Debbie

[Terri Green @TerriGreenUSA]

This is the most detailed MRI scan of an unborn baby.

At just 20 weeks, she is moving, turning her head, kicking—even standing. Her beating heart is also visible.

Children are a gift from God.

[Erik Thorvaldsson @erik_thorvalds]

So you want #AlbertaIndependence to win?

Some tactics need to change NOW:

No infighting. Movements fracture and lose when they eat their own. Unite around the core principle that Albertans should control their own future. Drop the ego.

Turn the cheek. When Ottawa provokes or media piles on, respond with maturity and facts instead of matching negativity. Show strength through composure.

Lead with ideas, not insults or personalities. Lay out clear policies on fiscal sovereignty, responsible resource development, environmental stewardship, and freedom from over-centralization. Paint a positive vision of what Alberta can become: prosperous, self-reliant, and a responsible steward of its lands and people.

Do not come out against immigration. Call for a population cap grounded in Alberta’s ecological carrying capacity. Our rivers, forests, farmland, and wildlife habitats are finite. Rapid growth has already strained water systems, infrastructure, and the wilderness that defines this place. Sustainable limits protect quality of life for current residents and future generations; Indigenous, rural, and urban alike.

This pragmatic, coalition-focused approach; partnering where possible, framing sustainability instead of grievance, staying unified, and staying above the fray — is how you grow beyond the current base and actually build something that can win.

[Mike Riccardi @MikeRiccardi_]

In the garden, Satan tempted Adam and Eve to rebel against God by holding out to them the deceitful promise that they would become like God in their rebellion (Gen. 3:5), and our society is intoxicated with the very same prospect. They want to be God.

When Jesus affirmed the creation-reality that in the beginning, God created mankind in His own image as male and female (Matt. 19:4; Gen. 1:27), He affirmed that the Creator’s intent was for gender to be binary and immutable, and that such order—even amidst unity in diversity—reflects His own character and nature. However, transgenderism preaches, “No, God is not who determines your gender and identity; you are. You create male and female in your image. You do what feels right for you, and don’t let anybody—least of all your Creator—tell you differently.”

In the same text, when Jesus referenced mankind being created male and female, He underscored that the Creator of marriage and of mankind defined marriage to be a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman (Matt. 19:4–5; Gen. 2:24; Mal. 2:14–16). Scripture’s condemnation of homosexuality in Scripture could not be clearer (Gen. 18–19; Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Rom. 1:26–27; 1 Cor. 6:9–11; 1 Tim. 1:9–10). However, the vehement homosexualism of our society declares, “No, God will not dictate to us what marriage is or is not. We will define marriage any way we see fit.”

In the same vein, because God has created mankind uniquely in His image (Gen. 1:27), all human life is sacred. That’s why the one who sheds man’s blood will have his own blood shed: “For in the image of God He made man” (Gen. 9:6). Murder is such a distortion of the image of God that a murderer is required to pay for that offense with his own life. God Himself is the Creator of all life. However, the culture of death, prostituting the cause of women’s rights to satisfy its own bloodlust, pronounces, “No, that is not a child in the womb but a fetus, just a clump of cells that isn’t a human person until the mother feels like it’s a living human person.” If the mother doesn’t want her child, she may hire a skilled hitman to murder the unborn baby. But if she does declare the child is a person, her friends will throw her a baby shower.

The common thread is the exaltation of self in the place of God. You are the one who determines your identity, not God your Creator. You define marriage, not God the Creator of marriage. You determine life and personhood, not God the Creator of all life. Sexual immorality, abortion, homosexualism, and transgenderism are our society’s fledgling attempts at self-deification—the creature’s rebellious hallucination that he is Creator and Lord. God declares that He creates male and female, reveals gender in biology, and establishes norms of masculinity and femininity. He creates marriage and defines it for humanity, and He ascribes value to all His image-bearers. Man protests, “No, He doesn’t. We do that for ourselves.”

This is little more than the rebellious complaint of the nobleman’s slaves: “We will not have this [God] to reign over us” (Luke 19:14).

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[FarmGeek @miss_tanyac]

More Albertans are exploring sovereignty today than at any point in our history.

I don’t think it’s because they’ve become radical.

I think many are questioning whether government remains sufficiently accountable, transparent, and connected to the people it serves.

[Megan Basham @megbasham]

Who could imagine so great a mercy?
What heart could fathom such boundless grace?
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame.

The cross has spoken, I am forgiven
The king of kings calls me His own
Beautiful savior, I'm Yours forever
Jesus Christ, my living hope.

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free.
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me.
You have broken every chain, there’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope!

[Jeremiah Knight @iamrjknight]

God did not create men and women to be identical, interchangeable, or at war with each other. He made them distinct, complementary, and ordered for His glory.

