#Christ is transfigured within us

[a-godman]

The Kingdom of God is Christ Growing in us until He is Transfigured Within us

The kingdom of God is the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus, for whenever the Lord Jesus is transfigured within us to be manifested through us, that is the kingdom of God coming in power (see Mark 9:1-2). Amen! God wants to bring in His kingdom on the earth, and the work of God today is mainly to bring in the kingdom of God. On on hand, we need to do many works in the church life, works that…

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Devotional Hours Within the Bible by J.R. Miller

The Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-13)

The Transfiguration was one of the most remarkable events in our Lord’s life. The object, so far as the disciples were concerned, probably was to restore their confidence in Christ’s Messiahship, after the staggering blow to their faith which had come to them in the announcement by Himself, that He must suffer and be killed. So far as Jesus Himself was concerned, the object of the Transfiguration would seem to have been to strengthen and encourage Him as He set out on His last journey to the cross.

For companions and witnesses on this occasion, Jesus had Peter, James and John. These were His special friends, admitted by Him to His closest friendship. On several occasions we find Him choosing the same three for special companionship. There must have been something in these three men, which fitted them for the place of honor to which they were admitted. We know that the holiest people will get nearest to Christ. We know, too, that faith always brings us near, while doubt and unbelief separate us from Him. Purity of heart brings us close the pure in heart see God. Likeness to Christ fits us for personal friendship. Jesus said that those who serve most self-forgetfully, are first in His kingdom. Selfishness keeps us far off from Jesus. No doubt the eye of Christ saw in the three favored disciples, reasons why they were best fitted to be witnesses of His glory that night. It was not an accident that these, and not three other men were with their Lord on that occasion. It is a special comfort to find that Peter, through such a faulty disciple, was one of those who were admitted to closest fellowship with his Master that night.

Luke tells us that Jesus was engaged in prayer when the wonderful change in His appearance took place. From this we learn that prayer has a transforming power. Communion with God, brings heaven down into our life. Tennyson said, “Prayer is to me the lifting up of the sluice-gate between me and the Infinite.” Prayer lets God’s own life into our souls. While we pray we are in the very presence of God! When Moses had spent forty days on the mountain alone with God, and then returned again to the plain, the people saw the dazzling brightness of heaven on his countenance. When Stephen was looking up into heaven at the glory of God as revealed now in holy vision, even his enemies saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. Only the upward look can give heavenly beauty. Our communing makes our character. If we think of earthly things we will grow earthly. If we dote on gold our lives will harden into sordidness. If we look up toward God we shall grow like God. A life of prayer will transform us into spirituality, and bring down upon us the beauty of the Lord.

Another strange thing happened that night. There appeared unto Jesus and His disciples two men from heaven, not mere apparitions but actual men, not men either from the earth but from heaven Moses and Elijah. There was something very wonderful in this. For more than nine hundred years Elijah had been in heaven, and for more than fourteen hundred years Moses had been away from this world; and now both reappear, still living, speaking, and working. There are many proofs of immortality but here is an illustration of the truth. Here we see two men, long centuries after they have left the earth still living and active in God’s service! It will be the same with us and our friends. Thousands of years after we have vanished from earth we shall still be alive and active somewhere. If only we can get this great truth into our heart, how much more grand it will make all life for us!

We are told that these men had a talk with Jesus. One of the Gospels gives us the subject of the talk it was about Christ’s decease, His exodus from this world. These men were sent from heaven to comfort and strengthen Jesus for the journey to His cross. He would have bitter sorrows and great sufferings, and they came to cheer Him. We are not told that He was afraid or that He was in danger of growing faint-hearted before He reached His cross but the bravest and strongest are better for encouragement and cheer. So the heavenly messengers were sent to earth to talk with Jesus about His death, to show Him what it would mean to the world, that He might be strengthened for it. No doubt all the way unto the end of life, Jesus was braver and stronger because of this heavenly visitation. No doubt He had such a vision of redemption as He went to His cross that He rejoiced to suffer, that He saw of the travail of His soul and was satisfied.

May there not be a hint in this, of the kind of employment that shall occupy the redeemed in the next life? Possibly we may be sent to distant worlds on errands of love to carry help to weary ones. At least we are sure that heaven is not merely a place of inactive rest. Praise will not be the only employment of the glorified ones. They will have opportunity to serve .

The hearts of the disciples were filled with strange ecstasy that night. So absorbed were they in the blessedness of the vision, that Peter proposed that they should stay there, offering to build three tabernacles, one for Jesus and one for each of the heavenly visitors. Peter was right it was good to be there. But at that very moment, human need was waiting at the foot of the mountain for the Master’s coming. Then, farther on, were Gethsemane and Calvary for Jesus; and for Peter there was Pentecost, with years of earnest service, and then martyrdom. It is very sweet to commune with Christ in the closet, at the Lord’s Table; but we must not spend all our time in these holy exercises. While raptures fill our hearts human needs are crying to us for help and for sympathy, and we must hasten away from our peaceful enjoyment, to carry blessing and comfort to those who need.

Another element of the Transfiguration, was the witness from heaven. It was the Father who spoke and said, “This is My Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!” The disciples had been greatly shocked by what Jesus had told them six days before that He must suffer and be killed. Now from heaven the Father speaks, assuring them that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, and that they should listen to His voice and to His voice only. Even if they could not understand, and the things He said seemed to destroy all their hopes they must be content to hear.

There are times when God’s ways with us seem very hard, when we think disaster is coming to ever fair prospect in our lives. In all such hours, we should remember that He who rules over all is the Son of God, our Friend and Savior and our trust in Him should never fail. We should listen always quietly and submissively to what He says, and when everything seems strange and dark we should never doubt or be afraid. What so staggered the disciples then we now see to have been the most glorious and loving wisdom. Through the cross there came to the world the most wonderful blessing the world ever received. So in our strangest trials there are the truest wisdom and the highest love.

As Jesus and the disciples came down from the mountain the next morning, He charged them that they should tell no man what they had seen until after He had risen from the dead. Just so, there are many things that it is hard or even impossible for us to understand at the time but which become clear enough when the other events follow and cast their light upon them.

One riding along a road approaches a building which has no beauty and which seems to be only a confused pile. But when he has passed by and looks back at it, he sees a structure graceful, impressive, and beautiful. He saw it first from the wrong side.

One looks at an artist at work on his canvas and sees only rude daubs. The picture has not yet been completed. By and by it is finished and is a rare work of art. We must wait for finished work before we judge.

A boy enters the academy, and a page of Greek is put before him but it has no meaning for him. He cannot read it. He spends a few years in the study of the language, and again the same page is presented to him. Now he reads it off with ease, and every word glows with some high thought. We are in Christ’s school now, and there are many things we cannot understand until we get farther on and learn other things, and then the former will be made plain and clear.

