#Rebel Against Fearmongering

[meteorologistaustenlonek]

Back when I moved to Memphis for a new job, many of my relatives back in Kansas advised me to watch out for "those people" because "you know what they say". I wasn't taking that especially from people that I used to worship next to in church, mouthing the same Gospel that I believe in and, of which to them, it's just lip service. I played along with it by playing ignorant. "Why, NO... what do THEY say about THOSE people?" "You know... THOSE people!" "Which people?" "*THOSE* PEOPLE!" "Shady riverboat captains?" "NO! THOSE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!" "Ice cream van drivers who zoom through downtown areas?" "NO! YOU KNOW! THOSE PEOPLE!" "Marching bands who don't take direction?" "OH, FORGET IT!!!!!!!!!!" I have Add to that, there was a restaurant owner back in Memphis that I knew that texted out a completely racist "joke". I stopped going to his restaurant. After about half a year, he texted me to ask where I had been. Told him I couldn't frequent his establishment any more thanks to his joke. Because, after all, you are known (even though a lot of people don't realize this any more) by the company you keep. Told him that I couldn't be seen with him or at his place if he was going to make cruel racist garbage jokes and think it was funny. Surprisingly, and thankfully, he was shocked that anyone would stand up to it, and also completely and totally apologized, texted everyone that he texted with the joke in the first place and promised that he would never do or say anything like that again. Standing up to fear, racism, hatred... leading a rebellion against, as it were ... does work. I lost contact with my family members after challenging their stance. I have lost a lot of friends not participating in their Wink Wink Nudge Nudge fest against Name Particular Group That's Not Like US Here / Oh You Just Don't Have A Sense of Humor You Stick In The Mud. I don't care. Having been bullied myself before, I will not stand for it in anyone else. It takes courage to stand up, but it is worth it in the end.

[meteorologistaustenlonek]

“But we were sleeping. I’ve been sleeping. And I’ve been turning away from the truth I wanted not to face. There is a wound that won’t heal at the center of the galaxy. There is darkness reaching like rust into everything around us. We let it grow, and now it’s here. It’s here, and it’s not visiting anymore. It wants to stay. The Empire is a disease that thrives in darkness. it is never more alive than when sleep. It’s easy for the dead to tell you to fight, and maybe it’s true, maybe fighting is useless. Perhaps it’s too late. But I’ll tell you this: if I could do it again, I’d wake up early and be fighting these bastards from the start. Fight the Empire!”

[anotherclassicpretence]

The Shadows of Frostfall, Chapter 3

24th of Frostfall, 4E 171

Titus Mede II, his forty-five years hanging proudly on his head, seemingly unbowed by the weight of his crown, walked into the Empress’ opulent rooms, taking a seat beside her bed, as she quietly motioned for her servants to leave. 

After she was sure they were out of earshot, she turned to him with a restrained eagerness. The soft beauty of her face sharpened with a flash of passion, her gleaming brown eyes shining with expectation.

He noted them calmly, and maintained an amused silence for a second, a slight, teasing smile on his lips. The message was clear– ask.

She pursed her lips, raising her eyebrows in demand and rising from the cushioned seat. Her face conveyed both bemusement and eagerness without giving him the satisfaction of a direct question.

“A victory,” he announced, in the tone of bestowing a favour. It turned perfectly serious, though, with his next words– “We besieged their headquarters– caught all the seditious voices. It’s not a blow they can recover from.”

The Empress, too, lost the touch of frivolity. “So, we've plucked the last thorn of dissent.”

“Yet you sound unsatisfied.”

“I sound like a converting cynic, that’s all,” she smiled at him warmly. 

“You’re the one who’s settled better.”

“We knew it would be a challenge,” she replied, in a tone of reluctant admission. “We’ve learnt how to command the Empire, but it’ll be a while before we learn how to lead it. Still, take me at my word– you’ve prevailed against all our enemies, and it’s quite poetic that the last ones should be those who denied your succession.” She laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, hoping she hadn’t seemed too despondent.

“A few of them can be made to see reason, I hope,” he leaned against her hand, betraying a little exhaustion.

“They will– most of them are loyal to the victor, not the cause. But what of their leader? Could you identify him?”

“No– I learnt nothing more than what we already knew, and I won't act on anything less than a certainty,” his enthusiasm dampened considerably, and he sighed. “But still, their little movement has unravelled, entirely, and he won't evade us for long.”