The modern world has spent years mocking God’s design, flattening the differences between men and women, and calling it progress. But the result has not been peace. It has produced confusion, resentment, suspicion, and broken relationships.

“So God created man in His own image… male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).

Biblical manhood and womanhood are not oppressive when rightly understood. Sin makes them ugly. Pride corrupts headship. Rebellion corrupts submission. Lust corrupts attraction. Selfishness corrupts marriage. But God’s design itself is good.

A godly man is not called to dominate, but to lead with sacrificial love. A godly woman is not called to be erased, but to walk in strength, wisdom, and honour within God’s order. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25).

When men stop being men, and women are taught to despise womanhood, attraction itself becomes disordered. The opposite sex is no longer received as a gift, but treated as a threat, competitor, or burden.

God’s design is not the enemy of love. Sin is. And until men and women return to the wisdom of the Creator, they will keep wounding one another while calling it freedom.

“What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate” (Matthew 19:6).

[Terri Green @TerriGreenUSA]

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” — Psalm 103:1-5

On Psalm 103 — The song is in the heart before it is ever heard outside. The song is in the heart before it ever shows up in the room. This is worshiping. And the heart can only go as high in worship as it can go deep in theology. The elevation of your worship is directly corresponding to the depth of your theology.

Superficial knowledge of God reaches superficial worship. We are instructed here to call out to our own souls to bless the Lord, without regard to any external aid, without regard to anything inducing it. It’s just the sheer contemplation of what it means to belong to him. — John MacArthur

[Jeremiah Knight @iamrjknight]

It is a heavy judgment when God leaves a man to his own lusts and withdraws the restraining guidance of His Holy Spirit. Many think judgment is only when God strikes, but Scripture shows something even more terrifying. God may give a man over to what he insists on loving.

Romans 1 says this with fearful clarity. “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity” (Romans 1:24). That is not freedom. That is judgment. When God lets the sinner have the sin he refuses to forsake, the soul is not being liberated. It is being handed over to its own ruin.

This is why David cried with trembling, “Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11). He knew that the most frightening thing was not losing comfort, reputation, position, or earthly blessing. It was to be left without the nearness, conviction, correction, and mercy of God.

A man abandoned to himself will not rise. He will sink. His desires will rule him, his conscience will grow dull, his sin will feel normal, and his heart will become harder. “My people did not listen to My voice… so I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices” (Psalm 81:11-12).

So we must pray for mercy. Lord, do not leave us to ourselves. Do not give us what our sinful hearts demand. Restrain us, convict us, wound our pride, guide us by Your Spirit, and keep us near to Christ. Better to be corrected by God than abandoned to our own lusts.

[Brian Lilley @brianlilley]

1/ 🚨 BIG NEWS from one of the last living fathers of Canada’s Constitution: Brian Peckford — ex-NL Premier who helped patriate the Charter — says the Carney government is acting UNCONSTITUTIONALLY by asking the Supreme Court to gut the Notwithstanding Clause.

Thread 👇

[Eva Chipiuk, BSc, LLB, LLM @echipiuk]

Say it with me, loudly, proudly, clearly and confidently: The people have the right to self-determination. We do not need permission to exercise it!

Right now, there is excitement about the prospect of an independence referendum in Alberta. And rightly so.

It’s truly inspiring to see Albertans paying attention, asking serious questions and preparing to directly exercise their democratic voices -- lawfully, peacefully and powerfully.

Citizen engagement at this scale is not something to fear. It is something to respect and protect.

I remember back in the 1990s, when I was a young girl, hearing adults talk about the Quebec referendum. I didn’t really understand what it meant. In my child’s mind, I imagined that if Quebec voted “yes,” it would somehow float away and become its own little island.

What strikes me today is not that a child once misunderstood a constitutional question—but that decades later, many adults still do. Because even now there are people who speak as though Alberta voting on its future would result in chaos and disorder overnight. That simply is not the case.

That is why I am here today to inspire confidence in the process and to address, directly and without apology, those who deliberately sow fear, while disparaging fellow citizens.

A healthy democracy does not mock civic engagement; it depends on it and thrives because of it.

So let us set aside the noise, speculation, and deliberate nonsense and focus on one simple question: What does the day after a successful referendum actually look like?
In the morning, when we, the citizens of the beautiful and resilient province of Alberta, wake up to the news that Albertans have exercised their right to self-determination and voted to become a truly free and independent nation, life continues much as it did the day before.

Let that settle the alarmists and the fear mongers.

Legally speaking, the Constitution will not disappear. The laws of Canada will remain in force. Courts will continue to function. Contracts remain binding. Schools and hospitals remain open. Businesses will continue to power the life of the province. Life will go on.

