I hate politics, preaching in these last days, money loving, myself and my own sin. I don't even like worship music anymore. It's just more wealth and politics to me. I'm the scum of the earth like 1 Corinthians chapter 4 mentions but im not even an apostle. I'm not even worthy to be called a Christian.

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Isaiah chapter 58 teaches us to fast or rest permanently from judging and pointing fingers. It says to help people instead. It says take in the outcasts and to feed the hungry. Healing is promised. Politics seem to do the opposite of what Isaiah teaches us however. Am I wrong?

It seems to me like people are your friend until they find out that you hate politics and wealth

Proverbs 14:20 The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor,
But the rich has many friends.

1 Corinthians 4:10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! 11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.

The Magufuli government revealed how samples drawn from a papaya, a quail, a goat and engine oil, among others, can generate a positive test result for Covid-19!

On May 3, 2020, when the global coronavirus hysteria reached a crescendo, Tanzanian President John Magufuli announced that his agents had secretly sent samples from animals, fruits and even engine oil to the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) for testing.

Many of these samples, which were secretly labelled as specimens taken from humans — with fake names and biodata included — had unsurprisingly tested positive for Covid-19.

We live in a fallen and a sin-sick world. And when we are born into this world we are born with sin natures in the image of Adam who was the first man God created, and the first man to sin against God. We are all sinful human beings by nature, bent toward doing what is evil, and not toward doing what is good. And even though we are created of God in his likeness, ever since Adam sinned against God all human beings have been born into sin in the likeness of Adam, separate from God, unable to be acceptable to God.

[Rom 3:9-26; Rom 5:12-19; 1 Co 15:21-22,42-49; Eph 2:8-10]

So, while we live in these flesh bodies in this fallen world we are going to be tempted to sin, and many will give in to those temptations, and many of them will tempt others to sin, too. It is the nature of things. These things will happen. But we can keep them from happening to us when we choose to surrender our lives to Jesus Christ and to trust him to be Lord and Savior of our lives, and when we die with him to sin and we now walk in obedience to his commands, in his power and strength, by faith, because of God’s grace.

In the previous verses we read that unless we turn (repent) and become like children (trusting, believing, following without question) humbling ourselves before God with that child-like faith in Jesus Christ which obeys him, we will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And then a caution is given to the one who causes such ones as these to sin against God, for “it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (see Matthew 18:1-6; cf. Matthew 7:21-23)

And then verse 7 continues with that same thought when it says that it is necessary that temptations come, “but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!” So we are to take this subject as seriously as it is presented to us here, that, not only should we, as followers of Christ, no longer be walking in sin, making sin our habit, but we should not be those who then lead others into sin, who become the tempter to them to the point to where they are pushed into sinning, although they still have a choice.

And then we are given some instructions here in some things that we can do, as drastic as they may seem, to prevent ourselves from falling into sin. And I tend to take these instructions more figuratively, rather than literally, when it comes to the subject of cutting off our hands and feet, and with regard to gouging out an eye, if our hands, feet, and/or an eye should be instrumental in leading us into sin. For I believe these are to illustrate a biblical principal much like Jesus’ parables that he often spoke.

And the reason that I believe this is that, biblically speaking, our hands are often a symbol of our deeds, and our feet are often symbols of our walks, i.e. of our habits, our practices. And an eye is often a symbol of judgment and discernment. So if our deeds and our habits and practices and our judgments and discernment are what are leading us into sin, because they are against the Lord, and are contrary to the will of God, and because we are not exercising good judgment, then these things need to be out of our lives.

For example, if we are in the habit of watching movies that have sensuality in them and sexual situations and flirtations and extra-marital affairs, and this is what we are feeding our minds, through our eyes and our ears, then what we feed our minds goes into our hearts, and then what gets stored up in our hearts is what we produce. So we need to change our habits and we need to cut out of our lives any type of input that is sensual and seductive and alluring in nature, because that it just going to lead us into sin.

And if we are spending our free time that is not taken up with employment or childcare or housework, etc., just idly wasting time on viewing junk, without a plan, just coasting along, just channel hopping or internet searching blindly, and God has taken a back seat in our lives, then we are bound to fall into temptation to sin which then can produce a desire for more of the same. So we have to cut these things out of our lives. We can’t go through life not exercising good judgment and expect to not fall into sin.

