Opening Prayer: Almighty God, we praise You for Your greatness, Your goodness and Your faithfulness. Thank You for giving us Your Word, which is the living word of God. Thank you for the assurance it brings to our hearts. As we read and study this devotional, we ask You to open our spiritual understanding, eyes to see, ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the truths of Your word, and Your promises with faith. We seek Your guidance, direction and leading through Your Holy Spirit, as we read and study this devotional. In Jesus’ Mighty name, Amen.

The promise of Eternal Life is made to all those who believe in Jesus Christ. The assurance of eternal life brings a deep sense of peace and joy to the believer and calms the hearts of many believers. We know by God’s own words: “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son”, that this promise stands true for all those who believe. We no longer are fearful about our future, nor do we wonder about it anymore because we know our future is safe with God, and that He has promised us, all those who believe in His Son will never perish but will live forever with Him.

John 3:16 God’s promise of everlasting life brings deep peace and hope. Joy flows from the certainty of reunion with Christ.

1 John 5:11–13 (NKJV) “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”

This assurance is not based on our feelings or circumstances, but on the unshakable truth of His Word and the finished work of Christ. Eternal life means we have already passed from death into life, held securely in the hands of the Father and the Son, with no one able to snatch us away.

John 10:28–29 “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”

God’s Holy Spirit now lives within us and He now “bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” We are looking forward to the place our Savior, Jesus Christ has gone to prepare for us, where we will be with Him always. This certainly fills our hearts with joy, confidence and thankfulness in knowing that our salvation is secure, and our eternity is promised.

Romans 8:16 (NKJV) “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

John 14:2–3 “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

God wants to assure all believers that their future is safe and secure with Him, and to know that their faith is genuine. He wants them to feel secure in knowing they belong to Him and have eternal life through Christ. Assurance of salvation is the knowledge and confidence that we belong to Christ. Christians find assurance through many means, including their faith.

1 John 5:13 (NKJV) “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”

John 3:16 (NKJV) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

These last two verses reveal the fullness of salvation through Jesus Christ. Jesus is assuring us that those who hear His word and believe in the Father who sent Him already possess everlasting life. This is made possible because we have already passed from death into life and freed from judgment, through the acceptance of Jesus Christ, and God’s promise of Eternal Life to us. Paul echoes this truth by declaring that believers are set free from sin and made servants of God. We now bear fruit leading to holiness, with the ultimate end being Everlasting Life. These scriptures remind us that eternal life is not merely a future hope but a present reality, grounded in faith and evidenced by a transformed life of holiness and obedience to God.

John 5:24 (NKJV) “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”

Romans 6:22 (NKJV) “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.”

Questions to Ponder

How does knowing that eternal life is a present reality, not just a future hope, change the way I live each day?

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In what ways does the assurance of salvation bring me peace and confidence, even when circumstances feel uncertain?

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How can I bear fruit leading to holiness, as Romans 6:22 describes, in my daily walk with Christ?

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Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father, we come before You with hearts full of thanksgiving, as we rejoice in the promise of eternal life through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You for the assurance that we are held securely in Your hands and freed from fear and judgment. Thank You that you have given us everlasting life, and the assurance that when we leave this world, we will be taken home to be with You forevermore. In the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

A Canadian pastor expressed outrage to The Christian Post regarding a fellow pastor who was arrested this week for not apologizing for protesting drag queen story hours with children at a public library two years ago.

"These people are sick in the head. They're demon-possessed. They're wicked, evil minions of Satan," Pastor Artur Pawlowski told CP on Friday from a court in Calgary, Alberta, where he was showing support for his friend, Pastor Derek Reimer, as he faced a bail hearing.

Reimer was arrested in Calgary on Wednesday after he refused a court order to write and sign an apology to the library manager of Calgary Public Library regarding his 2023 protest at a "Reading with Royalty" event, which featured male drag queens reading to children, according to the Western Standard. Reimer told the Canadian outlet that he felt he had nothing to apologize for.

Continued below.

How do you respond to a missed Gospel opportunity? You want to share Jesus, but sometimes your feet don’t move. Your mouth fails to open. I have been there, and I’m guessing you have too.

What if we let God turn our regrets into resolve?

