""I am proud that, in the face of external pressure, in the face of DEI being hijacked and sort of redefined as something negative and harmful, we have not been moved," says LaRonda Chastang, senior vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion at Trinity Health.

Chastang says the backlash might in some conversations prompt her to change her language when she discusses Trinity Health's push for diversity, equity and inclusion. Sometimes, she will instead reference terms from Catholic social teaching such as justice and solidarity to explain that the system's DEI efforts are extensions of its mission to respect and provide quality care to everyone, especially the poor and vulnerable."

The rise of the “nones” in the religious demographics of our society has been among the most troubling trends for many Christians across recent decades. The group is typically comprised of those who do not claim membership in any religious tradition, though there is variation at times as to whether atheists and agnostics are considered part of the nones or their own categories.

However, the latest data points to an interesting and encouraging trend:

• When the General Social Survey (GSS) first began to follow the nones back in 1972, they comprised roughly 5 percent of the total population.
• The nones stayed in the 5–6 percent range until 1991 when they began a rather precipitous and steady rise that reached as high as 30 percent by 2013 and 35 percent by 2019.
• However, the nones haven’t really grown in the last five years, ranging between 34–36 percent of the total population.
• And, what’s perhaps most encouraging, their numbers have actually started to fall among the younger generations.
• Similar findings have also been reported in both the Cooperative Election Study and in Pew’s latest research.

As Ryan Burge—who has studied and written about the nones for many years—concludes, “The rise of the nones may be largely over now. At least it won’t be increasing in the same way that it did in the prior thirty years.”


That’s good news. Yet, as he goes on to note, the more pertinent question is why.

BUILDING ON BEDROCK​

Continued below.

“Veteran researcher George Barna of the Barna Group recently said that we’ve reached "Christian invisibility in our culture” amid a decline in biblical worldview and diminishing interest in spiritual formation.

People have become more selfish, churches have become less influential, pastors have become less Bible-centric,” Barna, a professor at Arizona Christian University and the director of research at its Cultural Research Center, told The Christian Post in a recent interview. “Families have invested less of their time and energy in spiritual growth, particularly of their children. The media now influences the Church more than the Church influences the media, or the culture for that matter. The Christian Body tends to get off track arguing about a lot of things that really don't matter.”

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Barna noted a troubling trend, such as a decline in discipleship and the lack of solid, biblical training in seminaries. He also contended that churches use measures for success, such as attendance, fundraising, and infrastructure have little to do with Jesus’ mission.


“There is poor leadership in seminaries that mislead local churches into thinking that they're actually training individuals whom God has called to be leaders and are qualified to be leaders and certifying them to lead local churches, not knowing any better bringing them on,” he said. Despite seminaries having “good intentions,” Barna said they are setting up young leaders for failures.

Continued below.

Jesus used a typical Eastern hyperbole in Mark 11:

23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.

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In his sermons, Jesus often spoke in poetic hyperbole to emphasize a deeper spiritual reality.

Smith's Bible Commentary:

This language is typical of the hyperbole that Jesus uses to emphasize a point. It is similar to His example of the camel and the eye of the needle (10:25). Plummer says, "’Removing mountains’ was a Jewish figure of speech for a very great difficulty, and it would be familiar to the disciples" (265). Jesus is not giving His disciples license to perform monstrous and unreasonable miracles. There would be no sense in dumping the Mount of Olives into the Dead Sea. The meaning must be that no task that is in accordance with God’s will is impossible if it is performed by those who believe and do not doubt. Gould adds:
"Moving a mountain" is not to be taken literally, but stands for any incredible thing, as stupendous as such moving, but not so out of line with the miracles to which Jesus confined himself. It is enough to say that neither Jesus nor his disciples ever removed mountains, except metaphorically (215).
he shall have whatsoever he saith: Jesus is not impulsively saying, "You just name it, and it’s yours!" But praying and asking must be consistent with the pattern of true prayer Jesus gives elsewhere. In fact, it must be consistent with all scriptural teaching.

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See also faith in God or faith of God?.

Hello everyone,

Thank you for the welcome words. I live in Montreal (Quebec) since birth. Single, in my sixties and french spoken. I converted to lutheranism from a roman catholic background. The only french spoken lutheran mission belongs to Lutheran Church Canada (LCC). Although I consider myself as confessional, I'm wide open to other's opinion about faith. Hope to exchange with you. I may visit both ELCA/LC-MS, if permitted, to ask questions on some subjects I don't master yet.

Thank you and best regards,
François

Worth checking out.