So we must be those who first of all are committed to surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ, to do his will, to walk in his ways. And then we must discipline ourselves and guard our hearts and minds against the evils in this world by not “playing with fire.” And we must know ourselves well enough to know our weaknesses, and then to avoid those areas where we know we might be easily tempted. All this must be done in prayer and in the power of God, but we must be the ones to put these disciplines into practice.

Why? What does it say here? It is better to have these things cut out of our lives rather than to hold on to them knowing that they have the potential to lead us into sin. For if we hold on to them, and they continue to lead us into sin, in practice, habitually and deliberately, without genuine repentance, and without walks of obedience to our Lord in holy living, then we will not have eternal life with God. We will be thrown into hell, regardless of what we profess with our lips in the way of confessions of faith in Jesus Christ.

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

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

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Because of what Jesus Christ did for us in saving us from our sins, we should be continually in an attitude of praise and thanksgiving to him for all that he has done for us.

Praise and thanksgiving, as well, is the greatest antidote I know to sadness, loneliness, suffering, rejection and discouragement. It works wonders in lifting our spirits, in renewing our minds, in filling us with hope, and in healing our wounded hearts. As well, it is the best thing I know for combatting the attacks of the evil one against us, especially when he tries to fill our hearts and minds with fear and doubt. We should rejoice in the Lord always!


Magnify Him

An Original Work / April 17, 2011

Glory to the Father,
and glory to the Son;
Praise the Holy Spirit –
our God, the Three in One.
Alpha and Omega,
beginning and the end;
Savior, sanctifier, healer,
the Amen!

Jesus reigns forever;
He is the King of kings.
He is our Redeemer,
the Lord of everything.
Through His blood He saved us,
and brought us victory;
Purifying, our debt buying,
so we’re free!

Soon He’s coming back for us,
to make us His bride.
He asks that we watch
‘til the time when He arrives.
When He comes, what glory
then will be ours to share;
Magnify Him when we meet Him
in the air!

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I live in the USA, so my understanding of how this is or is not being put into practice today is based on my own experiences and on what I know and understand of how much of what is called “church” today here in America has gotten far away from the biblical concept of what church is supposed to be. But I cannot speak for what is going on in other countries. So if you live somewhere other than the USA, you will have to look at this passage from the perspective of how things are being done in your countries.

So let me say first of all that “the church” is not a building called “church.” The church is not a church denomination. It is not a business incorporated under the state. It is not a social club, and it is not a civic center. And it is not a physical location. It is not something you go to. We who believe in Jesus Christ with God-persuaded faith are the church. The people of God are the church. And the church can gather together anywhere, even on the internet, any time of day or night, and any and every day of the week.

And then let me define what it means to believe in Jesus Christ. For in America many people profess Christianity as their religion and Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. But it appears that not many are practicing Christians, according to the Scriptures. Not many have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God. And not many have forsaken their sins to follow Jesus in obedience to his commands.

So, when this says to “tell it to the church,” the intention is that we would tell it to the collective body of Christ, to those of genuine walks of faith in Jesus Christ who have died with Christ to sin and who are now living for him and his righteousness in walks of obedience to the Lord’s commandments (New Covenant). For only true followers of Christ, who are not being led by the ways of the world, would have the spiritual discernment to respond to this situation in the biblical manner in which God intends.

And here in America, it appears that the vast majority of what are called “churches” are now creations of human origin, or they have been turned into such, and they are now businesses incorporated under the state operating like any other businesses, marketing the church to the people of the world using worldly means and methods in order to attract the people of the world to their gatherings. And so they are following business models and marketing schemes for how to make “church” appealing to the ungodly.

And since so many of these “churches” are modeling their gatherings after business and marketing models for how to “grow their churches,” and for how to “draw in large crowds from the world,” they have largely taken on the practices of the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings. And so they are “soft-pedaling” the gospel to make it less offensive, and they are trying to make everything upbeat and fun and entertaining and enjoyable. So they don’t want controversy or anything they regard as “negative.”

