because they've been lied to. So, when we rub elbows with them, we share with them the Good News that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. So, he says, “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need.” (2Th.3:6) Now we commend you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly... I might say, there are some people who judge saying, “they just have to have faith”; I've run into them. It's not an evil in them, necessarily. Many don't see examples of people who live by faith in their churches. They want to serve Jesus, and all true Christians want to serve Jesus. But they're imbalanced. They need some help; they need some wisdom from those who are older in the Lord, because we can serve Jesus anywhere. Anywhere we are, we ought to be serving Jesus. We work as unto the Lord. As the Bible says, we are to work like we work for the Lord. We're not here to be men pleasers, right? We're here to work for the Lord, in whatever ways we can serve His Kingdom. We either work in ministry or at a secular job while we minister. (6) ...Withdraw yourselves from every brother that walks disorderly and not after the tradition which they received of us. (7) For yourselves know how you ought to imitate us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; (8) neither did we eat bread for nought at any man's hand, but in labor and travail, working night and day, that we might not burden any of you. (9) Not because we have not the right, but to make ourselves an example unto you that you should imitate us. (10) For even when we were with you this we commanded you: If any will not work, neither let him eat. Some tough love there, isn't it? And, of course, sometimes people don't have jobs and they don't think they can work, but I really believe that can change. And I think some ideas are going to come from each of us that are going to show us a way to do this. (11) For we hear of some that walk among you disorderly, that work not at all, but are busy-bodies. (12) Now, them that are such we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work and eat their own bread. (13) But ye, brethren, be not weary in well-doing. (14) And if any man obeyeth not our word by this epistle, note that man that you have no company with him, to the end that he may be ashamed. You know, there is something almost anybody can do to serve in the Kingdom and to be able to meet the needs of other people. I believe we're about to see a lot of needs presented before us very soon. The dollar is dying very fast. It's going to crumble. The whole system they have is going to crumble. They know it, they're forcing it, they're doing it on purpose. They want a New World Order. They have set up the NESARA and QFS plan, and soon there will be the new world currency and then total digital. All will have to work who can work to receive their income. They know that if we are totally dependent upon them, we'll be at their mercy. But we're not totally dependent upon them and we need to get prepared to live in the Kingdom like a body would. We know that the world doesn't know anything about this. But a body meets its own needs. We are all built for some service in God. Praise be to God! Our ministry is even now supporting missionaries on other continents and we are about to be able to do much more. I can see  that God's going to bring all we need into this ministry in order to meet people's needs so the Gospel can be sent to the World. He showed us that very plainly. We're waiting for that to come and it's on the way now; but at the same time, we still have to obey the scriptures and every one of us ought to be giving and receiving. You know, there is no reward in the scriptures for buying and selling whatsoever. The reward in the scriptures is for giving and we can be doing that weekly or daily. Some will work at secular jobs and others will have their hands free to bring the Gospel to the world and some will do both. He's promised a great reward multiplied many times over in the Kingdom forever, so He wants us to do it. Let's do it. Giving brings an eternal reward. Some people could supply milk, some could raise beef. We will inherit cows for meat and milk and fields. We will have Tesla free energy. Some could supply feed, some could supply corn and some other vegetables. Some could supply chickens and eggs. Some could be butchers and some could be mechanics. Some could be cooks. Some would say, “Thank you for your milk.”  Another would say, “I have something to give you.” Or “I'll meet your needs in some other way.”  We're going to get equipment to plow those fields. We're going to get equipment to plant and harvest those fields. I think all of this is coming, but again, we are learning how to live differently. We're learning how to fellowship with one another about this work and to have more in common with one another than we do just coming to what people call ‘church'. Some people know how to make bread; they're very good at it. They can teach others. There are some people who have poultry, eggs, turkeys, chickens, rabbits and so on and so forth. Just some ideas here. If anyone feels led to go in any direction, that's what I'm asking. What do you feel led to do? Everything you do, you need to be led of the Lord. I'm just putting these ideas out there to share so you can think about it, because the Lord spoke it to me a few nights ago in the middle of the night, and I don't want Him to talk to me again about this in the middle of the night, so I'm going to share it with you. I like talking to the Lord in the middle of the night, but not having to repeat the same things. Some people are good at vegetable growing. I was telling somebody the other day that the house I moved into several weeks before my family moved here, I found one tomato plant on my property that somebody had forgotten about. It was behind a wood pile, and nobody had ever staked up the plant; it was just lying up on the ground, growing this way and that way. And I got to walking around behind this wood pile, and I saw there were tomatoes all over the place down there, so I had been eating tomatoes every day ever since then. That's just one tomato vine. Then the frost got them one night. I decided that I had better go out and gather what tomatoes were still there. So I got them; however, the frost had gotten a few of them, but I was able to gather a few tomatoes from it. I just placed them on the windowsill. But I sure enjoyed being able to eat plenty of tomatoes from one vine that somebody forgot about. The landlord was telling me, “Hey, you can eat the fruit off that tree over there”, and I said, “Hey, I've been eating your tomatoes ever since you left here”. I was watching some brethren make some soap the other day. That was pretty neat. I said, “Hey, you need a machine to grind that”. They were hand-grinding. I believe some people can make soap in order to have soap for their neighbors. You've been paying way too much for soap, and it doesn't work nearly as well as these folks' soap would. And some people would be good at distributing the products to the people. There are people good at doing taxes; there are people good at law. They can offer their services to the brethren and vice versa. Carpentry, mechanics and electricians, handymen, techies, etc. You can think of a lot of things, all kinds of services you can give to others, and they can give to you. And this giving and sharing is just part of being a Christian. In some cases we will hire the world to be laborers while we will be priests and ministers of the Lord. Isa 61:5  And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners shall be your plowmen and your vine-dressers. 6  But ye shall be named the priests of Jehovah; men shall call you the ministers of our God: ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.  These are all part time jobs. No one is going to have to slave to stay alive for God has given abundantly and the ministry will make sure all needs are met as it was in Acts. Our main job will be to put the word and gifts of the Spirit in our hearts so we can give this to others. The world is buying and selling. God kept complaining about the buying and selling and the marrying and giving in marriage, and we see that that's the way of the world. Suretyship is the way of the world. Borrowing and mortgaging and guaranteeing to pay back -- that's the way of the world. The Bible teaches against “suretyship.” (Pro.11:15) He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it; But he that hateth suretyship is secure. The Hebrew word there actually means “to be a guarantor of an agreement; to give or to be security”; in other words, “to mortgage.” It's making a guarantee to pay back what has been borrowed, but we can't even guarantee that we'll be here tomorrow. The Bible also warns us against making promises, pledges, or guarantees of any sort. I think the Amish have something to teach us there. They all gathered together and built the house. Okay, we'll build you the house, and you won't be going into debt either. We can gather together and build a few chicken coops and rabbit coops, and whatever. We can do these things. The ministry can help some of you get started in what some people have called a cottage industry. We can give you something that will, for example, get you a grinder that will grind soap all by itself. Just some ideas. We already have Telsa free energy here waiting to be turned on. we've received several prophecies about a virus that's going to shut down the Internet and the grid but that may be out in the world. The worldly church has no way to know this is going to happen because they're not led by the Spirit, and they're not aware of these warnings in dreams and prophesies. We don't have to stop; we've been warned. We can listen to God and ask, “Hey, God, what do you want me to do about this?” Well, He's giving us some ideas. But we know the Lord is going to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory. That's what He said, right? But we just need to believe and obey Him to receive all needs. We also know there's small earthquakes coming through here to separate the land from the mainland. The Lord showed us that. That's going to run people off and make this a peninsula. But we know it's going to happen and we just need to be ready. Even bartering is taxable, so giving freely and receiving freely is the best policy and has heavenly rewards. We're headed toward the mark. Some people are going to take the mark because they don't know that they have a choice. And we can show them not only some supernatural choices, but we can also show them some natural choices because we live the way we're supposed to live toward one another scripturally by meeting one another's needs and working to make sure everybody's needs are met, making sure that there is equality. And the Lord spoke in 2 Corinthians about equality. He wants equality in His church. He wants all of His people to have their needs met. And the way of the world is, I'm in a race with my neighbor: I gotta have the biggest car, the biggest house, swimming pool, etc.; but that's not us. We're here to serve and to lift up our neighbors and to be a community, a body, in order to make sure that everybody's needs are met through giving and receiving, right? The idea of gaining from your neighbor is less important to us than making sure our neighbors' needs are met and our needs are met. It's a control thing with the DS. They think that if they bring down the economy, we will be under their control. And it's true; for an awful lot of Christians, it's true. We can give them a choice here. I believe that if we do a little bit of specializing and less duplicating, we can get this thing up and going pretty fast. Everybody does not need a lawnmower. Some are already set up to do this. Our trips to the store will be for almost no staples and pay their exorbitant prices, and that money will go to feed the Beast; we don't care about that. Whatever we make, we would like it to totally serve the Kingdom. That's the way. I'm not talking about names and storefronts and things like that. These are things we have to avoid. We want to have a low profile where we're going. We want to avoid open rebellion against the system because they'll come to get you. They'll figure out a way to do it. We know we're protected by God and hidden in Christ, but we don't want to dare them, right? And we can do a lot of things just the way we normally do them, just naturally. The way of the world, of opening a big storefront, saying, 'We're not buying and selling, we're bartering'; they'll tax you and figure a way to shut you down. They want control and they don't want anybody to be independent. We can be very independent if we give and receive individually, and we can bring in a lot of Christians who don't know what's coming. We'll enjoy fellowshipping with them too, and not just around these things, but around the Word of God. So we can share with others this way. In Acts 6:1-4, there were some people complaining about their system not working very well, so they chose and ordained some deacons to make sure that the widows weren't missing out. We have lots of deacons in our ministry. “Deacon” just means “servant” in the Word of God. We have servants who do all kinds of things in our ministry. People have many different gifts and talents with backgrounds and training in several areas. This is one we need to move toward, too: People whose whole concern is to make sure that everybody's needs are met, that the system is working, it's not breaking down somewhere. So we'll be thinking about this, and you be thinking about this, too, because it's definitely going to be needed. As the apostle said, they did it at that time so that they could continue in prayer, be able to study in the Word of God and teaching, and these ordained brothers can handle this. Many Man-child families are coming here. Man-child reformers will teach and minister in our bible schools that the Lord has given us. Other specialty teachers will be here too. Let me also say this: Because you're a deacon does not negate you from being an elder or being one of the two-witnesses or being in the Man-child. It doesn't negate that at all. Remember, Jesus was called a deacon, too. In the scriptures, in every way people served others, the word diakonos was used; it just wasn't always translated that way. So, if we translated it the same way every time, we would find out that Jesus was a deacon, all of His disciples were deacons, and everybody was a servant in one form or another. But deacons do not have to be elders. And our ministry has lots of servants. Many people are coming together here to serve the Word of God to people and to make sure it's prepared properly. I'm not bringing this up for any other reason than I feel like the Lord brought it up to me, and I'm not bringing it up in desperation because I'm worried about what's coming. I'm not in the slightest bit worried about what's coming. I am eager to get the Gospel out to the world and we shall. We can be giving and receiving. We can receive the benefits of the eternal kingdom. God's already taken care of all of this. I'm doing this because we can offer blessings to the people by just learning to give to them and making sure their spiritual and physical needs are met. And as we read in the Scriptures, they worked for more than just me, my, and mine; it was for the purpose of giving to other people who were in need. We're going to see multitudes in need. God's giving us property, schools, meeting places and houses here. There are going to be many people, refugees from all over this country and from other countries coming here, and we want to be hospitable. We want to be able to take care of them and help them to move into something that, even if they don't have a secular job, the ministry can meet their needs and meet the needs of people around them. Now, we're not trying to build what the world would call a commune here. You won't see anybody in our ministry running around giving orders. It's a little different than a lot of ministries you've been involved in, or heard about, I'm sure. Most of the people in this ministry who are deacons in this ministry, they have that because it was in their heart to do it, and they came to us and said, 'Hey, I'd like to do this', or ‘I can do this', and so praise God. We want people to be free to do these things from the heart. If you give from your heart, that's a good sacrifice before the Lord, according to 2 Corinthians. From the very beginning of our ministry, we've never charged for anything; we just give it. If people want to give back, that's fine; if they don't, they still receive what they ask for, so we can't really call it bartering when you're not demanding anything in return. We're not talking about hoarding either; we're just talking about meeting needs. Well, we can do some workshops here, people showing other people how to do things, and people gathering together to get these things started in a really good way. And, as I said, I felt the Lord told me that the ministry could also contribute money toward things that people need to get started in this way. Everyone does not belong here for God has not called them to a refuge but tribulation. We can take a lesson from the Amish. They gather together and do something in a group that they could never do individually, or at least, it would take a lot longer time. We don't have a long time. We are not needing to build houses or many buildings that are already provided. I know that we have people to fill every specialty and we can get up and going quickly. And of course, this is all voluntary, whatever a person feels their gift is or the Lord is guiding them to do. The funny thing is, I'm visiting people's houses, and the house I'm living in now, and they are all electric and we have free electricity. One of the Bible colleges has natural gas. There is a rich deposit of gas right here, and that's free energy. We had a brother whose family came down and visited us, who was just north of us, and he has a gas well in his backyard, and I'm thinking, why aren't more people punching holes in the ground around here? That's free heat; that's energy. Well, if you have a community of people who aren't far apart, or if you want to, use it to pressurize it and run vehicles. When I was young, we used gas tractors, gas trucks, and we had the old International Harvester trucks that were converted to run on gas because it was readily available, so you can do the same thing today. People are talking about all different kinds of ways to keep your car running when gasoline becomes hard to find, which it will. Not necessarily here, but it will. But certainly, if you have the availability of a gas well you can buy the converter kits for tractors. We will have electric cars. Birds are hand-to-mouth, aren't they? They don't worry about storing it up; they just eat it. Well, I think you got the idea, so really just pray and ask the Lord if He wants you to do something and, if so, what, and just be ready and willing for Him to use you. You can train people in what you know, and you can be trained by others, and we can all come together with what we each know the Lord is leading us to do. And the ministry would be glad to contribute to anybody who wants to get a start, so you all think about it and pray about it, and we'll see where it takes us. But only consider coming if God says so. Lord, we just ask you, Father, in the name of Jesus, to give us all wisdom. You know what's coming down the road. You see the end from the beginning. We see nothing, Lord; we just trust in You. We want to be led by Your Spirit. We are the sons of God by faith, and we're asking You to lead us and guide us into something that will be very useful, not only to us, but to the people around us and to get the Gospel out. Lord, we thank You for Your mercy toward us, and we know that we have nothing to worry about; we just put all of our faith in You. We know that You are an absolute miracle-working God and You will multiply the fishes and the loaves. And You will bring us manna out of heaven, and You'll do everything that's necessary to provide for Your people. So we just trust in You and we just want to be useful to serve. And we thank You for it, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.   