"We teach and guide people to establish and maintain Christian culture in the home, Church, and state, specifically with an aim towards creating a school where Lutherans learn a classical, Christian education, and can meet, marry, and learn to raise families, support local congregations, and be the salt of the earth.
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"Christian Culture is the magazine of Luther Classical College. Published every quarter, Christian Culture aims to do exactly what its title suggests – promote genuine Christian culture in our churches, homes, and communities. Through articles, reviews, poems, hymns, and updates on news in the Lutheran Church, Christian Culture addresses the pressing issues facing the Christian church and home today. It is not enough for us to flee from the immoral culture of this world, with its worship of mammon and immorality. We need Christian culture to fill our homes with strong fathers, faithful mothers, the reading of God’s Word and good literature, the singing of hymns, and commitment to Lutheran church and school, so that we and our children can remain in the world but not be of the world. Luther Classical College is committed to this goal. Christian Culture: A Magazine for Lutherans exists to support our college in pursuing and promoting this Christian culture throughout our country.

The design for Christian Culture, both in print and online, embraces our Lutheran printing heritage, making use of woodcuts from 16th century books. Digital images are provided courtesy of Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University (not affiliated with Luther Classical College or Christian Culture).

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Here is a painted turtle mama laying. We get them in our yard laying. This one is in a farmer’s field as I was heading into town.

These stories remind us of the sheer joy to be had in putting the needs of others first.

As parents we might sometimes feel overwhelmed with what it takes to raise our children. On occasions we could want to throw in the towel and give it all up. However, a recent personal event reminded me why it’s all so worth it in the end.

I will share the event, but we don’t need to focus on the age element!

On the occasion of my reaching half a century, my children and closest friends decided to throw me a sort-of-surprise-but-not-really birthday party. It was the first time I’d really celebrated my birthday in a very long time. In fact, not since I gave birth to my daughter on my birthday 24 years ago had I really had a big party. For me, my birthday had become her birthday.


However, hitting 50 is a bit of a biggie, and it felt right to acknowledge this with my loved ones. My four kids decided to take everything in hand. I wasn’t stressed… much!

The kids take over​

Continued below.

See Why did God allow slavery?

Le 7:

27 Any person who eats any blood, even that person shall be cut off from his people.

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What did "cut off from his people" mean?

Le 20:

18 If a man lies with a menstruating woman and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has uncovered the source of her blood. Both of them must be cut off from among their people.

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Would this simply mean they were cast out of the camp and never welcomed back?

Wiki:

The Hebrew term kareth ("cutting off" Hebrew: כָּרֵת‎, [kaˈret]) is a form of punishment for sin ... In the Talmud, kareth means not necessarily physical "cutting off" of life, but extinction of the soul and denial of a share in the world to come. ...
In the Hebrew Bible, kareth is a form of punishment which may mean premature death, or else exclusion from the people.[3][4] According to Richard C. Steiner, the phrase "to be cut off from one's people" is an antonym for "to be gathered to one's people" (e.g. Genesis 25:8), and thus kareth in the Bible means to be deprived of the afterlife.[5]
Examples of sins making a person liable to kareth include eating chametz on Passover,[6] sexual violations,[7] ritual impurities, and a man's refusal to be circumcised.[8] The Book of Numbers states that anyone who sins deliberately or high-handedly receives kareth.

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Rabbinic interpretation:

Kareth is the punishment for certain crimes and offences defined under Jewish law (e.g. eating the life blood of a living animal, eating suet, refusing to be circumcised, etc.), a punishment that can only be given at the hand of heaven unto persons of the Jewish faith who are bound to keep the Jewish law, rather than made punishable by any earthly court. In some cases of sexual misconduct and in breaking the laws of the Sabbath, such as where there are witnesses of the act, the court is able to inflict punishment. By definition, kareth does not apply to non-Jews. Kareth can either mean dying young (before the age of 50 or 60[10]), dying without children, or the soul being spiritually "cut off" from your people after death.[11] According to Nachmanides, both definitions are accurate.

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What did "cut off from his people" mean?

He would no longer be a citizen of God's kingdom of Israel, losing social and religious ties.

Was there a way to repent and return to be with the people?

I think so. Jr 3:

21 A voice on the bare heights is heard, the weeping and pleading of Israel’s sons because they have perverted their way; they have forgotten the Lord their God. 22 “Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness.” “Behold, we come to you, for you are the Lord our God.

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However, for some more serious sins, Le 20:

1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites, ‘Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him. 3 And I will set My face against that man and cut him off from his people, because by giving his offspring to Molech, he has defiled My sanctuary and profaned My holy name.

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Ex 31:

14 Keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Anyone who profanes it must surely be put to death. Whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from among his people.

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For some sins, in addition to being cut off from his people, the violator would also be put to death.

Luther rejected papal, conciliar and ecclesiastical infallibility and said that popes and ecumenical councils could err.

Sola Scriptura began when Martin Luther decided to deny the infallibility of the Church, ecumenical councils and the pope — i.e., claiming that they could err — thus leaving the Bible as the only infallible rule of faith.