Also, since so many of these “churches” have now gone the way of the world, and they have now altered the gospel of Christ, most of them are not teaching against sin and calling for repentance and for walks of obedience to the Lord. But they have oversimplified the gospel message to make it as though you can just make a profession of faith in Christ and now all your sins are forgiven, heaven is your eternal destiny, it can’t be taken away from you, but regardless of how you live. But that is not biblical salvation.

So, because of that, they mostly are not coming down hard on those who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are living in deliberate and habitual sin against God and against other people, but rather they cater to them, and they pacify them in their sin. And they are telling people, “stay in your own lane” and don’t be negative and don’t say anything to offend people and to not be judgmental, etc. So the ones being sinned against have no advocate in “the church,” and sometimes they are the ones who get “the boot.”

So, although this is biblical, and this is what should be done in these kinds of cases, if you try to follow this biblical model, and so you report someone for sinning against you who will not repent – although he calls himself a brother, or she calls herself a sister – don’t be surprised if you are not supported by other Christians nor by pastors nor by “the church,” but rather you become the enemy and they come against you while they support the one who is doing the sinning. And that is because that is the world we live in now.

For those who call out sin for what it is, and who call for people to repent of their sins and to obey God, and who warn of the dire consequences of not coming to genuine repentance, and of not walking in obedience to the Lord, have largely become the enemy, while those who go from sin to sin get treated as though they are the “good guys.” And this is because this is what is being taught and pushed, this whole idea of being non-judgmental and not confronting sin and of not warning of judgment.

So if you are one who is trying to do what is right, and who is trying to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, and who is trying to follow the biblical models given to us for how to deal with unrepentant sin among professers of faith in Jesus Christ, don’t get discouraged if it all just blows up in your face because so many today are being taught the opposite for how to deal with habitual sin in the lives of those professing faith in Jesus Christ. And get your support from the Lord when and if you get attacked by other humans, instead.

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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I've been up wrapping gifts for myself, in aluminum foil, for the upcoming event.

Solar storms are imminent. We can expect to get hit on 5/10 in the evening; and they will last through the weekend. The producer of this video predicts a 10% chance of a killshot; but less severe effects are almost a certainty.

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I'm wrapping my SW radio, my inverter, a LED flashlight. and some solar equipment. I already have some very large lead acid batteries on full charge.

‘Sleepy Don’: Trump Falls Asleep (Five Times!) at Hush Money Trial​

Now there’s a new problem with it that no one anticipated: It’s easy to turn it back on “Sleepy Don” when he nods off — repeatedly! — during a criminal trial over hush-money payments he allegedly made to cover up an affair with a porn star.

During day one of Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan — which will determine whether he broke the law by paying off Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election, then disguising the payments — the former president reportedly fell asleep in the courtroom. Though Trump was reportedly furious that journalists caught him sleeping in court that didn’t keep him from nodding off repeatedly as the trial continued. Instead, he offered a dubious excuse on Truth Social, claiming he’s not sleeping at all, “I simply close my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes, listen intensely, and take it ALL in!!!”

Here’s a running list of Trump’s courtroom naps (or intense “listening” sessions)...

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Yo, bros and gals. So, today, the AI run on my laptop had an unusual task: To define the fictional word "Ghernatious" in the style of the Oxford Dictionary.

It did pretty well. The AI even placed a date of first usage, which is the year 2128. I made the word up, and let the computer do the rest. Welcome to 2024, my friends. By the way, a gherkin is a cucumber, in the British lexicon. My mom likes linguistics, as she used to teach ESL up until 2022, so I wonder what she thinks about this.

For myself, I would define ghernatious as being persnickety or avoiding the big picture, focusing on minor details or issues in order to purposely avoid mentioning the real issues.

Example: Politicians tend to be ghernatious, leaving regular citizens to fend for themselves.

In flesh, we all are filled with pride.
In flesh, the will of God denied.
In flesh, we think more than we should
Of whom we are and what is good.

In flesh, we look at others grim
When we compare them to us dim.
In flesh, we fill our minds with lies
When we our sinful hearts deny.

In Spirit we confess the truth
That in our flesh we are uncouth.
In Spirit we repent of sin
And let the Spirit dwell within.

In Spirit we on God rely,
And do His will, we not deny.
We live for Him, forsake Him not,
For by His death our lives He bought.

