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Winning with the Word

Author: Dr. MaryAnn Diorio

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Manuals. We have them for our cars, our washing machines, and our fitness equipment. But did you know there is a manual for living a successful life? It's called the Bible, and it holds the answers to every problem you will ever face in life. Check it out! You will be amazed!
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https://media.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/content.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/2025_06_07_The_Truth_about_Depression.mp3 June 7, 2025 Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Saturday, June 7, 2025, and this is episode #7 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, "The Truth about Depression."In the past few months, I have received far too much tragic news about people who have committed suicide. Some of these were middle-grade and teenage children!Friend, this should not be. These tragedies lead us to ask ourselves what is going on? Why is this happening? And why is it happening at younger and younger ages? Also, why is depression now so commonplace, to the point that it has become an epidemic and a household word?When I was a young teen, I was excited about my future, despite the fact that I was then living in a very difficult family situation. I had dreams and goals and the hope and ambition to pursue them. But far fewer young people today have that same hope and ambition. Instead, they are drowning in a sea of depression and despair, with no seeming way of escape.But young people aren't the only ones affected by depression and hopelessness. More and more people are complaining of being trapped in the grips of depression, with no hope for a future. The number of people taking mental health medications has skyrocketed, to the point that these people cannot function normally without them. Anxiety prevails, causing people to resort to drastic measures to obtain a semblance of peace. Something has gone drastically wrong. And while the solution is right under our noses, few are willing to look there. So, let's explore this problem of depression and uncover what is really going on behind the scenes., I think you will agree that for every effect there has to be a cause. This is simple logic. While we may not know the cause, we know there is one because logic demands as much. So, when we witness increasing incidences of depression and despair in a culture, a despair increasingly resulting in suicide, we need to trace these effects back to their original cause. Once we know the cause, we can take measures to alleviate the cause and, thereby, create a different effect.With that thought in mind, let's take a look at the last 75 to 100 years in America and in western civilization as a whole. How would we describe the state of the world 100 years ago vs. the state of the world today? What is the mindset of people today vs. the mindset of people living in the first part of the 20th century? As you follow along with me, I think you will discover some very interesting facts.Having conducted my own research on the topic—and, better yet, having lived on this earth through nearly 80 of those 100 most recent years—here are two observations I have made: 1) One hundred years ago, in the first half of the 20th century, the cultural consensus was rooted in a Judeo-Christian philosophy of life. While many people were not Christians, the majority of the population respected and lived by the Judeo-Christian principles espoused in the Ten Commandments. Lest you do not know what these principles are, they can be summed up in what we call the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In other words, treat other people as you would like them to treat you.In fact, 100 years ago most people lived by these principles. Yes, there were evil people back then just as there are today and have been throughout human history. But the culture as a whole did not look favorably upon evil people. Their behavior was considered shameful. And that public disapproval—that peer pressure, as it were, against wrongdoing— provided a great deterrent to evil.Take pregnancy outside of marriage, for example. A girl in my high school became pregnant outside of marriage and was expelled from school.
by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio Today I am beginning a series on Faith. Sometines, in order to define what something is, it is better first to define what it is not. So let's take a look at what faith is not.1. Faith is not Hope.__Hope is always in the future. Faith is always NOW.__Hope says, "I believe I'll get healed someday." Faith says, I am healed NOW."__Hope says, "Someday I'll be debt-free. Faith says, "I am debt-free NOW."__Hope is believing that God is going to do something. Faith believes that God has already done it.The late evangelist and Bible teacher, Kenneth Hagin, used to say, "If it's not NOW, it's not faith."So, what, then, is Faith?Hebrews 11: 1 tells us that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Well, what is substance? Substance is whatever we need, whether it be a job, a raise, a car, a healing, a place to live. Substance could also be peace of mind, a good marriage, or wisdom in how to parent. We could describe faith as a title deed. Let's assume you hold the deed to your house or your car. That deed is not the actual house or car. It is a document that is legally as good as the actual property or car. If you show your deed to a judge in court, that judge will understand that your deed represents your ownership of the property.Faith is like that title deed. Faith is our title deed to the promises of God. For those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord—in other words, for those of us who have been born again—faith is our title deed to all that Jesus died to give us. When Jesus released His last breath, He said, "It is finished!" What was finished? His work of salvation. There is nothing more that Jesus has to do to save us, to forgive us of our sins, or to heal us. He did it all when He shed His Blood on that Cross. Now it is up to us to receive what He died and rose from the dead to give us. Next time, we'll take a look at how to receive those blessings into our personal lives.
WINNING WITH THE WORD “Winning with the Word” is a weekly blog that will help you to be a winner in life by applying God’s principles for living the abundant life as found in the Bible, God’s manual for life. An invitation for you: To subscribe to this blog, click here.  To subscribe to this podcast, click here. If this blog and podcast have blessed you, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe as well. Thank you! Be sure to check out our Featured Book of the Week at the end of this post. ______________________________________   Do you prefer listening instead of reading? Then click below to listen to today’s blog post on podcast. https://media.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/content.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/The_Truth_about_the_Great_Reset.mp3 ___________________________________________________________________________ Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, novelist and life coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Monday, June 27, 2022, and this is Episode #26 of Series 2022. This episode is titled The Truth about 'The Great Reset.' _________________________________________ If you have not yet heard of "The Great Reset." you will soon. In today's post, we will explore this topic and expose the lies at its foundation. So, what is The Great Reset and why do you need to know about it? The Great Reset is the name given to the 50th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, in 2020. Convened by Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and the World Economic Forum (or WEF), this meeting brought together top business and political leaders from around the world for the purpose of taking advantage of the then current COVID crisis and to use that crisis as the launching pad for creating the New World Order.   The stated goal of the 2020 World Economic Forum meeting, as published on the official WEF website, was “to overcome income inequality, societal division and the climate crisis.” This remains the WEF's goal, and they are pursuing it with relentless passion. While, at first glance, the WEF's goal may sound noble, it is rooted in deception. In truth, the nice-sounding terminology masks anti-Biblical lies whose ultimate purpose is to enslave humanity and to usher in the New World Order under the brutal dictatorship of the Anti-Christ. A frequent expression used by the Great Resetters is "Never let a crisis go to waste." Interestingly, one of the chief topics discussed at the 2020 Conference was how best to use the COVID-19 pandemic and the theory of climate change to reset global structures. Klaus Schwab, current CEO of the World Economic Forum, said this in a statement posted on the official World Economic Forum website: “The pandemic represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset our world.”   Reflect. Reimagine. Reset. What the Great Resetters mean by these words is not what most people mean by these words. The Great Resetters want to turn our world into a global kingdom where we own nothing and are happy. A kingdom where they call all the shots and we call none. A kingdom where we do what they say or we die.  The social structures included in their nefarious reset goals are education, health care, finance, and energy production, among others. The aim of the World Economic Forum is to restructure our world according to a model that makes the liberal, wealthy élite rulers over the rest of us. Those who promote the Great Reset are brazenly open about the fact that they want to control every human being in every aspect of his life. For the past two years, we have already witnessed and experienced that control infiltrate our daily lives in the form of lockdowns and mask mandates. Now that same control is expanding to the imminent use of a Social Score Card that will ration food, gasoline, and other life-sustaining products according to the degree of one's compl...