[talonabraxas]

Solar, Buddhic and Cosmic Egg Talon Abraxas

When we allow our Ego/Personality to be shattered and fully withdraw its control over us, we are released into our true spiritual nature. The human body is designed as a replica of the Universe, and we are asleep in the microcosmic egg until we wake up and begin to unite with the macrocosmic egg of the Universe. The human body is embedded in multiple dimensions of invisible worlds that make up our microcosmic egg or auric body shell. Our microcosmic egg enters conjunction with the macrocosmic egg when we spiritually awaken into the later parts of Monadic activation. It is during the Monadic spiritual initiation that the invisible worlds, incredibly, start to be made visible to that person. As the ego body is rejected and slayed, we begin to break through the layers of our auric shell into the Cosmic Egg. When this connection is made with our True Holy God Parents, we are blessed with their hierogamic union or sacred marriage, which births the Solar Egg and Golden Embryo within our aura.

The Golden Embryo is birthed inside our human body and the seed germinates within our hara complex to recreate our identity in Cosmic Christ Consciousness. This has also been referred to as the Solar Sacrum, which purges the Lunar principle of the feminine. This Solar Egg holds the Golden Embryo in the aura that gradually births the Golden Child of Christ Consciousness within a human body.When the Golden Embryo is seeded in the Solar Egg, the Lunar reflected light and its many shadow forms will start to gather into what’s called the Buddhic Egg. This is a spherical body repository for the accumulated Moon Chain Lineages and a variety of Lunar forms that have been a part of our Monadic family. Because in the lower creation realms, the Mother of God was experienced as a lunar force, this heralds the transfiguration of the Mother principle into the Solar feminine within. The Solar feminine aspect of the Mother of God in her Christos body is her daughter, Sophia.

[apenitentialprayer]

What is Forgiveness, Really?

How to overcome guilt is a central question for every human life [...] Guilt calls forth retaliation. The result is a chain of trespasses in which the evil of guilt grows ceaselessly and becomes more and more inescapable. In this petition [forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us], the Lord is telling us that guilt can be overcome only by forgiveness, not by retaliation. God is a God who forgives, because he loves his creatures; but forgiveness can only penetrate and become effective in one who is himself forgiving. [...] If we want to understand the petition fully and make it our own, we must go one step further and ask: What is forgiveness, really? What happens when forgiveness takes place? Guilt is a reality, an objective force; it has caused destruction that must be repaired. For this reason, forgiveness must be more than a matter of ignoring, of merely trying to forget. Guilt must be worked through, healed, and thus overcome. Forgiveness exacts a price — first of all from the person who forgives. He must overcome within himself the evil done to him; he must, as it were, burn it interiorly and in doing so renew himself. As a result, he also involves the other, the trespasser, in the process of transformation, of inner purification, and both parties, suffering all the way through and overcoming evil, are made new. At this point, we encounter the mystery of Christ's Cross. [...] Newman once said that while God could create the whole world out of nothing with just one word, he could overcome men's guilt and suffering only by bringing himself into play, by becoming in his Son a sufferer who carried this burden and overcame it through his self-surrender. The overcoming of guilt has a price: We must put our heart —or, better, our whole existence— on the line. And even this act is insufficient; it can be effective only through communion with the One who bore the burdens of us all.

- Pope Benedict XVI (Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration, pages 157, 158-159, 160). Bolded emphases added.

[apoptoses]

(for the coming untouched prompt from @birdblacksocialclub and the altar sex/'shh be quiet' prompts from @rainbowcarousels ♥)

The reader steps down from the lectern. The footsteps of the priest echo through the stone nave as he begins his homily. Pretty words about death, transformation. Daniel doesn’t hear a word of it. He’s found something else to capture his fascination. His eyes fixate on the cross.

Funny, how a building filled with pretty saints and angels contains such a gruesome thing. As a child he’d been frightened by the emaciated man on the crucifix. Now he just can’t stop looking at the blood.

It trickles from the crown of thorns down Christ’s face. Great, red tracks that makes him look like he’s weeping blood. Hell, maybe he is. Whoever made this cross had a horrific imagination. Wounds from the thorns, a laceration in the side, those are typical but this one- Daniel has seen a number of crucifixes, Armand has dragged him through enough medieval wings at art museums. But he’s never seen one with the wounds from the scourging illustrated in detail. This Christ looks like a deer peppered in shotgun wounds.

He looks bitten.

Daniel thumbs absently at the pages of his song book. His attention lingers on a pair of wounds above Christ’s ribs. If Armand bit him there- fuck, he can’t imagine the pain. His fangs aren’t very long but there’s nothing in the gaps between his bones but a thin sheet of muscle. So little would separate his teeth from the tender meat of his lungs.

And maybe they’d scrape his bones as he pulled out. A sickening feeling, like the sound of nails on a chalkboard. But it would happen inside his very body and Daniel shudders at the thought. His toes curl within his shoes as a tendril of heat sprouts low in his belly.

He pushes the sensation down. He tries to tune back into the homily. A distraction for his distraction, it’s a wonder Armand can untangle the thoughts in his mind at all.

The priest paces the aisle. He’s saying something about transfiguration. The transforming nature of Christ’s love, how in his death and resurrection he gave life to us all. There’s something poignant there, Daniel is certain. A point he could harangue Armand with next time they argue about his turning but no matter how he fishes for it he can’t catch it.

The candles flicker on the altar. The blood painted over Christ’s bicep seems to glimmer with it and for a moment it looks liquid. Real.

Daniel’s mouth goes dry. He pictures drinking from Armand there, the static that would rush over his tongue. The way the blood makes him face go numb and then all of the sudden sensation explodes beneath his skin. He wonders if the apostles felt the same when they drank of the cup at the last supper or if it had only been wine after all.

Really, Daniel? At mass?

[AO3]

[secular-jew]

TRIGGER WARNING

From my a Facebook friend Brian Wilson:

""The entire catholic religion comes from the worship of Horus, Isis and Osiris

The Egyptian legend of Horus is the story of Jesus, but much older, perhaps dating back several thousand years before Jesus. The most notable facts of his life are the following:

- Horus, was born of the Virgin Isis more or less on December 25 in a cave.

- The birth of Isis was announced by a star and was attended by three wise men.

- As a child he was a premature teacher at the temple and was "baptized" at the age of 30.

- The man who baptized Horus was named Anup the “Baptist”.

- Horus had 12 disciples.

- He performed many miracles and resurrected a man named “El-Azar-us”.

- Horus also walked on the waters.

- He transfigured into a Mountain.

- Horus, was crucified, buried to later resurrect.

