There will be a debate between Dave Farina, who has over 2 million youtube followers, and Jim Tour, professor at Rice university. Jim is well known, and often despised, for his Christian commitment and OOL views. Please pray for Jim. Also pray that the debate does not degenerate into a demonstration against the truth. Too many believe that the louder you shout the truer it is. Jim's view is the minority, of course. The debate is scheduled for the 19th of May.

www.tourvsfarina.com

Last night I was praying for some criminals on my son's street to turn to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. While I was praying for them, a smell of something rotten appeared in the room. It was a sickening smell. When I stopped praying for them, the smell instantly went away.
Also, I was upset with the criminals for disturbing the street so badly. When I received Communion, I instantly felt sick. I repented of my negative thoughts and the nausea went away.

I just don't know what to think of these happenings, especially the rotten smell. Never had anything like that happen before. Any ideas as to what's going on?
Also, please say a prayer for my protection from anything evil.

Thanks

Curious since after some reflection I’ve been thinking moving to somewhere where there’s a higher Orthodox population would be better outside the US.

My job allows me to be remote. Curious about y’all’s experience, advice here.

A bit of background on Dave Farina. Yawn: YouTuber “Professor Dave” Rants about ID | Evolution News

There will be a debate between Dave Farina, who has over 2 million youtube followers, and Jim Tour, professor at Rice university. Jim is well known, and often despised, for his Christian commitment and OOL views. Please pray for Jim. Also pray that the debate does not degenerate into a demonstration against the truth. Too many believe that the louder you shout the truer it is. Jim's view is the minority, of course. The debate is scheduled for the 19th of May.

www.tourvsfarina.com

Please pray that my friend's heart surgery will go well in Jesus name.

In the last devotion titled, “But I Received Mercy,” we read this in 1 Timothy 1:12-14 ESV:


Paul (formerly Saul) was a Pharisee and a persecutor and a murderer of Christians. But then Jesus saved his soul from hell, and he transformed him in heart and mind, and he gave him the mission of opening the eyes of the spiritually blind in turning them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they could receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ (see Acts 26:16-18).

And so Paul became a great man of God who surrendered his life to Jesus Christ and who suffered greatly at the hands of other people in order to bring the truth of the gospel to the people and in order to refute the lies of the enemy of our souls. And he warned against false teachers who swerve from pure hearts and good consciences and sincere faith, and who wander off to vain discussion, to talk about matters they really know nothing about, in practice, and who are blowhards (braggarts, egotistical, and swindlers).

These braggarts and swindlers (cheats, tricksters, fakers) are long on talk but short on action, and oftentimes they are described in the Bible as those who are lawless, disobedient, ungodly, unholy, profane, murderers, sexually immoral, and those who practice homosexuality. They are enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine and is contrary to God’s moral laws. They are usually people without conscience, without morals, without restraint, without compassion, and lacking in kindness and concern for other people, because they are all about self and self-pleasure.

And many of them profess to be Christians, and some are even pastors of church congregations (or the gatherings of what is falsely called “church”). And some are husbands and wives and children and sisters and brothers who are mistreating their parents, siblings, spouses, and/or children. For when you deliberately and habitually sin against those you claim to love, that isn’t love, and you shouldn’t call it love, for it is hate, and it is willful. And it is abuse, and if this is you, and if you are making excuses for why you continue on this vein, then shame on you. You are without excuse!

1 Timothy 1:18-20 ESV


So, this really is the charge to all of us who profess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives. We should all be waging war against the enemy of our souls and against his lies and against false teachings and false teachers who are leading people astray by the masses. And we should all be living holy lives in dying daily to sin and to self and in walking in daily obedience to our Lord and to his commands. And we should be those who are steadfast in holding on to the truth as Jesus and as his NT apostles taught it to us.

Not one of us who professes faith in Jesus Christ should be like those described in the previous section of this writing who are living immoral and ungodly lives and who are deliberately sinning against God and against others, even those who they profess to love, and without conscience, and with no genuine desire to change their behaviors, either. We should not be those who reject the truth of the gospel and who turn to an altered gospel message so that they can continue in sin unhindered.