“Then that is certainly a victory– we will have apple pie for dinner today,” she smiled encouragingly. “As for finding him, I will redouble my own efforts, and prevent him from running off to Bruma again. We’ve dismissed them and their lies too easily. Although–” and here she took on a touch of teasing– “he is right that an equal claim exists.”

“Ah, is it finally time for your sinister ambitions? You must mean bringing Viola along as the figurehead– I’m not sure people want to see the blood of two controversial Chancellors on the throne, no matter how “foundational to this age” they may have been.”

“Both brilliant, if I may… Well, the second one did call the Dominion ‘the disease that crawls into the heart of decency’, so he might partly be to blame for them keeping swords trained at us.”

“The Thalmor are not foolish enough to go to war for nothing,” he said in a suddenly annoyed tone, as if sick of the subject at its very mention. “Certainly, there is trouble brewing there, but not immediately, Divines willing.”

“The Blades seem to think otherwise.”

“The Blades ,” he emphasised the name with some exasperation, “are desperate to be back in our good graces. They cannot bear their increasing irrelevance. It is fearmongering– we agreed on this.”

“As I remember, I conceded the point. But I have constrained them, as agreed, though I pray to the Nine that this decision will not endanger us more,” she laid her hand on his and smiled slightly, despite herself. “But I have these rebels to thank for one thing– it feels like I haven’t spoken to you properly for ages.”

“If they succeed entirely, then, you will be delighted,” he replied with an effort at joking.

“It will be quite the change of pace,” she said lightly, masking her sorrow. “But whether they succeed or not, I will be behind you.”

“And I you, always.”

“But I’ve hidden half of it from you,” she thought with a bittersweet pang, smiling as he raised her hand to his lips. “You do not see the ugly head that rears itself when you have gone to conquer and subjugate– no, then the duty falls to me to draw the curtain of beauty and regality on the devious play of whispers and plots. Then I am the one who has to convince the world that all virtue resides in this palace, guarded by the brave and the heroic, and that it is safe for the people to place their trust here. But what a lonely, hellish pit it is in reality! And this illusion is drawn thickest over your eyes- for how would one rule, knowing the true frailty of his throne, the lies and corruption foisted upon his crown? I have bought you a little relief with this veil– I pray it is never snatched away.”

[loving-n0t-heyting]

I think if u endorse really draconian attitudes about culpability (like, say, “mental illness never exculpates”) and then when pressed about the horrific ways in which this logic plays out (or would play out) in the carceral system say “Oh well ofc I am an abolitionist,” you are making yourself more suspicious not less

I remember encountering an anarchist I Can’t Believe They’re Not Zionist on here who insisted oh yea I support the jewish ppls right to self determination but that does not make me a Zionist bc I don’t believe states should exist at all! Zing!! A utopian fantasy with minimal actual influence on any possible politics they could involve themselves in here in reality, ofc, which politics included (you can’t make this up) making the leftist case for fearmongering among Americans about the houthi rebels in Yemen. It’s the same thing: the points at infinity are infinitely distant, and when push comes to shove in the here and now your actual priorities (which cannot actually include the utterly infeasible pious wish of no prisons or states at all ever) kick in where your lofty utopian rhetoric cannot work. And if you have to reach all the way out to these eschatons when pressed, I start to wonder whether you have some reason to gloss over the points on yr preferred trajectory between here and there

I used to think it was somehow inconsistent or unprincipled of my “abolitionist” friends to foam at the mouth (abd at the ballot!) about how cringe affluenza-addled rapist joyriding miscreants or whatever should be stripped of every possible means of self-defence against the prosecutorial state but it’s really not inconsistent at all. When yr main avowed political demands on a topic are completely impractical the actual work of politics becomes managing second-bests, and there’s nothing especially incoherent about preferring revanchist bloodlust over moderation among the real possibilities but crimeless reparative anti-punitive anarchist tranquility once you start considering indulgent fictions as well