Two weeks ago, I was at a gas station and sensed the Holy Spirit prompting me to give a Gospel tract to a Muslim man nearby. Grabbing a tract from my dashboard, I slid it into my pocket. Intending to step out in faith, I opened the car door. But my two feet did not respond in obedience to the Holy Spirit’s prompting.

I have to admit, my response was hesitancy and excuses. Filling my gas tank, I just stood there. Excuses piled high in my mind. What will he think of me? What if it’s awkward? I’m tired. Do I really have time? I need to get home to my three young kiddos. I’m already running late.

Did you hear the common thread through all my excuses? Me, myself and I.

Like an intense ping pong game, my mind bounced back and forth between deep conviction and selfish, fear-filled excuses. It’s crazy how we can get in our heads, overcomplicating a very simple act of obedience. Deep desire to share the best news ever filled my heart. I saw a simple gospel opportunity before me. Why did my feet not move?

Regret sat with me as I got back into my car, Gospel tract still in my pocket. Immediately, I wished for a greater faith, deeper love and determined attitude. God provided an opportunity. The Holy Spirit prompted. I missed it.

How do we respond to missed gospel opportunities?

Continued below.

Most of us hate being wrong. We associate it with failure, embarrassment, and weakness. But the Bible treats being wrong very differently — not as a sign of defeat, but as the starting point of wisdom.

Proverbs reminds us that “the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice” (Proverbs 12:15). The greatest obstacle to growth is not ignorance; it’s arrogance. The wise person isn’t the one who never errs, but the one humble enough to admit when they do.

That’s what repentance really is — not shame, but reorientation. It’s the courage to turn around when you’ve been sprinting in the wrong direction.

Why admitting wrong feels so hard

It’s uncomfortable to confess error, especially in a culture that prizes certainty and self-assurance. Social media rewards the bold declarer, not the humble learner. We’d rather double down than backtrack, even when we know we’ve missed the mark.

But every time we resist correction, we cut ourselves off from the very wisdom that could save us. Solomon says, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid” (Proverbs 12:1). Strong words — but necessary ones. Correction, though painful, is one of God’s greatest tools for shaping our hearts.

In spiritual life, humility is not optional. God designed truth to be discovered through community — through counsel, Scripture, prayer, and yes, even rebuke. That’s why repentance, not self-defense, is at the center of the Gospel.

Jesus began His ministry not by saying, “Believe harder,” but “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17). Repentance is not a punishment for being wrong; it’s the gift of being invited back on course.

The blessing hidden in correction

Continued below.

Can a young child truly be saved and on their way to Heaven? Can he or she be in the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, one of those who is a genuine believer?

A Christian educator once said that the faith of a child — up to age 12 — could be called a “borrowed faith”; this faith could be borrowed from his parents or a Sunday school teacher. Then, in his early teens, the child would develop their “chosen faith,” ultimately moving on to their “owned faith.”

Now, when we think of a borrowed faith, do we also think of it as a saving faith? Not exactly, and not something you’d want to count on when you’re not totally confident.

Let’s see what Jesus had to say about children’s salvation. “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven’” (Matthew 18:1-4).

Okay, so the disciples have a different question than I originally posed; they want to know who’s the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus calls a little child. In case you question whether this really is a young child, the Greek word is paidión, which means “little” or “young.” So, he didn’t just call a child, he called a little child. Now remember, in that culture, a 13-year-old boy enters manhood. Young people were married at 16. So, if they are calling a child little, they mean little.

Continued below.

The Department of the Interior (DOI) recently announced its "resident-only patriotic fee-free days" for 2026, and missing from the list were MLK Day, which has been a National Park fee-free day since 2018, and Juneteenth, which was introduced as a fee-free day in 2024.

In place of these days commemorating American history, civil rights and equality, the Trump administration has instead opted to celebrate additional former presidents' birthdays and Flag Day, which is also President Donald Trump's birthday.

The removal of these days as fee-free National Park days follows the Trump administration's pause on certain days of remembrance, including MLK Day and Juneteenth, earlier this year, as part of the president's ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

For next year, the days chosen seem to fall in line with the Trump administration's "America-first" policies.