We should be those who long for our Lord and for his truth and righteousness, and whose desire is to do his will, to please him in all that we are and do and say.

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

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[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Aside from Craigslist, what's a good website to look for a room to rent?

Watch a “Calvinist” preach the Gospel of Grace:



We are unworthy of Christ. And we have great worth because of Christ. Christ died for us not because we are worthy, but because we are unworthy and there was no other way for us to be made worthy. It wasn’t a fair trade. The Son of God dies, the rebel lives. That’s not fair. That’s grace.




In Him,

Bill

“This morning, an individual entered my District Office armed with a baseball bat and asked for me before committing an act of violence against two members of my staff,” Connolly said in a statement.

The U.S. Capitol Police identified the man as 49-year-old Xuan Kha Tran Pham, of Fairfax. He is facing charges of one count of aggravated malicious wounding and one count of malicious wounding.

“At this time, it is not clear what the suspect’s motivation may have been,” Capitol Police said in a statement.

In an interview with a CNN reporter, Connolly identified the two staffers as a senior aide and an intern on her first day on the job. He said the attacker also damaged the office, shattering glass and breaking computers.

The report noted that the FBI received intelligence that Hillary Clinton’s campaign approved “a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisors to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by Russian security services,” specifically one that involved “tying him to Putin and the Russians’ hacking of the Democratic National Committee.” It notes that President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and FBI Director James Comey were personally briefed on Clinton’s scheme, known as the “Clinton Plan” in the report, by CIA Director John Brennan, who recorded mentioning the plan in his handwritten notes.
The “Clinton Plan” was obtained by the FBI while it was relying on the “Steele Dossier,” a discredited report of lurid allegations of Trump’s personal sexual activity, which the FBI knew was being funded and promoted by the Clinton campaign, according to the report.
Just like the Biden campaign, on and on it goes.

In the lawsuit, attorneys for Noelle Dunphy allege that Giuliani offered her employment for a salary of $1 million a year in 2019 when Giuliani was serving as an attorney for then-President Donald Trump.

“He made clear that satisfying his sexual demands—which came virtually anytime, anywhere—was an absolute requirement of her employment and of his legal representation,” the lawsuit says.

Giuliani’s demands for sex were captured on recordings, according to court documents [which contain poopoo words, so don't click the links within the link if that would upset you].

In one instance, for example, Giuliani promised Ms. Dunphy that he would give her $300,000 if she would forgo her legal rights in connection with her pending case and “[fornicate] me like crazy.” This statement was recorded.1

In addition to his sexual demands, Giuliani went on alcohol-drenched rants that included sexist, racist, and antisemitic remarks, which made the work environment unbearable. Many of these comments were recorded.

At this point, of course, we only have her (and her lawyers') side of the story.

A Catholic priest in Ohio was convicted Friday on five counts of sex trafficking charges related to three victims, two of whom were minors when first sexually abused.

A trial went underway that presented evidence of Zacharias paying victims to engage in sex acts with him, using the victims’ fear of serious harm to compel their compliance. The evidence showed Zacharias first meeting his victims when they were young boys, and he was a Seminarian at St. Catherine’s Catholic Parish school in Toledo, Ohio.

Zacharias then began to groom the boys for commercial sex acts, using his position as a priest and teacher to ingratiate himself with the boys and their families as a trusted friend, mentor and spiritual counselor, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said. The grooming process involved a gradual increase in more sexualizing conversations.

The victims testified that they submitted to Zacharias’ commercial sex solicitations because they feared the psychological harm of losing Zacharias as a father figure and friend, losing their connection to the Church and God, and suffering the painful symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

The actor-director talks re-release of "The Way," starring dad Martin Sheen, about a transformative Camino journey

Why is Emilio Estevez re-releasing a film he directed his dad Martin Sheen in over 12 years ago? The actor-director stopped by Salon's studio to share the story behind the second release of his 2011 film, "The Way," which takes place in Spain along the 500-mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route where hundreds of thousands make the journey each year – a tradition since the 9th century.