[g0thics]

danny is so, so particular on how he is perceived as the ghost face. right down to the SCENT that the victims associate with them, using a pungent and expensive cologne during the reconnaissance, stalking and infiltration process of their designs. and a cheaper perfume for 'impromptu' visits; implying that even when danny is being impulsive, he still needs his routines! needs control; to control their victim's experience of the ghost face. using their senses against them. and more importantly: it is a form of psychological warfare that his father had ingrained in him. he is the ghost face, just like the 'ghosts' in his father's stories of vietnam. just like the ghost of his father. killers lurking in the dark, in the jungles, with pale faces and empty eyes. killers that civilians and rebels could not see or hear, but could always smell; triggering the terror, confusion and paranoia that spread like fire in their minds. danny knows exactly what he is doing. he is not a serial killer, in his mind. he is a professional. he is an allegory to the fascist, serial mass murdering systems of the military industrial complex! but he is also a meta on the toxic horror fans/stans that take horror too seriously, throwing tantrums and harassing real people when horror doesn't look the way they want it to look. like a parallel, danny's obsession with ghostface's reputation as a horrifying, unstoppable killer can potentially cause him to act impulsively and violently when he feels that his designs are being insulted or parodied, brutalizing people that he personally believed were responsible for offending the ghost face. but he is also a nod to the original scream film's themes of obsession and projection with the use of horror stories. which, in itself, mocks the fearmongering by puritanical conservatives that insisted horror movies were creating killers & promoting satanism, completely derailing discussions on the actual issues that cause so much violence in a decaying society: poverty, inequality, fascism, and child/domestic/generational abuse or trauma. danny is obsessed with horror stories, like billy. and, like billy, this fixation (coping mechanism) did not turn him into a murderer. danny kills people because that is exactly what his father raised him to be. a killer. he is, literally and symbolically, a product of his environment.

[none-prob]

I write about a character per day

Day 13: Philip Wittebane/Emperor Belos

I have had my fair share of thoughts and even at some point comparing him to freaking George W. Bush. I mean, he had his turning point with Lilith's punch, faked evidence to cause witch genocide, fear mongered the power of wild magic, and caused absolute chaos under the cover of a classification system. But I have to give credits where credits due, Belos is a really well-written villain.

Belos is an excellent manipulator. One who successfully fearmongered like the entire island against wild witches. It took a long time for him to get his own army, gain the citizens' trust, and follow his orders, even the ones that would actually kill them. The moment he successfully gained the trust, the knife will stab in the back. Lilith was also a victim in this. She was promised a cure for her sister's curse, even at some point being used to pitch against her own sister, only to realize the lies under his mouth.

Hunter is probably one of the biggest victim of Belos. Someone who was his right hand man, his nephew, and Belos used it so successfully to isolated him from the open world, as well as built the trust in him. Even at the end of King's Tide, Hunter is still shaking and doubting himself when Belos used that nurturing voice to manipulate him again. It's insanely powerful, one of the weapons Belos used so well, and the only way Hunter broke through, wasn't just his willpower, it was for him to see Belos for who he is.

We even saw this strategy working on the Collector, a villain-victim hybrid whose villain side finally showed up in Season 3. Belos had used the Collector to the maximum, only to betrayed him again, like he did with Lilith and Hunter. And even after all of that, he still managed to possessed puppet Raine and once again to get the Collector into fighting our Hexsquad.

So I want to talk about Elsewhere and Elsewhen for a bit, because this was when we found out about Belos' turning point. He already had his own hatred towards witches, they bullied him, but he couldn't find back. But now, he hated them even more, found the tools he needed, and ready to take over everything. This is an important point, because neither Luz or Lilith had to be responsible for his crappy behaviour. Luz and Lilith helped him reached the Collector, but it was always him who decided to react that way. But oh boy he made sure he would not let Luz forgot about it.

With the vast majority of the people following Belos' rules, he still had some of the rebels who wouldn't. And he had two options. The first one is gaslighting. And it apparently did damage on Luz, as she starts self-doubting and regretting a lot. Guilt-tripping is an incredibly strong and dangerous strategy, as it starts causing chaos within the other group, and weaken the victim. Luz once she found out she accidentally helped Belos, she couldn't help herself. She can't be frank with her friends, or do anything, as she can't stop feeling guilty about herself. This is why I said Belos' writing is good. A good mix of traditional Disney villain with a more modern villain type.