- Horus was also known as: The Light, The Messiah, The Anointed One of God, The Son of Man, The Good Shepherd, The Lamb of God, The Word. Etc etc...

- Horus was related to the Lamb, the Lion and the Fish.

- The epithet of Horus was “Iusa,” “the son always sitting next to “Ptah”, the Creator.

- Horus was phonetically also called Krst or the First Anointed.

In the Egyptian book of the Hidden Abode it says:

The day Horus (The Intimate) gains victory over Seth (The Animal Ego) and his demons, I die, I triumph over my enemies during the night of the feast in which the Djed God is exalted in Djedu before the deities residing over the vines ace of the death.

Whoever wants to go up must first come down, that is the Law; every exaltation is preceded by humiliation. Every psychological defect seen internally with the eye of Horus, has in truth a satanic, animalistic form.

HORUS can kill the Boar black , but he alone can’t but has to ask for Divine Mother’s help. Eliminating the Boar black triumphs Horus and the Essence that was bottled is released fusing with Horus, with the Diamond Soul, unites with its Father and Mother, they are Three Flames that come to form a single Flame Made. The Essence is an unfolding of Horus, we need to ask Horus to fortify our Three Brains. As the Ego dies, Horus is fortifying, and that's why he needs to be asked to fortify those Three Brains.

Let us seek OSIRIS, ISIS and HORUS within ourselves in the unknown depths of our own being.. OSIRIS, ISIS and HORUS constitute the MONADA, DUADA and TRIAD of our INTIMATE BEING..

JESUS, YESHUA AND HORUS is the same, it's the Child who always goes into arms of his Mother Isis or Mary. It is the same Christ who has descended from the Second Logos, the cosmic Christ already humanized, transformed into the Son of a Divine Man and a Divine Woman. He has become a Savior-Child-King, but he is a Particular-Child-King-King, since he is one's very Being.

OSIRIS and HORUS, were the great elementary Gods of ancient Egypt.

The elemental gods are imposing and terrible, especially HORUS (pronounced Aurus), which in his forearm wears several bracelets or rings of solid gold, and when he gives one of these to an "Initiative", then it becomes a guide to a great town.""

[albertfinch]

Daily Meditations and Affirmations - September 7, 2024

A renewed mind sees the way God sees. It receives His impressions and becomes a creative force for Believers to bear fruit that remains for His advancing Kingdom through their Christ calling.

A renewed mind destroys the works of the devil so that earthly reality matches heavenly reality. It proves the will of God not just in word but in deed. It heals the sick, frees those enslaved to sin, it disciples new believers into their Christian walk, brings joy where there was sadness, and strength where there was weakness.

Romans 12:2 - "And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

The yielded life is essential for us to walk in the fullness of God's PURPOSE for our lives -- as we empty ourselves of the things we hold on to, allowing Him to have His perfect work within us.

"To him who is overcoming, I will give him to eat from the hidden manna, and I will give to him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, that no one knew except him who is receiving [it]." - Revelation 2:17 Young's Literal Translation

The promise of the Lord is "to him that overcomes." As we overcome our "self-life” through willing obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit, He will bring into our life experience the "good land," (our Christ calling) -- as we are prepared to bear fruit that remains through discipling others into their Christ identity so they will be effective in advancing His Kingdom.

Affirmations:

I AM NOT JUST A SOLDIER OF THE CROSS; I AM AN HEIR TO THE THRONE.

DIVINE LOVE PERMEATES MY SOUL, TRANSFORMS MY MIND, TRANSPLANTS MY HEART, AND TRANSFIGURES MY SPIRIT.

I WAS MADE TO BE A VESSEL OF HIS GLORY AND A VEHICLE TO DISCIPLE OTHERS INTO HIS LIGHT.

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

[queenlucythevaliant]

Why did God harden the Pharaoh’s? I’m in a Bible as Lit class and someone brought up “wouldn’t that be against free will,” and why did God let the Israelites stay it in slavery for so long. Why is God different in the Old Testament to the New Testament? I hope this doesn’t bother you, with all these questions

Okay, so there are several different questions here and I'm going to try to address them all. I'm sure I'll miss something somewhere, so other more knowledgeable friends feel free to add on. Follow-ups are also very much welcome.

First off, Bible as literature class! Yikes. I took a Bible as lit class for my English minor years ago and my experience was pretty much wall-to-wall frustration. It was mostly an exercise in coming up with the most transgressive reads on Scripture possible and that really upset me.

I hope that your experience is better than mine. However, assuming that the class is at a secular university, I'd still encourage you to be intentional about talking the things you cover in class over with knowledgeable Christians in your life. I certainly benefitted a lot from doing so, both in the sense that I got to vent a whole bunch and in that I got help contextualizing the secular perspectives within Christian scholarship.

That out of the way: The God of the Bible is the same in both the Old and New Testaments.

I do understand where you’re coming from. It’s not uncommon for people to find God kind of inscrutable in the OT when they're more used to reading the NT. I actually think that's a failure on the part of the contemporary church in the West; large swaths of the OT tend to be understudied among lay-Christians.

Systematic theology can help a lot here. I'm just going to hit a few really broad highlights, but I really can't recommend Wayne Grudem highly enough if you're interested in more in-depth reading. Lots of people start with Bible Doctrine, but my family happened to have a copy of his enormous Systematic Theology tome in the basement when I was in high school and I got a lot out of just poking through that a little at a time too. A few quick bullets though:

Across all the Biblical texts, God is love. He glories in kindness to his people, whether it's in the covenant with Abraham, the Exodus, the faithful ministry of the prophets, Christ's ministry/death/resurrection, or the promised coming of his kingdom.

God is holy; he gives the Law to the Israelites so that they can approach his holiness without fearing for their lives and he sent Jesus so that we can do the same. Both Isaiah and Peter react with fear and awe in the face of God's holiness.

God is just. By virtue of his holiness, he cannot allow sin to go unpunished. As modern westerners, we often chafe against this but has any of us experienced justice that was actually pure? Justice is a form of faithfulness, and the same God who sent his people into exile poured out his wrath on his own son in our place. He has promised that one day, every evil will face his perfect justice.

God is faithful. He keeps his Covenant with Abraham even unto the cross. In the OT he is faithful husband to an adulterous people. In the NT he tells us that when we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

Lots of other characteristics but this answer is going to be long enough as it is. The only way to get a real sense for the continuity within the Bible is to read the whole Bible with an eye towards the continuity.