The novelty wasn’t mentioned in Luther’s 95 Theses (posted Oct. 31, 1517). But Protestant Luther biographer Roland Bainton (Here I Stand) stated that in 1518 “Luther ... had further declared the pope and councils to be capable of error.” Then he reiterated and strengthened such claims during his 18-day Leipzig Disputation of July 1519, with Johann Eck. Bainton reports that Luther stated:

I assert that a council has sometimes erred and may sometimes err. Nor has a council authority to establish new articles of faith. A council cannot make divine right out of that which by nature is not divine right. Councils have contradicted each other, for the recent Lateran Council has reversed the claim of the councils of Constance and Basel that a council is above a pope. A simple layman armed with Scripture is to be believed above a pope or a council without it. ... I say that neither the Church nor the pope can establish articles of faith. These must come from Scripture. For the sake of Scripture, we should reject pope and councils.

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In 1520, Luther expressly denied papal infallibility: “They play about with words before our very eyes, trying to persuade us that the pope cannot err in matters of faith, regardless of whether he is righteous or wicked.” Even more radically, he wrote, “If we are all priests ... why should we not also have the power to test and judge what is right or wrong in matters of faith?” And, “Popes, bishops, canons, and monks. God has not instituted these offices.” Accordingly, he wrote in March 1521:

This is my answer to those also who accuse me of rejecting all the holy teachers of the church. I do not reject them. But everyone, indeed, knows that at times they have erred, as men will; therefore, I am ready to trust them only when they give me evidence for their opinions from Scripture, which has never erred.

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Continued below.

Australian marine biologists recently captured video of a large, deep-water squid attacking one of their cameras over 3,000 feet below the surface of the ocean.

The deep-sea hooked squid is one of the largest deep-dwelling squid species, but rather than the animal’s size, it was the glowing lights on the end of its tentacles that most interested scientists.

A team from the Minderoo campus of the University of Western Australia’s Deep Sea Research Center was deploying baited, free-falling cameras to record video footage of deep-sea life.

Continued below.

Two American Catholic publishers are embroiled in an escalating controversy: Commonweal magazine and Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire ministry. The dispute began when Commonweal published an article by Massimo Faggioli that linked certain segments of U.S. Catholicism to former President (and current Republican presidential candidate) Donald Trump, naming Bishop Barron and his ministry among them. In response, Word on Fire threatened legal action, and Commonweal, with the consent of Faggioli, removed the contentious paragraph. While Faggioli’s comments may have been provocative, Word on Fire’s reaction, especially continuing the threat of litigation, raises significant concerns.

Faggioli’s article, titled “Will Trumpism Spare Catholicism?” drew a connection between Trump and various Catholic figures, suggesting a potential “Trump-Strickland axis.” This assertion was based on events such as the “Catholic Prayer for Trump” event organized by Catholics for Catholics at Mar-a-Lago on Mar. 19, where Trump was presented as “the only Catholic option” for voters. Faggioli went further to imply that Bishop Barron and his Word on Fire ministry were similarly aligned with Trumpism. This bold and inflammatory assertion was not backed up with any substantial evidence.

We disagree with Faggioli’s characterization of Word on Fire. The ministry’s commitment to spreading the Gospel and engaging with contemporary culture does not equate in any way with an endorsement of Donald Trump or his political views and positions. The claim that Word on Fire is part of a “Trump-Catholic axis” was a serious allegation that demanded rigorous substantiation, of which none was provided.

Continued below.

I would like to consider some terms used when considering salvation. Because it seems to flavor how one considers the topic.

SIN

• A rebellious act. E.g. God told Adam not to eat the fruit, yet he did. That was disobedience, and thus a sin.
• Any wrong-doing, even apart from willful disobedience. E.g. Lev 15:27 “If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering."
• General ignorance. E.g. Ps 86:11 "Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name". Here we have the psalmist asking instruction that he might become more aligned with God, more perfect. 1 John 5:17 "All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death." In this construct, everyone will always have more to learn from God and even after the 2nd coming of Christ, we will continually be learning, improving and becoming more like our Father.
  

SALVATION

• Forgiveness of an offense. Adam sinned and created problems for his offspring. God forgave Adam and "saved" him.
• Protection against consequences. After Adam's sin, God put forth immense effort to right the wrong. Adam acquiesced power and authority to Satan in the garden. Christ overcame Satan by obeying the Father to the point of death, regaining the authority Adam had lost. Christ "saved" us from Adam's actions.
• Personal improvement. This would be the process whereby God empowers us to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. He helps us put our foolishness behind us and stop doing bad things, thereby "saving" us.
  

What do you think of my flavors of interpretation above? Do you think they are all the same thing? Is there some additional nuance I missed? And how does swapping one interpretation of a word for another affect your understanding of salvation?