An Original Work / May 9, 2024

There are diverse interpretations of this parable. Here is my key: follow the money

English Standard Version Luke 16:

1 He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man

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The rich man is the owner. He has an unlimited amount of non-inflationary money. He symbolizes God.

who had a manager,

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He has given the manager the authority to control a finite amount of money.

and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.

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This manager is in a crisis moment. He needs to prepare for his after-job life.

4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’

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Their houses symbolize eternal dwelling (verse 9).

5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’

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The manager uses the money that does not belong to him to do good to these debtors. He has ingratiated himself with the Christians. The debtors symbolize Christians.

8 The master commended the dishonest manager

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The manager is not a Christian. He has committed a dishonest act. He is not a son of light:

for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world

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non-Christians

are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.

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Christians

9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

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When you are in need, the Christians you have helped will help you. When you die, they will welcome you to heaven. This is the end of the parable of the dishonest manager.

At this point, Jesus shifts his focus to the Pharisees (verse 14), who are supposed to be God's people.

10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you

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the pseudo-believers

have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.

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The Pharisees are supposed to be God's official managers. They should have known better. The love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). They misappropriate God's money. In contrast, a non-Christian manager used God's money rightly.

The money belongs to God. The non-Christian manager has access to it. Before he loses that access, he gives some of that money to Christians to cover their debts. The money goes back to God. After the resurrection, his usage of this money will become his reward in heaven. In God's sight, the non-Christian manager is forgiven for his dishonesty because he has invested God's money in Christians. God's money did not return void.

From Edward M Bounds, Power Through Prayer, 1910, chapter 1

Introduction:
Power through Prayer has been called “one of the truly great masterpieces on the theme of prayer.” The term classic can appropriately be applied to this outstanding book.

In twenty provocative and inspiring chapters, each prefaced with quotations from spiritual giants, Edward M. Bounds stresses the imperative of vital prayer in the life of a pastor. He says, “. . . every preacher who does not make prayer a mighty factor in his own life and ministry is weak as a factor in God’s work and is powerless to project God’s cause in this world.”

Recreation to a minister must be as whetting is with the mower—that is, to be used only so far as is necessary for his work. May a physician in plague-time take any more relaxation or recreation than is necessary for his life, when so many are expecting his help in a case of life and death? Will you stand by and see sinners gasping under the pangs of death, and say: “God doth not require me to make myself a drudge to save them?” Is this the voice of ministerial or Christian compassion or rather of sensual laziness and diabolical cruelty.—Richard Baxter

Misemployment of time is injurious to the mind. In illness I have looked back with self-reproach on days spent in my study; I was wading through history and poetry and monthly journals, but I was in my study! Another man’s trifling is notorious to all observers, but what am I doing? Nothing, perhaps, that has reference to the spiritual good of my congregation. Be much in retirement and prayer. Study the honor and glory of your Master.—Richard Cecil

1. Men of Prayer Needed​

Study universal holiness of life. Your whole usefulness depends on this, for your sermons last but an hour or two; your life preaches all the week. If Satan can only make a covetous minister a lover of praise, of pleasure, of good eating, he has ruined your ministry. Give yourself to prayer, and get your texts, your thoughts, your words from God. Luther spent his best three hours in prayer.—Robert Murray McCheyne

WE are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the Church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel. This trend of the day has a tendency to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or organization. God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. “There was a man sent from God whose name was John.” The dispensation that heralded and prepared the way for Christ was bound up in that man John. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” The world’s salvation comes out of that cradled Son. When Paul appeals to the personal character of the men who rooted the gospel in the world, he solves the mystery of their success. The glory and efficiency of the gospel is staked on the men who proclaim it. When God declares that “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him,” he declares the necessity of men and his dependence on them as a channel through which to exert his power upon the world. This vital, urgent truth is one that this age of machinery is apt to forget. The forgetting of it is as baneful on the work of God as would be the striking of the sun from his sphere. Darkness, confusion, and death would ensue.

What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use—men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men—men of prayer.

An eminent historian has said that the accidents of personal character have more to do with the revolutions of nations than either philosophic historians or democratic politicians will allow. This truth has its application in full to the gospel of Christ, the character and conduct of the followers of Christ—Christianize the world, transfigure nations and individuals. Of the preachers of the gospel it is eminently true.