WINNING WITH THE WORD “Winning with the Word” is a weekly blog that will help you to be a winner in life by applying God’s principles for living the abundant life as found in the Bible, God’s manual for life. AN INVITATION TO YOU: To follow this blog, click here.  If this blog has blessed you, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe as well. Thank you! ______________________________________ Do you prefer listening instead of reading? Then click below to listen to today's blog post on podcast. https://media.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/content.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/WWW_02_01_21_band-How_to_Think_like_a_Winner.mp3   ______________________________________   Have you ever wondered why some people are more successful in life than others? Is it a question of so-called "luck"? Or is there something more to this thing called success? The answer, as always, is found in the Bible. In this best-selling book of all time, God has clearly outlined the principles of success. The problem is that, sad-to-say, most people don't read the Bible. Or they read it after the fact. After the problem has arisen and nearly devastated their lives. Yet, the Bible contains the answer to every single situation you will ever face in life. In fact, the Bible is God's Manual for Life. It is the book He gave us to navigate our time on this earth successfully. Isn't it a tragedy that most of the world neglects it? The Bible is all about winning. Not only winning in this life, but, far more importantly, about winning in the life after this one. The life that will last forever.  In the Bible, God has set in place certain principles, or laws, that govern success. If we live according to these principles, we will experience a wonderful, blessed life. But if we don't, we won't. It's as simple as that. So, what are these principles of success? And how can we apply them to our lives? One of the fundamental principles is found in Proverbs 23: 7: This verse reads as follows: "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." Let's unpack this verse to discover what it means and how it can affect the entire course of our lives.  First of all, this verse clearly connects the way we think in our hearts with the way we are: "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." Note the phrase in his heart. The verse does not simply say as a man thinks, but as he thinks in his heart. Well, what is meant by the heart?  The word heart as used here does not refer to the physical heart, the organ that pumps blood throughout our bodies. No, the word heart as used in this verse implies that intangible entity within us that we all recognize but cannot adequately define. Yet, the Bible gives us a picture of what this intangible entity called the heart really is. The heart is that part of us that connects our soul with our spirit. We are made in the image of God, and we have a spirit, a soul, and a body.  Each of these three parts is also made up of three parts. The spirit is made up of the conscience, the intuition, and the imagination. The soul is comprised of the mind, the will, and the emotions. The body is made up of bone, fluid, and soft tissue.  The heart is the bridge between the spirit and the soul. In other words, the heart is connected simultaneously to the spirit and to the soul. On the one hand, the heart is connected to the conscience part of the spirit. On the other hand, the heart is connected to the emotions, the will, and the mind parts of the soul. The Bible makes many references to the heart. Each of these references gives us a partial definition of the heart. For example, in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 9, verse 4, we read this: “And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, 'Why are you thinking evil things in your hearts?'” The act of thinking occurs in the mind. But in this verse, Jesus connected thinking with the heart as well. "Why are you thinking evil things in your hearts?
https://media.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/content.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/2025_09_18_The_Upside-Down_Kingdom.mp3September 18, 2025 Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Thursday, September 18, 2025, and this is episode #18 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, “The Upside-Down Kingdom." Before we get into our message for this week, I want to extend a warm welcome to all of our new subscribers around the world. By the grace of God, Winning with the Word now reaches 85 countries all over the globe! Praise the Lord and glory to God!I want you to know how much I appreciate your support, and I trust that Winning with the Word blesses you and encourages you during these difficult last days. Please share this podcast and blog with your family and friends. I would love to bless them and encourage them as well.Now, on to this week's message titled "The Upside-Down Kingdom."If you have been a Christ-follower for any length of time, you have likely noticed that the Kingdom of God runs by laws opposite those of the natural world. For example, in the kingdom of earth, one lives first and then dies. In the Kingdom of God, one dies first and then lives.In the kingdom of earth, one must see first before one believes, while in the Kingdom of God, one must believe first before one sees. In the kingdom of earth, one does something in order to be something. In the Kingdom of God, one is something before one does something.In a very interesting passage in Acts 17: 6, the Bible calls the disciples "the men who have turned the world upside down." We tend to think of this expression of turning the world upside down as meaning to disrupt the natural order of things. And it does mean that. But, the coming of Christ to earth also turned the world upside down in a very literal way. The old order of the way things worked passed away. Jesus ushered in a new order, a new way of seeing and doing life. And that way is the only true way.Let's take a look at this new order of things that Jesus brought by exploring each of the ways the Kingdom of God is upside down from the kingdom of earth.1) Death before Resurrection.In john 12: 24 NIV, Jesus said this: "Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." The Kingdom of God is like a seed. A seed must be planted in order to produce a crop according to the seed's kind. So it is with the one who chooses to follow Jesus Christ. That one must die to himself in order to live in Christ.This seems like a paradox, and it is. 2) Believing before Seeing.In the earthly kingdom the dictum is, "Seeing is Believing." In God's Kingdom, the dictum is "Believing is Seeing." The Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of Faith. In order to benefit from the promises of the Kingdom, one must walk in faith. Faith is the switch that turns on the power of God and enables t he Christ-Follower to experience the promises of God fulfilled in his life. Faith is the currency of the Kingdom of God whereby all transactions are conducted. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.3) Being before Doing.I find it very interesting that here in the earthly kingdom, when we meet someone new, one of the first questions we ask is, "What do you do?" Why don't we ask our new friend, "Who are you?" The reason is that the dictum for the kingdom of earth is "Doing precedes Being," while in the Kingdom of God, the dictum is "Being precedes Doing."In the Kingdom of God, we must first abide in Christ before we can bear any fruit. Jesus said this in John 15: 4 NIV: "Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me." So, let me ask you, friend, are you engrafted in the Vine that is Jesus Christ? If not, you need to be.
Are You Ready?

Are You Ready?