The reason that God is more approachable in the NT than the Old is that he became human. In the Incarnation, all of that holiness and justice and faithfulness and love that was God came to earth in our perfect likeness so that he could live beside us and die for us. God is certainly easier to approach in light of Christ's work, but he is utterly the same as he ever was. Read the Transfiguration and tell me that isn’t the God of Mount Sinai. Read John 1 and tell me it doesn’t remind you of the end of Job. Read the Gospels, Hebrews, and Revelation and play spot-the-OT-parallel. It's beautiful.

Why did God leave his people in slavery for so long? You could ask the same question about the Babylonian captivity and even about why Jesus waits to return and finally defeat Death. Why does he wait? Why let his people suffer?

Well. God is sovereign and he only permits evil to the extent that it ultimately accomplishes the very opposite of what it intends. Because the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, the Exodus was able to occur. The Exodus glorified God in extraordinary fashion, both among his own people and to the peoples of the ancient world. It was also a necessary type and precursor to Jesus's work on the cross. I don't think it's an overstatement to say that redemptive history rests on God's work in the Exodus, which is itself contingent on a period of slavery in Egypt.

“How long, O Lord” and “Come Lord Jesus” are the same sentiment in different words. We are still in exile, even now. We are chronologically exiled from the place where we belong, the New Jerusalem, and we mourn because we live in a fallen world in which sin and death can still hurt us. We can ask, just as the Prophets once asked, why God waits to vanquish the Enemy, extract suffering from the world, and restore our years that the locusts have eaten. And in each case (the slaves in Egypt, the Babylonian captivity, and the period of waiting for Jesus to return), the answer is that God does not fix it yet because He is doing something bigger!

Regarding Pharaoh's heart: this is basically a question of human nature. The easiest way that I can articulate it off the top of my head is using Augustine's fourfold state of man:

Prior to the fall, man was able either to sin or not to sin (posse peccare, posse non peccare)

The natural state of man after the fall is one in which he is unable not to sin (non posse non peccare). This was Pharaoh's state.

Following the work of Christ, regenerate man is able not to sin (posse non peccare)

In eternity, glorified man will be unable to sin (non posse peccare)

When we talk about man's will, we must acknowledge that our wills are subject to our nature. In other words, Pharaoh was a natural, fallen man. His nature was inherently sinful and his heart inherently hard.

What we've got here is sort of a "Jacob I have loved but Esau I have hated" situation. Pharaoh, in his natural state, had a hard heart and a natural enmity with God. God did not intervene to give him a heart of flesh. My people I have loved, but Pharaoh I have hated.

Not a perfect parallel, but I think it serves its purpose. The point is that God's sovereignty isn't in conflict with man's will, since our wills are a function of our natures. Man behaves however his nature inclines him to behave at any given time. We call this free will; however, God is entirely sovereign over all of it.

This is definitely a long, messy answer, but like I said, feel free to continue the conversation. I've got some biochem to work on, but I'm always happy to talk theology :)

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

[Boston Globe]

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

February 1, 2023

Heather Cox Richardson

On February 1, 1862, in the early days of the Civil War, the Atlantic Monthly published Julia Ward Howe’s “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” summing up the cause of freedom for which the United States troops would soon be fighting. “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord,” it began.

“He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;

He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:

His truth is marching on.”

Howe had written the poem on a visit to Washington with her husband. Approaching the city, she had reflected sadly that there was little she could do for the United States. She couldn’t send her menfolk: her husband was too old to fight, her sons too young. And with a toddler, she didn’t even have enough time to volunteer to pack stores for the field hospitals. “I thought of the women of my acquaintance whose sons or husbands were fighting our great battle; the women themselves serving in the hospitals, or busying themselves with the work of the Sanitary Commission,” and felt there was nothing she could give to the cause.

One day she and her husband toured the troops surrounding the city and, mingling with troops on the way home, sang a popular song: “John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave; his soul is marching on.” A friend challenged Howe to write more uplifting words for the marching song.

That night, Howe slept soundly. She woke before dawn and, lying in bed, began thinking about the tune she had heard the soldiers singing the day before. She recalled: “[A]s I lay waiting for the dawn, the long lines of the desired poem began to twine themselves in my mind.... With a sudden effort, I sprang out of bed, and found in the dimness an old stump of a pen... I scrawled the verses almost without looking at the paper.”

Howe's hymn captured the tension of Washington, D.C., during the war as soldiers protected the government from invasion, strung in camps around the city to keep invaders from the U.S. Capitol.

“I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,

They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;

I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:

His day is marching on.”

Howe’s Battle Hymn of the Republic went on define the Civil War as a holy war for human freedom:

“In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,

With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me.

As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,

While God is marching on.”

The Battle Hymn became the anthem of the Union during the Civil War, and exactly three years after it appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, on February 1, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Joint Resolution of Congress passing the Thirteenth Amendment and sending it off to the states for ratification. The amendment provided that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." It gave Congress power to enforce that amendment. This was the first amendment that gave power to the federal government rather than taking it away. Three quarters of the states had ratified the Thirteenth Amendment by December 6, 1865.

When the measure had passed the House the day before, the lawmakers and spectators had gone wild. “The members on the floor huzzaed in chorus with deafening and equally emphatic cheers of the throng in the galleries,” the New York Times reported. “The ladies in the dense assemblage waved their handkerchiefs, and again and again the applause was repeated, intermingled with clapping of hands and exclamations of ‘Hurrah for freedom,’ ‘Glory enough for one day,’ &c. The audience were wildly excited, and the friends of the measure were jubilant.” Indiana congressman George Julian later recalled, “It seemed to me I had been born into a new life, and that the world was overflowing with beauty and joy, while I was inexpressibly thankful for the privilege of recording my name on so glorious a page of the nation’s history.”

But the hopes of that moment had crumbled within a decade. Almost a century later, on February 1, 1960, David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell A. Blair Jr., and Joseph McNeil set out to bring them back to life when they sat down on stools at the F.W. Woolworth Company department store lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. The men were first-year students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University who wanted to find a way to combat the segregation under which Black Americans had lived since the 1880s.

Woolworth’s would sell products to Black students but would not serve them food. So the men forced the issue by sitting down and ordering coffee and doughnuts. They sat quietly as the white waitress refused to serve them and the store manager ignored them. They came back the next day with a larger group. This time, television cameras covered the story. By February 3 there were 60 men and women sitting. By February 5 there were 50 white male counterprotesters.

By March the sit-in movement had spread across the South, to bus routes, museums, art galleries, and swimming pools. In July, after profits had dropped dramatically, the store manager of the Greensboro Woolworth’s asked four Black employees to put on street clothes and order food at the counter. They did, and they were served. Desegregation in public spaces had begun.

Exactly 63 years later, on February 1, 2023, Tyre Nichols’s family said laid their 29-year-old son to rest in Memphis, Tennessee. He was so severely beaten by police officers on January 7, allegedly for a traffic violation, that he died three days later.