Greed and the Tithe (by David Eells) Paul gave Timothy a revelation of the false prophets and those who follow them in the “last days”. (2Ti.3:1) But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come. (2) For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (3) without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, (4) traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; (5) holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof: from these also turn away. These men, who are identified by their egotistical appetite for money, prestige, pleasure, and position, love their religious “form of godliness”. Among these are the false prophets who lead captive the like-minded apostate religious sects. (6) For of these are they that creep into houses (of worship), and take captive silly women (sects of God's people - Isa.4:1, 32:9) laden with sins, led away by divers lusts, (7) ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Those who love to justify their own sinful ways respect these “impostors” and their “form of godliness”. (13) But evil men and impostors shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. These false prophets are identified as “lovers of money”. These are the merchants of religious Babylon (Rev.18). They make “Father's house a house of merchandise” (Joh.2:16). Since God will not support their personal kingdom-building, they peddle books, tapes, trinkets, chicken dinners, tours, etc. This is the way of the world, and for those who have an impoverished God. Why would anyone who was sent by God and believed the promises of our provision through Christ do this? Our examples in the early leadership of the Church certainly did not. (Joh.2:13) ...Jesus went up to Jerusalem. (14) And he found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: (15) and he made a scourge of cords, and cast all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the changers' money, and overthrew their tables; (16) and to them that sold the doves he said, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house a house of merchandise. They peddle the promises of God's provision to those who give to their ministry. They make “merchandise of the word of God” (2Co.2:17 [in Greek]). They peddle the Word for salaries like hirelings. When a person is not sent by God, he does not have faith that “God shall supply every need” (Php.4:19). Where God sends, He supplies. Without God's supernatural supply, people have to resort to other tactics to support “their” ministry. The Lord has not changed His mind, “the righteous shall live by faith”, not salaries. He commanded His ministers, “Freely ye received, Freely give. Get you no gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses”. A man who lives by faith has to walk with God because “if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God; and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight” (1Jn.3:21,22). God's command that His leaders walk by faith ensures righteous leadership. The early Church leadership was not in the habit of taking up collections, but when they did, it was not for themselves but for the saints in persecution and had needs, as it was with Jerusalem. (1Co.16:1) Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave order to the churches of Galatia, so also do ye. (2) Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come. (3) And when I arrive, whomsoever ye shall approve, them will I send with letters to carry your bounty unto Jerusalem. Notice that Paul didn't handle the money, but approved brethren did. He preferred to not even be present when the collection for the saints was received, so that there would be no extortion involved, as it was with the Macedonian collection. He also didn't use the Macedonians' presence to shame and extort the Corinthians. (2Co.9:3) But I have sent the brethren, that our glorying on your behalf may not be made void in this respect; that, even as I said, ye may be prepared: (4) lest by any means, if there come with me any of Macedonia and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be put to shame in this confidence. (5) I thought it necessary therefore to entreat the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your aforepromised bounty, that the same might be ready as a matter of bounty, and not of extortion. Ministers received free will offerings and did not demand their rights through condemnation or legalism. (1Co.9:11) If we sowed unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we shall reap your carnal things? (12) If others partake of [this] right over you, do not we yet more? Nevertheless we did not use this right; but we bear all things, that we may cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. (13) Know ye not that they that minister about sacred things eat [of] the things of the temple, [and] they that wait upon the altar have their portion with the altar? (14) Even so did the Lord ordain that they that proclaim the gospel should live of the gospel. (15) But I have used none of these things: and I write not these things that it may be so done in my case; for [it were] good for me rather to die, than that any man should make my glorifying void. Paul said, “we did not use this right...that we may cause no hindrance to the gospel”. Even the world sees through the “gimmee gospel” and its con men, and they disrespect the true Gospel because of it. In obeying the command “freely ye received, freely give” we leave no room for suspicion. (2Pe.2:1) But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies.... (3) And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you. One way they “make merchandise of you” is to put God's people under the Law to support them when the Scripture clearly states that our giving is “not of necessity” (2Co.9:7). “[Let] each man [do] according as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly, or of necessity (this is not according to the law of tithing): for God loveth a cheerful giver”. In the New Covenant, God wants an offering from the heart from those born of His Spirit. God made the Old Covenant with natural Israel and refused the Gentiles. (Psa.147:19) He showeth his word unto Jacob, His statutes and his ordinances unto Israel. (20) He hath not dealt so with any nation; And as for his ordinances, they have not known them. Now the New Covenant is made only with the Church and is refused to those under the Law. If a doctrine like tithing is not in the New Covenant, then it was never made with you! It will only separate you from Christ and grace. (Gal.5:4) Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace. Jesus rebuked the false prophets of His day saying, “Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin (even their seasoning), and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these you ought to have done (this is past tense in all ancient manuscripts, Numerics, and the Received Text), and not to have left the other undone” (Mat 23:23). Jesus clearly said here that tithing was both in the past and under the Law. Some say tithing was before the Law. Yes, circumcision and animal sacrifice were before the Law, too, but they were included in the law and we are not under Law to do them anymore either. Paul also said tithing was of the Law in Hebrews 7:5-11. There is no New Covenant command or request to tithe because we are no longer stewards of ten percent. Jesus taught that we have to renounce ownership of the other ninety percent, or we cannot be His disciples. (Luk.14:33) So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. “All” here means all possessions, rights, and will. Those who claim possession of the other ninety percent are thieves. The Holy Spirit and the New Covenant commands were given to establish where, how much, and to whom we give. We are merely stewards of what He has put in our hands. The church's system of tithing is extortion and graft. It is not even righteous when compared to the Old Covenant tithe. Under the type and shadow of the tithe, ten percent was taken from eleven tribes and given to one tribe, the Levites ([ministers] Num.18:24). Then the Levites gave one ten percent (tithe) to the high priest (25-28). This left the Levites with ten percent from ten tribes. That is an average of what the other eleven tribes had to live on. Even when Israel's economy grew, they still lived on an average income. Today, with a larger percentage of the people doing the supporting, coupled with the fact that the pastors have usurped the authority of the rest of the five-fold ministry (Eph.4:11), ministers have become fat and filthy rich. This is a great stumbling block to both the world that sees through this and to the ministers. This also makes the people of God bad stewards. We have made God's house a “den of robbers” (Mat.21:13). (Eze.34:2) Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, even to the shepherds, Thus saith the Lord: Woe unto the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the sheep? (3) Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill the fatlings; but ye feed not the sheep. These men make it plain that we are not under the Law except when there is a profit involved and then we are told to “bring ye the whole tithe into the storehouse”, which is a command of the Old Covenant. Of course, they falsely claim to be the storehouse. In Old Covenant type and shadow, tithes were cast into the treasury, which was in the midst of the temple (1Ki.7:51; Mar.12:41). In the New Covenant, the temple is God's people, and Jesus said that we would be judged by whether we meet the needs of His people (Mat.25:31-46; 1Jn.3:16,17). This is how we store up treasure in heaven (Luk.12:33,34). We are taught to not store up our treasures on earth (Mat.6:19-21) but to meet the needs of the brethren so “that there may be equality” (2Co.8:14). Those who will not renounce ownership and become stewards of one hundred percent are not being disciples for “we were bought with a price”. We are now bondservants of Christ. The Holy Spirit now tells the disciples of Christ how much, to whom, where, and when to give. Amen. Now, the Bible specifically says you get a reward for giving, and the interest is much better. The interest is “good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.” I've tried God on this and it works. He is faithful — consistently faithful. He is our surety. I learned that you just give and meet the needs of the brethren around you, and not worry about what you have left because God is never going to fail you. Never. From the time the Lord showed me about faith and how He forbade debt to His people, I haven't stored up or borrowed any money, and the Lord has never failed to make sure we had a good car, a good house, and all our needs met. The world says that you have to store up the money until you have enough, or even more commonly, borrow it from the bank, which is debt. But you don't need to go the way of the world, because God can bring it in a lump sum. He did it for us many times. Men serve insurance companies, H.M.O.s, banks and store up their treasures on earth for the security they think it gives them. But we are told in (Mat.6:19) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal. Y2K revealed the paranoia and lack of trust in those who stored up their treasures on earth contrary to our Lord's command. Quite a few people that I showed these principles to went home to give their store away and found it full of bugs, just as Jesus said, “thieves break through and steal.” Jesus told of a man who found peace in the insurance of storing up his goods in greater barns (Luk.12:18). He said to himself, (Luk.12:19)… Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry. (His misplaced trust brought judgment.) (20) But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required (Greek: “they require thy soul”) of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? (21) So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. Notice that it was his stored-up treasures that required his soul. Jesus promised the unfailing kingdom provisions to those who would store up their treasures in heaven by giving. (32) Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom (33) Sell that which ye have, and give alms; make for yourselves purses which wax not old (That means you're not storing it up or keeping it for a long time.), a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief draweth near, neither moth destroyeth. Give alms. Meet the needs of people around you. That's what He calls “a treasure in the heavens that faileth not.” Any treasure you store up on earth is going to fail. The world is going to plunder you, folks, and, if not the world, the devil is going to plunder you by the curse, but you're going to be plundered. Let me tell you how not to get plundered: Give! Meet the needs of the brethren around you. Give and then it will be coming the other way because it says in (Luk.6:38) Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom. For with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again. That's how it works. You can make a living by giving. It works. (Luk.12:34) For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Some people tell me, “It's okay to have it. Just don't set your heart on it.” That's not what Jesus said. He said, “If you have it, your heart will be on it.” “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” If you're thinking, “Well, David, doesn't it say that Joseph stored up for the years of plenty so that he could give it back in the years of famine?” Yes, but let me point out to you who Joseph very clearly represents in type and shadow. Joseph was among the elders of Israel, but his own brethren sold him into bondage to the Gentiles for silver, just like Jesus. Joseph was lied about by the harlot, Potiphar's wife, just like Jesus. Joseph was persecuted by them and he was cast into prison, just like Jesus. Jesus went and preached to the souls in prison after He was crucified and what did Jesus do to the souls in prison? He decided who went to Abraham's Bosom and who went to Hades; in other words, He judged between the good souls and bad souls. The same thing happened to Joseph when he was cast into prison. He decided between the butler, who came out of prison and went up to serve Pharaoh, and the baker, who lost his head. When Joseph came out of prison, he was ruler over all of the earth, second only to Pharaoh, who was worshipped as a god. And when Jesus came out of prison, He was ruler over all of creation, second only to God. The types and shadows are all there to show that Joseph represented Jesus. If you store up on this earth, you are disobeying Jesus. It's only good for spending, and then you learn to walk by faith. (Jas.2:5) Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him? God chose those who are poor of the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom. A person who is rich in faith will never go without. God always provides for them. So how do you store up under the hand of “Joseph”? How do you store up your treasures in Heaven under Jesus? You do that by giving alms, by making yourselves purses that wax not old, by meeting the needs of the brethren. You give and it will be given unto you. When you get out in that wilderness, don't you want to have something stored up in the Bank of Heaven? He said, “A treasure in the heavens that faileth not.” If you pack food out there into that wilderness, it will fail you. If you pack gold out into that wilderness, the world will plunder you. But if you store it up by giving, God said He will give unto you. Now I'm not asking for anything; I'm just telling you how to get prepared for what's coming because a lot of you have been hearing a bunch of baloney from apostate preachers. That is not how you get prepared for the wilderness. If you want to be prepared, you store up your treasures under the hand of Jesus in the Kingdom of Heaven, and then you can get it back when you need it. “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom.” The way to make money in the world is not to store up, it's not to bring people under the Law, it's not to tell everybody your needs. Those are the methods of Egypt, but God wants you to stay in the wilderness. The Israelites cried out to go back to Egypt. They didn't like the trials of their faith and they wanted to go back to the ways of the world. The way of God is to give what you have and then God will multiply it back. It's happened to me many, many times that when I did not have enough money to take care of my needs, I would just go and give it. And you know what? God has never failed me, not once. I walked by faith and raised five children, and God always met our needs. Now, one time we were forced into a fast as a trial of our faith, and that's the only time we were ever put in that position, but we got in a position many times where God literally multiplied food, multiplied money and even multiplied gas in our tank. We got to see wondrous miracles from God and we're still seeing them! God sees to it that His Word is fulfilled. (Jer.1:12) Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I watch over my word to perform it. He stands behind His Word, and He will never fail you. He cannot fail. One thing I've learned about God is that He can do everything but fail. He will supply your every need according to His riches in glory. Our brother, Curt Bryan, had always given sacrificially to our ministry. He had given testimony several times where he had written checks to pay his own bills without the money in the bank to cover them, believing God to have the money there in time. In his business, many of his customers were walk-ins, so income was hard to predict. Whenever he had stepped out by faith in this way, God would always come through. A sudden rush of customers would come in, or a generous tip would be given to him. (2Co.9:6)… He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. An opportunity to give can also be an opportunity to sit on, or eat the seed. We can only reap to the extent we sow. God multiplies it back, not to make us rich but to make us channels of His blessing to the needy. He multiplies our seed for sowing, not hoarding. (10) And he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food, shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness. God's promise to those who are faithful in giving is here. (8) And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work. This is one of the most powerful, all-encompassing promises of provision in all of the Scriptures. Here are a few other testimonies from our site of how the Lord miraculously provided financially when people acted in faith.   Give and It Will Be Given Gideon Smith - 03/08/2012 My wife and I had a medical bill we couldn't afford to pay, so we told them we couldn't afford it. We then gave some money to a ministry that helps our brothers and sisters who are persecuted. The next day, my wife was contacted by the medical people and was told that the bill was cleared, and we owed them nothing. God blessed us five times the amount that we gave by taking care of that debt. When my wife told me this, I was amazed and said, “Wow! Since we had some of that money set aside to pay the bill from our income tax, we should give again.” So right at the table tonight, l prayed, “Lord, if You want us to give again, You will send someone to us in need. Well, I went to the grocery store and had to get some stuff, but I forgot to get everything, so I had to go back. When I went back, I first began to murmur, but instead I praised God. When I left the store, a man approached me with an empty gas container, asking if I could help him. I said, “Sorry, I don't have any cash.” But then I remembered the prayer I prayed. At this point, I said, “Give me the tank. I will fill it up for you. I filled the container up and went to the ATM to get him some cash. When I got back to him, I told him about my prayer and let him know that it was Christ Who just showed him and me this miracle. I am so in awe of God's direction and all His works. Praise the Lord, in Jesus name! You want proof of Christ, there you go. Hallelujah!   Trusting God for Finances Anna Higareda - 04/28/2010 Hello, Brother Eells. This is the first time I have written you. The Lord has put it on my heart to send you a great THANK YOU, as I am sitting here listening to your teaching, Wilderness Living Now. My husband, Jon, has written an email to you once before regarding a dream he had, and you actually spoke about it in one of your teachings. My husband and I have been listening and learning from your teachings and reading your books now for about two years, and we have recently been brought to a point of weakness and have been forced to live in the “wilderness”, as you speak of in your teachings. I wanted to send you a great THANK YOU; it is because of the good Lord and your teachings that we have learned to live by pure faith, and we have also been able to teach our kids to look to God and thank HIM every day. Your stories of faith and your life experiences have really inspired us and given us all the more faith to trust in the Lord for everything we need. As a matter of fact, besides your ministry, my husband received word to be faithful to one other ministry here in Campbell, CA. He was helping at that ministry last Thursday evening (he helps set up and take down all the technical stuff) and when they were taking down and putting things away, one of the elders told him, “I just had a vision, out of nowhere, that you were putting on your coat and it was made of money”. So my husband said, “Hmm, wow, that's pretty neat!” Then he continued on with putting things away, and the elder said to him, “Jon, well ...?!” So my husband looked dumbfounded, and the elder motioned for him to feel his pockets. So he put his hands back in his coat, and he felt paper; it was a $100 bill in his coat pocket! My husband was shocked and in disbelief because it wasn't too long before that, he had had his hands in his pockets and his pockets were empty. My brother-in-law was also there that night, and my husband asked him, “Did you do this?” He said, “No way. I couldn't have done that. I only brought $4 with me tonight”. Then my husband asked the elder the same question, and the response was, “I didn't do that; I guarantee!” This was truly amazing, Brother Eells, because no one knew we had been going through any type of financial struggle. We kept it all to ourselves and that morning I got my paycheck, and my entire check went towards the bills. What was left over after paying bills was $266 and I thought to myself, “That's funny. I thought we would have $366 left over yesterday after bills. There is no way we could make it with this amount until the next time I get paid”. I ended up with $100 less than I thought I would have after bills. Then I talked to God at my work desk and told him, “Lord, I know you have provided many times before and I have faith you will provide again for my family, so I am not going to worry; it's in your hands!” I thanked God and moved forward with my day, and then that night, the Lord put that extra $100 in my husband's pocket at the ministry. I saw my brother-in-law two days later, and he asked, “Did Jon tell you about what happened at the ministry with his jacket?!” I replied, “Yes, isn't that amazing!” Then he said, “I know! Jon asked if one of us had put it in his pocket, but I am telling you, Anna, there is no possible way that anyone put that money in his pocket that night”. I then told him and his wife about the rest of the testimony, and they said, “Thank you, Jesus!” :) God is amazing! So I want to say thank you so very much for all the hard work you do for HIS kingdom; it is truly inspiring! My family and I have been abundantly blessed to have come across your ministry two years ago! Thank you and I wish you and your family all the best! So, Saints, don't fear the wilderness. God designed this wilderness. He's ordained this wilderness. He's even ordained the Beast that's going to cause this wilderness. He's ordained Pharaoh's army to get behind God's people and force them out there into that wilderness. God is not going to fail you. Learn to walk by faith because the wilderness will be nothing for the people who walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). But for those who are fearful and murmur and complain and walk by sight (Numbers 11:1; 1 Corinthians 10:10; Jude 16; Revelation 21:8; etc.), they are not going to make it through. Why is God doing this? He's doing this because He's raising up believers. (Heb.10:38) But my righteous one shall live by faith: And if he shrink back, my soul hath no pleasure in him.