The second way to get the rebels is of course, violence. Belos had successfully built a narrative that is so strong within the people, vilify "wild magic", legitimate and praise "coven". This is a textbook right wing strategy, their purpose is to drive the narrative for them, pushing the people who were supposed to be on one side into against each other, and at the end take them all out. He got the military ready to capture all the wild witches, time and time again trying to capture Eda. With the downside of violence being losing the trust of people, Belos even sugarcoated it as "helping wild witches joining the society", when in reality, he wanted to control.

One of my favourite quote by Malcolm X is "A fox is always more dangerous in the forest than the wolf. You can see the wolf coming. You know what he's up to. But the fox will fool you. He comes at you with his mouth shaped in such a way even though you see his teeth, you think he's smiling and take him for a friend." Belos is that fox. A slimey, greasy, dangerous fox. A control freak. He is, in that sense, a really well-written character.

[vyragosa]

kinda crazy discovering nuclear war deterrence is the core of the metal gear series (please don't boo me) and from putting it in parallel with a character like higgs monaghan, sending nukes and dead bodies effectively(acting as nukes) as well to cause voidouts, so it's a bit of incredibly overt metaphor getting straight to the point (and the absence of fauna as well, death stranding landscape being essentially shaped by voidouts therefore, shaped by explosions and so on so on)

and it's, there's entries in death stranding explaining how each every fucking citizen could, manufacture and PRINT THEIR OWN NUCLEAR WARHEAD IN THEIR BACKYARD.

so you have the character fed fearmongering propaganda since a child, inevitably doomed to be influenced once again at each stage of life, attempts to rebel against it believing the ideals to be his own, falls deeper in it and the way out he assumes of regaining control being "nuking the entire world" but of course he has no control

so he ends up being a perfect product of this kind of america, the one before the last stranding that gave every citizen

nuclear deterence

[derovalfnolem]

there's a strangely large overlap in people who fearmonger that AI is somehow going to rise up and rebel against humans and people who can't function normally without using chatgpt

[exvangelical]

“if you were raised in church god will hold you to a higher standard for disobeying and rebelling against him!” okay and i’m holding god to the highest standard because if he’s all powerful and lets things happen the way they do, he better have a good fucking explanation for why i should worship him, not just fearmongering

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

AU Vaderdala Thoughts

Okay, so. I have this AU idea that I’ve never gotten around to write more than the first installment of, but I figured I’d share the premise here anyway as I kinda want to here what y’all think of it.

So, in this AU Padmé Naberrie is the former Queen of Naboo - now aspiring to become a renowned politician. She’s 25, and mostly the same woman we see in AotC. She has a close relationship with her family, especially her sister Sola. She also knows Bail Organa, Rush Clovis, Mon Mothma and Riyo Chuchi from a legislative course she used to be part of post her term as Queen.

Meanwhile, Darth Vader is the dreaded enforcer and right hand man of the Emperor. He’s a bit of a public executioner, and a fearmonger, and has been for the past five years. He’s 32, trapped in his life support suit after he lost a battle to his found father, the dark Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi. Vader’s fall was brought about by the death of his padawan and younger sister, Ahsoka, as well as the woman who raised them both - Shmi Skywalker. Of course, everything transpired because of Palpatine, who put the blame on Obi-Wan.

Either way, Padmé is conned into spying on Bail who’s an alleged member of the Rebel Alliance. Padmé isn’t interested in that, she’s younger than in RotS, and she’s used to the Empire. She knew Palpatine as a child, and thinks he’s doing mostly a good job as dictator (she hasn’t yet seen the horrors he’s caused, she’s been rather sheltered and barely left Naboo.)

So while Padmé works as an undercover spy, her and Vader form a close relationship and you can imagine how they develop feelings for one another. He comes to trust her enough that, when necessary, he allows her to see his scarred face - and she’s not frightened, but intrigued and concerned. Eventually, Palpatine begins to suspect their relationship has developed into more than just a business partnership and warns Vader of getting too involved with Padmé. Vader assures there’s nothing between them, but it culminates in Padmé almost dying when targeted by Palpatine’s ire. Vader saves her, and Padmé realizes she’s fallen for Vader for real.