The film enjoyed some small success in its original showing, but has since garnered attention and letters from tens of thousands of fans from around the world who were inspired to walk the Camino after seeing the movie. "I may never make a film like this that actually has that kind of an impact on so many people that got up out of their chair, got up their couch and said, 'I'm going to do that,'" Estevez said on "Salon Talks."


Continued below.

I was recently in a prayer meeting and one member said something along the lines of the gospel has officially gone out to all corners of the Earth and that the age of grace was therefore coming to an end. Is this true do you think? Or is there still places in the world that the message of the gospel has not reached yet?

God is a jealous God. He has killed many. He is vengeful i am sure there are many more. Does he expect us to set a better example then he does? Practice what he preaches? We'd be in big trouble if we did. Do as i do not as i say, or something like that. I'd like to hear your reasonings.

It does seem that Pope Francis leadership of the Church and His Holiness political/ambassadorial leadership is being seriously questioned and rejected in both the religious and political spheres:

It does seem that President Zelensky is offering a moral analysis of aggressor and victim and the injustice of the aggressor who must be stopped, than Pope Francis has offered to the suffering people of the Ukraine. I am sure the pope wants to end their suffering but the pope’s moral voice has been seriously weakened by major missteps in the enunciating Catholic principles of just war which the Ukrainian president, who is not Catholic, but a Jew, I believe, does enunciate.

Orthodoxy in Church teaching (right teaching) leads to Orthopraxis, the correct practice of the Faith or at least the Church’s moral principles.

This is an excerpt from John Allen’s Sunday morning Crux commentary:

Continued below.

PSALM 66





16 Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.





THE CHRISTIAN'S CLARION CALL





Salvation from sin and having a relationship with God is truly the most amazing thing that can happen to anyone. I know that becoming a child of God on 15th, February, 1975 was the defining moment of my life, and I know that becoming a Christian is also the defining moment of many who are reading this devotion.





One of the reasons we are to tell (testify) what God has done for us among his people, is that it encourages them to press on. There is something about hearing how another person came to faith or how another believer is growing in grace. It is amazing to our souls to hear these (Testimonies)things.





We should always seek to encourage our fellow believers, by telling them, what blessings God has given us. We must share how God has opened up his word to us and spoken to us directly.





When was the last time you encouraged people in your church or an individual brother or sister in faith, by telling them, what God has done for your soul?





God has done so much for you.. share what He Has done for you.





Whilst you are about it.. tell the world, what He has done for your soul. Let the world know that Jesus has changed you life.



God bless you



Keith



PSALM 22




24 for he has not despised my cries of deep despair; he has not turned and walked away. When I cried to him, he heard and came.”





HE HEARS BECAUSE HE KNOWS OUR PAIN





This psalm is called the suffering servant psalm. It is probably the greatest prophecy about the death of our beloved Saviour.





Please read it and find all the prophecies about our Saviour.





What a verse we have in verse 24.



Jesus is our high priest.. he is the one who completely understands whatever trial, we are going through. In the book of Hebrews chapter 2 and 4 we have these words:





14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;



15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.



16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.



17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.



18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.



14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.



15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.



16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.





What Jesus experienced throughout his life, He faced and overcame every single temptation that we will ever face, and through his death and resurrection, he defeated sin and death and its power forever.




Let us go back to our text in Psalm 22, when we cry out to Him, he hears. Believer cry out to God; he will hear you. Your high priest will not walk away, he will come to you.





He will do this, because he has been through everything you are going through.



What a wonderful assurance this is and should be to us.



Cry out believer.. Jesus hears and understands and he will come to you



God bless you



Keith

Barbee says the entire 5th-grade team at Winding Waters school in Hernando County have signed permission slips from parents allowing PG-rated movies to be shown. She says she was reported to the state department of education for "indoctrination" and is under investigation for a possible violation of Florida's so-called "don't say gay" law, which bans teaching about gender and sexual identity in schools.