The fourth and final episode in our series on the Jinshin no Ran: we cover the campaign in Afumi (aka Ōmi - 近江).  Prince Ōama and Prince Ōtomo (aka Kōbun Tennō), have drawn up their forces.  Last episode we covered the fighting in the Nara Basin, around the ancient Yamato capital: Asuka.  This episode focuses on the defense of the Karafu and Fuwa passes and the eventual march to the bridge at Setagawa. This is a name heavy episode, and we'll be noting some of it here: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-132   Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 132: The Jinshin no Ran, Part 4: The Afumi Campaign The Afumi soldiers on the western side of the bridge looked across the open expanse of water towards their Yoshino rivals on the eastern side.  If it weren't for the banners and the red tags barely visible on the sleeves of the opposing forces, it would be hard to know which side was which.  Both were equipped in similar ways, and a few of the soldiers could even make out familiar faces on the other side.  That is the nature of civil wars—especially in a conscript society, where the soldiers often had little choice which side they were fighting for.  Not that it necessarily mattered much to them which side came out on top, whatever their commanders might have told them. The bridge across the Seta river was large and wide, and normally quite well traveled.  Now, however, the central boards had been pulled up for a span of about 30 feet or so, leaving a gap spanned by only a single, narrow plank.  That plank was, itself, tied to a rope, which was being held by the Afumi troops.  The soldiers knew that should any of the enemy try to cross, they could pull the plank out from under them and they would fall into the river, their metal armor dragging them down into the dark depths of swirling water below.  Even should they somehow make it across without being peppered by arrows, there would be no reinforcements coming: they would be slaughtered, and the trap would be reset. It seemed like the Afumi forces held all the cards in this battle, and yet they were still tense. Archers could still shoot across the distance. The front rank of troops held wooden shields as a defense, but there were still openings in the formation and the armor, and in the chaos of battle, nobody was truly safe. And so the Afumi forces waited.  Confident, but wary. A commotion on the eastern side of the bridge grabbed the spotlight.  The Yoshino forces had approached, and they were clearly preparing for something.  The Afumi soldiers strained to see what was going on.  Suddenly, the front line of the Yoshino forces parted, and a strange sight confronted the Afumi soldiers.  It took them a moment to fully comprehend what was barreling towards them at full tilt: a soldier that looked almost like two soldiers put together, wearing armor placed over armor, in an attempt to protect from harm.  It must have been heavy, and as he stepped on the beam, it visibly buckled under the weight.  The Afumi archers let loose with their arrows and crossbow bolts, but to no avail.  They simply stuck in the armor, adding to the bizarre and otherworldly appearance of their opponent. The spell was broken on the Afumi side as arrows came cascading in.  The Yoshino forces weren't just sitting idly back, they were making sure they were doing everything they could to keep the Afumi forces distracted.  And for a split second it worked—and a split second was all they needed.  Before the soldiers could gather up their wits about them enough to pull the rope there was a terrifying sound of metal on wood.  The Afumi soldiers pulled the rope, but it came all too easy—the Yoshino soldier had dashed across and cut the rope tied to the plank.  Behind him, the Yoshino forces were now pouring across the bridge.  Soon they would establish a foothold, and behind the front line they would be able to have other soldiers place more planks so that the number of Yoshino soldiers on the Western side of the bridge only continued to increase. Realizing that their trap had been circumvented, the Afumi forces fell back, but their strategic withdrawal soon turned into a full on retreat.  While pockets of soldiers resisted, many were suddenly all too aware that perhaps it was better to live and fight another day, instead.  Despite threats and even attacks from their own commanders, the Afumi forces fled the battlefield, leaving the Yoshino army victorious.  With the Seta bridge now secured, there were no more major obstacles in their way:  They would march to the capital at Ohotsu and finish this war.   Welcome back!  This is Part 4, and so if you haven't already done so, I recommend going back and starting with Part 1.  That said, we'll briefly recap here. Over the past three episodes, we've talked about the causes of the war between Prince Ohotomo and Prince Ohoama as they vied for the throne.  Prince Ohotomo seemingly had the stronger position, as he was actually running the Yamato state from the Afumi capital in Ohotsu.  He had the various ministers and all the official organs of the state on his side.   He was also 23 years old. Ohoama, on the other side, was Ohotomo's paternal uncle.  His own son, Prince Takechi, was 19 years old and helping to lead the army.   Upon learning that the State was gathering forces against him, Ohoama had quickly moved east, gathering forces as he went, and now he stood near Fuwa, modern day Sekigahara, prepared to begin his march on the capital.   This episode we are going to cover the conclusion of the war.  Warning, though, this is going to be a *lot*.  A lot of place names and people names.  Apologies if it is hard to follow.  I'll have a rough map and info on the various players on the podcast blog, so you may want to bring that up if you are having problems following. In Part I of this series we covered the causes leading up to the conflict.  In Part II we covered Ohoama's mad dash to Fuwa, at modern Sekigahara.  Last episode, Part III we covered the fighting in the Nara Basin. This episode we are going to talk about the last two fronts of the war: the defense of the Iga area and Kurafu Pass, and the march from Fuwa to the Afumi capital of Ohotsu. Before we go into the details of the next battles, let's look at what each side of the conflict was doing, what they are concerned about, and where they are on the board.  We'll then go into how the rest of the war played out, and its conclusion and aftermath.     Ohoama's Yoshino forces had largely been drawn from the countries in the east—the very same countries that Ohoama was denying to the Afumi court.  In response, the Afumi court had drawn their forces from where they could.  There were those that they had already called up under the pretense of building Naka no Oe's burial mound, but they had sent others out to raise troops in Yamato and out the western side of Honshu, all the way to Tsukushi—modern Kyushu.  However, not everyone in the Western region of the archipelago was friendly to the Afumi court—especially the regions of Kibi and Tsukushi.  This was significant.  Kibi was an ancient rival of Yamato, and likely could contribute a sizeable force.  Tsukushi, on the other hand, was quite large, and besides the conscripts from among the regular inhabitants, Tsukushi also was in charge of defending the archipelago from invasion—they were the first line of defense.  They had constructed numerous castles and fortifications to defend against a possible invasion, and those castles and fortifications were no doubt manned by troops that had been raised for that purpose.  If they could now be turned inwards, that could be enough to really turn the tide against Ohoama and his Yoshino army. The only problem was that neither Kibi nor Tsukushi were exactly sympathetic to the Afumi court.  The governor of Kibi and Prince Kurikuma, the viceroy of Tsukushi, both had ties to Ohoama, and the ministers suspected them of sympathizing with their Yoshino rivals.  As such the envoys that were sent out were authorized to take whatever drastic steps they felt necessary to secure the troops. So how did that all go down?  Well, last episode we talked about how Hodzumi no Momotari and his crew had been stopped from raising troops in Asuka by Ohotomo no Fukei, whose bluff of pretending to be Prince Takechi and a host of cavalry soldiers caused the conscripted troops to flee, and ended up in the death of Momotari and the capture of his compatriots. In Kibi, things took a turn in Afumi's favor.  When the Afumi government's envoy arrived at the government center in Kibi, he tricked the governor into taking off his sword.  Once he had done so, the envoy drew his own sword and killed the governor.  Without the governor to get in his way, the envoy then went about securing the land and troops for the Afumi court. Prince Kurikuma, the viceroy in Tsukushi, at the Dazaifu, was not quite so easily fooled, however.  Kurikuma knew how the court operated, and was apparently well informed of what was going on.  When the Afumi court's envoy met with Kurikuma, the Prince was flanked by two of his sons, Prince Mino and Prince Takebe, each one armed.  When Prince Kurikuma heard what the Afumi court wanted—for him to send the troops from Tsukushi to help quell Ohoama's rebellion—Kurikuma responded that he needed those troops to hold the border.  After all, the Tang dynasty was still a potential threat, and what good would it do to send the troops from the border regions to fight an internal war, only to then have an invader come in and destroy the state entirely?  No, he reasoned, he would not be sending the troops as the Afumi court requested. We are told that for a moment, the Afumi envoy thought about grabbing his sword and killing Prince Kurikuma, as the Afumi court had suggested, but with both of Kurikuma's sons armed on either side of him, he realized that he didn't have great odds, and so he eventually left, empty handed, but alive. This is significant.  While we don't know exact numbers, it is likely that there were quite a few troops stationed in Kyushu and the islands, all in case of foreign invasion.  By not supplying them to the Afumi court, Prince Kurikuma dealt a huge blow to the Afumi's ability to make war.  Add to that the fact that Ohoama had likewise blocked the court's access to the eastern countries, and that further narrowed the troops that Afumi had access to.  Nonetheless, they still had enough to be dangerous, and it is impossible to say exactly what might happen in a war. So we know where the Afumi and Yoshino forces ostensibly came from, but let's talk about the battlefield.  All of the fighting that we talk about was happening in an area between Naniwa—modern Ohosaka—and Fuwa, modern Sekigahara, northwest from the modern city of Nagoya. There are three main theaters we are talking about.  The first is in the Nara basin, which we talked about extensively in the last episode.  The Nara basin itself was not necessarily of the most strategic importance, militarily, but it was of huge symbolic importance.  After all, that was still the ancient capital, even though the governmental functions had been moved north, to Ohotsu, on the shores of Lake Biwa.  The second is in the Suzuka mountains.  This includes the areas of Iga and Kouka, and it is bordered by the Nara basin on the west, the Mie coastline on the east, and Afumi, the area around lake Biwa, to the north.  This is the same region that Ohoama had to naviagate through on his way from Yoshino to the east, and the mountains and valleys make it so that there are only so many traversable routes through.  For our narrative we are going to be primarily talking about the Kurafu Pass, between Kouka and Iga, at modern Tsuge city.  This pass  was an important route between Kouka, Iga, and Mie.  The road followed the Soma River which eventually flowed into Lake Biwa.  This made it a route out of Afumi, and if the Afumi forces could secure the Kurafu pass and the fields of Tara, just on the other side, they could split Ohoama's forces and cut off any help that he could possibly send to the Nara basin, and possibly even take Ohoama from behind. Finally, let's talk about our third theater:  Afumi itself.  Specifically, we are looking at the southern and eastern sides around Lake Biwa.  Biwa is the largest lake in Japan, and it is almost entirely surrounded by mountains except for where the Seta river flows south, eventually winding its way to Naniwa.  Today, the area of Afumi is largely co-located with modern Shiga Prefecture. Back in 668, after finding themselves on the losing side of the Baekje-Tang war, Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tennou, had moved the capital to Ohotsu, or Big Port, in Afumi, on the shores of Lake Biwa, likely for the protection it gave.  From Afumi, there were three major routes out of the basin, and a few minor ones.  All of them were through defensible mountain passes, like Karafu Pass, Fuwa Pass, and Suzuka Pass.  Three such passes:  Fuwa, Suzuka, and Arachi would become prominent barriers, or seki, along the ancient roads, and were known as the Sangen, or Three Barriers, protecting the capital region.  Suzuka no seki, at the pass of the same name, was in the south.  To reach it from Afumi, one crossed the Karafu pass, and then turned east through a pass near Mt. Miyama.  At the northern tip of the Suzuka mountains was Fuwa pass, future home of the Fuwa barrier.  The Barrier, or “Seki” would give its name to the area in another form:  Sekigahara.  This was along the Tousandou, the Eastern Mountain road, and even today it is the path through which roads and even the Shinkansen traverse between eastern and western Honshu.  Finally, though less important to our story, was the Arachi pass. Arachi no seki was part of the Hokurikudo, the Northern Land Route, and led to the ancient country of Kochi and the port of Tsuruga, which had a long history as an alternate port, especially for ships sailing from Goguryeo.  Later, Arachi no seki would be replaced in the Sangen ranking by another pass between Afumi and modern Kyoto, which would be known as the Afusaka, or Ohosaka, Pass.  This was the pass that would have been used to get to Yamashiro and, from there, to Naniwa and the Nara Basin. These three passes would come to define the island of Honshu, and became the dividing line between the Kanto region, in the east, and the Kansai region, in the west.  By holding the Suzuka and Fuwa passes, Ohoama effectively denied any travel to the eastern regions.  