The character as well as the fortunes of the gospel is committed to the preacher. He makes or mars the message from God to man. The preacher is the golden pipe through which the divine oil flows. The pipe must not only be golden, but open and flawless, that the oil may have a full, unhindered, unwasted flow.

The man makes the preacher. God must make the man. The messenger is, if possible, more than the message. The preacher is more than the sermon. The preacher makes the sermon. As the life-giving milk from the mother’s bosom is but the mother’s life, so all the preacher says is tinctured, impregnated by what the preacher is. The treasure is in earthen vessels, and the taste of the vessel impregnates and may discolor. The man, the whole man, lies behind the sermon. Preaching is not the performance of an hour. It is the outflow of a life. It takes twenty years to make a sermon, because it takes twenty years to make the man. The true sermon is a thing of life. The sermon grows because the man grows. The sermon is forceful because the man is forceful. The sermon is holy because the man is holy. The sermon is full of the divine unction because the man is full of the divine unction.

Paul termed it “My gospel;” not that he had degraded it by his personal eccentricities or diverted it by selfish appropriation, but the gospel was put into the heart and lifeblood of the man Paul, as a personal trust to be executed by his Pauline traits, to be set aflame and empowered by the fiery energy of his fiery soul. Paul’s sermons—what were they? Where are they? Skeletons, scattered fragments, afloat on the sea of inspiration! But the man Paul, greater than his sermons, lives forever, in full form, feature and stature, with his molding hand on the Church. The preaching is but a voice. The voice in silence dies, the text is forgotten, the sermon fades from memory; the preacher lives.

The sermon cannot rise in its life-giving forces above the man. Dead men give out dead sermons, and dead sermons kill. Everything depends on the spiritual character of the preacher. Under the Jewish dispensation the high priest had inscribed in jeweled letters on a golden frontlet: “Holiness to the Lord.” So every preacher in Christ’s ministry must be molded into and mastered by this same holy motto. It is a crying shame for the Christian ministry to fall lower in holiness of character and holiness of aim than the Jewish priesthood. Jonathan Edwards said: “I went on with my eager pursuit after more holiness and conformity to Christ. The heaven I desired was a heaven of holiness.” The gospel of Christ does not move by popular waves. It has no self-propagating power. It moves as the men who have charge of it move. The preacher must impersonate the gospel. Its divine, most distinctive features must be embodied in him. The constraining power of love must be in the preacher as a projecting, eccentric, an all-commanding, self-oblivious force. The energy of self-denial must be his being, his heart and blood and bones. He must go forth as a man among men, clothed with humility, abiding in meekness, wise as a serpent, harmless as a dove; the bonds of a servant with the spirit of a king, a king in high, royal, in dependent bearing, with the simplicity and sweetness of a child. The preacher must throw himself, with all the abandon of a perfect, self-emptying faith and a self-consuming zeal, into his work for the salvation of men. Hearty, heroic, compassionate, fearless martyrs must the men be who take hold of and shape a generation for God. If they be timid time servers, place seekers, if they be men pleasers or men fearers, if their faith has a weak hold on God or his Word, if their denial be broken by any phase of self or the world, they cannot take hold of the Church nor the world for God.

The preacher’s sharpest and strongest preaching should be to himself. His most difficult, delicate, laborious, and thorough work must be with himself. The training of the twelve was the great, difficult, and enduring work of Christ. Preachers are not sermon makers, but men makers and saint makers, and he only is well-trained for this business who has made himself a man and a saint. It is not great talents nor great learning nor great preachers that God needs, but men great in holiness, great in faith, great in love, great in fidelity, great for God—men always preaching by holy sermons in the pulpit, by holy lives out of it. These can mold a generation for God.

After this order, the early Christians were formed. Men they were of solid mold, preachers after the heavenly type—heroic, stalwart, soldierly, saintly. Preaching with them meant self-denying, self-crucifying, serious, toilsome, martyr business. They applied themselves to it in a way that told on their generation, and formed in its womb a generation yet unborn for God. The preaching man is to be the praying man. Prayer is the preacher’s mightiest weapon. An almighty force in itself, it gives life and force to all.