Also today, the College Board released the official curriculum for a new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies. In January, right-wing Florida governor Ron DeSantis complained that the draft course was “indoctrination” and “lacks educational value and is contrary to Florida law,” and said he would ban it. The version released today has been stripped of information about Black feminism, the queer experience, incarceration, and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Mine eyes have seen the glory.

Rest in power, Mr. Nichols.

—

Notes:

Julia Ward Howe, Reminiscences, 1819-1899, pp. 273-276, at google books: https://books.google.com/books?id=n1g4AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA244&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/02/01/tyre-nichols-funeral/

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/01/us/college-board-advanced-placement-african-american-studies.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/01/23/desantis-defends-florida-rejecting-ap-african-american-studies-course/

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[martinwilliammichael]

The Rosary is the life of Jesus through the eyes of Mary

Under its false air of a rudimentary prayer, accessible everywhere and to everyone, the Rosary “concentrates within itself the depth of the entire Gospel message”, Pope John Paul II wrote in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (2002). 

To pray it is in fact to remember - that is, to make present and relevant - the main episodes of Christ's life, through the heart, eyes and memories of his Mother. Sustained by the Hail Marys, we become witnesses to the events of salvation accomplished by Jesus: his Incarnation and hidden life (joyful mysteries), his public life (luminous mysteries, added by John Paul II in 2002), his sufferings and Passion (sorrowful mysteries), and the triumph of his Resurrection (glorious mysteries). And so we enter into living communion with Him, through Mary.

To ensure that the reiteration of the Hail Marys is not just repetition or superstition, but a “path to assimilation of the mystery”, we need to respect its contemplative, Christocentric dimension. 

In his letter, Saint John Paul II offers some advice along these lines. In particular, he invites us to state the episode we are meditating on by fixing our gaze on an image that represents it. Then to let God “speak” by proclaiming a corresponding biblical passage. Then, before beginning the decade, to remain silent for a while. To give prominence to the name of Jesus, which is the focal point of the Hail Mary, you can include words evocative of the mystery (for the Transfiguration, for example: “And blessed is Jesus, whose face shines like the sun"). The hardest part is getting started!

www.lavie.fr

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

[christisilluminati]

Revealing The Truth: The Light Behind The Veil

The Shining Face of Moses

According to the book of Exodus, when Moses descended from the mountain bearing the tablets of the covenant, his face glowed with a Glorious Light. The people trembled before this celestial radiance, for it was a reflection of God’s presence. Moses then veiled his face to shield them from the overwhelming glory - a representation of his fellowship with "THE WORD OF GOD" (Exodus 34:29-35). 

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What we need to take notice of in this story is the location of the Glorious Light. - BEHIND THE VEIL.

The Holy of Holies 

In the book of Exodus, we see God give a very descriptive blueprint for building the Tabernacle. Inside of the Tabernacle was a room called the Holy of Holies or The Most Holy Place. It was a room representing the presence of God. Inside the room was The Ark of The Covenant, God told Moses He would speak to Him from on top of The Ark between the two cherubims. This room was separated from the rest of the tent by a curtain also known as a veil. (Exodus 26:33-34. Exodus 25:22)

In this story what needs to be noticed is that God did not really have to speak to Moses inside that room on top of The Ark, but rather He chose to do so that we could recognize His presence inside of The room of The Holy of Holies. - BEHIND THE VEIL.

The Glorious Light Was Captured

In 1 Samuel we are told that The Spirit of God was enthroned between the two cherubim (1 Samuel 4:4) similar to His location described to us inside the room of The Holy of Holies. (Exodus 25:22) The Philistines once they realized The Ark had been brough to the Israelite camp, called The Ark: God. They knew that this God, that was sitting on top of The Ark was the same God that sent the 10 plaques on the Egyptians. (1 Samuel 4:7-8) However in the time of the Israelites being freed from Egypt, The Ark was not in existence and God still spoke to Moses, without sitting on top of The Ark. These Philistines when they saw The Ark were afraid. They were afraid of God, and they still captured HIM. They captured The Ark. (1 Samuel 4:10-11) At the very end of chapter 4 we are told that THE GLORY OF GOD had been captured: The Glorious light. (1 Samuel 4:22) And in chapter 5 we see the heavy hand of God upon the Philistines with a plague, (1 Samule 5:6) understood to be the Bubonic Plague in order to free The Ark/God from the Philistines. "Let My Son Go!" (COVID-19?)

So, we can conclude with this story, The Ark that resided within the Holy of Holies inside the Tabernacle with the Glorius Light between the two cherubim was BEHIND THE VEIL.

The Mount of Transfiguration

On The Mount of Transfiguration, we see something spectacular. Something that is not fully understood within our religious organizations today. It is here that we are told WHO this Glorious Light is and gain a full understanding of the exact location of The Kingdom of God.

When Jesus takes Pater, James and John up to the top of a high mountain, we see Jesus' transfigure into a Glorious Light.  The bible describes this Glorious light by stating that Jesus' face shone like the sun. (Matthew 17:1-2) This is the same thing we see happen to Moses when he came down from the top of Mount Sinai. (Exodus 34:29)

We need pay attention here, because this is where The Father ties all of His subliminal/symbolic tokens together. He uses Jesus as our last clue. When Jesus transfigured, we see Moses and Elijah appear, holding a conversation with Jesus. (Matthew 17:3-4) These men had been dead a long time. There was no way for Jesus disciples to know who these two men were other than the words that they spoke giving them away. They were dead men, who had died and passed on into another realm. Still very much conscious men in a place that is not in the realm of the flesh. They have joined a Kingdom. A Kingdom not of this world. 

What really happened when Jesus transfigured into the Glorious light that we recognize to be Christ is: the curtain/veil was rolled back and we get a glimpse of The Kingdom of God. And inside of this Kingdom we see two of THE MANY MEMBERS (1 Corinthians 12:12) that make up Christ's body. Again, this is not something we are discussing in our religious organizations today with all of their FALSE DOCTORINES. 

So how do we know these two men make up the body of Christ? Well, it was not before the Veil of Jesus' flesh was rolled back, nor after the Veil of His flesh was rolled back that The Father tells us, "This is my Son." But it was during the moments that the Veil of Jesus flesh was rolled back that He tells us, "This is my Son." - THIS BODY OF MEMBERS found BEHIND THE VEIL of Jesus face. (Matthew 17:5) Just as the Glorious Light was found BEHIND THE VEIL of Moses flesh. (Exodus 34:29)

Luke 17:21 neither they shall say, Lo! here, or lo there; for lo! the realm of God is within you.

