The Danger of Complacency

“I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem’s darkest corners to punish those who sit complacent in their sins. They think the LORD will do nothing to them, either good or bad.” Zephaniah 1:12

It’s been said that we become like the gods we worship. Whatever we continually behold, we consistently reflect. Some of God’s own children have so lost sight of His Majesty, power, and authority that they shrugged their shoulders and chose to live the way they so desired.  They reduced God’s influence to that of a lifeless idol. Furthermore, they projected their own indifference onto him, thinking he cared very little as to whether people did right or wrong, as if he himself would never react to sin or respond to righteousness. The word complacent in this passage is akin to the process of curdling, thickening, or settling into. In other words, when we let go of our own conviction, and when we stop caring about sin (and worse yet, when we somehow think that God is on the same page), something destructive settles within us. Our faith curdles; our sin becomes like quicksand, and we shrug our shoulders over the consequences of it all. God will have none of it. He is not indifferent about anything.  God will have none of it.  Never confuse God’s patience with complacency. Sin has its consequences and righteousness has its rewards. If you know someone who is complacent in their sin, pray and fast for them. It’s no small thing to God. A day of reckoning is coming unless they wake up and repent.

Ask the Lord to show you if you’ve misjudged Him in any way.  

Author: Susie Larson, Prevail, Day 214

Powerful warning! Let us be people of faith who fear (reverence) God.

Thank you for your time.

Carl

Who Will NOT Inherit the Kingdom of God

The Bible warns that in the last days many will be deceived by false prophets (preachers) and false teachers who proclaim another Jesus and another gospel besides the biblical Jesus and His Gospel. They will lead many to hell instead of heaven. 

An example is found in a Christian Post article concerning the former president of Exodus International, a once-prominent Christian ministry that sought to help people with unwanted same-sex attraction. The ministry closed in 2013.  He is quoted as saying:

“Someone’s relationship with Christ isn’t dependent on the things that they do or the behaviors that they’re involved in.”

And

 “there are so many gay and lesbian people that I know, transgender people, bisexual people, you name it, who have a vibrant relationship with Christ and their sexual narrative doesn’t negate their righteousness or holiness.”

The following Scriptures are presented in love as a warning to show that these type of comments are deceptive and wrong. There are  people who the Bible plainly teaches will not inherit the kingdom of God. This means they do not go to heaven but to eternal torment when they physically  die.  Do not be found among them. Flee to the real biblical Jesus who said, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”   Carl

Scriptures:

Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

Lord Jesus – Matthew 10:32-33

But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time, and shall begin to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and shall cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; weeping shall be there and the gnashing of teeth.

Lord Jesus – Matthew 24:48-51

But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.

Lord Jesus – Matthew 24:13

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, 20 idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19-21

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral*, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate**, nor homosexuals***, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy****, nor those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

*sexually immoral (pornos) is one who engages in sexual immorality (Moody), i.e. fornication, adultery, homosexual, lesbian, bestialities, abuse of children, etc.

**effeminate are “men who fill the sexual role of the female” in homosexual activity. (Moody)

***homosexuals means literally “males who take other males to bed”. (Moody)

****greedy: covetous, “those who would like to have more” and act unethically to get it.” (Moody) This person has made mammon his god and is an idolator.

I Corinthians 6:9-11

 But sexual immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, which amounts to an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them…     

Ephesians 5:3-7

…when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These people will pay the penalty of eternal destruction,away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power…

2 Thessalonians 1:8-9

Therefore, treat the parts of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. 

Colossians 3:5-7

For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; and that no one violate the rights and take advantage of his brother or sister in the matter, because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you previously and solemnly warned youFor God has not called us for impurity, but in sanctification. Therefore, the one who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

I Thessalonians 4:3-8

Those who hate the Lord would pretend obedience to Him; and their time of punishment would be forever.

Psalm 81:15

There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, a soothsayer, one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who consults the dead. 12 For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things [abominations] the Lord your God is going to drive them out before you. 13 You are to be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 For these nations, which you are going to dispossess, listen to soothsayers and diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so.

Deuteronomy 18:10-14

The one who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and sexually immoral persons, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

…and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 21:8, 27

 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life, and may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral persons, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.

Revelation 22:14-15

Conclusion : Jesus warned us that in the last days there would be much deception. Many in the attempt to justify their behavior before God have sought out false preachers who will tickle their ears by misinterpreting the Word of God or outright lying to justify their lifestyle. John, a disciple of Jesus, tells us very plainly about how we can tell we are deceived:

If we say that things in common we are having with Him [God], and thus fellowship, and in the sphere of the aforementioned darkness are habitually ordering our behavior, we are lying, and we are not doing the truth.