The real sermon is made in the closet. The man—God’s man—is made in the closet. His life and his profoundest convictions were born in his secret communion with God. The burdened and tearful agony of his spirit, his weightiest and sweetest messages were got when alone with God. Prayer makes the man; prayer makes the preacher; prayer makes the pastor.

The pulpit of this day is weak in praying. The pride of learning is against the dependent humility of prayer. Prayer is with the pulpit too often only official—a performance for the routine of service. Prayer is not to the modern pulpit the mighty force it was in Paul’s life or Paul’s ministry. Every preacher who does not make prayer a mighty factor in his own life and ministry is weak as a factor in God’s work and is powerless to project God’s cause in this world.


(I must say reading the quotes by Richard Baxter & Richard Cecil I am reminded of how many Christians today waste their time on their phones, or playing computer games. I personally have nothing to do with computer games and have rarely engaged in them since the early 80s when I first played them. All those hours that can be spent in prayer, or wholesome Bible study, or fellowship, or spreading the Gospel, or working a volunteer job for a Church or food bank, but wasted on computers. I'm on the computer but probably 90% of that is spent in Gospel activities, and many of the messages I've posted here get used elsewhere. In fact, my Dad should have taught the Acts 2 message I posted here a few weeks back, today.
I know what it is to waste time on other things, mainly music and unwholesome internet "fellowship" so I repented of all that, "redeeming the time, for the days are evil." (Eph. 5:16) *

Nearly one-third of law enforcement agencies are missing from the FBI's 2022 crime statistics.

MOSCOW, May 9 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West on Thursday of risking a global conflict and said no one would be allowed to threaten the world's biggest nuclear power as Russia marked the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.
As Russian troops advance against Ukraine's Western-backed forces, Putin accused "arrogant" Western elites of forgetting the decisive role played by the Soviet Union in defeating Nazi Germany, and of stoking conflicts across the world.

"We know what the exorbitance of such ambitions leads to. Russia will do everything to prevent a global clash," Putin said on Red Square after Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reviewed troops lined up in a rare May blizzard.
"But at the same time, we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic forces are always in a state of combat readiness."
Putin, who sent his army into Ukraine in 2022, casts the war as part of a struggle with the West, which he says humiliated Russia after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 by encroaching on what he considers Moscow's sphere of influence.

Ukraine and the West say Putin is engaged in an imperial-style land grab. They have vowed to defeat Russia, which currently controls about 18% of Ukraine, including Crimea, and parts of four regions in eastern Ukraine. Russia says the lands, once part of the Russian empire, are now again part of Russia.

WAR?​

The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in World War Two, including many millions in Ukraine, but eventually pushed Nazi forces back to Berlin, where Hitler committed suicide and the red Soviet Victory Banner was raised over the Reichstag in 1945.

"In the West, they would like to forget the lessons of the Second World War," Putin said, adding that Russia honoured all the allies involved in the defeat of Nazi Germany. He mentioned the Chinese people's fight against Japanese militarism.

"But we remember that the fate of mankind was decided in the grand battles near Moscow and Leningrad, Rzhev, Stalingrad, Kursk and Kharkiv, near Minsk, Smolensk and Kyiv, in heavy, bloody battles from Murmansk to the Caucasus and Crimea."

Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender came into force at 11:01 p.m. on May 8, 1945, marked as "Victory in Europe Day" by France, Britain and the United States. In Moscow it was already May 9, which became the Soviet Union's "Victory Day" in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45.
In a much pared-down parade indicating the strains of war, Russia showed off just one T-34 tank. Fighters flew past streaming the Russian tricolour.
The parade also featured Russia's Yars intercontinental strategic missile which a TV announcer said has "a guaranteed capability to strike a target on any point of the globe"

There were no leaders from the West.

Present were the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Cuba, Laos and Guinea-Bissau.
Russian officials warn that the Ukraine war is entering the most dangerous phase to date - Putin has repeatedly warned of the risk of a much broader war involving the world's biggest nuclear powers.