John 1:9 There was a very light,which lighteneth each man that cometh into this world(AS YOU ARE BORN) WYC 1382

John 1:9 has been altered to say "WAS COMING" so that our understanding of scripture would not be TRUE.

When Jesus died on the cross the earth quaked and the Temple split in two tearing the VEIL separating the room of The Holy of Holies. (Matthew 27:50-51) We are the Temple of God, and that room dwells inside of our Flesh. (1 Corinthians 3:16) The Tabernacle, The Temple, and that room, as well as all the tokens He left us are subliminal messages/Illuminati. When the Veil split in two He was telling us that we now have access to the TRUTH through what Jesus showed us. And if we can grasp it, we may enter in. Enter into His Kingdom. - SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE

Jesus showed us where The Kingdom of God is. - HE LIVES INSIDE OUR FLESH. He showed us His fellowship with THE WORD - Who is Christ. This Glorious Light behind the Veil of His human flesh. The Glorious Light behind the Veil of Moses flesh. Fellowship with the light. A TRUE LIGHT. He is the ember light that Ezekiel saw inside the wheel, the Spirit of life. We are the wheels. 

Ezekiel 1:15-21 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces.  This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel.  As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went.  Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around. When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose.  Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.  When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Who Is The Light? - Illuminati!

Many will have a hard time grasping this TRUTH. - Christ who is the TRUE LIGHT, that lives in every single human and animal: IS ILLUMINATI. He illuminates us with a light and should be the one to enlighten our minds.

The 17th century first Illuminati members believed they were in communication with A LIGHT. According to adherents, the source of the “light” was viewed as being directly communicated from a higher source or due to a clarified and exalted condition of the human intelligence.

They spoke to the LIGHT. The True Light, who is THE WORD. He is the audible WORD of GOD. He is CHRIST!

CHRIST IS ILLUMINATI! - A LIGHT THAT LIGHTETH EACH MAN THAT COMES INTO THIS WORLD John 1:9 

Isaiah 5: 20Woe to you who say that evil is good, and that good is evil; and turn darkness into light, and light into darkness; and make a bitter thing sweet, and a sweet thing bitter.

Satan is not a LIGHT at all. He is DARKNESS! Satan is not Illuminati. STOP GIVING HIM THE TITLE THAT BELONGS TO OUR KING. 

Luke 11:35 Therefore see thou, lest the light which is in thee, be darknesses.

2 Corinthians 3:18 And all we that with unveiled face see the glory of the Lord, be transformed into the same image, from clearness into clearness, as of the Spirit of the Lord.

Hebrews 6:4-6 But it is impossible, that them that once be illumined, and have tasted also an heavenly gift, and be made partners of the Holy Ghost, and nevertheless have tasted the good word of God, and the virtues of the world to coming, and be slid far away, that they be renewed again to penance. Which again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and have him to scorn.

Learn more at:

www.christthetruelight.com

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

8th November >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Friday, Thirty First Week in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical Colour: Green. Year: B(II))

First Reading Philippians 3:17-4:1 Our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes Christ to transfigure us.

My brothers, be united in following my rule of life. Take as your models everybody who is already doing this and study them as you used to study us. I have told you often, and I repeat it today with tears, there are many who are behaving as the enemies of the cross of Christ. They are destined to be lost. They make foods into their god and they are proudest of something they ought to think shameful; the things they think important are earthly things. For us, our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the saviour we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with which he can subdue the whole universe. So then, my brothers and dear friends, do not give way but remain faithful in the Lord. I miss you very much, dear friends; you are my joy and my crown.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 121(122):1-5

R/ I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’ And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.

R/ I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

Jerusalem is built as a city strongly compact. It is there that the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord.

R/ I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

For Israel’s law it is, there to praise the Lord’s name. There were set the thrones of judgement of the house of David.

R/ I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

Gospel Acclamation 2 Corinthians 5:19

Alleluia, alleluia! God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. Alleluia!

Or: 1 John 2:5

Alleluia, alleluia! Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said, God’s love comes to perfection in him. Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 16:1-8 The master praised the dishonest servant.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘There was a rich man and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, “What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer.” Then the steward said to himself, “Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.” Then he called his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, “How much do you owe my master?” “One hundred measures of oil” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond; sit down straight away and write fifty.” To another he said, “And you, sir, how much do you owe?” “One hundred measures of wheat” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond and write eighty.” ‘The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

by J.R. Miller

Isaiah's Call to Service (Isaiah 6:1-13)

Isaiah knew the very day and hour when he saw this wonderful vision. It was in the year that king Uzziah died. The vision had made such an impression on his mind that he never could forget it. It had meant so much to him as an experience, that he could never cease to look back to the day as his spiritual birthday.

That was a memorable year. Uzziah was one of the greatest of Judah’s kings. He had reigned fifty years with high honor, and then suddenly he was smitten with leprosy. He had gone into the temple and attempted with his own hands to burn incense. On his forehead appeared at once the white spot which was the mark of divine judgment, and the king was thrust out and dwelt in a leper house until his death. The year in which king Uzziah died, was therefore more than a date. That was the year of Isaiah’s vision .

There are one or two dates in nearly every earnest life, which are always remembered. Sometimes it is a loss or a sorrow which has made its indelible record. Sometimes it is the coming of a great joy into the heart the first meeting with a new friend, for example. Sometimes it is the day when Christ was revealed too the heart. We may be very sure that Andrew and John never forgot the day when they first saw Jesus and when He took them to His own lodgings for a long talk. It is good for us to keep records of the great days in our life.

The prophet in his vision, saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. It is a great thing when such a vision as this fills one’s life. Too often it is this world which most largely blocks the soul’s view. Men see visions of wealth, power, fame, or pleasure but see not a gleam of heaven nor a hint of the shining of God’s face. But earthly visions do not exalt our life. They make us no better. When we have visions like Isaiah’s, in which God fills all our field of view we are lifted up in spirit, in character, in hope and joy. One who sees God is never the same man afterwards. He is set apart now for holy life and service. He is dominated ever after by a new influence. He has seen God he must therefore be holy; he must walk softly and reverently; he must be true to God.

There is something unusual and very impressive in the description of the seraphim in this vision. “Each one had six wings!” Wings are for flight it is the mission of angelic beings to fly on God’s errands. The six wings would seem to signify special readiness to do God’s will. But they suggest here, more than their normal use to fly.

The modern Christian would probably use them all for flying and would be intensely active. We live in an age when everything inspires to activity. We are apt to run, perhaps too greatly, with our ‘wings’.

But we should notice that two of the seraphim’s wings were used in covering his face when before God teaching reverence. Two of them also were used in covering his feet humility. The other two were used in flying activity. Reverence and humility are quite as important qualities in God’s service as activity!