The department also announced the launch of new digital "America the Beautiful" passes, which will allow Americans to buy and use their passes on mobile devices ... The new passes also feature Trump's face, according to People

There is a thread in the Christian-only section, consisting of lots of misinformed opinions. Apparently when you don't read the assignment, you can just cite the Bible and then complain when you fail! Here's the Fox News version:

United States senators are speaking out after a student at the University of Oklahoma said she was given a zero on an assignment for her "Christian kind of worldview" questioning gender norms. Word of the failed assignment has now reached the halls of Congress, raising eyebrows from top senators, including former presidential candidate and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who represents the university in Congress. "That’s insane," Mullin told Fox News Digital. "Especially in Oklahoma. There should be zero tolerance for woke activists disguised as ‘educators’ who punish students for no reason and put their toxic political agendas ahead of our kids’ education."

Aaaaand here's what really happened:

[From Rachel Hurley as quoted on FB]:]

The conservative media machine has been running this story for days now, painting her as a persecuted Christian hero standing up against radical transgender ideology in academia. Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s disgraced former schools chief, called her “an absolute American hero.” Fox News gave her the full sympathetic treatment. Turning Point USA blasted it out to 38 million views.


The assignment was to write a 650-word reaction paper to a 2014 study called “Relations Among Gender Typicality, Peer Relations, and Mental Health During Early Adolescence.” The study looked at 84 middle schoolers and examined whether kids who don’t fit gender stereotypes - tomboys, boys who aren’t stereotypically masculine - get bullied more. It found that gender-atypical boys especially faced more teasing, and that this teasing was associated with worse mental health outcomes like depression and anxiety.

That’s the whole thing. The study was asking whether kids who don’t fit neatly into “boys play sports, girls play with dolls” boxes get picked on, and whether getting picked on makes them depressed. The answer was yes. Not exactly radical territory.

But Fulnecky apparently skimmed the abstract and saw the word “gender” and decided the whole thing was actually about transgender people trying to turn kids demonic. Her essay argued that gender teasing in schools is not a problem because God made men and women different on purpose. She wrote that society pushing “the lie that there are multiple genders and everyone should be whatever they want to be is demonic and severely harms American youth.” She prayed that children would “not believe the lies being spread from Satan.” Not a single engagement with the study’s methodology. Not a single mention of its actual findings about depression and anxiety in bullied kids. Not a single counter-argument to the researchers’ data. Just vibes about how Satan wants kids to be different genders and God’s plan involves letting gender-nonconforming eleven-year-olds get teased.

The grading rubric was straightforward: 10 points for demonstrating a “clear tie-in to the assigned article,” 10 points for a “thoughtful reaction or response to the article, rather than a summary,” and 5 points for clear writing. She met none of these criteria.

And the whole conservative persecution narrative falls apart even faster when you look at who’s running this show. Her mother is Kristi Fulnecky, a Missouri attorney who defended January 6 rioters, filed lawsuits against mask mandates, and had such a contentious tenure on the Springfield City Council that the city spent nearly $100,000 on legal fees dealing with her eligibility fight after she operated a business without a license for seven years. One city attorney accused her of “grandstanding.” Kristi posted on Facebook that her daughter was “a warrior for Christ” and helped her daughter decide who to take her complaints to.

This is a manufactured controversy.
The formula is simple: find a culture war angle, refuse to do the actual assignment, cry discrimination when the grade reflects the work quality, and then watch the right-wing media ecosystem do the rest. Fulnecky gets to do the Fox News circuit. Ryan Walters gets to rail against “Marxist professors.”
The university, spooked by political pressure, put the graduate teaching assistant on administrative leave and assured Fulnecky the zero won’t affect her grade.

But sure, religious persecution.


Years ago a teacher handed out Christian materials in class with the Declaration of independence stapled to the back. When the administration banned the assignment, the right started screaming that "Radical left bans the Declaration from classroom!"

It's a simple formula.

From Genesis to Guadalupe, Scripture and tradition reveal that Satan cannot replicate humility — the very virtue through which God and his saints defeat him.

Our God is a God of surprises. From the Son of God being born a helpless infant raised by a carpenter and then dying to bring salvation, his ways are beyond human imagination.

The humility of God is the ultimate plot twist that baffles Satan. The devil chose eternity in hell rather than to humble himself before the very one who created him. And his first big score against humanity was made possible through pride — the opposite of humility — by Adam and Eve eating the fruit so they would become like God. Humility would have protected them from their foolishness.