Click to expand...

No points for guessing that it's about homosexuality.

pray for these people

USA is Babylon the great

I would like to share with you that while I was reading Rev 16, 17 & 18 Jesus revealed to me that the USA is Babylon the Great. You can see this through the judgments described in these chapters.

Rev 16:18-19 tells us that Babylon the Great is that place that when the earthquake splits her into three, this will cause all the cities of the nations to fall.
Rev. 16:18-19 And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.

When Rev 18:11 and 17-19 explain that the merchants of the earth who became rich from Babylon the Great will be weeping because no one buys there cargos anymore and every shipping company who became rich from her will be crying out because there is no place to ship these goods, they are telling us that the cities of the nations fall because the merchants of these cities are manufacturing the goods, that they sell in Babylon the Great in these cities, and when the earth quake destroys Babylon the Great the manufacturing in these cities will cease and this will cause the economies and the cities to fall. The USA is the only place in the world that every merchant and shipping company is becoming wealthy from; that if it was destroyed would cause all of the cities of the nations to fall.
Rev 18:11 and 17-19 - 11 “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more 17 for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, 18 and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘ What city is like the great city?’ 19 “And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘ Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’

The mystery found in Rev 17:5 ‘and upon her forehead a name was written, a mystery, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." coincides with this. The first part of the mystery which says: “Babylon the Great” tells us that Babylon the Great is like Babylon of Old was, but greater. Babylon was known for two things, they were the center of trade and they ruled the earth. This tells us that Babylon the Great is that place which is the center of trade and rules the earth, but is greater in magnitude than Babylon of Old. The only place in the world that fits this description is the USA.

The next part of the mystery tells us that Babylon the Great is the Mother of Harlots, or she is that place that makes baby harlots, or she is that place that the other nations are becoming baby harlots, by becoming like her. The modern term for this is westernization. The USA is the only nation in the world that all of the other nations are becoming like, or westernized.

We can see the fulfillment of the last part of the mystery more clearly today, which tells us that Babylon the Great is the mother of the abominations of the earth. Recently, the Socialists in the Democratic Party have included such abominations as abortion, homosexuality, and same sex marriage in US foreign policy and they are using the economic grip that the US has on other nations and US military supremacy to force the nations of the world to legalize these abominations and it is through this that they are causing the USA to fulfill, “the mother of the abominations of the earth”. There is no other country in the world that is fulfilling the mother of the abominations of the earth.

John saw in Rev 17:9-11 that Babylon the Great is that place that is capable of sitting on or ruling over the fourth beast and Antichrist when he first arises, when they tell us that the beast, which symbolizes the Antichrist, comes out of one of the seven heads, which are kingdoms and their kings, and becomes an eighth king that the woman sits on or rules over.
Rev 17: 9-11 "Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, 10 and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. 11 “The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.

The USA is the only country that is capable of ruling over the Antichrist when he first arises.

Rev 16:12-19 tells us that the judgment of the USA takes place during the great tribulation period when the Antichrist and the False Prophet are gathering the nations to Har-magedon to reestablish his rule.
Rev. 16:12-19 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. 13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; 14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. 15 “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.” 16 And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-magedon. 17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “ It is done.” 18 And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. 19 And the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.

When the Antichrist sees that the earth quakes cause the USA to become defenseless, John saw in Rev 17:12-13 and 16-17 that the ten horns, which are the leaders of the Muslim terrorist organizations that are operating with in the ten nation kingdom, which are those nations that are fighting with Israel, will join with the Antichrist’s seven heads, which are kingdoms and their kings, in the common purpose to defeat the USA.
Rev 17:12 - 13 and 16 - 17… 12 "As for the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 "These have one purpose and they give their power and authority to the beast. 16 "And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. 17 “For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.