What does change is something far more powerful and unprecedented in Alberta history: The great people of Alberta will have spoken clearly and legally. And that injects something into the system that cannot be ignored—honesty. And we need a good dose of that!

A clear democratic mandate from the people strips away pretence and political games. It forces public institutions and office holders to confront what Albertans actually want, rather than what is most convenient for them.

Elected officials—federally, provincially, and including Indigenous leadership—are no longer free to dismiss, delay, or deflect. They are constitutionally required to listen. And more than that they are required to act.

When the people speak clearly, the obligations of those in power changes. This is democracy functioning exactly as designed. That is what the day after looks like.

This referendum is not a tantrum. It is not rebellion or a negotiating tactic. And it certainly is not treason.

A referendum is one of the simplest and most direct expressions of the democratic will of the people.

Even the Supreme Court of Canada has been clear on this point. And this cannot be ignored. Albertans are law-abiding people. We do not rush change but when change becomes necessary, we meet it responsibly.

[Debbie @debbiescanticle]

The more disappointed I am by the things that happen, the more I need to remind myself who is sovereign over all & that he is bringing all things toward the end he has decreed before the foundation of the world.

[Jeremiah Knight @iamrjknight]

“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25).

The resurrection is not just an event we remember. It is the ground on which the Christian stands. Christ was handed over because of our sin, and He was raised because that sin has been fully answered. That is why our hope is not fragile. It rests on a finished work.

When the world grows dark and uncertain, the believer does not collapse with it. Not because life is easy, but because Christ is alive. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

This is what sets the Christian apart. Not optimism, but resurrection hope. A hope that does not fade, because it is anchored in the risen Christ.

He is risen.
He is risen indeed.
And because He lives, we have a living hope.

Happy Resurrection Day!

[Debbie @debbiescanticle]

@iamrjknight Amen!

[Terri Green @TerriGreenUSA]

Pastor Jonny Ardavanis on a denomination that tried to change the lyrics of “In Christ Alone”

Don't try to sugarcoat the gospel and take out the wrath of God. You can't tell people that Jesus saves if you don't tell them what they need saving from. The bad news sets the necessary context for the good news to be received.

[Jeremiah Knight @iamrjknight]

An unknown writer, wrote about the Bible...

"This Book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's character. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. Follow its precepts and it will lead you to Calvary, to the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ; yes, to glory itself, for eternity."

[Jeremiah Knight @iamrjknight]

Let us read our Bibles with reverence, diligence and submission because error does not prevail where the Word of God is known, believed and obeyed.

A people grounded in Scripture are not easily carried away by false teachers, religious manipulation, or the traditions of men, because they have learned to test every claim by what God has spoken. When the truth of Scripture dwells richly among the people, deception loses its power, for the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

The Bereans were called noble not because they were scholars, but because they examined the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so (Acts 17:11). That is the safeguard. That is the defence. A Bible reading laity is not merely educated. It is armed. And where the people of God know the truth, error is exposed, lies are silenced, and the church is strengthened in sound doctrine (2 Timothy 3:16-17, Titus 1:9, Ephesians 4:14).

[Terri Green @TerriGreenUSA]

This is evergreen! When a young boy asks John MacArthur why didn’t Jesus just *Pow* in the garden when Eve ate the apple, He can stop it like that?

Bible Questions and Answers, Part 70 — John MacArthur

“I’m Joey Cusenza, and my question is, why didn’t Jesus stop Eve at the garden of Eden when she ate the fruit? *Like, I mean, pow,* He can just stop it like that. Why didn’t He?”

JOHN: That is the most profound question of all questions: Why didn’t God stop Eve from eating the fruit? This theologians call the problem of theodicy: Why is there evil in the world? If God is absolutely holy, why is there evil in the world? That’s essentially that question: Why didn’t He stop it before it started?

First of all, the broad answer is this: because God allowed her to eat that fruit, God allowed sin to come into the world, so that He could be glorified. Now God is a God of love, and He could express that love even in the perfection of the Trinity. And He expressed that love to Adam and Eve when He walked and talked with them before they sinned and before she ate. So God could express His love.

But if there had never been a sin, there would never be forgiveness, there would never be mercy, there would never be grace, there would never be compassion, there would never be healing, there would never be restoration. And so, forever and ever, the angels would never be able to worship God for all those aspects of His nature. So God allows evil so that He can display grace and mercy and compassion because those also are attributes of God that can only be put on display through His response to sin.

There’s another reason, and that is that God is holy and just and righteous. He would never be able to display ultimately what that means unless there were sinners to judge. So whether it is judgment on sin or whether it is salvation from sin, the fact that sin exists allows God to display eternally the glory of the full scope of His attributes. Okay? Great question. Thank you, bud.