Best wishes,

KT

The Hospitality of Our Lady of Lourdes of Madrid, an archdiocesan pilgrim service organization, concluded its 101st pilgrimage on May 19, serving 800 participants, one of whom apparently was cured of severe visual impairment. This extraordinary event, however, will have to be studied before it can be qualified as a miracle.

The most recent miracle at Lourdes, No. 70, was officially recognized in February 2018. This case could become No. 71.

The adviser to the archdiocesan association of faithful, Father Guillermo Cruz, sent a statement to the different groups that made up the pilgrimage, calling on them to accept what happened with humility and simplicity, following the example of St. Bernadette.

“The experience of making a pilgrimage and discovering the love of God through our Mother, the Virgin Mary, as St. Bernadette teaches us in simplicity and humility, will always be the greatest grace that is granted at Lourdes, since it is the one that renews life,” he said.

Continued below.

I have been reading through the Bible (actually listening), and I have come across several passages relating to blessings and curses and thought I would explore the idea here.

First, there are the classic blessings and curses that God gives, linked to Mt. Ebal. And I have no issues with this. God issues a policy of blessing, and his servants (angels) carry it out to bless a person or nation. Likewise a policy of curse (disfavor) can likewise be carried out by angels such that everything seems to go wrong.

Next, I am not considering when a person might (wrongly) say a curse when they are angry, for example if they hit their thumb with a hammer.

But what interests me is when humans issue the blessings or curses.

I'm going to list passages relating curses that I found. Comments below.

1. Gen 9:24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.”
   
   
2. Gen 27:11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. 12 What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.” 13 His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.”
   
   
3. Gen 27:27 So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said,
   “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.
   28 May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness— an abundance of grain and new wine.
   29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you.
   Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
   May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”
   
   
4. Gen 27:33 Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!” 34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!” 35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
   
   
5. Gen 49: Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
   2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel. ...
   5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers—their swords[a] are weapons of violence. ...
   7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.
   
   
6. Numbers 22 10 Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: 11 ‘A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.’” ... 12 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”
   
   
7. Deut 21: 22 If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole, 23 you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
   
   
8. Joshua 6 26 At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: “Cursed before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho:
   “At the cost of his firstborn son he will lay its foundations;
   at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.” ... (see fullfilment of this below)
   
   
9. 1 Kings 16:34 In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun.
   
   
10. Joshua 9:22 Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live a long way from you,’ while actually you live near us? 23 You are now under a curse: You will never be released from service as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
    
    
11. Judges 9 Abimelek son of Jerub-Baal ... murdered his seventy brothers, .... But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding. ... he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. ... 16 “Have you acted honorably and in good faith by making Abimelek king? ... 20 But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelek and consume you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelek!” ... 56 Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelek had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. 57 God also made the people of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.
    
    
12. Judges 21:17 The Benjamite survivors must have heirs,” they said, “so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. 18 We can’t give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: ‘Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite."
    
    
13. 1 Sam 14 24 Now the Israelites were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food. ... 41 Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Why have you not answered your servant today? If the fault is in me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the men of Israel are at fault,[d] respond with Thummim.” Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, and the men were cleared. 42 Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and Jonathan my son.” And Jonathan was taken. 43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done." So Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the end of my staff. And now I must die!” 44 Saul said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.”
    
    
14. 2 Sam 16 5 As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. 6 He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. 7 As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! 8 The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!” ... 11 David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. 12 It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”
    
    
15. 2 King 2 23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.
    
    
16. Nehemiah 13 25 I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God’s name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves.
    
    
17. Job 1:5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
    
    
18. Mat 26: 69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, ... 74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.
    
    
19. Luke 6 27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
    
    
20. 1 Cor 16 21 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. 22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!

Here are my thoughts:

• Blessings or curses are a supernatural phenomena, so if carried out, the source of the power must be from God, either directly from the Father, or by one of His servants (angels) acting in accordance to His policy.
  
  
• Some of the blessings/curses seem to predict the future. E.g. Jacob's words to his sons before his death (item #5 above). I'm not sure if this curse came true. Were Simeon and Levi dispersed in Israel?
  
  
• When Isaac's blessing was stolen by Jacob, how did this work? Was Jacob bound by his word after being tricked? Was God bound to this? This doesn't make sense to me.
  
  
• When Hiel rebuilt Jericho, he lost 2 sons. Did God kill these two to honor the curse issued by Joshua?
  
  
• In the case of Baalam, why did God tell Baalam not to curse the Israelites? What was the worst that would happen, that God would ignore the invocation? What he trying to save Baalam's reputation of being an effective curse-giver?
  
  
• In #13 above, the situation where Saul had put a curse on anyone who ate, was God honoring Saul's authority by not responding after his son had eaten honey?
  