Rev 17:23 tells us that it is the merchants of the USA who are responsible for causing the judgment of the USA.
Rev 17:23 and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.

As you can see the USA is the only country that is capable of fulfilling all of the descriptions found in these scriptures.

After Jesus revealed to me that the USA is Babylon the Great He showed me the following vision to confirm that the insight was from Him and that He wanted me to share this message with His churches. One day when I was sitting at the table writing a letter I suddenly could not keep my eyes open, which I thought was strange because I had just awakened. When I laid down on the couch I saw a vision in which the face of a black man appeared before me, and I as I studied his face I noticed He was surrounded by a loving peace. He then told me to go and tell them, which I knew meant that I was suppose to go and tell the churches and the lost that the USA is Babylon the Great. After I soaked up the peacefulness that surrounded him for a few moments the vision ended. When I got up I said to Jesus that if it was Him who appeared to me, He would have to tell me who to tell first, who to tell second and who to tell third. Jesus led me to get dressed and leave my apartment. He took me south of Philadelphia, Pa to a church basement that was being used to take care of handicapped children. I shared a gospel tract with those in charge and then I left. Jesus then led me to a nearby church and after I knocked on the door and asked the receptionist if the Pastor was there and she responded, “you mean Father” I questioned Jesus asking Him if it was He who was leading me, since I knew that we are not suppose to call ourselves father. After I went inside the minister immediately appeared and invited me into his office. While I was sharing with him that we are not suppose to call ourselves father, I was shown that he had the Holy Spirit, but yet, he allowed himself to be called father. I realized that he belonged to Jesus, but some of his teachings were incorrect. He thanked me for the conversation and I left. Then Jesus led me to a church near my apartment and when the Pastor answered the door I was astounded because his face was the same face that the Holy Spirit appeared to me in the vision and then I realized that it was the Holy Spirit who appeared to me and that both the message that the USA is Babylon the Great and that I was supposed to go and to tell God’s people this message was from Jesus.

One day, while I was pondering why I was led to the first two churches before I was led to the church where the Pastor, whose face Jesus appeared to me as, answered the door, I realized that Jesus led me to the first two churches, so that it would be at the third church, where He confirmed that the vision was from Him, because after I saw the vision I said to Him, “if it was you who appeared to me you will have to tell me who to tell first, who to tell second and who to tell third.” This realization deepened my experience with Jesus.

One of the reasons that Jesus sent me to share that the USA is Babylon the Great is because Rev 18:4 contains a warning to the believers.
Rev 18:4 states And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive of her plagues;

This scripture is a warning to the believers, that if they participate in the sins that the Socialists in the Democratic Party are committing, either directly or indirectly by voting for one of these Socialists, they will receive their plagues. Some of these sins include the Socialist “separation of church and state,” which is a violation of the original intent of separation of church and state, because it is part of their scheme to establish Atheism as the national religion, promiscuity, abortion, pornography, gambling, alcohol, legalizing homosexuality, same sex marriage, transgender, teaching or supporting those that teach evolution in the public schools, colleges, museums, parks or through any of the media outlets, inclusion of no evangelizing in the “no soliciting” signs that you see on the windows of businesses, requiring permits to evangelize with in city limits, supporting the Muslims against Israel, and no evangelistic statements allowed in the work place. These are some of the sins that the Socialists in the Democratic Party are committing and if you are a believer and are participating in them you will receive their plagues if you don't come out of them.

‘Mercy will always be greater than any sin, and no one can place limits on the love of God who is ever ready to forgive.’ (Misericordiae Vultus, 3)

Mother’s Day can be hard for those of us who have experienced abortion.

I can remember cringing when the priest would ask for moms to stand up for a blessing and be acknowledged in church at Sunday Mass. Sure, I had living children, so I felt I had to stand, but I did not think I deserved the blessing and could not shake the feelings of guilt and despair when thinking of my son Joshua, whom I had aborted as a teen.

Our faith teaches that sin affects us all. Our behaviors are influenced by our experiences and there are consequences for our sins. The consequences of my sin, especially one as serious as abortion, touched countless numbers of people, and even society as a whole — only I did not realize it.