[In other words, the person is deceived and God does not approve of their behavior but condemns it and instead of fellowshipping with God, they are actually fellowshipping with a false Jesus/God who is a demon. ] Then John goes on to say:

But if within the sphere of the light we are habitually ordering our behavior as Himself is in the light, things in common and thus fellowship we [God and the believer] are having with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son keeps continually cleansing us from every sin.

I John 1:6-7 Wuest Expanded Translation

Following Scripture explains the Biblical standard concerning conduct.

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He [Jesus] appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who remains in Him sins continually; no one who sins continually has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who has been born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious:  anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother and sister.

I John 3:4-10

Lord Jesus came to free us from our sins and purify us for Himself:

For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all people, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of ]our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds.

Titus 2:11-14

The next Scripture tells us how to be saved from our sins:

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:8-12

If you see yourself in these Scriptures and realize that you are continuously practicing one or more of these sins and are subject to  God’s wrath, repent (turn) from and confess your sins to God and call upon the Lord Jesus today to wash away your sins with His precious blood. He will save your soul delivering you from the wrath of God. He will give you His Holy Spirit to live in you. He, the Spirit of God, will teach you and empower you to become free from practicing sin and live a life pleasing to Him.

God is merciful to those who are repentant and contrite of heart. He will save you regardless of what you have done if you will confess your sins and ask Him to have mercy on you. Call out to Him today.

Carl

Notes:

  1. All Scripture is from the New American Standard Bible (1977 Translation or later) unless otherwise indicated.

Do Not Forget Any of His Benefits

Bless the Lord, my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul,
And do not forget any of His benefits;
Who pardons all your guilt,
Who heals all your diseases;
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with favor and compassion;
Who satisfies your [a]years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

The Lord performs [b]righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are oppressed
.
He made known His ways to Moses,
His deeds to the sons of Israel.
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He will not always contend with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who [c]fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our wrongdoings from us.
13 Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who [d]fear Him
.
14 For He Himself knows [e]our form;
He is mindful that we are nothing but dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass;
Like a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its place no longer knows about it.
17 But the [f]mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who [g]fear Him,
And His justice to the children’s children,
18 To those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts, so as to do them.

19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens,
And His [h]sovereignty rules over [i]all.
20 Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Mighty in strength, who perform His word,
Obeying the voice of His word!
21 Bless the Lord, all you His [j]angels,
You who serve Him, doing His will.
22 Bless the Lord, all you works of His,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, my soul!

(Psalm 103 – New American Standard Bible Translation, emphasis added)

Praise Him for all of His benefits! May we be like the early believers who were “…going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit… (Acts 9:31)

His blessings be upon all that love the Lord Jesus Christ.

Carl

(Scripture and footnotes from Bible Gateway)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 103:5 Or desire
  2. Psalm 103:6 Or deeds of vindication
  3. Psalm 103:11 Or revere
  4. Psalm 103:13 Or revere
  5. Psalm 103:14 I.e., what we are made of
  6. Psalm 103:17 Or faithfulness
  7. Psalm 103:17 Or revere
  8. Psalm 103:19 Or kingdom
  9. Psalm 103:19 I.e., the universe
  10. Psalm 103:21 Lit hosts

Atheist Filmmaker Abandons Unbelief For Jesus

Please visit the following link for a true fascinating journey of an atheistic filmmaker who finally finds salvation in Jesus Christ. God bless you and yours. Carl

www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2026/january/atheist-filmmaker-abandons-unbelief-for-jesus

Why are 64% of American churchgoers wrong about Heaven?

Recent survey shows 64% of churchgoers do not understand the biblical way of salvation.

What are American churchgoers being taught from the pulpit these days about what happens after death? Clearly something is terribly amiss. A 2025 study by Dr. George Barna and Dr. David Closson reveals the dire situation.

Only 36% correctly affirm: “You will go to Heaven if you repent of sin and accept Christ.” The rest of American churchgoers are completely misguided regarding who goes to Heaven.

The Family Research Council released the study a few months ago. And here is what people in the pew actually think:

  • “Everyone goes to Heaven” (14%).
  • “Everyone is purified, then goes to Heaven” (12%).
  • “Don’t know” (12%).
  • “You go to Heaven if you did good deeds” (11%).
  • “You cease to exist” (7%).
  • “You are reincarnated” (7%).
  • “You go to Hell” (2%).

Why are two-thirds of churchgoers wrong about something so foundational to Christianity? If your pastor is not preaching the Gospel, you should switch to a church where the truth of Scripture is being taught.

Half of American churchgoers (49%) either do not know who goes to Heaven, or believe that everyone goes to Heaven, or think that everyone is purified and then goes to Heaven. These statistics are shocking! And remember, these are people who actually attend church!