Sure, Afumi could have tried going through the Arachi pass and into Kochi, but then they would have had to traverse the Japan alps—no small feat, especially without modern conveniences like the trains and busses used today. From Fuwa Pass, where Ohoama and Prince Takechi had set up their headquarters, it was largely a straight shot to the Afumi capital of Ohotsu.  Between Lake Biwa and the Suzuka mountains is a wide, flat plain, divided primarily by the rivers and streams running out from the mountains into the lake.  Immediately west of Fuwa is the area of Maibara.  Following the shore of the lake one traverses through modern Hikone, to Yasu.  Yasu would also have been the location where the road to the Karafu pass broke off into the Suzuka mountains.  Beyond that was the bridge across the Seta River. The Seta river was one of the largest obstacles that would have to be negotiated, and the Afumi forces knew this.  Just as Ohoama would set up at Fuwa pass, a large number of the Afumi forces were set up on the western bank of the Seta river.  If the Yoshino forces could get across, however, it would mean that they had a more or less unimpeded route to the capital at Ohotsu. So now let's talk about what was happening in each of these places. Ohoama had set up at Fuwa—Sekigahara—and had begun to call soldiers to him.  Not only did did this allow him to block the rival Afumi troops from accessing the Eastern countries and possibly raising troops to use against him, but he was also able to maintain a line of communication with ancient Yamato, in the Nara Basin.  In order to keep his communication lines open, and to ensure that the Afumi forces couldn't sneak up behind him, Ohoama split his forces in two.  He knew that Afumi forces were trying to take his stronghold in Yamato, and if successful, from there they could move in to Uda and on to Iga.  thereafter that, they could march up behind him through the Suzuka pass.  Alternatively, the forces in Afumi could come up through Kouka and the Karafu pass, and then try to divide and conquer So the first group of Ohoama's army were to go south, through the Suzuka pass into their mountain namesake.  Once there, Oho no Omi no Honji was to hold Tarano, the Plain of Tara, where the routes to Suzuka, Kafuka, and Iga met.  Tanaka no Omi no Tarumaro went with him, with orders to guard the Kurafu pass, which is to say the road to Kouka.  This first group was headed by Ki no Omi no Abemaro, and also included Miwa no Kimi no Kobito, and Okizome no Muraji no Usagi.  Along with what we are told were tens of thousands of men, this first made their way south from Fuwa  through Mie and Ise and over the Suzuka pass.  Once there, they took up their positions at Karafu and Tarano.  It was a good thing, too, because only a couple of days after they arrived, the enemy struck.   Now as soon as he got there, Oho no Honji had fortified Tarano with some three thousand men, and Tanaka no  Tarumaro was sent to guard the Kurafu pass.  Prior to this, Tarumaro had been the official in charge of the Hot Springs in Ise, but he had joined Ohoama and the Yoshino forces when they first arrived over the Suzuka Pass.  Now he was in charge of a military force, encamped along the road through the Kurafu pass, waiting for the enemy. Unbeknownst to him, a deputy commander of the Afumi forces, Tanabe no Wosumi, was approaching from Mt. Kafuka.  Presumably he'd been sent out from Ohotsu and had followed the road along the Yasu and Soma rivers towards the pass.  Wosumi had  sizeable force with him, but he was not looking for a direct assault.  Even if he would win, he would suffer casualties, especially trying to attack an entrenched enemy in a fortified position.  He needed to be sneaky.  He had no way of knowing that, centuries later, the lands of Iga and Kouka would be known for their sneaky warriors—their legendary ninja—but I digressed.  What Wosumi did was this.  First, he rolled up his banners and muffled the drums.  He even had his men gag themselves—a continental custom where soldiers were given a stick to hold in their mouth, like a horse's bit, to discourage any talking amongst the ranks as they approached.  Presumably, they kept them in until just before attacking, because they also devised a watchword “kane”—transcribed as metal or gold.  Wosumi knew that it would be hard enough to tell who was who in the daytime—after all, it wasn't like these were regimented forces with uniforms.  The soldiers were likely all wearing whatever they had available, and clothing and armor would have been similar across the two armies.  At night, even some kind of mark or flag would hardly be enough to tell who was who in the dark.  As lines broke and melee ensued, it would be easy to get turned around, and find yourself facing a friend.  By saying the watchword you could distinguish friend from foe. Sure enough, this tactic worked.  The Afumi forces broke through the Yoshino fortifications in the middle of the night and swarmed into the encampment.  Men who had been asleep were waking up to chaos.  Tarumaro's Yoshino soldiers were thrown into confusion.  Tarumaro himself, escaped, but just barely.  we are told that he noticed that the enemy kept shouting the word “kane”, and so he started doing it as well. The Afumi forces, assuming he was one of their own, left him alone.  Still, he only escaped with difficulty. His escape was no doubt critical, however.   He presumably would have headed to Tarano to try and warn Oho no Honji, but this may not have been possible, as we are told that on the following day, after the attack at Karafu pass, the Afumi commander Wosumi continued his advance, and came upon the Yoshino encampment at Tarano unexpectedly.  Still, General Honji did not back down.  With a force of hand-picked soldiers, Honji counterattacked against Wosumi and struck him.  We are told that Wosumi made it out—the only one who did—but that he did not try and make another attack.  The Yoshino forces would ultimately hold the pass and the critical juncture of Tarano.  The Afumi forces would not get a second chance. By the way, a quick note here:  I can't help but notice a bit of a trope showing up in these stories:  At Narayama, General Fukei is defeated, and is the only person who makes his escape.  Then Tarumaro is the only person to escape his defeat.  Finally, Wosumi is the only one of his forces to leave the plain of Tara. I am more than a little incredulous that these generals are the only ones who actually survived, and that the rest of the army was slaughtered.  In fact, you may recall that at the battle at Taima, General Fukei told his men not to pursue the fleeing common soldiers.  As I've tried to point out, the common soldiers were not likely as invested in the cause.  In fact, it is just as possible that the common soldiers may have changed sides and joined the other army if they thought it would serve them well.  Or maybe they were escaping and just blending into the countryside.  After all, the elites weren't really spending the time to get to know them, let along record any details about them.  So I suspect that it was more about the fact that the various armies would be broken, and the soldiers flung to the four corners, rather than that they were necessarily slaughtered.  After all, if you had the choice, would you have stayed there? A few days after Wosumi was defeated, the Yoshino general that Ohoama had sent to Iga along with Honji and Tarumaro, Ki no Omi no Abemaro, heard that their ally, Ohotomo no Fukei was in trouble in the Nara Basin.  He'd been defeated by the Afumi general Ohono no Hatayasu at Narayama,  and without reinforcements, the entire Nara Basin could fall, along with the ancient Yamato capital at Asuka. So Abemaro sent Okizome no Muraji no Usagi with more than a thousand cavalry to go assist.  They met Fukei at Sumizaka, and suddenly, things were looking up in the Nara Basin.  For more on how that turned out, check out last episode, where we covered the events in the Nara Basin. Once the events in the Nara Basin settled out, then both the Nara Basin and the Karafu pass would be well and truly in the hands of the Yoshino forces.  But there was no way for those guarding those locations to know that the fighting was over, and they would have to hold their positions until the fighting had definitively stopped.  Which brings us back to Ohoama and the Yoshino troops gathered at Fuwa, where things were about to kick off as well.  The troops at Fuwa, while being led by Ohoama and his 19 year old son, Takechi, were placed under the command of Murakuni no Muraji no Woyori—who, , as things progressed, would be noted as the primary general for the campaign that would lead Yoshino troops from Fuwa, on the offensive towards Ohotsu. The only reason that they seem to have waited before going on the offensive was that every day, more troops were coming in.  So even as the fighting was going on in Nara and at the Karafu pass, the Yoshino army at Fuwa gathered men and made their preparations.  As they did so, the Afumi court Was going to do whatever they could to try and break them, hoping that they could stop the threat posed by Ohoama and his men before they began their march. For the Afumi forces first attempt to break the Yoshino defenses at Fuwa pass, they picked troops to try and make an incursion into the village of Tamakurabe, which appears to have been in the pass itself; it was probably modern Tama district of Sekigahara.  They were repelled, however, by Izumo no Omi no Koma, who drove them off. Later, the Afumi court ordered another force of several tens of thousands of men to attack under the command of Prince Yamabe no Ou, Soga no Omi no Hatayasu, and Kose no Omi no Hito.  Soga no Hatayasu and Kose no Hito were both part of the inner circle of the Afumi court, or so it would seem.  When Prince Ohotomo had taken the reins of the government in a ceremony in the Western Hall of the Palace, he was attended by the ministers of the right and left, as well as Soga no Hatayasu, Kose no Hito, and Ki no Ushi.  They were at the very heart of this whole matter.  Prince Yamabe is a little bit more of a mystery.  We know he was someone of note, and when Prince Ohotsu was brought to his parents, they were apparently traveling under the guise of Prince Yamabe and another prince, Prince Ishikawa.  But we know little else. The three men and their Afumi troops headed out and camped on the bank of the Inukami river, near modern Hikone.  There, however, trouble broke out. The Nihon Shoki does not record exactly what it was, but there must have been some kind of falling out.  Prince Yamabe no Ou was killed by Soga no Hatayasu and Kose no Hito.  We don't know if this was due to some quarrel or what, but either way, it threw the army into a state of disarray and there was no way for them to move forward.  Soga no Hatayasu appears to have taken responsibility for whatever happened, as he headed back from Inukami, presumably back to Ohotsu, where he took his own life by stabbing himself in the throat.  There would be no attack on Fuwa Pass, however. Finally, the Nihon Shoki also recounts the story of another Afumi general, named Hata no Kimi no Yakuni, and his son, Ushi.  Together with others, who remain unnamed, they surrendered themselves to Ohoama and the Yoshino forces, rather than fighting.  It isn't clear if they were deserters, if they had been part of one of the other two attempts to take Fuwa Pass, or if there was something else going on.  Either way, Ohoama was so pleased that he welcomed them in and we are told that Hata no Yakuni was “granted a battle axe and halberd” and appointed a general.  This is probably stock phrasing, but it does seem he was given some measure of trust.  Yakuni's men were then sent north, to Koshi. We aren't quite sure what those forces' ultimate objective was.  It may have been that he was to take the northern pass and make sure that none of the Afumi troops tried to escape and head to the East along that road.  Many of the accounts of this war seem to suggest that he, or at least some part of the forces, were to head north and then come around Lake Biwa the long way.  This would mean that if Ohoama attacked, there would be no easy way to flee.  From Ohotsu they couldn't turn north without running into more troops, and their only escape would seem to be through the Afusaka pass towards the area of modern Kyoto.  And of course, whoever was victorious in the Nara Basin would then be able to control the route to the coast. It is unclear how much Ohoama could have actually known, though, about what was happening across the various distances.  Messages would have meant riders on swift horses carrying them; they couldn't just text each other what was going on. And so, with one attack repelled, another aborted, and a turncoat now on their side, Ohoama's Yoshino forces were finally ready to head out on the offensive themselves.  According to the Nihon Shoki this was on the 7th day of the 7th month—Tanabata, today, but I doubt people were paying much mind to the Weaver and the Cowherd.  Murakuni no Woyori, with the group advancing from Fuwa to Afumi, set out, and met with their first resistance at the Yokugawa river in Okinaga.  As far as I can tell, this is likely the Amano River in modern Maibara, which anyone who takes the Shinkansen between Kanto and Kansai probably recognizes as one of the usual stops.  Once again, we have a situation where, while they would have had banners flying, in the crush of battle it could be quite easy to mistake friend for foe, especially with large numbers of troops who were pulled from vastly different regions.  You had to have some way of knowing quickly who was on your side – that's why the Afumi commander Wosumi had his troops use the password “kane”, for example.  Ohoama's approach was to have his men place a red mark—possibly a ribbon or similar—on their clothing so that one could tell who, at a glance, was on their side.  As a note, later samurai would sometimes attach flags to their shoulder armor, or sode, and these “sode-jirushi” would help identify you even if people didn't recognize your armor.  Ohoama's troops may have used something similar. And so Woyori's Yoshino forces attacked the Afumi defenders, and the Afumi troops were clearly outmatched.  Woyori's men killed the Afumi commander and defeated the opposing forces. But that was just the beginning.  Afumi forces had been stationed all along the route from Fuwa to Ohotsu.  Thus it was that only two days later Woyori and his men made it to Mt. Tokoyama, probably in Hikone, by the Seri river.  There they met more Afumi soldiers, but once again they were triumphant and slew the opposing commander.   Woyori and his men were on a roll. I would point out that these battles aren't given much detail, but we do see how it progressed.  