I remember one Mother’s Day when I walked around town for hours with my two young sons, unable to stop crying. At the time I had no idea that it was because of the empty space of my son through abortion. I was so unaware of the multiple ways my abortion had affected my life, but it had touched every aspect.

Continued below.

Video Talk

1 Timothy 1:12-14 ESV


The last devotion the Lord had me write was from Psalms 139, and there it talks about how God formed us in the wombs of our mothers, and how all the days ordained for us were written in God’s book before one of them came into being. And this was on Mother’s Day, so I was talking about how not everyone had parents who they believed loved them and who treated them with kindness and who did not abuse them. For some of us were abused as children, and so Psalms 139 is a difficult reality for some.

But then the Lord had me talk about the sovereignty of God over our lives and how he is the one who put us in those households knowing full well that we were going to be persecuted, but then he also had me talk about Joseph and how his brothers sold him into slavery and how many years later he met up with them again, and once he revealed to them who he was they felt badly for what they had done to him. But he told them that Satan meant it for evil but God meant it for good for the salvation of human lives.

So, then my next passage was this one, and so I was thinking about how God took a man who was a persecutor and a murderer of Christians and how he turned his life around, and how he used him to spread the truth of the gospel and to write half of the New Testament books, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And I was thinking about how God has used this man in all of our lives in teaching us the truth of the gospel and what it means to be a Christian and how we ought to live and not live, etc.

So, then I was thinking about how God, in his sovereignty, not only uses evil done to us for good in our lives, but he can even use us who have done evil for his purposes and glory and for the salvation of human lives once he has turned us around and we are no longer doing the evil we had once done but now we are living for him and we are walking in obedience to his will and to his ways which he has for us to walk in. For all that we have gone through in our lives can be used of God to prepare us for the ministry he has for us.

And then I relayed how I had known the Lord since I was seven, and how I had served the Lord in ministry many years, but how I had been abused and mistreated and persecuted much over my lifetime, and how it got so bad at one point in my life that I cracked from the pressure of it all and I gave into the flesh and I sinned against my Lord on and off over a period of time. And then one day the Lord brought me back to my senses and he taught me to trust in the sovereignty of God, and then he called me to this ministry.

And the point of what I was sharing in the video is that no matter what we have gone through in our lives, and no matter where we have been, or what has been done to us, and no matter what we have done, God can use us for his purposes and for his glory and for the salvation of human lives when we turn to him or turn back to him in faith and obedience, and like Paul we are no longer who we were before, doing the things we did before, for the Lord transformed us and so we are now living our lives for the glory of God.

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Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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Parasha: “B’Har” (on the Mountain) LEVITICUS 25:1-26:2

“Give it a rest! Will ya?” I am sure you have heard that expression before, or “Give it a rest already!”

People tend to say that when one continues in some theme or argues over a point that is not really worth it, HOWEVER, this is what God is saying when He sees the earth, soil, and ground being over-worked; “Give it a rest!” just as people need to rest and take their “Shabbat rest” so does the land which really belongs to HIM, we are just using it.

This parashah deals with giving the land a rest after six years of planting and harvesting, on the seventh year the land shall rest. This, agriculturally, is very sound and comes from the mouth of the creator of all the earth. The reason is quite simple to understand. Crops, such as corn, wheat, barley, vegetables, etc., when they grow in the soil, take in nutrients, quite like us, when we eat, we absorb nutrients from the food we eat. Imagine the land after 6 years of planting and harvesting, all those nutrients, minerals, and chemicals from the soil, are being absorbed by the crops sown, if the land does not have a chance to rest and renew itself, it will soon become useless, quite void of nutrients…so… a year’s rest will give the soil enough time to replenish itself.