  
• In #20, is this type of curse the same kind of curse seen in the OT? Was Paul really evoking a curse, or was it more causal?
  
  
• In the Law that God instructed Moses to give, there is regulation that a son should not be punished for the sins of the father. But it seems that curses are applied over generations, to people that had not personally done wrong. How is this consistent?

I'd be interested in everyone's thoughts.

Best wishes,

KT

This shadowy group is undeniably calling forth Satan and the Antichrist to lead the world. But what is this group doing at the United Nations?

The Lucis Trust, which has a long history of working with the United Nations, will be celebrating the World Invocation Day tomorrow (May 23). This event has been consistently observed on the “day of the Gemini full moon since 1952”, according to the Lucis Trust website. The annual event has to align with astrological cues. Last year, the World Invocation Day was held on June 3 which naturally featured a Gemini full moon. (Tomorrow also happens to be the Buddhist holy day of Vesak).

An integral part of the event is the Great Invocation which summons the “spiritual energies of Light, Love and Purpose”. The following mantra, appealing to the “Mind of God” itself, will presumably be chanted by adherents worldwide in order to accelerate the “evolution of human consciousness and the elevation of the Planet.” Here it is, in all its claptrap glory:

There is a dual context in this passage of Scripture and in the verses following after these, and there are many misinterpretations of some of these passages of Scripture, as well, but if read and studied in context, those should be cleared up. For context is critical to correct biblical understanding and interpretation. And there are many false teachings among us which stem from Scriptures taught outside their context and thus are made to say what they don’t say if taught in the proper context.

The primary teaching in the book of Galatians, I believe, has to do with the subject of the transfer from the Old Covenant laws and customs and religious practices to the New Covenant relationship God now has with his people Israel, both Jew and Gentile, who are his by faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. For if we do not believe in Jesus Christ, we do not believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. And to deny Jesus is to deny the one and only true God.

And the problem that they were being faced with at that time is that there were Judaizers among the Christians who were trying to convince them that they still had to be circumcised, and that they still had to obey some of the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, and dietary laws and restrictions. And so Paul set out to correct this error and to let them know that if they believed that they had to be circumcised in addition to their faith in the Lord that they were basically as though they were still living under the Old Covenant.

So “the law” being spoken of here is not God’s moral laws, but it is the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, and dietary laws and restrictions, including the requirement for circumcision. These were done away with via Jesus’ death on that cross. But he did not do away with God’s moral laws nor with God’s requirements for the forsaking of our sins and for walks of obedience to his commands, in his power, as required as part of saving faith in Jesus Christ that promises us eternal life with God.

But we have a lot of people today misinterpreting these passages of Scripture, because they are not looking at the whole context, and they are teaching that we are not required to forsake our sins (to repent), and that we are not required to obey our Lord’s commandments under the New Covenant. And they misinterpret “faith” as just some confession of Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives, and while they tell them that no works are required of them at all, because they leave out Ephesians 2:10.

So, as followers of Jesus Christ we do not have to adhere to the liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, and dietary laws and restrictions of the Old Covenant, nor is circumcision required of any of us. But we are not now lawless. We are still required to obey our Lord’s commandments under the New Covenant, which are primarily (or completely) his moral laws. For faith in Jesus Christ requires death to sin and walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands. So if we walk in sin, we do not have eternal life with God.

And Paul made that quite clear in these verses and in the verses following this. For we are not to use our freedom from the Old Covenant as an opportunity for the flesh, to do what is sinful and evil in the sight of God. But we should agape love our neighbors as ourselves. And this kind of love prefers what God prefers which is all that is holy, righteous, godly, upright, morally pure, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord. So when we love with this love we will want to forsake our sins and obey our Lord.


So, what’s this saying to us? It is not teaching that faith in Jesus Christ forgives us all sin so that we can go on living in sin, only now without feeling guilty. And it is not teaching that there are no more commands that we must obey. It is teaching us to walk (conduct our lives) by the Spirit, in walks of holiness and righteousness and obedience to our Lord and no longer in walks of obedience to sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, and idolatry, and the like. For if we obey sin, in practice, we will not inherit the kingdom of God.

[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]

Nails Were Pounded

An Original Work / June 4, 2011

Nails were pounded when
He hung on a tree;
Suffered for us so
we could be set free.
He died for our sins;
rose up from the grave,
So we could be forgiven;
by His grace we’re saved.

A spear pierced His side;
His clothes they’d divide;
A crown on His head
to mock Him instead
Of honoring Him
as our Savior, King,
Who gave his life for the world
to be free from sin.

Forsaken by friends,
though He’d not offend.
He lived perfectly;
our High Priest to be.
He calls us to see,
and by faith believe;
In repentance receive Him;
live eternally.

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Right off the bat, I wanna say that whatever you watch is your business. I'm only speaking for myself.