The biggest problem is that many pastors are not firmly rooting believers in the Gospel and the truth of Scripture. How else can you account for this sorry state of affairs among American churchgoers?

Southern Baptist professor Dr. Dustin Benge said, “You don’t need massive platforms, radical ideas, and revolutionary fervor to accomplish great things for God. Do the ordinary things: Serve in a local church, Stand on the truth, Share the Gospel, Love people. God uses ‘ordinary’ people to turn the world upside down.”

The Apostle Paul would have never made an impact if it were not for the power of the Gospel. And the same is true for all of the apostles, as well as anyone who has ever been called by the Holy Spirit to preach God’s Word.

— Read on www.christianpost.com/voices/why-are-64-of-american-churchgoers-wrong-about-heaven.html

I hope you are spreading the biblical gospel in your sphere of influence and beyond.      Blessings to you!

Carl

Martin Luther: God Hater to God Lover

Martin Luther was one of the famous Reformers in the Protestant Reformation. He unknowingly started the Reformation on October 31, 1517. 

There was a time in his life when he confessed:

“I actually hated the righteous God who punishes sinners…” 

In 1505 he became a Roman Catholic monk by entering a monastery at Erfurt in Saxony Germany.  In 1533 he described his life as a monk:

“I was indeed a pious monk and kept the rules of my order so strictly that I can say: “If ever a monk gained heaven through monkery, it should have been I. All my monastic brethren who knew me will testify to this. I would have martyred myself to death with fasting, praying, reading, and other good works had I remained a monk much longer.”

Luther was a very pious, moral, Roman Catholic monk trying to work his way to heaven. A heaven which is ruled by a righteous God who he confessed hating.

Why did Luther hate God? At the root of it was his ignorance. Apostle Paul writing about the unbelieving Gentiles says they are “excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in” them (Ephesians 4:17-18). Such was Luther’s case. The following explains, in his own words, what happened:

“Meanwhile, that same year I had again turned to the exposition of the Psalter, confident that after the academic treatment of the Epistles of St. Paul to the Romans and Galatians and the Epistle of the Hebrews I was better trained. Certainly, I had been possessed by an unusually ardent desire to understand Paul in his Epistle to the Romans. Nevertheless, in spite of the ardour of my heart I was hindered by the unique word in the first chapter: ‘The righteousness of God is revealed in it.’ I hated that word ‘righteousness of God’, because in accordance with the usage and custom of the doctors I had been taught to understand it philosophically as meaning, as they put it, the formal or active righteousness according to which God is righteous and punishes sinners and the unjust.”

“As a monk I led an irreproachable life. Nevertheless, I felt that I was a sinner before God. My conscience was restless, and I could not depend on God being propitiated by my satisfactions [good works]. Not only did I not love, but I actually hated the righteous God who punishes sinners…. Thus a furious battle raged within my perplexed conscience, but meanwhile I was knocking at the door of this particular Pauline passage, earnestly seeking to know the mind of the great Apostle.”

“Day and night I tried to meditate upon the significance of these words: ‘The righteousness of God is revealed in it, as it is written: The righteous shall live by faith.’ Then, finally, God had mercy on me, and I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that gift of God by which a righteous man lives, namely, faith and that this sentence -The righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel – is passive, indicating that the merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written: ’The righteous shall live by faith.’ Now I felt as though I had been reborn altogether and had entered Paradise. In the same moment the face of the whole of scripture became apparent to me. My mind ran through the scriptures, as far as I was able to recollect them, seeking analogies in other phrases, such as the work of God, by which he makes us strong, the wisdom of God, by which he makes us wise, the strength of God, the salvation of God, the glory of God.”

“Just as intensely as I had before hated the expression ‘the righteousness of God’, I now lovingly praised this most pleasant word. This passage from Paul became to me the very gate to Paradise.”* 

In another place Luther writes about this experience,

“At first whenever I read or sang the Psalm: ‘Deliver me in thy righteousness’, I was frightened, and I hated the words ‘the righteousness of God’ and ‘the work of God’, for I believed that the righteousness of God meant his severe judgment.  Were he to save me accordingly, I should be damned for ever. But the words ‘the mercy of God’ and ‘the help of God’ I liked better. Thanks to God, when I understood the matter and learned that the righteousness of God means that righteousness by which he justifies us, the righteousness bestowed as a free gift in Jesus Christ, the grammar became clear and the Psalter more to my taste.”*

And in one last place he writes,

“These words ‘righteous’ and ‘righteousness of God’ struck my conscience as flashes of lightning, frightening me each time I heard them: if God is righteous, he punishes. But by the grace of God, as I once mediated upon these words in this tower and heated room: The righteous shall live by faith’ and the ‘righteousness of God’, there suddenly came into my mind the thought that if we as righteous are to live by faith, and if the righteousness of faith is to be for salvation to everyone who believes, then it is not our merit , but the mercy of God. Thus my soul was refreshed, for it is the righteous of God by which we are justified and saved through Christ. These words became more pleasant to me. Through this word the Holy Spirit enlightened me in the tower.”*