There are names of various individuals and commanders—certainly not much on the common people.  From what we can tell, this was not a rush to Ohotsu, but rather a slow march, probably doing their best to fortify their positions and make sure that nobody was sneaking up on them.  After each battle, it is some days before the next, probably spent spying out ahead and formulating plans. Woyori and his men next fought a battle on the banks of the Yasukawa River, presumably near modern Yasu city.  Here, Aston's translation claims that he suffered a great defeat, but more likely I suspect it means to say that he inflicted a great defeat on the Afumi forces, because if he had been defeated, how would he have pressed on only a few days later.  We are told that  two men, presumably the Afumi commanders, were both taken prisoner. Since we don't have anything more about them in the narrative all we can really do is assume that they must have therefore been on the side of the Afumi forces. By taking Yasu, that would have likely cut off the Afumi forces from any future considerations about using the Kurafu Pass.  The noose around Ohotsu was slowly tightening. Four days after that, on the 17th day of the 7th month, Woyori attacked and repulsed the Kurimoto army—presumably a force loyal to the Afumi court under a general named Kurimoto, or possibly raised from a place called Kurimoto, perhaps over on Awaji.  Either way, it was another victory on Woyori's belt. From there, Woyori and his men arrived at Seta, where they would have to cross the Setagawa—the Seta River. The Seta River is a wide river, and the only one flowing out of Lake Biwa.  It winds its way south and west, eventually becoming the Uji and then the Yodo rivers, which flow all the way to Naniwa—modern Ohosaka.  At the Seta river, there was a major bridge, the only way across, other than to swim.  Prince Ohotomo and his ministers, along with their entire army, were encamped on the west side of the bridge.  Their forces were so numerous that it was said you could not see all the way to the back of them.  Their banners covered the plain, and the dust of their movement caused a cloud to rise into the sky.  Their drums and songs could be heard for miles around.  We are told they even had crossbows, and when they were discharged the arrows fell like rain.  Of course, some of this may have just been more poetic license by the authors of the Nihon Shoki, but you get the picture:  There were a lot of troops on the western side of the river. The bridge itself was defended by General Chison.  We know very little of this general, as he only appears in this one part of the record, but his name implies that he may have been from the continent.  We aren't given a surname, and it is possible he was one of the Baekje refugees, now fighting for the Afumi court.  He led an advance body of specially selected troops, and in the middle of the bridge they had removed planks for about three rods or thirty feet.  Across that span was a single plank, daring anyone to try and cross it.  Of course, if they did, they would be a sitting duck in front of the enemy archers, and the plank was attached by a rope so that it could always be pulled out from under them.  It seemed as if it were impossible to advance. Finally, one of Woyori's soldiers, Ohokida no Kimi no Wakaomi, got up the courage to cross.  We are told that he put on double armor, put down his long spear, and drew his sword.  He then charged suddenly across the plank and cut the rope on the other side before the Afumi troops could pull it back.  In spite of the arrows that were raining down on him, he entered the ranks of the Afumi troops, slashing with his sword as he went.  The Afumi forces were thrown into confusion and some of them tried to leave, but General Chison drew his own sword and began to cut down anyone who tried to flee.  Still, he was unable to check the rout.  Woyori's troops secured the bridge and soon were pouring across it.  They cut down General Chison and advanced into the Afumi army, who broke and ran.  The Afumi sovereign, Ohotomo, aka Koubun Tennou, along with the Ministers of the Left and Right, narrowly escaped with their lives. Woyori and his troops marched to the foot of Awazu hill, and we are told that Hata no Yakuni, the Afumi commander who had earlier defected, and whose men were sent north to Koshi, set a siege to Miwo castle along with Izumo no Koma, who had defended against the attempted seizure of Tamakurabe.  Presumably this is Mio, south of Ohotsu, and it was likely guarding the southern approach to the Afumi capital. The only thing here that gives me pause is that we were earlier told that Yakuni's men, after he defected, were sent to Koshi.  So was Yakuni not with them?  Had he returned?  Or had the troops made it all the way around Lake Biwa already, taking the longer route up and around the lake? Regardless of how it happened, Yakuni and Koma were able to take Miwo castle.  As a reminder, a “castle” at this time would have likely been defined more by its walls, which were probably rammed earth and wood—not the elegantly sloping stone walls and  donjon base that would come to typify castles of the Warring States period. The following day, Woyori and his men continued their pursuit.  At the Awazu marketplace, Woyori ran into the Afumi generals Inukahi no Muraji no Isokimi and Hasama no Atahe no Shihote.  We mentioned Isokimi last episode—he was the Afumi commander attacking the Middle Road in the Nara Basin.  His deputy, Kujira, had been defeated, and it seems Isokimi had retreated back to Afumi and rejoined the main force. He would not be quite so fortunate this time.  Isokimi and Shihote were both slain, and Ohotomo fled once again.  He didn't get very far, hiding at Yamazaki, thought to be near the site of the modern city hall, in Ohotsu. Despite his best efforts, he knew he would be discovered, and he eventually strangled himself, rather than facing the humiliation and punishment that would come with capture. With Ohotomo dead, the other ministers of the Afumi court dispersed and fled.  Woyori and his men, meeting up at Sasanami, hunted down the Ministers of the Left and Right—Soga no Akaye and Nakatomi no Kane—as well as others who had fought with Ohotomo and who were considered criminals. They were all marched back to Fuwa, where, on the 25th day of the 7th month, Ohotomo's head was presented to Ohoama.  The war, it seems, was over. Or at least, the fighting was over.  There was still a lot to be settled.  First off, it would hardly have been practical to wipe out every single person on the losing side.  For one thing, that would have devastated the Court even further, likely creating a huge power vacuum.  In addition, many of the supporters on both sides were not necessarily there out of purely partisan reasons.  I would point out that many of the family names that we see in the record are found on both sides of the conflict.  Inukahi no Isokimi may have fought for Ohotomo, but we also see an Inukahi no Ohotomo fighting on the behalf of Ohoama.  Fumi no Nemaro was a major commander in Ohoama's army, while Fumi no Kusuri had been sent by the Afumi court to raise troops in the East Country.  And Hasama no Shihote was killed with Isokimi at Awazu, while a Hasama no Nemaro was working under the command of General Fukei, in Nara, to guard Tatsuta. There wasn't necessarily a simple divide along family lines.  It is possible that these individuals were all fairly well removed from each other, and from different parts of their respective families, or clans. They are often given different kabane, the family rank system used at this time, though I suspect that may have more to do with later changes, with those on the winning side being promoted over those who supported the Afumi court.  However, it is also the case that Japan has a long history of family members supporting both sides in any major conflict.  That way, no matter who wins, the family itself finds itself on the winning side. But there did have to be some accountability.  This is something that one can point to time and again—if the losing side is not held accountable for their actions, then what is to prevent them from just regrouping and trying again?  And yet that need for justice and punishment must be tempered with some amount of humanity. Ultimately, about one month after the end of the war, eight of the Afumi ministers were found guilty of truly heinous offences and they were condemned to suffer what the Nihon Shoki says was the “Extreme Penalty”.  The Minister of the Right, Nakatomi no Kane, was executed at Tane, in Asai.  Meanwhile the Minister of the Left, Soga no Akaye; along with the Dainagon, or Grand Councillor, Kose no Hito, as well as their children and grandchildren, along with the children of the late Nakatomi no Kane and Soga no Hatayasu, were all sent into banishment.  All others were pardoned. And of course those who had supported Ohoama, and who had come to his aid, were given public favour and reward.  In many cases this likely meant receiving high office and corresponding rank, along with increased stipend payments.  There is a notable shift in the makeup of the court, going forward, and it seems clear that families would want to associate themselves with those who fought on Ohoama's side, rather than Ohotomo's, if they could help it.  That was no doubt a part of works like the various diaries and house records that would have been used to compile the Nihon Shoki, recording the deeds that any house did for the throne. Along with all of the punishments and plaudits that were meted out in the 8th month of 672, there was one more event—something of an outlier.  We are told that Chihisakobe no Muraji no Sabichi, the governor of the province of Wohari, went off into the mountains and committed suicide. Sabichi had originally met Ohoama at the Kuwana district house—the local government office—when he had first arrived from Yoshino.  He had a large number of troops—20,000 by the Nihon Shoki's count—which helped Ohoama to ultimately defeat the Afumi court.  So why he would go off into the mountains and commit suicide was anyone's guess.  The Nihon Shoki suggests that it was possible that his allegiance had changed, and he may have been trying to plot against Ohoama.  Perhaps he had been convinced that Afumi court was going to come out on top, and so had begun some plot.  Or he just had a falling out or became disillusioned for some reason.  Whatever it was, it remains a mystery, even today. With the war concluded, it was time for Ohoama to make his way from the field to the Capital so that he could transition to ruling the State properly.  But Ohoama was not interested, it would seem, in setting himself up in his brother's capital.  Setting up in the Ohotsu capital may have raised a few eyebrows.  It had not been a completely popular move to begin with, and it was also the home of the Afumi court's legitimacy.  To take up the throne there, I can only imagine that it would have further reinforced the idea that Ohoama was the usurper, taking the throne that was meant for his nephew.  Instead, he made the decision to travel to the ancient capital, in Asuka, but he was not in a hurry. They headed out on the 8th day of the 9th month of 672, making it from Fuwa to Kuwana.  Here he likely met up with his wife, Princess Uno, and his ten year old son, Prince Ohotsu.  The following day they headed out, traveling back along the route that they had taken from Yoshino, but at a much more leisurely route.  The royal carriage stayed the night in Suzuka.  From there, it was another day to Abe, likely referring to modern Ahai county, in Iga, near Ueno city.  They then continued on to Nabari.  Finally, on the 12th day,they arrived at the Yamato capital—that is to say Asuka—and Ohoama took up residence for a time at the Shima Palace.  This was only, it seems, to give people time to get the actual palace ready, because three days later, Ohoama moved into the Wokamoto Palace.  And with that, Ohoama began the work of running the state—but there was still plenty to prepare.  For one thing, there were foreign embassies—Kim Ap-sil and others arrived.  It was still going to take a while to get the capital ready for guests, though.  From what we can tell, they were probably building a grand new palace, and it would take some time for it to be prepared.  So the Silla embassy was entertained in Tsukushi, where Prince Kurikuma would have been in charge of hosting them.  They were likely filled on the new developments and provided a ship. Meanwhile, Ohoama made sure that all of the appropriate rewards were given out.  On the 4th day of the 12th month, we are told that all those who had rendered services were given higher cap-ranks, based on what they had done. And as the year 672 closes out—and with it, the first of the two Chronicles for Ohoama, the soon-to-be elevated Temmu Tennou. But there is one final entry, marking the death of Wina no Kimi no Takami in the 12th month of the year.  We know that Wina no Kimi no *Iwasuki* was working for the Afumi court, sent to rally troops in the East, but he fled when they encountered Ohoama's troops at Fuwa Pass.  Takami, on the other hand, we know little about, but I suspect may have been on the side of Ohoama.  It is an odd entry, and, like so many, unexplained.  Perhaps it meant something to the people of the early 8th century, but if so, that meaning is likely lost to us. And so we close the book on the Jinshin no Ran—the Jinshin War, or possibly the Disturbance or even Rebellion, depending on how you feel about it.  This account is one of the most detailed we have of this kind of event, and yet it does not seem that it was entirely unique.  There are plenty of indications that previous sovereigns had to fight their way to the throne, or else had to repel others who would try to take it by force.  This was almost a tradition among the royal house of Yamato.  But now that the matter of succession was well and truly settled, it was time to get on with other things. Who knows what an Afumi court may have done and how they could have changed things.  What we do know is what Ohoama—and his queen, Uno no Himemiko—did.  They built upon, or in some cases possibly even fabricated, the legacy of Naka no Oe.  They would set in stone many of the things that had been put in place, and at the same time make certain changes, as well.  The Yamato state was getting started. And we'll start to dive into that next episode.  Until then, thank you once again for listening and for all of your support. 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.  