I have 200 channels and only watch 2 - sports and the game show channel. I've grown progressively disgusted with the rest. Sex, sex, sex. Immoral situations. Worldly values. And just in general, I'm just losing interest all together. I think Ive gorged on sitcoms long enough. I really wish I got a nature channel, I would really dig that. Just one Christian channel (won't say which one) but it's all prosperity preachers and mega-churches. No thanks.

I spend most of my time posting here and elsewhere online and watching Christian video shorts on YouTube. Really enjoying it.

As for sports, I'm eager for football season, been a fan since the days of Roger Staubach with my Dallas Cowboys.

Lately I've been evaluating whether I really should watch football though. Even though the protection has improved, there are still a lot of serious injuries, especially concussions. So it can rightfully be called a violent sport - like boxing - which I definitely dont watch.

And the player's salaries are obscene (as is all entertainment). There's something, I dunno, unbiblical about fans paying huge ticket prices just to watch their sports gods (ie, literal idol worship) running around tossing a pigskin this way and that way. Ya know?

But pro ball, on the other hand, does have The Fellowship Of Christian Athletes. And players who give testimonies and pray on the field before the cameras.

I like college football much better than pro. No salaries (supposedly), a little more green and less polished thus more exciting.

And just two examples where God sure seemed to involve Himself. Colt McCoy of my Texas Longhorns getting sidelined by a concussion in the National Championship and the rest of the team getting stomped without him (whimper). At the press conference the next day he said (paraphrasing) that football was not his top priority in life, that Jesus is. And that he'll get over it pretty quick. He was just happy for such an exciting year. Humbled all us fans.

And finally there's Tim Tebow who wore John 3:16 under his eyes. Google reported millions of searches of that verse that day. A year later somebody asked him if he'd seen his stats for the game that just finished. He showed Tim that just about every stat was 316. Cool, huh?

So... I dunno. Thoughts?

On June 4, 2011, one of my granddaughters was at our house, and she was about to get her fingernails painted. While this was happening, my husband was watching the neighbors across the street from us get a new roof put on their house, and so there were lots of nails being discussed. Granddaughter Lizzie then began singing, "Nails, nails, nails, nails, nails." So, the first five notes of this song were Lizzie’s notes, and so was the idea of the nails.

The Lord then took this idea of nails and gave me a song about the nails that were pounded into Jesus’ hands and feet on the day he was crucified on the cross for the sins of the whole world. The day he died he took upon himself the sins of the entire world. Our sins were then crucified with him on that cross, and they were buried with him. But when he rose from the dead, he rose victorious over death, hell, Satan and sin so that we could be delivered from our slavery to sin and walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands.

Yet, for us to be forgiven of our sins, and to have eternal life with him in heaven, we must by faith in him turn from our sins, be transformed of the Spirit of God, and be given new lives in Christ, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” And then we must walk in holiness and in righteousness in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands and no longer in sin. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; 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; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Nails Were Pounded

An Original Work / June 4, 2011

Nails were pounded when
He hung on a tree;
Suffered for us so
we could be set free.
He died for our sins;
rose up from the grave,
So we could be forgiven;
by His grace we’re saved.

A spear pierced His side;
His clothes they’d divide;
A crown on His head
to mock Him instead
Of honoring Him
as our Savior, King,
Who gave his life for the world
to be free from sin.

Forsaken by friends,
though He’d not offend.
He lived perfectly;
our High Priest to be.
He calls us to see,
and by faith believe;
In repentance receive Him;
live eternally.

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During one period of time in my life, my family and I attended gatherings of a group of people of a particular church denomination which were a little more formal, in practice, than the kind of gatherings I had grown up attending. The people were all really kind to us there and our Sunday school class and teacher were great, and I was in a ladies’ Bible study that was very good, too, and I did some volunteer work in the church office. And my husband and I sang in the church choir, and we made some good friends.

There were two pastors at these gatherings, and neither one of them were very good at public speaking or at presenting the gospel truth. So we really got the meat of the word in our Sunday School class, and I did in my ladies’ Bible study. But the assistant Pastor, when he talked, put on what we called a “preacher voice” which was not his natural speaking voice. I guess it was just how he was taught to preach, but it sounded fake, for that is not how he talked in person, face to face. And it didn’t make him a better preacher.

So, that is what I think of when I read this about “lofty speech.” And I have heard many preachers over the years use voices and vocal expressions which were not their normal speaking voices, but because they were trained to talk like that if they were preaching. Or some of them will follow a particular pattern of preaching that they learned, probably in seminary. Like some preachers (of a particular denomination) begin with a joke, then they preach, and then they end with a sappy story to get you all emotional.