2025-09-1112:38

September 11, 2025Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Thursday, September 11, 2025, and this is episode #17 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, “Are You Ready?" Before we get into our message for this week, I want to extend a warm welcome to all of our new subscribers around the world. By the grace of God, Winning with the Word now reaches 85 countries all over the globe! Praise the Lord and glory to God!I want you to know how much I appreciate your support, and I trust that Winning with the Word blesses you and encourages you during these difficult last days. Please share this podcast and blog with your family and friends. I would love to bless them and encourage them as well.Now on to this week's message titled Are You Ready?.You may be asking "Ready for what?"Are you ready to meet the Lord?Lest you scoff at my question, listen to these words straight from the Bible in Romans 14: 10 NLT: " . . . we will all stand before the judgment seat of God." That includes you, my friend. No matter how much you may deny it or try to evade it, you will one day stand before the judgment seat of God to give account for your every thought, word, and deed. And so will I. A pretty sobering thought, don't you think?And that day of judgment may be here sooner than you think.You see, the Bible gives us several clues as to what will happen on the earth before the Lord returns to judge humanity. Most of these clues, also known as prophecies, have already come to pass. Only a few more remain. And those few more are lining up perfectly and rapidly.So, what are the clues?We find them throughout the Bible, particularly in Daniel chapter 9: 27, Matthew chapter 24, and 2 Thessalonians chapter 5. Let's take a look at a few of them.Matthew 24: 1-8 NLT says this:"Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, 'Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?' Jesus told them, 'Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah.' They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.'"Take a look around us, folks. The number of earthquakes over 5.0 has been astronomical during the past two weeks. I have an earthquake app on my phone, and it registered 45 earthquakes over 5.0 and 414 earthquakes over 4.0 in the past week alone! This is unprecedented. The earth is groaning to give birth to the Kingdom of God, just as Jesus prophesied. Let's listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8: 22 NLT: "For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."Food shortages are being reported daily, with many countries already in the grip of famine. As for wars and threats of war, just about every country is involved in a war of some sort.And then we have the prophecy in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5: 3 that is being fulfilled right now. Listen to this: "While people are saying, 'Peace and security,' destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."Are people not saying, "Peace and security" everywhere we turn? Just listen to the news. And did you know that on September 22nd of this year—that's just 12 days from the day I am recording this podcast—the United Nations will hold a historic meeting in New York City to confirm an agreement for a two-state solution for Israel and the Middle East? Could this agreement be the "covenant with many" prophesied in Daniel 9: 27? Let's hear the words of Daniel,
September 4, 2025 Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Thursday, September 4, 2025, and this is episode #16 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, "The Time of Jacob's Trouble Is Near." Before we get into our message for this week, I want to extend a warm welcome to all of our new subscribers around the world. By the grace of God, Winning with the Word now reaches 85 countries all over the globe! Praise the Lord and glory to God!I want you to know how much I appreciate your support, and I trust that Winning with the Word blesses you and encourages you during these difficult end times. Please share this podcast and blog with your family and friends. I would love to bless them and encourage them as well.Now on to our message for this week, which, by the way is especially for all of my Jewish friends out there. If you are not Jewish, please pass this podcast on to your Jewish friends and acquaintances. Thank you!So, what is the time of Jacob's trouble? This phrase first appears in the Book of Jeremiah, an Old Covenant (or Old Testament) prophet who lived from about 650 BC to 570 BC. He was a prophet during the latter decades of the Kingdom of Judah, and his ministry continued until after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC.Referring to the time of Jacob's trouble, Jeremiah wrote the following in chapter 30, verse 7, of his prophetic book: "In all history there has never been such a time of terror. It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel. Yet in the end they will be saved." The time of Jacob's trouble is a seven-year period of intense suffering and torture under the brutal dictatorship of the AntiChrist. It is also called "the 70th week of Daniel" in the prophetic Old Testament book written by the prophet Daniel. I say this with all due respect, but the time of Jacob's Trouble will make the Holocaust look like a picnic."Jacob" in the phrase "the time of Jacob's trouble" includes the entire nation of Israel, comprising both the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel. When Jeremiah wrote his prophecy, Israel was in a time of great turmoil. The northern kingdom had already been captured by the Assyrians, and the southern kingdom of Judah was on the verge of being sent into captivity to Babylon because of their disobedience to the Lord's commands. Two Levels of InterpretationBut Jeremiah's prophecy had not only an immediate meaning for the Jewish people living during his time; it also has a prophetic meaning for the Jewish people of our day. This dual level of interpretation means that the Babylonian captivity and other horrendous persecutions of the Jews, such as the Holocaust, served as types of the ultimate pouring out of God's wrath on His people for their continual rebellion in not recognizing Jesus Christ as their Messiah.Jesus Himself also referred to the time of Jacob's trouble in Matthew 24: 21 BLB: "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, and never shall be."The purpose of the seven-year tribulation is to punish the Jews and all non-believers for rejecting Jesus Christ as the true Messiah. In the end, one-third of the Jews will finally acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the true Messiah and will be saved.Whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, there is only one way to be saved. And that way is by acknowledging that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died to take the punishment for our sin upon His shoulders, and that He rose from the dead. There is no other way. Buddha cannot save you. Mohammed cannot save you. Hare Krishna cannot save you. No false god or false belief system can save you. Only Jesus Christ can save you.He Himself said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Won't you hear His call to you now? Won't You receive Him as Your Savior and Lord before it is too l...
August 28, 2025Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Thursday, August 28, 2025, and this is episode #15 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, “A Discussion on Daniel 9: 27" with Dr. Dom Diorio. Before we get into our message for this week, I want to extend a warm welcome to all of our new subscribers around the world. By the grace of God, Winning with the Word now reaches 85 countries all over the globe! Praise the Lord and glory to God!I want you to know how much I appreciate your support, and I trust that Winning with the Word blesses you and encourages you during these difficult end times. Please share this podcast and blog with your family and friends. I would love to bless them and encourage them as well.Now on to our message for this week.You will be delighted to know that my wonderful husband is back as a podcast guest. Many of you heard him in former podcasts as he spoke on the end times, and today we're going to focus in on Daniel 9: 27.So help me give a warm welcome to Dr. Dom Diorio. Welcome, honey!OK, let's get started. Please tell us, Dr. Dom, why Daniel 9: 27 is so important, especially today? CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE END: If you sincerely prayed this prayer from your heart, you are now a born-again child of God. You have been given an inheritance by God Himself that includes hope, peace, and joy. Write to me at drmaryann@maryanndiorio.com, and I will send you a free PDF e-booklet titled After You’re Born Again. In case you are not aware, I write heart-mending fiction that deals with the deepest issues of life. In my stories you will find characters just like you who struggle with what look like impossible problems and situations. Check out my books at my online bookstore at shop.maryanndiorio.com. That’s shop.maryanndiorio.com. My featured book for this week is titled The Rabbi and Mrs. Goldstein. This powerfully moving novel recounts the story of a 19th-century rabbi’s wife who accepts Yeshua as the Messiah and faces her husband’s wrath in the form of divorce, destruction, and death. You can get your copy at the link provided HERE.I also invite you to visit me on my other blog, The Relationship Road. There you will find valuable information on creating and cultivating healthful relationships based on God’s Word.Winning with the Word is available on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast venues as well as on YouTube. Check out my YouTube channel at youtube.com/drmaryanndiorio.Until next time, remember that God loves you just as you are and just where you are. Yet He doesn’t want to keep you there. As you live in Him, He will help you to keep on winning with the Word.________________________________________________________________Copyright 2025 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD. All Rights Reserved. I also invite you to visit me on my other blog, The Relationship Road. There you will find valuable information on creating and cultivating healthful relationships based on God’s Word.Winning with the Word is available on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast venues as well as on YouTube. Check out my YouTube channel at youtube.com/drmaryanndiorio.Until next time, remember that God loves you just as you are and just where you are. Yet He doesn’t want to keep you there. As you live in Him, He will help you to keep on winning with the Word. SUBSCRIBE HERE to Winning with the WordSUBSCRIBE HERE to The Relationship RoadVISIT MARYANN’S BOOKSHOP ________________________________________Copyright 2025 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD. All Rights Reserved.