Wir leben in irren Zeiten. Normal und wie selbstverständlich erscheint eine Pressemitteilung zum Besuchsprogramm eines Ministers. Hinter den sachlich daherkommenden Zeilen verbirgt sich aber der reine Wahnsinn gegenwärtiger Politik, unser Land nach und nach, sowohl dezent leise, gern auch laut und vehement, umfassend wie noch nie zu militarisieren. Die irren Zeiten manifestieren sich stärker undWeiterlesen

Matt Slick Live (Live Broadcast of 08/13/2025) is a production of the Christian Apologetics Research Ministry (CARM). Matt answers questions on topics such as: The Bible, Apologetics, Theology, World Religions, Atheism, and other issues! You can also email questions to Matt using: info@carm.org, Put "Radio Show Question" in the Subject line! Answers will be discussed in a future show. Topics Include:Matt Interviews Missionary, Trainer, and Speaker Rev. Olin Giles who Ministers to Muslims/ A Caller is Attending a Calvinist Church and Wants to Know About Some of the Flippant Things Being Said/ John 1:13-What is The “Cause” of Us Being “Born-Again.”August 13, 2025

Matt Slick Live (Live Broadcast of 08/13/2025) is a production of the Christian Apologetics Research Ministry (CARM). Matt answers questions on topics such as: The Bible, Apologetics, Theology, World Religions, Atheism, and other issues! You can also email questions to Matt using: info@carm.org, Put "Radio Show Question" in the Subject line! Answers will be discussed in a future show. Topics Include: Matt Interviews Missionary, Trainer, and Speaker Rev. Olin Giles who Ministers to Muslims/ A Caller is Attending a Calvinist Church and Wants to Know About Some of the Flippant Things Being Said/ John 1:13-What is The "Cause" of Us Being "Born-Again." August 13, 2025