Then there are those who begin speaking softly, but gradually they pump up the volume until the point to where they begin yelling (I hate yelling), and they get all emotional and may even begin jumping up and down and changing how they talk by adding certain inflections in their voices. But this style also appears to coincide with a particular church denomination, so it appears that these preachers are being trained by these denominations to use what can appear as manipulative techniques to get what they want.

And I am certainly not saying that if the Holy Spirit is upon you (the real Holy Spirit) and so you are speaking in the power of the Spirit, according to the teachings of the Scriptures, that you must always maintain a calm and quiet demeanor and never raise your voice. I believe that when we talk on certain subjects that it may call for us to raise our voices some for the point of emphasis of the seriousness of the subject at hand, but it should not be a routine we follow, but it should be natural for us to speak that way.

Nothing that we do in the name of the Lord and in the name of the gospel should be “put on” or acted out as some sort of routine dramatic event. And we should be the same people when we are proclaiming the truth of the gospel as we are when we are not proclaiming the Word of God. We shouldn’t have our “religious” voice or mannerisms versus our natural voice, or a “religious” routine versus our natural routines. We should be the same people no matter where we are or who we are with or what we are doing.

I really like what Paul said here in this passage of Scripture. For what he was describing is what I am talking about. He wasn’t fake. He wasn’t following some man-made routine taught him in some seminary. He didn’t use manipulative techniques to control his audience, either, to get them emotionally stirred up so that he could manipulate them into making some kind of decision. He was who he was no matter who he was with or what he was doing. And he spoke in the power of the Spirit, not of man.

And you may be aware that his type of character seems to be in the minority these days. For we have so many charlatans and “wolves in sheep’s clothing” among us who are following techniques for manipulating and persuading people that they learned in college or seminary or at church planting or church growth seminars. For so many are following business models for how to “grow their churches,” by altering what they do in order to “draw in large crowds of people from the world.” And that just isn’t biblical.

For the church is the body of Christ, the body of believers in Jesus Christ who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and who have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. And we are those who have left our sins behind us to follow our Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands, and who are being made to be like Jesus in character, by the Spirit of God. And so obedience to our Lord is what we practice.

But that doesn’t make us perfect people. It just means that our faith in Jesus Christ is genuine faith and that our lives are committed to obeying our Lord in practice and to no longer living in deliberate and habitual sin against our Lord. And collectively we are the church. And we meet together any day of the week, anywhere, at any time of day, for the purpose to encourage one another in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord and so that none of us will be led astray by the deceitfulness of sin and fall from the faith.

And then, when we have been uplifted and strengthened in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord in holy living, we are to go out into the world to share the truth of the gospel with the people of the world. And when any of them believe in Jesus Christ via dying with him to sin and being raised with him to walk now in obedience to his commands, they become members of the body of Christ, his church. And there is only one universal church, but we just meet in different locations and at different times and days.

And our gatherings don’t have to be in buildings called “churches,” nor do they have to be of a particular “church denomination,” for all that is of man, not of God. The important thing is that we are gathering with other believers in Christ for the purpose to encourage one another and to help one another to grow to maturity in Christ in holy living and in walks of obedience to our Lord and not in sin. And if this can’t be done in person, then we can do it via phone calls, or text messaging, or via the internet, or via writing.

But we need to be sharing with one another the truth of the gospel and the truth of what the Scriptures teach, in context, so that our faith rests in the Lord and in the truth of his word and not in the wisdom of men, and not in humanistic philosophy and altered and diluted gospel messages which are intended to appeal to human flesh and to worldly and fleshly desires. For our faith needs to rely on the Lord and on what his word teaches (IN CONTEXT) and not on the wisdom of human beings which is not in the power of God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:1-32; Eph 5:11-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]

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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EZEKIEL 44:15-31

In this prophetic book, the Prophet sees into the future, the future priests of the third temple, (to be built in the near future) the descendants of “Zadok” will be the priests in the millennium, and the same high standards are for these priests as well. It also states the job of the priest: “And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean” This should also be the goal of every Torah teacher, rabbi, minister, pastor, etc. to teach the WHOLE TORAH in their place of worship and study so that their sheep might follow their shepherd wholeheartedly and secure.

The problem today is that a few "hired shepherds" are there for the money, and their heart is not in the job. Some will preach what the "people want to hear" not what they NEED to hear. There are "prosperity gospels" and "if you are not healed it is because your faith is weak" kind of messages.

What is Holy? Yeshua/Jesus is Holy, and we need to become like HIM in all ways, little by little, growing spiritually in the WORD and in faith. It all starts with the "New Birth" (John 3:3) The Commandments teach us what is clean and unclean, Holy and unholy. So, what should be taught by the Shepherds who keep their sheep?