Adonai provided for His people during the year that there would be no harvesting or planting. He made sure that the sixth year would produce a bumper crop, enough to supply the Israelite families with food for the 7th and 8th year. We can also see it this way. There are 7 "Alephs" in the first verse of Genesis, the letter "Alef" can also be spelled "Elef" which means 1000. (Yeshlekha elef dolarim?) "Do you have 1000 dollars?" (example). So far, this world has existed for six thousand years of war, peace, work, turmoil, problems, you name it. We might look at the 7 thousandth year as the millennium of rest, of Shalom. The Millennium of Yeshua who will come back to rule.

We can apply this commandment today, to allow the land to rest after six years of planting and harvesting, even families that have little vegetable gardens in the back of their houses. May they enjoy six years of vegetables and then in the seventh year, just dump compost in the soil, food that goes bad, moldy bread, etc., don’t put it in the garbage, bury it in the garden, do that in that seventh year, and then the next year, plant and harvest again.

We can look at ourselves in a similar way. How do we count our lives? By a 365-day year? Or by sabbaticals? If we were to count our years by the day, we could say we have many days and years ahead of us! Really? Do we know tomorrow? (didn’t think so). However, if we were to count our years on Earth by counting by sevens? How many “sabbaticals” have we lived? How many “might” be left? If I were to count my sabbaticals, I would have to count starting in 1954. 1954-1960 first seven years, 1961-67, the second sabbatical. I would have to ask myself, what have I done or accomplished in each of these periods of seven years? Anything of importance? Have I influenced other lives? If we count by sabbaticals, we will find that we really don’t have many sabbaticals to live.

What do we do in our “seventh year?” wouldn’t it be wonderful to “rest” a whole year? Or just dedicate that “seventh year” to full-time ministry work? That would be quite hard to do for those of us that work for a living and depend on a salary. Don’t think the boss would be very happy to hear us say; “Boss, I want to take off for this year, it is my “sabbatical” I’ll come back next year at the same time!” (Yeah, uh-huh, weeelll, you might not find your job waiting for you after a year) but we do have the summers to rest. If we could divide the year into seven parts, we would end up with more or less 1.7 months of time. Why not minister for 1.7 months? Share God’s Word, teach the WORD to others, for those who can take off a year without compromising their jobs, take every seventh year and just take that time to rest, travel, minister, hike, walk, leave behind gospel tracts, visit different churches and/or Messianic synagogues, and may ADONAI supply ALL of your needs.

26:2 “YE SHALL KEEP MY SABBATHS! AND VENERATE MY SANCTUARY.

We can look at this in the spiritual realm as well. We are like the crops, which are planted, by Adonai, on this earth, to grow in HIM, and reach maturity, yet there comes a harvest time, when we will be harvested to go back home, to our eternal Sabbath’s rest, to enjoy our “Yovel” our time of “Jubilee” to reap what we have sown, souls that have come to YESHUA through our testimonies, believers who have grown to maturity through “teachers of the WORD” it is not enough to give out the WORD of God, there must be the ones who teach it, like seeds that are planted and watered. For this reason, spiritual gifts are given, and among those are the “teachers of the WORD” the ones who water the seeds so that they may grow, mature, and in the end, be harvested.

The parashah also talks about slaves and servants. An Israelite could not be considered a slave, but a servant, yet a foreigner could be considered a slave. Yet both treatment of the slave or servant had to be humane, and they had to be released during the time of Jubilee, every 50 years. Normally, a slave or servant would be released at the end of 6 years, however, if the slave or servant wished to remain with the master, the time with the master ended at the time of Jubilee.

What this portion of Torah is saying is that ALL possessions, both material, animal, and human, belong to Adonai. We have each other, our material blessings for only a season. We should enjoy each other and the blessings that the LORD has given us, for a season, employers should treat their employees with respect and with honor (they would be like the slaves and servants in Biblical times) Employers have their employees, just for a season.

Someday, when we stand before our Heavenly Father, we will be accountable for all the things we have been given, both human, animal, and material things. For the season in which they were given to us, how did we treat them? In the time of Jubilee, how will stand before Yeshua? Something to think about.