August 21, 2025LISTEN HERESUBSCRIBE HERE to Winning with the WordSUBSCRIBE HERE to The Relationship RoadVISIT MARYANN’S BOOKSHOP Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Thursday, August 21, 2025, and this is episode #14 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, “It's Almost Midnight!” Before we get into our message for this week, I want to extend a warm welcome to all of our new subscribers around the world. By the grace of God, Winning with the Word now reaches 85 countries all over the globe! Praise the Lord and glory to God!I want you to know how much I appreciate your support, and I trust that Winning with the Word blesses you and encourages you during these difficult end times. Please share this podcast and blog with your family and friends. I would love to bless them and encourage them as well.Now on to our message. The World Is AsleepWhile the world sleeps, God's watchmen are at their posts .For the past decade and more, they have been studying the Word, watching the heavens, and keeping their eyes on the geopolitical pulse of the world, especially on the Middle East, and specifically on Israel. Their conclusions coincide: the world is approaching its end as we know it, and approaching its end at warp speed.Something shifted in the world back in 2020, and the world has never been the same. Normal did not come back, as people had hoped. But the watchmen know that Jesus is coming back. And they are risking their names and their reputations to warn us.Why?Because God, in His infinite love, has given the watchmen a mandate to warn the world. We read this mandate spoken by God in the Book of Ezekiel 33: 6:"But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and does not sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths."The Enemy is ComingSo, what enemy is coming that the watchmen are warning us about? They are warning us about the coming Tribulation under the brutal dictatorship of the AntiChrist. More than that, they are warning the world of the eternal fires of Hell which no one will escape unless he is born again.And what are the watchmen getting for their warnings? They are being mocked, ridiculed, and scorned. They are being called alarmists and fanatics and lunatics. But they don't care. Why not? Because they love God and they love you!You may find this hard to believe, but it is the truth. How do I know? I have followed the watchmen for a decade now, and, indeed, I have joined their ranks. So, what are the watchmen seeing as they watch?1) They are seeing that the earth is groaning in labor pains that will only increase before the Tribulation and then result in the birth of the Kingdom in the Millennium, the thousand-year period of time during which Jesus Christ will rule on the earth. These labor pains are appearing in the form of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, monstrous storms, solar flares, falling asteroids, and so on.Romans 8: 20-23 NLT says this: "Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time." And in Luke 21: 11 NLT we read: "There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven."2) The watchmen are seeing the entire world gang up against Israel and demanding a two-state solution. Scripture clearly warns in the Book of Joel that any nation that divides Israel will itself be divided. Listen to the prophet's sobering warning in Joel chapter 3, verse 2:“I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.
by Dr. MaryAnn DIorio August 14, 2025 SUBSCRIBE HERE to Winning with the Word Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Thursday, August 14, 2025, and this is episode #13 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, "What's with the Jewish Temple?" Before we get into our message for this week, I want to extend a warm welcome to all of our new subscribers around the world. By the grace of God, Winning with the Word now reaches 85 countries throughout the globe! Praise the Lord and glory to God!I want you to know how much I appreciate your support, and I trust that Winning with the Word blesses you and encourages you during these difficult end times. Please share this podcast and blog with your family and friends. I would love to bless them and encourage them as well.Now on to this week's very important message. During the past week, word was released that the Jews conducted the first animal sacrifice in 2000 years in Jerusalem, just across from the Temple Mount. Interestingly, the momentous event was kept quiet in order not to arouse any more dangerous activity in an area already under tremendous attack.Byron Stinson, the cattle rancher from Texas who bred the red heifers and sent them to Israel a few years ago, posted a short video on Facebook showing the event. While there has been much controversy as a result over whether the sacrifice was legitimate or not, the sacrifice seems to have fulfilled Torah requirements.If, indeed, the sacrifice was legitimate (and I personally think it was), then the world has entered a new era prophetically. If you're wondering what this is all about—if you're thinking, What are you talking about now, Dr. MaryAnn? Animal sacrifices? In this day and age? Now you've really lost it!— please hear me out.The first Jewish temple, built by King Solomon, was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. on the Jewish feast called Tisha b'AV or the 9th of Av. The second Jewish temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. on the same feast day. This second temple was built under the leadership and supervision of the prophet Nehemiah and was subsequently destroyed by Roman armies under the Emperor TItus. To this day, the Arch of Titus in Rome commemorates this wicked event. As a result of the Temple's destruction, the Jews have not had a Temple for 2000 years, and they are very eager to rebuild one.Why do the Jews need a Temple? They need a Temple because the sacrifices required under Jewish law for the forgiveness of sin require a Temple. But even more than that, prophecy declares that, during the Tribulation, the AntiChrist will enter the Temple and declare himself to be God. In order for the AntiChrist to enter the Temple and for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled, there must be a Temple to enter. We read this prophecy spoken by Jesus Himself in Matthew 24: 15 - 21:"So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be." So, the Bible prophesies that in the last days, there will be a Third Temple. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that everything has already been prepared for this soon-to-be-built Temple. All of the utensils have been crafted. All of the priestly garments have been sewn. The Menorah has been made according to the specifications given in the Bible. The priests have been trained for the sacrifices and other rituals.
Dr. MaryAnn Diorio August 9, 2025Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Saturday, August 9, 2025, and this is episode #12 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, Are You Ready for What's Coming?Well, are you ready for what's coming? Do you even know what's coming? And coming very, very soon?It astounds me when I speak to people to learn that most of them have no clue about what is really going on in the world. They may know geopolitically or economically, but few know Biblically and prophetically what is actually happening. The reason is they don't read the Bible!Moreover, when I explain to people what is happening, most of them brush me off as being a lunatic, a crazy lady, a woman off her rocker. (Now, I do have a lovely white rocking chair on my front porch, but I manage very well to remain in it when I rock. :)But, back to my very serious message. The world is on the brink of a major disruption such as has never been seen in history nor will it ever be seen again. Consider Matthew 24: 21 NASB: "For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again."This verse alludes to the Tribulation, that seven-year period of horrific catastrophe and calamity that will befall the earth and is also referred to in the Bible as "the time of Jacob's trouble." What is the time of Jacob's trouble?Let me give you a little background to help you understand. Jacob was the grandson of Abraham and the son of Isaac. In the Bible, the name Jacob refers to Israel because the Lord God changed Jacob's name to Israel. We learn this in Genesis 32: 28 ESV: "Then he [God] said, 'Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.'" (Brackets mine)Over the subsequent centuries, the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob, sinned greatly against God. As a result, God's wrath against them was roused, and they suffered much for their rebellion. The purpose of the Tribulation, or the time of Jacob's trouble, will be to bring Israel to repentance and to pour out His wrath on an unbelieving world.When will the Tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble, occur? Here are some indicators:1_It will occur after Israel is back in her land. From the years 70 AD to 1948 AD, Israel was scattered all over the world in the historic event known as the diaspora. But in 1948, Israel was established and recognized as a sovereign nation by the United Nations. So Israel is now back in her land. Indicator #1 fulfilled.2_It will occur after the "times of the Gentiles. In Luke 21: 24, Jesus prophesied that Jerusalem "would be trampled underfoot" by the Gentiles until their time is fulfilled. This "time of the Gentiles" was likely completed in the 1967 war when Israel took back Jerusalem. Indicator #2 fulfilled.3_It will occur before the second coming of Christ. According to Mark 24: 23-30, Jesus will return at the end of the time of Jacob's trouble to judge the world. Indeed, His return signals the end of the Tribulation, or the time of Jacob's trouble. But before returning to the earth at the end of the Tribulation, Jesus will appear in the clouds and remove His true followers from the earth before the Tribulation, so that they will not suffer His wrath during the Tribulation. This event is called the Rapture. Some scholars believe that the Rapture could occur next month, September 2025, on the Jewish Feast of Rosh HaShanah, also called the Feast of Trumpets.Many signs are alerting us to the imminent return of Jesus Christ in the Rapture. Here are a few:1_The increase in the frequency and intensity of earthquakes, storms, and floods.2_The rise in famine around the world.3_The appearance of new diseases.4_The move toward a worldwide banking system of digital currency.5_The increase of lawlessness in the form of bloody street riots,
https://media.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/media.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/content.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/2025_08_02_Life_s_Most_Important_Decision.mp3 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio August 2, 2025Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Saturday, August 2, 2025, and this is episode #11 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, Life's Most Important Decision.Well, have you made life's most important decision? Do you even know what it is?You may be thinking, Dr.MaryAnn, stop playing games with me. What are you talking about? What is life's most important decision?I'm so glad you asked. Now, before I answer your question, I want you first to pay close attention to what I'm about to say. I want you to pay attention for your sake, not mine. Because you see, I've already made life's most important decision. I made it 55 years ago, and, as a result, I have experienced peace, joy, and love ever since.Now, I don't mean I haven't had problems since then. In fact, I've had many problems, and some very serious ones. But in the midst of every problem, I've experienced peace, joy, and love.So, let's get to the point. What is life's most important decision?It is the decision to be born again. Now, if that term makes you cringe, then you need to hear this more than anyone.Years ago, when I was in my early twenties, a young woman named Margo asked me the question, "Have you been born again?"I looked at her as though she had two heads and replied, "I've never heard the term 'born again.' What do you mean?"She went on to explain that to be born again is to be reconnected to God and to be restored to the original state in which God created Adam and Eve. Again, this time I looked at her as though she had four heads. I didn't even know I had been disconnected from God, so why would I need to be reconnected? Moreover, what she said was foreign to all that i had been taught growing up. "Margo," I said, "I respect your belief system, but it's not for me. I'm Catholic."At the time, I was still under the erroneous belief that only Catholics went to Heaven and that I needed to stay as far away as possible from all things "Protestant."An expression of deep sadness crossed Margo's face. "I will pray for you," she said. The look in her eyes reflected a love I had never seen before in anyone's eyes. It touched me to the core. A few years later, after much personal searching, I finally did make the decision to be born again. And it transformed my life.So, like me 55 years ago, you may be asking, "What does it mean to be born again?"It means to be reconnected to God Who created you and originally intended for you to be connected to Him forever. It means to accept Jesus Christ as the only one who can do the reconnecting.You see, my friend, when God created Adam and Eve, they were perfect. They had everything going for them: health, abundance, love, joy, and peace. They also had a free will. Sadly, they used that free will to turn against God and to go their own way. This foolish decision ended up disconnecting them from God and connecting them to Satan. It opened them up to the eternal punishment of Hell when they died. By rebelling against God's command not to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they got a good look at what evil is, and they experienced it firsthand. They also gave over their rule over this world to Satan. Satan is now the god of this world and the source of everything that is evil in it.But God was deeply saddened by Adam and Eve's rebellion. He also knew they could never get out of the mess they created on their own. So He sent His Son Jesus Christ to get them out of the mess. And He did!That's what the Crucifxion and the Resurrection are all about. In dying on the Cross, Jesus took the punishment for our sin that we deserved to take. What is that punishment?
Sounding the Alarm

Sounding the Alarm

2025-07-2514:26

by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio July 26, 2025 Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Saturday, July 26, 2025, and this is episode #10 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, “Sounding the Alarm." For the past few years, watchmen all over the world have been watching for the return of Jesus Christ in the cataclysmic event known as the Rapture. But not only have they been watching, they have been warning the world as the Lord has been revealing more and more signs of His soon return.In the Old Testament Book of Daniel, chapter 12, verse 9, the prophet Daniel inquired of the angel as to how the end of the world would transpire. The angel replied, “Go now, Daniel, for what I have said is kept secret and sealed until the time of the end."Well, my friend, we are now in that time of the end! And the Lord is revealing to His watchmen, day by day, the meaning of the signs the world is experiencing.Perhaps the most significant of these signs is what is happening in the Middle East. Keep your eyes on Israel. Israel is God's timepiece. As goes Israel, so goes the world.Let's take a look at some of these endtime signs that were sealed up in Daniel's day but are now being revealed in ours. These signs indicate our Lord's return in the Rapture is at hand.1. MASS DECEPTION. When the disciples asked Jesus what would be the signs of the endtimes, the first thing Jesus listed was deception. Let's read the passage in Matthew 24: 23-24:"As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. 'Tell us,' they said, 'when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?' Jesus answered: 'Watch out that no one deceives you.'" (Matthew 24: 23-24 NIV).We are living in a day when it is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish the truth from the lie. With advances in Artificial Intelligence, we are now able to manipulate images, voices, faces, and everything else in such a way as to distort who or what they really are and make them into what we want them to be. We create avatars, pictures of ourselves as we would like to look, not as we truly look. I find it very disturbing that one of the chief definitions of avatar is the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition that calls an avatar "the incarnation of a Hindu deity" A false god. This is DECEPTION.We are witnessing an increasing number of people claiming to be the Messiah and offering solutions to the problems of the world. In a desperate attempt to find answers, people are turning to spiritists, mediums, mystics, psychics, New Age leaders, and other occultists, not realizing that they are playing with fire and opening their lives to the demonic realm. 2. WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS. To my knowledge, there is currently a war or a threat of war in each of the four corners of the earth. Jesus warned us that this would be the case in the end times. Each day we hear increasing threats of a third world war, and, from the looks of things, we wonder if World War III has not already begun. 3.WIDESPREAD LAWLESSNESS. If you've watched the news lately, you've seen incidences of rioting in the streets, explosions on private property, and acts of arson that ignited widespread forest fires. Recently, a gang from a major nearby city invaded my small town and raced down one of our main streets on motorcycles. There were about 100 of them, and their exhibitions of lawlessness were beyond the pale. Their belligerent, rebellious actions forced other drivers off the road. The gang went through red lights, while doing flips, spins, and twirls with their motorcycles that would defy the most experienced stunt man. But as if obstructing traffic and endangering lives was not bad enough, the gang also assaulted an elderly couple who own a convenience store in our area, robbed their beverage case, and destroyed their property.
https://media.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/content.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/J2025_06_21_Jesus_Christ_Is_Coming_Back_Soon_.mp3 June 21, 2025Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Saturday, June 21, 2025, and this is episode #9 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, “Jesus Christ Is Coming Back Soon!" If you are at all in tune with world events, you very likely have heard mention of an event called the Rapture. If not, let me explain to you what the Rapture is.The Rapture is an event predicted in the Bible whereby Jesus Christ Himself will appear in the air and gather together from the four corners of the earth all those who follow Him. It will be a sudden event and will leave those who are not raptured reeling in shock as to what happened.Let me read to you directly from the Bible as it describes this cataclysmic event in 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-3:"Now about the times and seasons, brothers, we do not need to write to you. For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, 'Peace and security,' destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." (1 Thessalonians 5: 1-3)Did you catch the words "peace and security"? Have you noticed that those words are being uttered all over the news every day and are being pronounced continually in meetings at the United Nations?Friend, Jesus Christ made this prediction over 2000 years ago, and we are now seeing it being fulfilled right before our very eyes. Should this not cause us to pause and consider?You may be saying, "Well, Dr. MaryAnn, I don't believe in the Rapture. In fact, I don't even believe in Jesus."I would say to you, "You are free to believe what you choose. But what you believe does not change the truth."For example, you could say to me, "Dr. MaryAnn, I'm going to climb up on my roof and jump, but when I do, I will go up instead of down."I would say to you, "I don't think you will go up when you jump off your roof. I think you will go down and possibly get hurt. There is a law of gravity that will cause you to go down when you jump. So, if I were you, I would reconsider my belief. But, of course, you are free to believe whatever you want to believe."But know this, my friend, whatever we believe has consequences. So be prepared to face the consequences of your belief that when you jump off your roof, you will go up.The same is true about the Rapture and the Bible in general. The Bible is God's inspired word. He directed different people in different centuries to write His Word. Despite the fact that those people for the most part didn't know one another and lived centuries apart, they all wrote the same truth expressed in different ways. Doesn't that tell you something?Bottomline, we will believe what we want to believe. But we had better make sure that what we are believing is the truth. Otherwise, we will end up where we don't want to be.There are numerous signs in the Bible of the Rapture. Some will say that the word "rapture" is not in the Bible. Actually, it is. It is found in the Latin Vulgate translation as the word "rapturo." "Rapturo" means "a catching away," which is exactly what the Rapture will be—a catching away of the people of God by Jesus Christ Himself.Lest you think this is far-fetched, so is the concept of aliens far-fetched. Yet, people have no trouble believing in alien invasions. Over the decades, the world has been programmed through movies and books to believe in aliens. In fact, once all Christ-followers have left the earth, their sudden departure will be attributed to an alien abduction of inferior creatures of a lesser consciousness. (As an aside, aliens are fallen angels who rebelled against God with Lucifer, now known as Satan.)Other signs of the imminent Rapture are the world's current focus on Israel and the M...
June 14, 2025Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Saturday, June 14, 2025, and this is episode #8 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, “An Interview with Dr. Dominic Diorio on the End Times." Listen here! Friend, if you want to escape not only the horrors of the Great Tribulation but also the horrors of an eternity in Hell, accept Jesus Christ now. Don't wait another moment. Pray this simple prayer with me now:Lord Jesus, I want to escape the unspeakable horrors of the Great Tribulation that is soon to begin. Even more than that, I want to escape the eternal fires of Hell. So I ask You now to come into my life. I believe that You are the Son of God Who died to save me and Who rose from the dead. I receive You as my Savior and Lord. Help me to live for You all the days of my life. In Your Name I pray. Amen.If you sincerely prayed this prayer from your heart, you are now a born-again child of God. You have been given an inheritance by God Himself that includes hope, peace, and joy. Write to me at drmaryannn@maryanndiorio.com, and I will send you a free PDF e-booklet titled After You’re Born Again. In case you are not aware, I write heart-mending fiction that deals with the deepest issues of life. In my stories you will find characters just like you who struggle with what look like impossible problems and situations. Check out my books at my online bookstore at shop.maryanndiorio.com. That’s shop.maryanndiorio.com. Also, visit me on Substack at drmaryanndiorio.substack.com and subscribe to my blog and podcast titled “The Relationship Road.” There you will find valuable information on creating and cultivating healthful relationships based on God’s Word.Winning with the Word is available on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast venues as well as on YouTube. Check out my YouTube channel at youtube.com/drmaryanndiorio.Until next time, remember that God loves you just as you are and just where you are. Yet He doesn’t want to keep you there. As you live in Him, He will help you to keep on winning with the Word._______________________________________Copyright 2025 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD. All Rights Reserved. Visit my ONLINE BOOKSHOP.
May 31, 2025 Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Saturday, May 31, 2025, and this is episode #6 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, “It's All about Control!"What's all about control? The events we see going on in the world today.Our world is fast moving toward the rise of the AntiChrist and his global dictatorship. Everything is being set up for the establishment of the Beast system and, sad to say, most of the world is clueless.What about you? Are you clueless, too? If so, listen to this podcast to the very end so that you can be prepared for what lies ahead in the very near future. You've very likely heard of the accelerated move toward the digitalization of our world, including the financial, medical, and social segments of society. Digital currency is making major head-roads in Europe, with the soon establishment of the digital Euro by 2026, if not before. The European Central Bank has stated that it "hopes to have a political deal on the digital Euro by early 2026." I've posted the article containing this quote under "Sources Cited" in the show notes.In another article, posted by Accenture and titled "The Digital Euro: A strategic step toward Europe’s monetary sovereignty?," the author explains that "cash is rapidly losing ground" and being replaced by a digital system that will purportedly make monetary transactions safer and more convenient.Pay attention to the words "safer" and "more convenient." You will be hearing and seeing those words more and more as the world becomes completely digitalized. Under the guise of safety and convenience, the New World Order is setting up a system of control over the entire world population. Eventually, as they proclaim, "You will have nothing and be happy."Why will you have nothing?Because your freedom is being gradually stolen from you, under your very nose. And you are very likely unaware that it's happening. What looks like a "safer and more convenient" way of living is actually leading to tyranny. Lest you think I am being far-fetched and alarmist, consider this:__Surveillance cameras are everywhere, watching our every move. One writer noted that the United States has more surveillance cameras per person than any other country in the world. (https://theconversation.com/surveillance-is-pervasive-yes-you-are-being-watched-even-if-no-one-is-looking-for-you-187139)__More and more countries are requiring more and more identification processes—like iris scanning, facial scanning, palm scanning, and on and on—in order to travel, purchase, and do things we used to do without such scanning.__When you're online, websites use ad-trackers and third-party cookies to gather information about you. These ad-trackers and third-party cookies are stored in your browser and follow you around from site to site, enabling advertisers to follow you around as well.__These days, surveillance is the name of the game in healthcare as well. A recent article, titled "AI may be listening in on your doctor's appointment," raises a red flag on another aspect of stolen freedom. (https://endtimeheadlines.org/2025/05/ai-may-be-listening-in-on-your-doctors-appointment/)__If you wear a device to monitor your health, such as a FitBit or SmartWatch, you are being surveilled. It has been noted that there is an eerie resemblance between a FitBit and the ankle bracelets people wear when being monitored by a court of law. The analogy reminds me of the heavy chain prisoners used to have to wear around their ankles.__Perhaps the biggest tracking culprit of all is your cell phone. GPS gives your location to maps and weather apps. WiFi and Bluetooth can pinpoint your phone's location. Do you use gaming apps? Then your information is being tracked. Do you own a late-model car? Then very likely your car employs telematics, such as OnStar or Bluelink to track your location.
May 22, 2025Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Thursday, May 22, 2025, and this is episode #5 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, “Christianity is NOT a Religion!”What I am about to say may surprise you, even stun you. But it is a truth with eternal consequences, a truth that is widely misunderstood but needs to be understood.My statement is this: Christianity is NOT a religion. It is a relationship.Let me say that again: Christianity is NOT a religion. It is a relationship.Understanding the difference is crucial to understanding Christianity. You see, my friend, religion is all about earning one's way to Heaven by doing good works. The American Heritage Dictionary defines "religion" as follows: "A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader." And the leader of every belief system except Christianity teaches that one must earn his way to Heaven by doing good works.While we cannot explore every belief system in existence today, let's look at the top most prominent ones outside of Christianity and what their leaders teach. I quote directly from websites on each of these belief systems:1. Islam: The leader of Islam is Mohammed. Mohammed taught the following. I quote from an article titled "What's the Road to Heaven according to Islam?" by Professor Shahul Hameed, President of the Kerala Islamic Mission, Calicut, India: I quote Professor Hameed: ". . . In Islam, both faith and good works are of equal importance; indeed they are two sides of the same coin." (https://aboutislam.net/counseling/ask-about-islam/road-heaven-islam/2. Hinduism: This belief system teaches that a person’s karma, or the sum total of his good and bad deeds in his previous life, determines the level into which he will return in their next life. The ultimate goal is to be released from the rebirth cycle when one reaches moksha. Moksha is what the Hindus believe is ultimate salvation. It is a state of enlightenment achieved only through a series of good works done from one life to the next. Once a person reaches moskha, the rebirth cycle is broken and one goes to loka or Heaven. (https://hinduismfacts.org/reincarnation/salvation/) 3. Buddhism also teaches reincarnation but a continual reincarnation until one reaches nirvana, similar to the Hindu's moksha. To the Buddhist, death is not an ending but simply the beginning of a new life. What one will become in the new life results from the works one has done in his previous life. This process continues until one becomes free from the cycle of death and rebirth and reaches nirvana, or heaven.4. Judaism also teaches that salvation results from one's works. At the same time, salvation for the Jew is collective and national, not personal and individual. Jewish teaching does, however, place responsibility for sin on the sinner. Judaism teaches that the individual can atone for his sin by repentance and by doing good works. He has no need of anyone to save him. He can save himself through repenting of his sin and doing good works to make up for them. (https://chosenpeople.com/salvation-as-interpreted-by-judaism/)Did you notice that all four of the above belief systems involve good works as an essential part of salvation and going to Heaven?Yet, when we come to Christianity, we see that good works have nothing to do with salvation and going to Heaven. Let's read what the Bible says in the Book of Ephesians 2: 8-9 NLT:"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it."Christianity teaches that no one can earn his way to Heaven. No one can do enough good works to qualify for Heaven. Why not? Because no human being can meet God's perfect standard of justice for sin. Not a single one of us could ever pay God enough for our sin...
https://media.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/content.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/2025_05_15_Where_Is_the_World_Headed_.mp3 May 15, 2025Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Thursday, May 15, 2025, and this is episode #5 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, “Where Is Humanity Headed?"Where IS humanity headed? Do you know? Do you wish you knew? Are you afraid, or doesn't it faze you?Well, if you're like most people, you are concerned about what's going on in the world around us. As the saying goes, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that the world is on the brink of destruction, and all of it, sadly, is self-imposed.So, where exactly is the world headed? While most people are frantically trying to figure it out or have completely tuned it out, there are answers to this very legitimate question. And those answers are found in a place where most people refuse to venture. That place is within the pages of the Holy Bible.If you had a negative, visceral reaction to what I just said, you need to hear what I'm about to say because it could literally save your life. This is no time for playing games, my friend, and if you truly care about your future, then you will choose to listen closely to the rest of this podcast.The Bible is a book replete with predictions about the future. Most of them have already come true—exactly as predicted. Some are currently in the process of coming true—exactly as predicted. And a few still remain to come true and will occur exactly as predicted.Let's take a look at some of these prophecies and compare them with what's happening in the news today. Number 1: 2 Peter 3 NIV - " . . . in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, 'Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.'”Wherever I turn these days, I find mockers of Christ's promise to return. While I hope not, perhaps you are one of them. If so, I would warn you to stop your mocking. If you don't, you will one day deeply regret it. No one can call God a liar and get away with it. So stop calling Him a liar. Just because His promise to return hasn't yet come to pass does not mean that it won't.Number 2: Matthew 24: 7 NIV . . . "There will be famines and earthquakes in various places."Well, you might say, "Dr. MaryAnn, there have always been famines and earthquakes," and you would be right. But we can't deny that there are more earthquakes today than ever before, and in places where we never used to hear of earthquakes. I have spent most of my life in New Jersey, and for the first 65 years of my life, I don't recall ever experiencing an earthquake. In the last decade, however, New Jersey has had three earthquakes measuring over 4.0. This is highly unusual for my area. The same can be said of places like upstate New York, Indiana, and Ohio. Those states are not known for earthquake activity. Consider also the Phlegrean Fields outside of Naples, Italy, a supervolcano now on the verge of a catastrophic eruption. Or Yellowstone National Park, also on the brink of a disastrous eruption. These are developments in the earth that are direct fulfillments of Bible prophecy.Number 3: 1 Thessalonians 5: 3 NIV - "While people are saying, 'Peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."Interestingly, if you go to the website of the United Nations, you will find the phrase "peace and safety" or "peace and security" written in multiple places. Just out of curiosity, I did a search on how many times the phrase "peace and security" occurs on the UN website as of the recording of this podcast, and the results listed 8012 times!But not only do we see thie phrase "peace and security" on the UN website,
April 24, 2025Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Story Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Thursday, April 24, 2025, and this is episode #4 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, “Do You Know Who You Are?"Let me ask the question again. Do You know who you are?You may be thinking, What a ridiculous question! Of course, I know who I am. I'm an accountant. Or, I'm a plumber. Or, I'm an electrician. Or, I'm a lawyer. Or, I'm a teacher. Or, I'm a basketball coach. Or, I'm the CEO of XYZ Company. Or, I'm a mom. Or, I'm a grandfather—and on and on and on it can go.But let me ask you a question: Is that who you really are? What if your career were suddenly stripped from you? What if, God forbid, your family and friends were suddenly taken from you? Who would you be then?Have you ever considered this profound question? If not, I would urge you to do so. For you see, who you believe you are is at the very foundation of your purpose on this earth. Who you believe yourself to be will determine your path in life, and whether that path takes you to fulfillment or to destruction, to life or to death.Sadly, most of us grow up with the idea that we will discover our identity in our job or career. And so, we plod along, year after year, until one day we realize that, despite the outward success, we feel empty on the inside. As a Life Coach, I have had numerous clients over the years come to me in their forties and fifties, admitting that the career they thought would satisfy them never did. In almost every single case, the client discovered that he was not living in God's purpose for his life, but in his own.Recently, I have been discipling my three teenage granddaughters using the outstanding Lifeway Bible study titled Defined. It was created by the Kendrick Brothers, producers of several powerful Christian movies, including The Overcomer. (As an aside, if you haven't seen The Overcomer, I urge you to do so.) In the Defined series for Girls, author and Bible teacher Priscilla Shirer discusses the topic of identity with a group of young women who face the identity struggle all of us face at some point in life. You, too, may be struggling to know who you are and why you're here on this earth. You, too, may be wondering how to discover who you really are. If so, stay with me until the end of this podcast. I'm going to give you some insights you may never have considered before in your journey toward discovering who you really are.Now, hear what I'm going to say next because it is a game-changer. There is only one way to discover who you truly are, and that is by turning to God for the answer. I'm going to repeat that because it's critically important: There is only one way to discover who you truly are, and that is by turning to God for the answer. Now, before you get upset with me, consider these four points, taken from the Defined study:1_God made you. Only the one who made something can define what it is. If you create something—let's say a work of art or a tool of some sort—only you have the right to say what it is.2_God owns you. He purchased you with the greatest price of all, the Blood of His Son Jesus Christ. If you purchase something, it's yours and only you have the right to do with it what you choose.3_God has authority over you. Only the creator of something has authority over his creation. Only the creator of something can determine the purpose for which he created it. Since God created you, He alone can determine your purpose. Only you have authority over something you create.4_ God knows you better than anyone knows you, even you yourself. Because God made you, no one knows you better than He does. So no one else has the right to tell you who you are. If you create a painting, no one besides you has the right to tell you what the painting means.Now, considering these four points, doesn't it make sense then that God alone can tell you who you are?
by MaryAnn Diorio, PhDApril 16, 2025Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Story Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Wednesday, April 16, 2025, and this is episode #3 in Series 2025. This episode is titled, "Can History Prove the Resurrection?"To my knowledge, nothing has caused more controversy throughout human history than the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Satan has made every attempt to discredit this historical fact and continues to do so today. In this podcast, I would like to share seven historical facts that support and prove the Resurrection:1) All four Gospels recount the events of Christ's death and resurrection. The Gospels were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—all followers of Christ. Three of them—Matthew, Mark, and John—were eyewitnesses to these major historic events and testify to them. The fourth, Luke, learned about the resurrection from earlier eyewitnesses of the events.2) Many of the eyewitnesses to Christ's death and resurrection gave their lives rather than denounce what they had seen with their own eyes. They died for more than just a cause they believed in. They died for the very facts they saw with their own eyes. They refused to deny the facts, although doing so would have likely spared them from death. But they chose to side with the truth of what they had seen, not to lie in order to save their own skin.3) History shows that Christ's grave was in fact empty. The stone had been rolled away. His body was never found. Although Roman soldiers guarded his tomb, he still disappeared from it. Here is how the Holy Scriptures describe the event in Matthew chapter 28:"And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men."So the guards themselves saw this angel who made them tremble. They knew that something supernatural had happened. Yet, they allowed themselves to be bribed for fear of their own death. You see, in those days, if a Roman soldier failed in his assignment to guard a prisoner and the prisoner escaped, the soldier himself was killed. In Matthew 28: 11-15 ESV, we read what really happened after the guards saw the angel and discovered that Jesus was missing:"While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day."Did you catch that last sentence? "And they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day." Rather than tell the truth about what they saw, the guards accepted the bribe to save their lives and told the Jews that Christ's body had been stolen. And TO THIS DAY, the lie continues to be spread! 4) After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to numerous people. About 500 in fact! He talked with them, ate with them, touched them. In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he writes this:"I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.
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