The song of the seraphim, as they veiled their faces and covered their feet, indicated praise, worship. One choir sang, “Holy, holy, holy, is Almighty Jehovah!” and the other responded, “The whole earth is full of His glory!” What we owe to God always is holiness, for everywhere is His glory. Yet many people never see any of God’s glory in the earth. They think of glory as something bright and dazzling, like the burning bush, the pillar of fire, or the transfiguration. But there is as much glory in a tree laden with sweet blossoms as there was in the flaming bush at Horeb; and as much glory in a face shining brightly with love as there was in Stephen’s. We read of Christ’s first miracle that He thus “manifested His glory.” It was the glory of kindness and helpfulness which this miracle showed. Everywhere God’s glory shines in all nature and in all true Christian living, in lowly homes where prayer is offered.

The prophet stood now face to face with God, and the effect on him was a sense of his own sinfulness. “Then said I: Woe is me I for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips! For my eyes have seen the King, Almighty Jehovah!” We do not know our own unworthiness until we have had a glimpse of God. In the light of the divine holiness we see our own unholiness!

One of the most remarkable incidents in the Gospels, is that in which Peter begged Jesus to depart from him. It was after a great miracle. Peter was awed by the manifestations of power in Jesus. Only a divine being could do such work. The effect on him was that he shrank away from the presence of such a holy being! He was not worthy to stand before Christ. “Depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” When the light of God’s face shines into our heart we see how unworthy we are. All pride and self-conceit vanish when we stand in the presence of the divine glory.

The mercy of God is ever instant in its response to human penitence and confession. “Then one of the seraphim flew unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; and he touched my mouth with it, and said: Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven!” The act of bringing the coal and touching the prophet’s lips, was very suggestive. The altar was the place of sacrifice. It was holy fire that burned there. All this must be kept in mind as we think of the meaning of this act. Not any common coal of fire would have done. It represented fire from heaven, the fire of the Holy Spirit. As the coal touched the lips of the prophet they were made pure and clean.

No sooner had the prophet’s lips been cleansed than the call for service came. “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” God is always wanting errand - runners. Angels fly swiftly and eagerly. There is not an angel in glory, who would not gladly come to earth on any mission, however lowly.

A legend tells of one of the highest angels sent to earth one day with two commissions to deliver a king from the power of some temptation; and to help a little struggling ant home with its burden of food. The latter errand was done just as dutifully and joyously by the great angel as the former. But God wants men as well as angels for messengers in this world. He is always asking this question, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”

[princeofgod-2021]

LIGHT OF LIFE 559

John 1:4

DIVINE ORDER 124: WORKING ORDER 19

Joh 15:26 And when the Comforter has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH WHO PROCEEDS FROM THE FATHER, HE SHALL TESTIFY OF ME. MKJV

THE HOLY GHOST IS WORKING 8 - HIS PURPOSE 3

Please follow these segments carefully as this is where the Spirit of God is working with all of us right now.

We must all know how to respond to Him so as to get maximal impacts from His input.

Let’s go again into the scripture we ended with last lesson, shall we?

Mar 4:29 Then, when the grain is ripe, he IMMEDIATELY puts the sickle to the grain, because harvest time has come.” TPT

Why did the parable indicate immediate reaction to the Harvest of the Spirit. What was Jesus saying when He indicated a “quick” reaction when [spiritual] harvest comes.

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; THE LAST ADAM WAS MADE A QUICKENING SPIRIT. KJV

The word: “Quick” in old KJV language, means LIVING. But when a New Life starts in something, there is a sudden “Jump-Start” that occurs.

When a man becomes born again, there is exhilarating Joy and excitement from within him. So also, when a change comes upon him, he is suddenly excited and bubbles with the impact of the change.

1Pe 1:3,6 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy HE GAVE US NEW BIRTH INTO A LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…THIS BRINGS YOU GREAT JOY, ALTHOUGH YOU MAY HAVE TO SUFFER FOR A SHORT TIME IN VARIOUS TRIALS. NET

It is the kind of quickening that can’t be contaminated by circumstances.

Divine Transformations are barrier breaking and Conquest imposing. This means that the Holy Spirit Quickening is a Bulldozer and Takeover, and rules alone.

Metamorphosis is interesting: when you compare the Butterfly to the caterpillar, you see no similarities at all.

2Co 5:17 Now, IF ANYONE IS ENFOLDED INTO CHRIST, HE HAS BECOME AN ENTIRELY NEW CREATION. All that is related to the old order has VANISHED. BEHOLD, EVERYTHING IS FRESH AND NEW. TPT

“Behold” there implies the obvious and definite change. A thief enters the church and in one moment, he is totally changed. A man read the bible on a particular day and a mind-blowing illumination dawns on him.

The Holy Spirit’s impact is as definite as Rapture itself.

1Co 15:52 IN A MOMENT, IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. KJV

We will review the scripture above later as yet a function of the Holy Spirit, but here, it applies as His mode of function in our Lives as He impresses Jesus into us all.

But you might ask: If the Spirit brings abrupt definite changes at once, where does the concept of “glory to glory” apply, which makes things seem as though He moves slow and gradual?

Pro 4:18 The road the righteous travel is like the sunrise, getting brighter and brighter until daylight has come. GNB

With God’s Spirit, every “degree” of glory is massive.

Think of Paul the murderer (Act9:1; 22:4), who suddenly had an accident with Jesus (Acts9:3-4), and became “handicapped” (Vs8), and ended up preaching the same Gospel he condemned, within a short period (Vs20), shocking everyone that saw him (Vs21).

That’s the [awesome] Spirit at Work.

Gal 1:23-24 They had only heard this about me: "This man was persecuting us. But now he is telling people about the same faith that he once tried to destroy." These believers praised God because of me. ERV

But we are not just talking about points of conversion; we relate to Sanctification by the word of God, in which the Spirit reforms our personalities.

Think of Jesus when he was a boy, mesmerizing the Scholars (Lk2:46,47), then at the point of His Baptism (Mt3:7), then He was doing great Miracles (Mk2:10-12), then calming the Storms (Lk8:25), then He was Transfigured before His Apostles (Mt17:2). To the Disciples, it was as though they kept seeing a new person each stage.

That is how the Spirit can transform a man in stages.

2Ki 22:10-11 But there's something else, Your Majesty. The priest Hilkiah gave me this book." Then Shaphan read it out loud. When Josiah heard what was in The Book of God's Law, he tore his clothes in sorrow. CEV

May our lives positively respond to the Divine Dealings of the Spirit, IN JESUS NAME.

See you on Monday, as we proceed with this interesting Subtopic.

Brother Prince

Friday, September 06, 2024

08055125517; 08023904307

[thejesusmaninred]

"The Boss." From Mark 1: 9-12.