The crisis has deepened in recent weeks: U.S. President Joe Biden signed off on $61 billion in aid to Ukraine; Britain said that Ukraine had the right to strike Russia with British weapons; and French President Emmanuel Macron has refused to rule out sending French troops to fight Russian forces.
Russia responded on Monday by announcing it would practise the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons as part of a military exercise after what the Moscow said were threats from France, Britain and the United States.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/advancing-ukraine-russia-mark-victory-world-war-two-2024-05-08/

In brief:

1. Money
2. Credit cards
3. Electrical power / communications grids
4. Internet / social media
5. Material goods such as furniture, carpeting, etc.
6. College degrees
7. Organized government

You could probably add to this list such things as social / economic status, transportation grids, pre-packaged food, and a host of other things.

MSN

While at work today I kept thinking about Romans 9:14-16, and thinking about what the underlying message of "I will have mercy on who I will have mercy" truly is, since it seems to me there are two options. Either a)it's a statement concerned primarily with God excluding some from His mercy and remaining just or b)it's a statement about God including more than He has stipulated in His mercy and remaining just. The context of the discussion seems like it could go either direction, since it may be talking about some Jews being excluded despite being born Jews, or it could be about the promises given to Israel no longer being the exclusive inheritance of the Jews. What makes the difference, it seems to me, is the question that we think Romans as a whole is answering. To my mind, there are two possibilities that seem to dominate discussions on Romans. The first being that Romans is largely about answering the question "How does a man find salvation?" While the second possibility is that Romans is answering the question "How can God remain just while justifying sinners?" with a special emphasis on God justifying the gentile nations rather than avenging Israel.

What would you say the overarching question of Romans is? Or at least the portion of Romans mentioned, that is to say Romans 8-9?

You know, the older I get, the more I think there's a sort of "ageless" generation that cuts across age groups. There are young folk with wisdom of the aged and childish older folk that just want to think in a kiddy-like fashion. Sure, the different groupings have good purposes, but I just think the whole thing is way oversold.

17It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’ ”

18When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.

This is the Lords speaking. He made the heavens and the earth in six days. ONLY the word day here is:
NOW we have a new ball game. The Lord uses a different word for "days".

The Hebrew word יָמִים (yamim) translates to "days" in English. It is the plural form of יוֹם (yom), which means "day." Like its singular counterpart, יָמִים (yamim) can refer to literal days, as in periods of 24 hours, or it can be used more broadly to signify a longer period of time, such as "days" in the sense of "times" or "ages."

The Hebrew word יָמִים (yamim) translates to "days" in English. It is the plural form of יוֹם (yom), which means "day." Like its singular counterpart, יָמִים (yamim) can refer to literal days, as in periods of 24 hours, or it can be used more broadly to signify a longer period of time, such as "days" in the sense of "times" or "ages."

The Georgia Election Board on Thursday agreed to a series of measures intended to provide oversight in Fulton County, home to notorious anti-Trump prosecutor Fani Willis and the site of so many votes in 2024 that they outnumbered actual residents, according to one official with the county’s election board.

It's a start. The RNC wants 100,000 people to oversee the election.

Open question. If we don’t suffer, how is God supposed to sympathize with us?

I have had OCD my whole life. A large chunk of my ocd in the last few years has been impulsive and intrusive thoughts (two different things) to God asking him to do/give me certain things in exhange for my life.

These have always TERRIFYED me. Especially when said thing actually ends up happening!

But I realised something last night. In the book of Jonah we see Jonah ask God straight up to take his life.

Jonah 4:3 And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.

God's immediate answer is "uhhhh...no..." and he prombtly explains why its a no.

If God won't give death to a man who LEGITIMATELY wanted it, why then would he give it to me, someone who has asked for it outside of my own control? Either through an intrusive thought (no control) or an impulsive thought where im pushed by my mind to ask for it. AKA being under duress.

I have been so foolish to think of God in this way.

A judge found Travis Huse guilty of 12 felony counts, including four counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child.​

His father, Scott L. Huse, 66, of Wautoma, faces one count of child enticement, four counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child and seven counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child. Scott Huse is scheduled to go to trial on the charges against him in October.

According to the criminal complaint, eight women came forward to accuse the father and son of assaulting them when they were youths at the church.

Another woman said Travis Huse was working as a teacher's aide at the Apostolic Worship Center when he assaulted her during class when she was 12 and 13, according to the complaint.

The sixth victim said she was 17 years old when Travis Huse was working as a youth group counselor at the Worship Center

--

#notadragqueen comes to a close after a year. Some recent quotes from two of the stories are useful, I think:

“Sexual abuse is a problem in every institutional setting,” Feinstein said.