As we can read, Luther goes from a ‘God hater’ to a ‘God lover’ once he is no longer ignorant of the following verse:

‘For in it [the gospel] is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith.’ (Romans 1:17)

Martin was no longer “excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in” him. By the Lord’s revelation to him, Martin went from being a lost Roman Catholic monk seeking to be saved by his good works to a person who was saved by God’s grace by faith ALONE. He says this truth ‘became to me the very gate to Paradise’.  Now he could participate in the life of God with a clear conscience knowing that his sins were forgiven in Christ. He realized his good works amounted to nothing when it came to being saved from the guilt and penalty of his sin.

All of his anger and hate toward God was due to not properly understanding God’s ‘righteousness’. The Roman Catholic doctors who had taught Luther only understood one side of the ‘righteousness’ coin. In His heart Luther knew he was a sinner and he had been taught that this “righteousness” was responsible for God punishing sinners and the unjust. And he said he hated this righteous God because of this.

Unfortunately, Luther’s teachers had received an unbiblical, false work-based salvation from their Roman Catholic ancestors and could not teach Luther the other side of the “righteous” coin. This being that when sinners place their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross ALONE for salvation, this very righteousness is imputed or credited to their account and thereby they stand before God legally as if they had never sinned. All because of what Jesus Christ did and they are now in Him through their faith and God’s grace.

His teachers did not believe this.

The believer becomes the ‘righteousness of God’ in-Christ Jesus (II Corinthian 5:21).  All of God’s moral excellence and virtue is imputed or credited to the believing sinner’s account. Hallelujah!

What about you?

Is your ignorance about God hindering your relationship with Him?

Do you have a clear conscience before Him or in your heart of hearts you know something is not right, maybe very, very wrong.

Have you ever checked God and Jesus Christ out by reading the New Testament yourself? If not, I encourage you to do so.

If your relationship with the God of the Holy Bible needs a correction or is non-existent, I pray that you will not rest until you are at peace with God the Father through Jesus Christ alone.

“The Lord … is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (Peter – II Peter 3: 9)

Carl

* Martin Luther quotes from Hans Hillerbrand, Editor, The Reformation – A Narrative History Related by Contemporary Observers And Participants (Baker Book House, 1972) pp. 27-28

Seeking Peace Between You and God?

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

For in it is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)

The Good News of Jesus Christ (The Gospel) tells us of God’s wonderful mercy and grace in sending his Son to die for our sins and to be raised from the dead, so we could be reconciled back to God.  By having faith in the finished works of Christ, a person can enter into this state of reconciliation and find rest for his soul.

Listen to what He said about you and me:

For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

The person who trusts in Christ becomes ‘the righteousness of God in Him’ (2 Corinthian 5:21) i.e. becomes in Christ all that God requires a person to be, all that they could never be in themselves. The faith thus exercised brings the soul into vital union with God in Christ, and inevitably produces righteousness of life, that is, conformity to the will of God.  This righteousness is unattainable by obedience to any law, or by any merit of a person’s own, or any other condition than that of faith in Christ.

Are you burdened down with shame and guilt because of your sins today? Does it feel like the hand of God is heavy upon you? Maybe you’re fed up with religion and man’s religious teachings and commandments that bind you to a dead, lifeless tradition, or just tired of this cold, unloving and hard world, or just have a sense that things are not right between you and your Creator. No peace, maybe.

If you have never asked God to save you from your sins, He is calling you right now to put your faith in what His Son Jesus did for you on the cross. He shed His precious blood as payment for your sins. Trust in Jesus’ completed sacrifice for all your sins and ask Him to save you and forgive you for your sins and bring you into the family of God, where you will be “right or just” before a Holy God and have eternal life now.

Talk to Him just as you would a friend.

The Lord Jesus says to you now:

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6)

If you have faith in Jesus’ sacrifice for your sins, God will impart His righteousness to you.  You will be “right and just” before Him in Christ. Peace will flood your soul as you realize you are at peace with Almighty God for once in your life. Praise God!

Come to Jesus today. You will not regret it.

Praying for you.

Carl

What To Trust In


It is not good for us to trust in our merits, in our virtues or our righteousness; but only in God’s free pardon, as given us through faith in Jesus Christ. —

John Wycliffe (c. 1320s – 31 December 1384, English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, priest, and a seminary professor at the University of Oxford. He was considered “the morning star of the Reformation).

(Berean Call)