How infinitely clever it is that through our humility and thus obedience to God, the devil is defeated. St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, who was often harassed by the devil, related a conversation with him.

“I can do everything you do,” said the devil. “I can also do your penances; I can imitate you in everything. There is one thing, however, that I cannot do; I cannot imitate you in humility.”

Continued below.

By reshaping competencies, tightening accountability and institutionalizing consultation, the new regulations outline how the Roman Curia will function under Pope Leo XIV in the next phase of papal governance.

The new General and Staff Regulations of the Roman Curia, published on Nov. 23, marked the conclusion of the Curial reform initiated by Pope Francis.

Almost simultaneously, Bishop Marco Mellino — named secretary of the Interdicasterial Commission for the Revision of the Regulations of the Roman Curia under Pope Francis’ pontificate — was appointed adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts by Pope Leo XIV. This appointment signals that the work is complete and that a new chapter has begun.

Origins and Mandate of the New Regulations​

Continued below.

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5:56

BETHSAIDA, Northern Israel – A wildfire on the Sea of Galilee has revealed new archaeological evidence about the birthplace of Jesus' disciples, Peter, Andrew, and Philip. The place where Jesus fed the 5,000 and healed the blind man is yielding new secrets. Just as archaeologists prepared to dig again for answers, disaster struck. One member of the scientific team, Dr. Steven Notley, dean of the School of Religious Studies at New Jersey's Pillar College, recalled for CBN News what happened this past July. Read the full story from CBN News: https://cbn.com/news/i...

Miraculous Archaeological Find CONFIRMS Catholicism?
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18:35

The book includes sermons and addresses delivered since his election on May 8, 2025, according to the publisher, which has also distributed works by St. John Paul II and Pope Francis.

Pope Leo XIV will offer his “vision for peace, unity, and reconciliation” in his first full-length book to be published in February 2026.

The Holy Father’s book, Peace Be With You: My Words to the Church and to the World, is set to be published in English and Spanish on Feb. 24 by HarperOne, according to a Dec. 4 press release.

The title of the book recalls the first words spoken by the risen Christ, which also were Leo’s first words as pontiff: “Peace be with you.”

“I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world. Peace be with you!” Leo said at his first appearance from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Continued below.

It will stay indefinitely at St. Mark Catholic Church, while the Diocese of Charlotte awaits liturgical changes from the Bishop Michael Martin.

A North Carolina pastor has decided to keep using altar rails to distribute Communion during Mass instead of stopping the practice.

The decision flips his announcement of about a month ago, when he said the church would stop using altar rails as of the first Sunday of Advent last weekend, as the Register reported in mid-November.

Father John Putnam, pastor of St. Mark Catholic Church in Huntersville, about 15 miles north of Charlotte, told the Register he received requests from parishioners he believes had consulted a canon lawyer, as they used Church law language in their communication with him.

“I had lots of parishioners who asked that I reconsider my decision or suspend my decision, as an administrative recourse. My choice was I’m fine with that, and let things stay as they are,” Father Putnam said in an interview Friday. “And if something happens from a higher authority, we’ll deal with it when it happens.”

Continued below.

The pro-life nonprofit Coalition Life is planning to ramp up its sidewalk counseling initiative at a Planned Parenthood facility in Chicago after a woman was found crying in pain outside of the clinic.

A video shows sidewalk counselor Jacob Tipre observing the woman curled up, leaning against the doorway for the Planned Parenthood Elizabeth Cohn Morris Health Center, which is located in downtown Chicago. The incident occurred Nov. 15 shortly before 4 p.m., according to Coalition Life.

Mary Jane Maharry, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Illinois, told CNA: “We’re not commenting.” Planned Parenthood Federation of America did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A video posted by Coalition Life shows Tipre asking the woman whether she was OK. She responded: “No, I am not.”

“They just do the procedure, and they threw me out on the streets,” the woman said, while crying. “They just threw me out on the streets.”

Continued below.

After receiving a letter of excommunication from the Vatican, the leader of a schismatic group in Colorado Springs told congregants he would ignore it — furthering the divide between the small splinter group and the Catholic Church.