1. We are all sinners and have come short of the glory of God. 2. God loves everyone and because of His immense love, He came to earth in human form, to die in our place, taking upon our sins and the curse of death. 3. We must ALL (individually) accept the one-time sacrifice of Yeshua/Jesus on the Cross, in a personal way, knowing that "he died for YOU!(specifically). 4. The Bible is the inerrant WORD of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, His message for ALL mankind. It is our Basic Instruction guide Before Leaving Earth (B.I.B.L.E.) 5. We have eternal life with God and all believers. And Yeshua/Jesus will return soon as the "Lion of Judah" to set up His 1000-year Kingdom, which we will be part of. 6. There is a Heaven and a Hell, and a Lake of Fire (no joke) Eternity is a serious matter and should not be taken lightly. Our position with God now determines our future in eternity.

LUKE 5:1-6:49

Yeshua speaks to the people, from a boat. After teaching, He and Kefa go out on the lake, resulting in a boatload of fish. Kefa hears, yet protests, “We fished all night and caught nothing” yet still obeys and “reaps the harvest” many fish, to take home to sell and eat.

In the other incident when Yeshua caused his talmidim to catch a boatload of fish, the number of fish caught summed “153.” Why is this number recorded? Is it significant? Perhaps Yeshua is making a statement through the fish caught. The statement in Hebrew “Ani Elohim” ( I AM Elohim) sums “153” in gematria (using the “vav” in “Elohim”) Yeshua tells Peter 3 times to "pastor and lead HIS lambs and sheep" Who are HIS lambs and sheep?

One way we can look at this symbolically is that a "lamb" can be a "very young believer, perhaps just "born-again" and needs a lot of instruction. The "sheep" are the more mature believers, who still need more instruction (more Torah!) So, that is the job of a rabbi, pastor, Sunday School teacher, Torah Teacher, to instruct and lead the "lambs and sheep" of "his or her pasture"

With simple obedience through faith, we can all reap the blessings that YHVH has in store for us. A little bit of faith, trust, and obedience, will bring in a big catch. Now, Kefa is promoted to be a “fisher-of-MEN” rescuing men’s souls from the grasp of HaSatan and bringing them into the Kingdom. Are you a fisher of men (and women) or are you still content with the small “fishy” things of life? You decide!

Yeshua also, after the blessing of many fish, healed three people; one who had “Tzara ’at” (a skin disease) a person who was paralyzed, and a person who was “worldly-minded.” To the first He said; “be cleansed” To the second one He said; “Your sins are forgiven you” To the third, (Who was Matthew) He just said; “Follow me!”

In all three cases, we have changed lives. When our sins are forgiven, through repentance and accepting Yeshua as Messiah and LORD, we are “cleansed” (internally) and at times, physically. And then, we “follow Him” which should be the logical reaction.

“I have not called the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32)

We must understand that everyone who is “righteous” (in right standing) similar to “Kadosh” was at one time “a sinner” (living a lifestyle of sin and rebellion). So, it is a change for the better, from a lost sinner to a “righteous” one who has been “born again.” The lost sinner needs to be instructed by the Torah unto righteousness, and the righteous need to be instructed by the Torah to “stay guided on the Path of Righteousness”

There is a page called time.is

I am told that my computer is .3 seconds behind. Behind what? Is time subjective or objective? Do we all share the same moment in time?

If we are looking at our reflection in the mirror. We are looking at the light that bounces off of us and then is reflected by the mirror and perceived by our eyes. Yet our eyes have to connect somewhere. So where is the now? Where does it all connect. Because the light has to travel from the mirror to our eyes, what we see is in the past and not the present monent. Depending on how small a unit of time physics will allow. This is called planck time. It takes 53.33 millimeter for light to travel from your hand to your eye. Depending on where your hand is of course.

If a dispensation is 1000 years then how can 1000 years be a day or how can a day be 1000 years?

I believe God is past, present and future. I believe that God does not heal memories. I believe He goes to the event AND heals us then at that point in time. Which then has an effect on the moment of time that we are currently in. When or where ever that moment is or exists.

We have different sensory preceptors that are integrated in the parietal lobe.

• The posterior parietal cortex helps us understand our position in space, perceive distances, and recognize objects’ locations relative to our body.
• It integrates visual, auditory, and somatosensory information to create a coherent spatial map.

So when or where is the current moment of time that we are suppose to abide in?

It use to take a lot of effort to get a watch that was accurate within 3 minutes. There was an adjustment in the watch to speed it up or slow it down. Still we were doing good to adjust our watch to be two or three minutes accurate. In the old movies you will see where they all synchronize their watches so they are all on the same time' Before atomic clocks the Janitor had to set the clock in every room so that they always had the accurate time on them. Now we seem to be accurate within .3 seconds. For GPS that is all adjusted. You could set your watch by Television because a program would start at the exact precise time. People that did not adjust their watch could be 6 or 7 minutes off NOT seconds, minutes.