Matt Slick Live (Live Broadcast of 08/13/2025) is a production of the Christian Apologetics Research Ministry (CARM). Matt answers questions on topics such as: The Bible, Apologetics, Theology, World Religions, Atheism, and other issues! You can also email questions to Matt using: info@carm.org, Put "Radio Show Question" in the Subject line! Answers will be discussed in a future show. Topics Include:Matt Interviews Missionary, Trainer, and Speaker Rev. Olin Giles who Ministers to Muslims/ A Caller is Attending a Calvinist Church and Wants to Know About Some of the Flippant Things Being Said/ John 1:13-What is The “Cause” of Us Being “Born-Again.”August 13, 2025

The Royal Commission of Inquiry aims to find lessons from the government response to better prepare for future pandemics. Acting political editor Craig McCulloch spoke to Corin Dann.

What is the work of a minister?  What are the primary roles in which he should be engaged?  In this podcast episode, Kerry encourages church leaders and church members to be sensitive to their preacher's busy schedule and to not expect more of him than he can possibly do.

Praise changes everything. This week the Reverend Kahlil Carmichael introduces four Ministers in training: Keith McClain, Nazceer Whitley, Love Cooper, and Yevette Carmichael. We begin in Psalm 150 with the message, “The Promise of Praise.”Live Well, your spiritual family, gathers every Sunday at 11 a.m. at 51 Church Street, Robbinsville, Windsor, NJ. We look forward to welcoming you and sharing this faith journey with you.Thank you for givingpushpay.com/g/itiswellchurchVisit our website at livewellchurch.orgFollow us on Facebook @pastorkahlilFind us on Instagram @livewellwithpastorkahlil

Until fairly recently the government of Malawi were blissfully unaware of the fact that they inadvertently stumbled into a tense political stand-off between Nato and Russia. Ministers in the landlocked capital Lilongwe were understandably surprised to find that they had been enthusiastically registering sanctioned shadow fleet tankers and fixing them up with new identities. They were, initially at least, perplexed by questions regarding a fleet of tankers being used to load crude out of the Baltic, then escorted by Russian naval ships and tracked by the combined surveillance capacity of NATO's forces. And that's because they had no idea until Lloyd's List told them. In this special two-part podcast, Lloyd's List editor-in-chief Richard Meade explains how the system of ship registration has corrupted to the point that governments are unable to tell the difference between real and fake ship identities; and looks at what it will take to fix that broken system. Joining Richard on this week's episode are: Polina Ivanova, foreign correspondent, Financial Times Christian Panto, independent open-source intelligence analyst

New Hope Chapel has had women teachers for a long time, and about five years ago, New Hope also began recognizing women as elders. Around the same time, we decided to phase out the language of deacons and elders and move into the language of a pastoral team and a teaching team. We know there are many examples of women as disciples in the New Testament--Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, Martha and Mary of Bethany, and many others. In fact, Tabitha is introduced as a disciple. But are there examples of women teachers, pastors, and ministers? Yes! This week, we meet a half dozen women who taught, pastored, and ministered first-century churches, and spend extra time with Phoebe, whose remarkable story is found in Romans 16.

THE REVELATION OF THE HIDDEN MYSTERY OF THE BRIDE MESSAGE AND THE SONG OF SOLOMON 03: MINISTERIAL BIBLE STUDY with the MINISTERS AND BRETHREN IN HAITI Part 3 of 3Taken from Bro. Baer's teaching on the Bride Message given at the monthly Haitian Ministers Bible Study hosted by Bro. Michelin and the Gospel Tabernacle of Dufort in Haiti. This includes the second part of the Q&A session with the ministers, and the closing comments by the Haitian ministers and eldersSend us a textSupport the showThank you for listening to our podcast!If you have any questions, subjects you would like to hear discussed, or feedback of any kind, you can contact us at:greengac@yahoo.com or through the links below, where you can find additional information about our work as well as other materials: Green Gospel Assembly Church – The Church that is Different (church website)

THE REVELATION OF THE HIDDEN MYSTERY OF THE BRIDE MESSAGE AND THE SONG OF SOLOMON: MINISTERIAL BIBLE STUDY with the MINISTERS AND BRETHREN IN HAITI Part 2 of 3Taken from Bro. Baer's teaching on the Bride Message given at the monthly Haitian Ministers Bible Study hosted by Bro. Michelin and the Gospel Tabernacle of Dufort in Haiti. This includes the continuation of teaching, followed by comments by the brethren and the first part of the Q&A session with the ministers NOTE: Immediately following the teaching portion, all the brethren sang, Higher Ground, which did not get clearly recordedSend us a textSupport the showThank you for listening to our podcast!If you have any questions, subjects you would like to hear discussed, or feedback of any kind, you can contact us at:greengac@yahoo.com or through the links below, where you can find additional information about our work as well as other materials: Green Gospel Assembly Church – The Church that is Different (church website)

8/8/25. Five Minutes in the Word scriptures for today: 2 Corinthians 3:6. Ministers of a New Covenant. Resources: biblehub.com; logos.com; ChatGPT; and Life Application Study Bible. Listen daily at 10:00 am CST on https://kingdompraiseradio.com. November 2021 Podchaser list of "60 Best Podcasts to Discover!" LISTEN, LIKE, FOLLOW, SHARE! #MinutesWord; @MinutesWord; #dailybiblestudy #dailydevotional #christianpodcaster #diversity https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK9zaXqv64YaCjh88XIJckA/videos https://m.youtube.com/@hhwscott

Svensk integrationsministers søn flirter med højreekstremister, shortsdebatten raser igen, og er nordmænd helt ligeglade med efterårets valg?

In search for better, life-giving, community where all to be whole. Episode 12 arrives, the final episode in the serial series ‘Farewell Evangelicalism‘, designed to name malformed pillars that shape evangelical/conservative Christian thought and beliefs in hopes folks in the fold will leave, and those already on the way out have the tools to find their liberation. This episode goes back to summarize the key pieces of the problem in conservative Christians spaces. What dominates evangelical thought and belief? Then, I posed a question to each guest that went something like this, “what does better look like?” I included their thoughts in this episode. We are fortunate to hear from the voices of: Scott Coley, Jared Stacy, Marlena Graves, Robert Callahan, Kristian Smith, Cait West, Ed Ng, DL Mayfield, Celeste Irwin, Daniel Wheat, and me, your host, Rohadi Nagassar. Episode 12 Final: Show Notes (00:00) Introduction with Rohadi and the final episode of Farewell Evangelicalism (4:00) Scott Coley summarizes core attributes that inform evangelical and fundamentalist beliefs. (11:42) Jared Stacy on apostasy as an act of faith. (21:00) Robert Callahan on Aslan…revealing the true nature of evangelicals. (23:45) Finding your people after your leave with DL Mayfield. (30:50) What does a better way look like? Love thy neighbor with Marlena Graves. (33:30) What does liberation and life giving community look like? (35:00) Cait West (40:48) Celeste Irwin (49:52) Examples of life giving community/churches doing things differently with Kristian A Smith. (1:03:05) Final reflections on steps to exit with Ed Ng. (1:10:22) Outro Guests Including Your host: Rohadi Nagassar (he/him) Rohadi‘s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins, and his forthcoming title (Spring 2026) called Whole & Human. Forty Meditations for Liberating Body and Spirit. Find his online church community: https://abeautifultable.ca/ Scholar/Author – Scott Coley Scott Coley Scott M. Coley holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Purdue University. His research interests include philosophy of religion, moral epistemology and political philosophy. His book is entitled, Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right from Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. Theologian/Author – Jared C Stacy Jared Stacy is a theologian and ethicist and former pastor to evangelical churches. He received a PhD in moral & practical theology from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. His research focuses on the intersection of theology and politics. Specifically on ethics, extremism/conspiracy theory and US evangelicalism. Jared's work & story has been featured on platforms like TIME, NPR, NBC News, the BBC, and Christianity Today. Author/Attorney – Robert Callahan Robert Callahan is a writer and accomplished attorney, dedicated to his practice at Callahan & King in the heart of Waco, Texas. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Gonzaga University and a Juris Doctorate at Baylor University School of Law, where he now serves as adjunct professor of Integrating Faith and Legal Practice. His latest book is called, Fire in the Whole: Embracing Our Righteous Anger with white Christianity and Reclaiming Our Wholeness. Dr. Marlena Graves – Professor/Author Marlena received her PhD in American Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH where she is researching the influence American culture has on Evangelicals' view of immigration, race, and poverty. Marlena's book, “The Way Up Is Down” (with IVPress) released in July 2020. Author/Podcaster – D.L. Mayfield D.L. Mayfield (they/them) is a podcaster and author. After a decade of writing for Christian spaces, they now write primarily about issues of neurodivergence and healing from high-control religion. D.L. and their partner Krispin Mayfield are currently working on a multimedia publishing project entitled STRONGWILLED, which is available on Substack. You can read along here. Kristian A Smith – Pastor and Podcaster Find Kristian on Instagram. Community Builder; Founder & Pastor @tfc.virtual; Host @holysmokesmovement; Curator of Greatest Commandment Theology. Find him over at kristianasmith.com Psychologist – Dr. Ed Ng Ed Ng is a Registered Psychologist in private practice in Vancouver and is the founder and director of Eastgate Psychological Services. He is also the founder of the Eastgate Project and hosts its podcast, which focuses on the intersections of psychology, theology, and the experiences of the Asian diaspora. Celeste Irwin (she/her) – Trans Activist and Writer Celeste is a transgender, lesbian woman. She is a writer and advocate for transgender rights and inclusion in Christian spaces. Having survived an abusive church, she also writes about spiritual abuse. Visit her website/Substack and find her on BlueSky. Cait West – Author of Rift. A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy Cait West has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre, and Hawaii Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and cohosts the podcast Survivors Discuss. Find out more. Substack | Instagram | TikTok Bumper music by Daniel Wheat; Intro by Jesse Peters

Jack Story and Nick Wolf—two experienced financial advisers—join Chris to talk about how ministers can prepare for retirement, the unique financial challenges they face, and what churches should consider when supporting their ministers long-term.   Connect with Us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearchurch_podcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564673680147 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DearChurch   Website: https://www.rippleoflight.org/ ROL Facebook: http://facebook.com/rippleoflight ROL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rippleoflight ROL YouTube: http://youtube.com/rippleoflight ROL Rumble: http://rumble.com/rippleoflight   Have a question? Email Chris at chris.mccurley@rippleoflight.com.   #DearChurch #MinisterRetirement #ChristianFinance #ChurchLeadership #PastorCare #FinancialPlanning #RetirementPlanning #JackStory #NickWolf #ChrisMcCurley #RippleOfLight

THE REVELATION OF THE HIDDEN MYSTERY OF THE BRIDE MESSAGE AND THE SONG OF SOLOMON 01 MINISTERIAL BIBLE STUDY with the MINISTERS AND BRETHREN IN HAITI Part 1 of 3Taken from Bro. Baer's teaching on the Bride Message given at the monthly Haitian Ministers Bible Study hosted by Bro. Michelin and the Gospel Tabernacle of Dufort in Haiti. This includes part of the opening comments by the brethren (lasting for about 6 minutes), followed by the first part of the study given by Bro. Baer. The original recording included the ongoing translation from English to Haitian Creole, most of which has been taken out to shorten the length and make the study easier to understand for our English-speaking listeners. Send us a textSupport the showThank you for listening to our podcast!If you have any questions, subjects you would like to hear discussed, or feedback of any kind, you can contact us at:greengac@yahoo.com or through the links below, where you can find additional information about our work as well as other materials: Green Gospel Assembly Church – The Church that is Different (church website)

This episode welcomes Joel Barron back to Pastoring on Purpose! Joel is the associate/worship pastor at Starkville Church of God in Starkville, Mississippi. He is the Director of Choral Activities at Choctaw County High School, and serves as a missionary with the Church of God World Missions. Joel shares his experience as a missionary in Germany dealing with the stress and anxiety that missionaries face, and his success receiving counseling from the Center for Ministerial Care.