Anthony Ward heads the Servants of the Holy Family, a group that labels itself as Catholic in spite of the Diocese of Colorado Springs’ declaration that the group is schismatic.

In a 40-minute speech to his congregation in which he called Church authorities “a kangaroo court” of “heretics” and “freemasons,” Ward went public on Nov. 16 about his excommunication and his plans to continue ignoring the Catholic Church’s directives.

During a secret ceremony in 2024, a bishop whose name was withheld at the time consecrated Ward as a bishop without papal permission.

In the Catholic Church, only the pope can appoint bishops. Consecrating a bishop without papal mandate is considered illicit and incurs an automatic “latae sententiae” excommunication for both parties.

Continued below.

Do you have videos of water baptism in your language?

Here is one video in finnish language ( it has english subtitles). It is important to say "...in the name of Jesus Christ" as it is instructed in Acts 2:38.


“…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ…” (Acts 2:38).


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The Lord has convicted me strongly about me being arrogant.

We know that he hates arrogance. We see over and over in the Bible that sin can be connected to illness. And I have been having some health concerns.

I have been praying not to be arrogant and to be healed. But I confess to a feeling of hardness in my heart that keeps me from getting free of arrogance.

Even though in my mind, I see clearly how stupid it is. We are but dust and every good and perfect thing comes from the Lord.

Please pray that the Lord will do for me what I cannot do for myself, so that I am free from arrogance for life, and that I’m healthy in every way so that I may better glorify him for life as he deserves. Thank you.

There is a moment in every true conversion, not the dramatic kind, but the hidden, lifelong kind, when we stop trying to look at God and finally allow Him to look at us.

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God be gracious and bless us and let Your face shed its light upon us.” So begins Psalm 68, often said in the Daily Office, or Breviary, at the start of the day. In St. John’s Gospel, Philip says to Jesus, “show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus responds, “Philip, to have seen Me is to have seen the Father.” The light shining from the face of Christ is the light of the Father. The blessing of seeing the face of Christ is the gift we will soon celebrate at Christmas: God has become man, and we can look upon Him.

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Thank God we still know the world has not succeeded in pushing the true meaning of Christmas from view! Let earth CONTINUE to receive her King!

SOURCE

Marian Consecration is like Baptism in that it’s a one-time deal. Once Mary’s, you’re totally Mary’s. However, there are various times during the liturgical year and sacramental life that we renew our baptismal promises, in particular during the Easter Vigil. It should be the same for Marian Consecration—we should have a renewal of sorts that we do every year to remember that we are, indeed, hers.

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We learn in verses 7-9 that Jesus Christ is the door of the sheep and he is the way by which we must enter into salvation from sin and eternal life with God. No other way is the right way. And who are the sheep? They are all who believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives who listen to what he teaches and who obey his teachings (see John 10:27). We are those who have entered into the fold of the sheep (the church, the body of Christ) by way of the cross of Christ in death to sin and walks of obedience to God.

But there are others who have entered into the gatherings of the sheep by another way other than through Jesus Christ and his gospel message. For there are many false shepherds of the people out there who are “thieves and robbers” who are leading people to believe in a false gospel message which is infected with half-truths (lies) and distortions of truth created in the minds of humans who reject Jesus’ gospel message because they don’t want to have to die to their sins and to submit to God in obedience to his commands.

So “the gospel” message these “thieves and robbers” are bringing to the people are filled with bugs, i.e. with errors, many of which are willfully being planted within the gospel message to purposefully lead people away from Christ to a false gospel message of salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And many of them have deliberately skirted (bypassed) the parts of the gospel that teach death to sin and obedience to God, and they have diluted the gospel to a mere verbal profession of faith in Jesus, no change of heart.

Now, Jesus Christ is the shepherd of the sheep (verses 11-18), as well as he is the door into the fold of the sheep (the church, the body of Christ). And it is God the Father, I believe, who is the doorkeeper. For he is the one who sent Jesus Christ (God the Son) to the earth to be born as a baby and to one day die on a cross in order to put our sins to death with him so that, by God-gifted faith in him, and empowered by God, we can now die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands.

And all those who become Jesus’ sheep by dying with him to sin and being raised with him to walk with him in obedience to his commands, by faith in him, they listen to Jesus’ words. They heed his words, and they follow him in surrender to his will in walks of obedience to his commands. And they follow Jesus because they know his voice. But they do not follow the strangers who are lying to the people, because they do not recognize their voices. For God has given them the discernment of the Spirit to know truth from lies.

For if we are truly following our Lord in obedience to his commands, and sin is no longer our practice, but righteousness is our practice, by the grace of God, and because we are now listening to the Lord, and we are heeding his words, then as we grow in our walks of faith in obedience to the Lord we should be able to recognize more and more the lies of the enemy which are opposed to the truth of the gospel which Jesus and his New Testament apostles taught (in the correct biblical context, and not out of context).

And we should be those who are rejecting the lies of the enemy and their messengers, who are discerning truth from lies and those who speak truth vs those who speak lies. For the Holy Spirit is living within us speaking truth to our hearts and minds, and he is revealing to us the lies vs the truth so that we will now follow the truth and reject the lies. And if we are Jesus’ true sheep, we will not resist the Holy Spirit’s voice and end up following the lies, but we will desire to live for our Lord in doing what pleases him.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

When I Am Afraid

Based off Psalms 56-57
An Original Work / October 17, 2016
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

When I am afraid, Lord, I will trust in You.
Your Word, Lord, I praise. I yield my life to You.
Enemies pursue me, slandering Your Name.
Lord, have mercy. I trust in You. Hear my cry today.

Lord, I love Your Word. It comforts me today,
As I look to you, and bow my head and pray.
You are Christ, my Lord. You saved me from my sin,
That I may walk, Lord before You, purified within.

Steadfast is my heart, O God, I sing of You.
I will praise You, Lord. To You, I will be true.
Oh, how great Your love. Your faithfulness endue.
Be exalted, God of heaven. Glory be to You.

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The Shepherd of The Sheep
An Original Work / December 6, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Interesting article:


One of the more compelling threads in Viking history and Norse mythology is the winter role played by Odin, the Norse god known for his wisdom, magic, and sky-riding abilities.

Scholars like Margaret Baker have noted that the long-bearded, cloaked, and sky-faring Santa Claus shares striking similarities with Odin, particularly in his Yule manifestations.

In her work, Baker describes Santa Claus as a “blue-hooded, cloaked, white-bearded Giftbringer of the north,” which she links to Odin’s own depiction as a gift-bearing rider in the midwinter sky (Baker, 2007, p. 62).

This resemblance is not just cosmetic. Odin, known to lead the Wild Hunt during the Twelve Nights of Yule, often rode his magical eight-legged horse Sleipnir through the night sky, a detail echoed in Santa’s reindeer-pulled sleigh.

Such traditions reveal the persistence of pre-Christian beliefs within Christmas customs and may explain how Santa is Odin, at least in part, in European folk memory.

The Wild Hunt is a spectral, airborne procession led by Odin who was central to Germanic and Norse Yule traditions.

This myth was not only widely feared but also deeply ingrained in old Norse winter rites.

George H. McKnight identifies this imagery as formative in the evolution of the Christmas tradition, with Saint Nicholas eventually assuming traits of Odin such as gift-giving, nocturnal rides, and of course with a long beard (McKnight, 1917, pp. 138–139).

Children once left hay or oats for Odin’s steed, much like the later custom of placing out stockings or shoes, ultimately evolving into a hallmark of modern gift-giving.

This is a powerful demonstration of how ancient Yule traditions stuck around, reemerging in forms like Father Christmas and Santa Claus.

In Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Clement A. Miles explores how pagan and Norse customs informed Christian celebrations.

He notes that Saints Martin and Nicholas may have served as Christianized stand-ins for Woden (Miles, 1912, p. 219).

The timing of Yule, falling close to December 6, the feast of St. Nicholas, plays a crucial role. During the Yule festival, figures like Odin were believed to ride the skies, rewarding the good and punishing the bad, basically echoing the now familiar “naughty or nice” list.

Though Miles presents other interpretations (including Roman influences and seasonal personifications), he acknowledges that the connection between Odin and Santa Claus cannot be dismissed outright.
Even Santa’s occasional mischief, generosity, and supernatural qualities align with Odin’s character in Norse mythology..............