So, they kiss, and it is after this that Padmé learns more of Palpatine’s true intentions, and how he’s mismanaging the galaxy. Vader reveals Palpatine is supporting slave and spice trading organizations, which of course he’s not too happy about. Padmé begins to dig out the truth, poking at Vader until he reveals how he came to be the way he is - and she starts researching the names of his lost family. She unveils the entire scam, and how Palpatine was actually the one behind Ahsoka’s disappearance - and Ahsoka is not dead, instead she has been twisted into another secret pawn of Palpatine. She’s unaware Vader lived, as she doesn’t recognize him through his warped Force signature, neither does he recognize her. Padmé also finds Obi-Wan in hiding, tracking him down.

So, in the end, we basically have Padmé, Vader, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka - Vader and Ahsoka now aware of the fact that they have both been tricked - facing up against Palpatine to end his rule. I think there would be a somewhat happy ending, featuring Emperor Vader, Empress Padmé, and their twins and heir.

I like these sorta semi dark AUs. So, since I doubt I’ll ever write the full thing, I thought I’d share it here. I would be up for roleplaying it with anybody who’s interested, though. So that’s a thought.

[snappedsky]

Fanatics Adventures in Space Part 22

The Battalion escapes Irk. Previous!  Next!

--

Departure

           The Tallest stare at the sight before them, equal parts incredulous and nonplussed. Carcas and his four remaining rebels sit, beaten in laser cages; and behind them stand Zim and his Battalion, victoriously, with Rory by his side.

           “Well?” Zim grins, “this is the part where you say ‘thank you’.”

           Tallest Red glowers angrily as Purple watches the drones carry away Carcas and his rebels into the Main Command Centre.

           “Thank you?” Red snaps, “are you forgetting you’re just as big a criminal as them?”

           “I wouldn’t say ‘as big’,” Pepito argues, “I mean we didn’t destroy a bunch of your planets.”

           “Would it kill you to show a little gratitude?” Rory snaps, approaching the Tallest.

           “Go to your room, Rory,” Red demands, “we’ll deal with you later.”

           “Absolutely not,” Rory retorts, “I’m not gonna let you treat the Battalion like a bunch of criminals after they did all the work you were refusing to do. They saved Irk and stopped the planet destroying rebels. They should be revered!”

           “Revere a defect?” Purple snorts, “yeah, right.”

           He snaps his fingers and a group of drones appear and point their guns at the Battalion.

           “Saw that coming,” Gaz grunts as they jump away from the weapons.

           “No!” Rory barks as he snaps his fingers, and the drones back off.

           “You dare defy us?” Red snaps.

           “What’re you gonna do?” he challenges, “declare me, the product of your combined DNA, a defect?”            As they argue back and forth, Squee grabs Zim’s arm and whispers, “Zim, I think now would be a good time to, y’know, get the hell out.”

           “Agreed,” he nods. The kids warily eye the Tallest before scampering away. Johnny lingers a second, snarling, before Squee pulls him away.

           “Hey!” Purple shouts and snaps his fingers. The drones immediately give chase.

           “What’s the plan?” Dib asks as they race through the city.

           “If we can get back to the shuttle we used to get here, maybe we can use it to escape,” Kio suggests.

           “That’s all the way out in the countryside,” Zim points out, “the drones’ll catch us before we get close and the planet guards will never let us through.”

           “What if we steal an Irken ship?” Squee suggests.

           “That could work,” he agrees, “but the hangars are all underground and heavily guarded.”

           “Incoming!” Gaz warns.

           The kids shout with surprise as the drones catch up and prepare to fire. Pepito swings his spear, releasing a blast that destroys them all.

           “Hey,” a familiar voice chirps, startling everyone as they turn to see one of Rory’s SIR units poking her head out of the ground.

           “Civ,” Squee says, “er or Viv?”            “It’s Civ,” she grunts, “follow me.”

           Everyone shares a look before shrugging and jumping into the hole.

           They land in some kind of dark tunnel, illuminated by Civ’s glowing eyes. It’s a tight squeeze for everyone to crawl through, especially Nny and Dib. There’s lots of grunting and groaning as they follow the robot but finally she opens up a doorway overhead and everyone pulls themselves out.

           They’re in what appears to be a large garage full of different kinds of space cruisers. Civ flies over to where Rory is sitting with Viv, at a work bench covered in different parts and tools.

          “Welcome!” he booms as they approach him. “My apologies for the behaviour of the Tallest. They’re…”

           “Assholes?” Johnny grunts.