Now we know Jesus was sent to teach us how to apply the knowledge of the Torah and cover them locusts in honey so their nonsense can be dispersed. Two hints in the Kabbalah and the Gematria tell us how: sandal straps and Holy Baptism.

Within this Gospel are the means to conceptualize freedom from darkness and sin and the way to use the mind to press them, to force them out. Gone forever are the days of washing in the blood and that silly story about Christ dying for our sins. Following, God explains what we need instead is to rinse in the Water and live in the Light.

The famous passage where Jesus transfigures for the first time begins with a foreboding statement, "at that time", meaning the Spirit of God was invoked to give mankind a shove. The statement, Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee in fact means "to probe the flower of the age for the seed", process that begins with baptism in water. Afterward, the Holy Ghost sends Jesus into the desert to germinate for forty days:

The Baptism and Testing of Jesus

9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 

10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted[g] by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

Jesus was a Jew. His baptism did not create a new religion or change His Heritage or His ability to communicate the Spirit of the God of Israel to other persons. As we know from the study of the Tanakh, the God of Israel is "human agnostic". His mission was to conquer Rome, a ruthless filthy godless state. In some ways He succeeded. The Values in Gematria are:

v. 9: At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee. The Number is 6249, ו‎בדד‎‎, "...and alone."

There is one God and He is the sun, we are little stars. The appearance of the Christ was to restate convictions man has held since time began about this being: There is but the One God. He is a loner, an original and unique form of life.

"The story that follows the account of Adam and Eve progresses along a complexity axis rather than a temporal one, and in Noah the animal-human symmetry breaks (for the most part; Psalm 73:22, Ecclesiastes 3:18, 2 Peter 2:12, Jude 1:10). Arch-father Abraham is not only the father of all believers, he's also the embodiment of international trade. His final descendant, Jesus, embodies the Word, which is the whole of natural law upon which the whole of creation operates (Colossians 1:16-17).

This sounds rather boring but the embodiment of the Logos is as alive and aware and the embodiment of your own DNA (and then some). A humanity that is the embodiment of the Logos of creation is first of all a precise reflection of the Creator (Hebrews 1:2-3), and secondly governed by nothing but divine freedom (Revelation 21:22-23).

Also note that our word μονος (monos) has to do with our word "monarch" and that the Latin equivalent, namely solo has to do with the word for sun: sol. The Greek word for sun is ηλιος (helios), and when we truncate that we get Ηλ (El), or אל ('el), the Hebrew word for God.

In our article on the Greek word κεφαλη (kephale), meaning head or skull, we note that the head is the seat of one's attention and as mobile as the moon. One's most intimate convictions, on the other hand, comprise one's sun, and other people are like the stars. The Hebrew equivalent of κεφαλη (kephale) is גלגלת (gulgoleth), hence the name Golgotha."

v. 10-11. Jesus came out of the water. He was the sun and also its reflection on the surface of the deep. He and God are of the same Torah, as are all persons who leave the water in search of the bread of heaven. The Number is 16468, א‎וד‎ו‎‎ח "...and report."

v. 12-13: At once, the Spirit sent Him into the wilderness. Persons who report are greeted by God who Reports in return. The feeling is unmistakeable. A freedman then goes in search of the unknown. The Gospel says the trek is accompanied by angels and the Devil himself. The Gospels ask us hereafter which should be the boss, what is right or what we want? The answer is found below:

The Value in Gematria is 11212, יאבאב‎, yabab, "the objects of desire."

Yabab "the gangway, the point of entry" is the cry of the suffering: one that can only be quietened through what is called Sisera, "meditation, keen and swift as the horse."

After he was given His water mark, Jesus went to absorb the knowledge of Sisera by meditating for forty days.

The result of Sisera is called Shabbos. Shabbos, "the boss" is little understood by most. Here is an appropriate definition of who is the boss, the angels not the Devil:

Shabb=

The root שבע (sb'; now spelled as שׂבע (sb') and pronounced with an s) means to be sated or satisfied with food. Bear in mind in Judaism food is data. If we feed the mind body and blood instead of accurate testimony, wether it is about God or how to play the violin or make a quiche, we will feed the mind what it needs to become an organ of elevation.

Os= an Ace

"The ancients understood that an individual human mind is self-similar to the whole of society (much in the same way that a distribution pattern on a recording screen is equal to the path integral of a single quantum particle). This suggests that of all humans, small selections have minds with pronounced "sensory" abilities: they are able to detect signals to which the whole of human society ought to respond.

Those of us who are eye-like are able to gather information like scientists, and by using the scientific method. Whatever draws their attention does not necessarily turn the progression of the whole of mankind. But those of us who are ear-like are able to detect the tiniest whispers and subsequently manage to turn to whole of mankind's attention toward it, even when very few actually know what's going on and what we're aiming for.

The eye-like folks are famously familiar to us moderns. We understand their importance and many have developed a kind of superstar status (Curie, Einstein, Hawking) that strongly suggests that the bulk of humankind has no idea what's actually going on. The ear-like folks are those who truly pilot mankind. They are the first to detect signals that the whole of mankind will trail, long before the vast majority of us understand that we're moving, let alone in which direction and for what.

The eye-like folks, brilliant as they are and free to look wherever they want, end up looking mostly into the direction in which the ear-like folks point them.

And who, you ask, are those ear-like folks? Well, in the words of Jesus: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Matthew 11:15). The ear-like folks are those who know what the bulk of people want before they realize it.

People with this gift are able to produce very helpful items (artistic, theoretical and practical) that will guide the whole of humanity toward a place of collective happiness. People with this gift commonly become very rich, as the whole of society rewards them for their guidance.

Still, wealth is no indication of a person's virtue, since many a society has followed their blind guides eagerly into ruin — this theme is overly discussed in stories such as that of the Greek Sirens and the Bible's proverbial Harlot (Proverbs 7:5, Revelation 17:1), whose sensuality made the world's kings and merchants rich (Revelation 18:3)."

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Jesus came to teach mankind all the ways wealth and virtue go together to create civil society and redeem it from the flawed ways of its past.

[seekingtheosis]

St. Ephrem the Syrian's Teachings on the Transfiguration of Christ

Join us as we delve into the profound teachings of St. Ephrem on the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Learn how this pivotal event reveals Christ's divine nature, bridges the Covenants, and offers a glimpse of the eschatological glory awaiting believers.

In the name of God the Father, Christ Jesus His Son and the Holy Spirit, One True God. Amen Transfiguration of Jesus Christ: Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus In the month of August, the Orthodox Church celebrates 2 feasts which are celebrated within a 15 day fasting period. The feasts are: The Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ Feast of the Dormition of the Mother…