"This is a reminder to all that those in positions of authority have a lot of access to children. It is important to remain vigilant."

Vigilance is not a sometimes attitude.

Jesus warned of wolves in sheep's clothing, not wolves in drag.

Samwise warned of enemies that seem fair, but feel foul.
No matter the venue, keep your senses open to detect any feeling of foulness, even if all seems fair.

I desperately need help. I feel almost numb like I don’t care anymore. My heart is so corrupt and I really believe my conscience is dead. My heart posture matches that of a Pharisees and I really think I fit the Hebrews 6 category. It describes my situation very well. (Sorry in advance if I sound despairing and sorry for the bad grammar)


I had an experience with god to an extent but then after having the experience with him and getting to know him I began to love my sins more. I read my Bible and somewhat loved god. I had a professing faith though and it was more shallow/ religious. I’ve always been one to stray and go back to the mire and god was with me for quite long. I'm surprised he stuck around with me for so long but I deliberately and consciously rejected him and his convictions so badly. I committed heinous sins and I ignored him so badly. When I realized this I panicked at first because I feared hell and I was scared that the Holy Spirit left but after some time of waiting for him to come back I fell away and went even deeper into the world, forgetting everything god did for me and ogoing against God and Christianity. I stopped worrying because it was affecting my mental health and I had to push the situation deep in my mind and so I stopped caring to an extent. I don’t think I was repentant at that time and I don’t think I am now. I’ve turned into a terrible person and I don’t think I have a journey with god anymore. I’m scared of hell and I’m scared to become truly hardened even though I think I already am. I don’t think I can truly be repentant and I think that I kept going to sin and evil and i don’t feel conviction anymore. Now that I’m trying to change it’s not by the power or help of the Holy Spirit and I’ve been a terribly host to the Holy Spirit so I know I’m in no favor with him and I’ve possibly even blasphemed him because my heart was so hard and I indirectly in my heart and mind, purposely to taunt god, attributed the Holy Spirit to Satan. I resisted and rebelled against conviction and I toyed with sin. My spiritual state is unknown but it’s possible that I’m not in a good state and I already died spiritually. I’ve destroyed my life with my sins but now that I realize somewhat the situation im in I want to change but that desire might not be enough. I understand from Judas’s story that apostasy and backsliding are two different things and the possible apostasy stated in Hebrews 6 is a serious one.


I guess I don’t know what to do because it says directly that it’s impossible to repent of and i can’t repent and I know I don’t want to go to hell. These last few years have shown me how miserable life is without god I just failed to see that god left my life like I didn’t care- like I was fine with it so that might be an indicator that god had already given me up since then. I persisted in my sins and even hated god and his commands because I wanted to do evil. I want to be the prodigal son but I also know that the darkness in me exceeds me and my heart and conscience are calloused.

I know I’m in a perilous situation and I don’t know what to do. I say all these things but in real life I know I’m also a jerk and my behaviors are so bad. I fail to love others every moment. I feel like I made myself a slave to sin and that’s why I act the way I do and I’ll die in my sins. I don’t believe god is drawing me anymore and I don’t believe he’s calling me to repentance anymore either. I’ve tried changing my ways but my heart and mind and soul isn’t in it and it’s not sincere. I’ve been like this for years but I decided to do something and pay attention to my condition finally a year ago and now I’m still stuck. I did everything I could to sever myself from Christ so I don’t think there’s any hope. Also im not sure any prayers can help me either because my sins might also be sins that lead to death.

Mr. M said:

Isaiah 28:9 Whom shall He teach knowledge?
and whom shall He make to understand doctrine?
them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

Click to expand...

The question proposed in the verse is immediately answered by way of metaphor.
The question then becomes, what does this mean, to be:
"weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts"?

Mr. M said:

Hebrews 5:
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers,
you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God;
and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use
have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Click to expand...

The quotation from Hebrews 5 is cited because the most
immediate answer is to say a mature Christian;
leaving to debate what constitutes "a mature Christian"?

The answer to the question proposed in Isaiah is answered
by David in the Psalms:
131:
1 Lord, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me.
2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.

This is the testimony of a mature Christian.