How should we evaluate our pastors and church leaders in a godly way? Dr. John addresses the critical issue of unfair criticism toward Christian leaders through 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, where Paul faces harsh judgment from the Corinthian church. He explains that we should view leaders as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries, evaluating them solely on their faithfulness to proclaim Scripture rather than on personal preferences or hidden motives we cannot truly know.The Power of Christ in a Pagan World: Join Dr. John Neufeld for this 20-message series as he focuses on the book of 1 Corinthians. Covering chapters 1-4, The Power of Christ in a Pagan World looks at the many issues that confronted the church in Corinth; Problems that seemed to find their place within the church at every turn! This series helps us unpack the different conflicts and struggles of this early church in a relevant and practical way. Even though the church in Corinth existed a long time ago, they went through trials that might sound familiar to us in the 21st Century!

4 August 2025 marks three-hundred years since the birth of John Newton: pastor, author, and hymnwriter. This week we depart from our usual format to supply an audio recording of Iain H. Murray speaking on 'The Life of John Newton' at the 2007 Ministers' Conference in Leicester, England.    Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

Rev Gillian Walters preaches on 08.03.2025

8/2/25. Five Minutes in the Word scriptures for today: 2 Corinthians 2:17. True Ministers not Corrupt Merchants of God's Word. Resources: biblehub.com; logos.com; ChatGPT; and Life Application Study Bible. Listen daily at 10:00 am CST on https://kingdompraiseradio.com. November 2021 Podchaser list of "60 Best Podcasts to Discover!" LISTEN, LIKE, FOLLOW, SHARE! #MinutesWord; @MinutesWord; #dailybiblestudy #dailydevotional #christianpodcaster #diversity https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK9zaXqv64YaCjh88XIJckA/videos https://m.youtube.com/@hhwscott

Audio only:

In this short but explosive message, Leon exposes the hidden reason why many ministries fail to carry power - they were never authorized. Drawing from biblical patterns of priesthood, lineage, and impartation, he unveils how spiritual fathers legitimize mantles, and why ministries launched without this alignment often struggle or fall into deception. If you've ever wondered why some leaders walk in undeniable power while others stagnate, this teaching will open your eyes to the real spiritual protocol behind ministry success.

Clement Manyathela and the listeners discuss the power of the President when it comes to hiring, firing, or suspending a minister.The Clement Manyathela Show is broadcast on 702, a Johannesburg based talk radio station, weekdays from 09:00 to 12:00 (SA Time). Clement Manyathela starts his show each weekday on 702 at 9 am taking your calls and voice notes on his Open Line. In the second hour of his show, he unpacks, explains, and makes sense of the news of the day. Clement has several features in his third hour from 11 am that provide you with information to help and guide you through your daily life. As your morning friend, he tackles the serious as well as the light-hearted, on your behalf. Thank you for listening to a podcast from The Clement Manyathela Show. Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays from 09:00 and 12:00 (SA Time) to The Clement Manyathela Show broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj For more from the show go to https://buff.ly/XijPLtJ or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/p0gWuPE Subscribe to the 702 Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/v5mfetc Follow us on social media: 702 on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/Radio702 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your daily news in under three minutes. At Al Jazeera Podcasts, we want to hear from you, our listeners. So, please head to https://www.aljazeera.com/survey and tell us your thoughts about this show and other Al Jazeera podcasts. It only takes a few minutes! Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

Olof Gill, European Commission Spokesperson on Trade, on the EU-US trade deal.

This episode reflects on pivotal shifts coming from the White House, blending spiritual insight with social awareness. The hosts examine how government actions and cultural shifts intersect with biblical prophecy and personal faith—encouraging believers to respond with discernment, prayer, and purpose. It's a compelling call to stay grounded while the world evolves around us.

Join us brethren for an awesome time in His presence : Ministers Rest | Jul 28, 2025 MR | Jul 28, 2025 | Ministers Rest Learn more : http://caveadullam.org/ Subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cave-adullam/id1473967577 Check us out on Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/02wUJ3WYccOFWDtQq486EJ or download the Podcast episodes for free : https://hearthis.at/caveadullam-hl/#tracks Follow us on Facebook & Instagram Facebook Cave Adullam : https://www.facebook.com/caveadullam.org Ministers Rest : https://www.facebook.com/ministersrest/ Preparing His bride : https://web.facebook.com/phbfellowship/ #STNG : https://www.facebook.com/securingthenextgeneration/ Instagram Cave Adullam: https://www.instagram.com/caveadullam/ #STNG : https://www.instagram.com/securingthenextgeneration/

Thanks for tuning in to RealAg on the Weekend! On today's edition of the show, host Shaun Haney is joined by: Heath MacDonald, Canada's Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, to discuss the recent virtual FPT meeting as well as the upcoming in-person meeting; Chris McKee of NCIAF on representing and promoting Indigenous agriculture in Canada;... Read More

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.Greetings, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! Last week on the pod, we had Scott Aitchison on – Conservative Housing Critic. This week we're sticking with that theme – housing – so central to the last federal election and something I want to keep exploring with you.So on the pod today I want to look it at from a couple of perspectives. Experience on the ground and policy making. What's the current state of play in the market?  What's been the impact of measures to date? Has the situation improved?  How does the condo glut affect things?  And broadly, is the government plan a good one?We've assembled a housing panel to help answer those questions: Ron Butler + Mike Moffatt + Tyler Meredith!Ron Butler describes himself as a “big, old, overly opinionated mortgage broker, worried about the future of housing for average Canadians.” He's the founder of Butler Mortgage Inc, with over 30 years in the business.  And hosts of his own weekly pod, “The Angry Mortgage Podcast”, where he swears a f**k of a lot and shares his insights about the industry.Mike Moffatt is co-host of the “Missing Middle Podcast.”  His twitter bio says he's a Husband, Father, Brother, Son, Economist and Housing Guy. Among other things, he's an Assistant Professor in the Business, Economics, and Public Policy Group at Ivey Business School, Western University. He served as Director of Policy and Research at Canada 2020. And he's done extensive research on Canada's housing supply and the affordability crisis. Tyler Meredith is the former Head of Fiscal and Economic Policy for Prime Minister Trudeau and Ministers of Finance, Chrystia Freeland and Bill Morneau. Today, he's a Founding Partner at Meredith/Boessenkool Policy Advisors. And he was a co-host of the limited run podcast “Race to Replace”, right here at Air Quotes Media!Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

Support the show

In this episode of Dear Church, Chris McCurley sits down with Chris Webb, an experienced insurance agent, to discuss the often-overlooked topic of insurance options for ministers. From health and life insurance to retirement planning and church-provided benefits, this conversation highlights what ministers and church leaders need to know about taking care of those who serve. Whether you're in ministry or helping lead a congregation, this episode offers valuable insight into supporting ministers with practical, long-term care.   Connect with Us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearchurch_podcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564673680147 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DearChurch   Website: https://www.rippleoflight.org/ ROL Facebook: http://facebook.com/rippleoflight ROL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rippleoflight ROL YouTube: http://youtube.com/rippleoflight ROL Rumble: http://rumble.com/rippleoflight   Have a question? Email Chris at chris.mccurley@rippleoflight.com.   #DearChurch #ChrisMcCurley #MinisterSupport #ChurchLeadership #MinistryLife #MinisterBenefits #InsuranceForMinisters #ChurchFinance #ChristianMinistry #FaithAndFinances

Northland business leaders say the region's economy can grow six-fold by 2050, boosting incomes and the wider economy. 

Welcome to this Wednesday edition of RealAg Radio! Host Shaun Haney is joined by: Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, to discuss the outcomes of the virtual FPT ag ministers' meeting held last week and what he hopes to achieve at the September in-person meeting in Winnipeg; Tracy Gardner of AgSmart for a spotlight... Read More

What happens when church members abandon biblical values for cultural ones? Our hosts dive into troubling survey results showing that in one Lutheran denomination, 54% of churchgoers support legal abortion and 50% favor same-sex marriage—despite clear biblical teachings to the contrary.This eye-opening discussion explores why Christians increasingly adopt secular positions contrary to Scripture. The problem runs deeper than simple rebellion or ignorance. When pastors have members for only an hour or two weekly while cultural messages bombard them constantly, the battle for hearts and minds becomes challenging. Add confirmation bias—our tendency to filter out information that challenges existing beliefs—and you have a recipe for spiritual disconnect.The heart of the issue often lies in sermon application. While pastors excel at preaching law and gospel, many struggle with helping congregants apply biblical truth to daily life. As Bob Fleischmann observes, "You can't enhance the gospel. The gospel is perfect, but you can get in the way of it." Without concrete, relevant applications, churchgoers fail to connect Sunday morning teaching with Monday's ethical dilemmas.Our hosts offer practical solutions for both pastors and laypeople. Ministers are encouraged to study texts deeply enough to draw natural, relevant applications, while congregation members should actively engage with sermons and bring real-life questions to their spiritual leaders. The goal isn't merely doctrinal purity but helping believers navigate complex moral issues with biblical wisdom.Whether you're a pastor seeking to strengthen your application skills or a church member wondering why biblical teaching isn't influencing your congregation more deeply, this conversation provides invaluable insights into bridging the gap between eternal truth and contemporary challenges.What moral issues do you wish your pastor would address more directly? Share your thoughts at lifechallenges.us or email podcast@christianliferesources.com.SHOW NOTES:Find strength and courage in your faith at this year's FEARLESS FAITH Conference. Inspired by Joshua 1:9, “Be strong and courageous,” join us Saturday, September 13, at Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School in Jackson, Wisconsin, for presentations on navigating life's storms, understanding God's peace, and engaging in crucial conversations about euthanasia, anorexia, abortion, prenatal genetic testing, and more. Hear powerful journeys of faith through loss and hope. Don't miss this empowering event! $50 in person or $40 virtual. Register now: https://christianliferesources.com/resources/events/2025-conference/Support the show

Dr. Jerry Devane joins Dr. Tim Maness and Dr. Jeffrey Sargent to talk about vicarious trauma and its effects on early and first responders, such as emergency personel and ministers. Dr. Devane has served in emergency response his entire career, from performing CPR on Elvis Presley while in medical school to developing EMS processes for Bradley County Tennessee. He shares stories of his time in pre-hospital emergency care and discusses the self-care that can help individuals better cope with vicarious trauma.

In the first episode of Legislation Matters, hosts Nicolette Sanders and Farhanah Mogra explain how UK legislation is made and why it matters to your business. From the role of civil servants and Ministers to the importance of consultations and policy engagement, this episode provides a practical guide for organisations looking to shape policy and navigate government effectively.

It can now be revealed that a Ministry of Defence data leak has cost the UK some £7 billion and put thousands of Afghans at risk of death. A dataset containing the details of nearly 19,000 people who applied to move to the UK following the Taliban takeover was released in error by a British defence official in February 2022. Ministers were informed of the debacle in August 2023; since then, an unprecedented super-injunction has been in place to stop the press from reporting details. What does this mean for successive governments?Also on the podcast, Donald Trump gave a surprise interview to the BBC overnight in which he changed his position on Nato and on Ukraine – this comes after the President threw the full weight of America's military supplies behind Ukraine and warned Putin of 100 per cent tariffs if he doesn't end the war in 50 days. What he hasn't changed his tune on is Keir Starmer, whom he gushed is a ‘liberal' doing his best to navigate a ‘sloppy' Brexit. Can the Trump–Starmer love-in continue?Natasha Feroze speaks to James Heale and Freddy Gray.Produced by Natasha Feroze and Oscar Edmondson.We are hosting a Coffee House Shots live tomorrow (15th July) at The Emmanuel Centre in Westminster. Join Tim Shipman, Michael Gove and Isabel Hardman to debate: Are the Tories toast? Click here for tickets.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk