#FAITH

[all1inchrist]

"I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings." -Luke 13:34

haiku #15, tathev simonyan

[cephalosaur]

Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around Proverbs 13:12 (MSG)

[jarpadandjensens]

DEAN: looks up. Yeah. All right, well, looks like you're gonna leave town without me.

SAM: What are you talking about? I'm not gonna leave you here.

DEAN: Hey, you better take care of that car. Or, I swear, I'll haunt your ass.

SAM: I don't think that's funny.

DEAN: Oh, come on, it's a little funny.

There is a long silence, Sam looks down, fighting tears. DEAN sighs.

[andallshallbewell]

[archiearchiearchiearchie]

more of my #SLOP

[inspiredbyjesuslove]

[thespiritualencourager]

Here are God’s words as recorded in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

The same God who spoke those words to the Israelites is speaking them to you today.

”Oh, the beauty of the word "plans." God is plotting for our good. In all the setbacks and slipups, He is ordaining the best for our future. God works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. (Ephesians 1:11). Every event of our days is designed to draw us toward our God and our destiny.”

— Max Lucado, 'You'll Get Through This'

[mozaikosblog]

For no measure, to escape myself, is a measure too great. And so I bestow it upon me, through you, to see this work through. So I may rest my weary head, on a cloud of stone.

Meteora, Greece (by Nikolay Hristov)

[the-ellia-west]

CHRISTIANS AND ANYONE ELSE WILLING TO LISTEN: A MESSAGE

@theweirdbox123 @homelessnerd @geminiagentgreen @carb0n-m0n0xide @glowsticks-and-jesus @thewritingautisticat

*Saying this mostly to myself, but it's also directed at you if you choose to listen*

The problem with thinking you're helpful gets your spirits up temporarily, it doesn't last forever. Because if you start seeing it as 'helpful' you'll start seeing yourself as 'useful' and that's not a good mindset to be in. Because God is the only one who can really HELP. God is the only one who can CHANGE. Who can make something that really MATTERS. Because being helpful in this world and not the spiritual one means nothing.

You can't think of yourself like an object. You are a God-given creation, and he and people love you. You are amazing for WHO you are, not what you can do.

Because if we're honest, No person really makes that much of a difference in history. But that doesn't matter to God, and neither should it matter to you. Because he created you as more than a speck of dust on a timeline, a few words in a history book

He created you with a mind, with feelings, with love and worth. The truth is, perspective is what matters. Things may be awful, but if we're honest, things have always been this bad, we've just never been old enough to understand it yet.

The world is sinful, the world is awful, the world is evil, and you should not trust it to have mercy on you. Because you are not of this world. You are worth so much more than all this suffering, all this pain, because you do not belong to it. You were made for so much more than this. You were made for a God who loves you, and he wants you to see that he loves you.

Even if it's hard and you have questions, and you hate him, and the world seems awful. You are a child of the one who reigns over sin and death, the one who triumphs over the devil who drags you down. And he loves you even when you hurt him and push him away, and he's WAITING for you to just see him and let him hold you in his arms.

Politics and despair and pain and suffering are all the things that Satan uses to take you, he offers you a lie disguised as love and you take it because you've never known the real love of a father who wants you to hold you in his arms and sing you to sleep, the love of a real father who protects you from death and asks you to follow him, while giving you the free will to refuse even it he knows it will hurt when you refuse. Because what is love if not letting someone go and waiting to see if they run to you, always ready to embrace them when they reach you, and tell them you've always been waiting.

And all of you who don't believe, I pray over you, I pray that you see the truth and see the one who loves you because I want better for you than this, I pray over you because he wants better for you than this, and Satan wants you, But he should not have you, because you are SO SO loved, and there is a whole world waiting for you if you'd just take the time to open your eyes and see it. Please. I wish for you to be saved.

And for those of you who do believe, Pray, pray like you're talking to a friend, pray like you're screaming to the sky that he hates you, pray in silence and let him surround you, pray against the devil, pray for opportunity and courage and love. Pray for friends and family. Be patient, because it will come to you, Endure the pain but do NOT Let it take you down. SATAN CAN'T HAVE YOU? DO YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE I LOVE YOU! BECAUSE GOD LOVES YOU! HE IS KING AND WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN. STAND UP! RISE! AND LOVE, EVEN IN THE DARK WHEN YOU CANNOT SEE. STAND, AND FACE THE SUN.

I do not know how to defend my beliefs, but I am not afraid. I've done enough standing aside. I'm ready to take my place in this world, I'm ready to let his love fill me and change me and to show it to all of you. Hate me, leave me, ridicule me, pull me down and beat me because you disagree, but I will be right here, and I will love you until the day the world ends. Because you are all my brothers and sisters, you are all children of the one and only true God, and he LOVES you so much.

I love you too. And I want you to be okay, I want to talk to you and help you and teach you if I can. If you'd like to talk about this or to me in any way, I welcome any form of communication, Bring it on.

[livinglifeagainblog]

Verse of the Day: Philippians 4:6-7

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

[biblequotesdaily]

for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

1 John 5:4

[mozaikosblog]

We built a town upon a rock, The water comes and The water goes We built to worship for its flock Those who know are far, those who won't are close.

Mont Saint Michel, Francia

[sjmattson]

Dear Christians,

Trump isn’t Christlike. Stop pretending he is.

Trump’s political platform is often hateful, racist, bigoted, xenophobic, and dishonest.

Many of Trump’s words, actions, and policies go directly against Jesus’s commands to love our neighbors.

The religious rhetoric from Trump doesn’t align with his life, it’s simply propaganda. Trump and his political actions lack the fruits of the Holy Spirit, and even a cursory look into his personal life reveals a lack of character and long history of bad behavior.

The typical reactions by his Christian supporters to this blunt—but truthful—assessment is often to counter with a range of deflections, rationalizations, and gaslighting techniques…

“But Biden and Obama did this…”

“But he’s pro-life…”

“But he’s not supposed to be a pastor…”

“He’s not perfect, but at least…(followed by some criticism of liberalism or liberal politicians)”

“The media is conspiring against him…”

“You’re being hypocritical, judging someone you don’t personally know, and God used imperfect people in the Bible, etc etc etc.”

As Christians, we’ve been told by Jesus that the most important thing is to love God and love our neighbors. This is the mandate we’ve been given by God: to love.

Yet Trump and his allies keep communicating hate.

That’s why it’s more important than ever for Christians to keep speaking the truth of God and personifying the love of Jesus. Partisan rhetoric may have eras of power, but the divine truth of God—the love of Jesus—is eternal.

[4him-iwrite]

[snakeflower-cottage]

Witches Have Patrons, Pagans Have Gods… what’s the difference?

Witches don’t kneel… Or at least, not in the way pagans do. A witch’s relationship with spirits is not about worship, but about work. Bargains struck in the dark, knowledge whispered in the wind, and power granted with a price.

Pagans raise temples, offer prayers, and seek blessings from the gods, honoring them as cosmic forces that rule over the land, the sky, the cycle of life and death. Witches meet their patrons at the crossroads, enter into pacts, and learn the ways of the hidden and the wild.

What Makes a Patron Different from a God?

In simple terms, a god wants reverence, a patron wants loyalty. Gods are distant rulers of vast domains like fertility, war, wisdom, and the underworld. They are prayed to, sacrificed to, honored through rites passed down for generations. Patrons are intimate; they choose their own, appearing in dreams, the woods at dusk, or the moment a witch dares to step beyond the hedge. They don’t require temples, just devotion to the path they offer and the price they give.

A god blesses, a patron teaches. Gods bestow boons and protection upon their worshipers, asking for faith and offerings in return. Patrons initiate. They test. They demand. The devil might lead a soul into the woods and show them how to shift their form. A witch queen might press a cold hand to your forehead and grant second sight. These spirits forge witches.

In concept, a god may rule over nature, while a patron embodies it.

A storm god commands the sky; a witching spirit is the storm. A deity of the hunt governs beasts; the devil runs with the hounds and the stags alike. Patrons are the forces witches slip into when they take flight or change their shape.

To work with a patron is to do— to gather herbs beneath the moon, to carve charms of bone and wood, to offer blood, breath, and toil. Patrons don’t just give, they expect something in return. A witch serves not as a worshiper, but as an initiate.

So, Can Witches Work with Gods?

Of course, some do. Hekate, Odin, Nicnevin, and other spirits of the land all blur the lines between gods and patrons. But in the end, it’s not about who you follow, but how you follow them.

Pagans worship. Witches make pacts.

The gods rule. The patrons call.

And a witch knows the difference.