           “I’m not familiar with that term, but sure,” Rory shrugs, “anyway, my sincerest thanks for doing what they did not and stopping the rebels. The least I can do to show my gratitude is help you get off-planet.”

           “Won’t you get in a lot of trouble?” Squee asks.

           “Eh, they can’t actually do anything to me,” he shrugs, “lest they admit I’m some kind of defect, which they never will. Although the concept of a ‘defect’ is completely fabricated by the Tallest for the sake of fearmongering, but that’s a conversation for a different time.”

           “Please, take any ship you want,” he insists, “built them all myself so I can verify their functionality.”

           “Alright,” Pepito cheers as everyone splits off to look at the many models.

           “I do advise that you hurry,” Rory warns, “the Tallest are already preparing the Armada to hunt for you.”

           “We need something big enough to carry all of us,” Dib points out.

           “But something stylish too,” Pepito adds.

           “And something we can make into our own,” Zim states.

           “How about this one?” Gaz suggests and everyone hurries over.

           It’s a sleek, black ship with an aerodynamic front and a tinted windshield. It has two side doors that open upwards like a hatch. The interior is also black with a brightly lit console and two bucket seats, with an empty back space.

           “There’s only two seats,” Squee points out.

           “I made that one for cargo holding,” Rory says, “I like to prepare for anything.”

           Everyone flinches as a loud alarm goes off somewhere in the distance.

           “It’ll have to do,” Zim grunts, “everyone get in!”

           They all clamber through the door into the back. Zim gets into the driver’s seat but is immediately shoved over by Kio.

           “Hey!” he whines.

           “I’m driving,” she orders.

           “The ship is Irken coded so you’ll be able to slip by the planet guards unnoticed,” Rory says.

           “Thanks for everything, Rory!” Dib chimes.

           “Yeah, you’re cool in our books,” Pepito adds.

           Everyone waves to him as Kio closes the hatch and fires up the engine. The ship immediately begins rumbling.

           “Everyone, hold on,” she orders as Rory opens the garage door.

           “To what?” Dib asks incredulously while Squee grabs hold of Nny’s arm.

           Kio turns on the thrusters and the ship takes off. The force pushes against everyone, shoving Kio and Zim into their seats and knocking everybody in the back over, as they blast through the sky and out of the atmosphere.

           “Nar!” Kio says into her communicator. “We’re approaching the ship in an Irken cruiser. Prepare to be boarded and start the engines.”

           “Ah-uh right,” Lard Nar replies.

           They quickly arrive to the Resisty ship and enter the docking bay. Lard Nar, Skoodge, Devi, and Tenna are waiting on the other side of the airlock.

           “You guys all made it!” Tenna cheers.

           “Was there ever any doubt,” Zim grins.

           “Let’s not celebrate yet,” Kio warns, “we still have to get-.”

           “C-Commander,” a voice through the intercom cuts her off. “You should hurry back to the bridge.”

           Everyone shares a worried look before rushing through the ship. As soon as they enter the bridge, they skid to a stop, gasping with concern.

           The Massive is right outside.

           “They’re hailing us,” Shloonktapooxis whimpers.

           “Answer it,” Zim orders as he leaps to the middle of the room.

           The Tallest appear on screen, smirking darkly.

           “Did you really think you could escape us?” Red snaps.

           “We’re still in the process of escaping,” Zim retorts, “Kio, hyper speed!”

           “Your outdated ship will never escape us in hyperspace,” Purple scoffs, “we’ll overtake you in an instant.”

           “For your information, I keep my ship outfitted with the most current parts,” Kio argues.

           “It doesn’t matter,” Red grunts, “you don’t have a chance to escape anyway. Ready the Planet Exploder!”

           “The what?” Dib questions.

           Everyone watches fearfully as a humongous laser cannon lowers out of the bottom of the Massive and aims right for them.

           “That’s the biggest gun I’ve ever seen,” Lard Nar whimpers.

           “Like it? It’s new,” Purple says.

           “It’s a little overkill to use on your piddly, little ship, but it should still be funny,” Red adds, “prepare to fire!”

           The Resisty erupts into screams as the gun starts lighting up.

           “Zim! We’ll never be able to dodge that!” Squee exclaims.

           Zim only snarls defiantly and watches.

           Just when it looks like it’s about to fire, the cannon jerks and goes limp.

           “Huh?” the Resisty question simultaneously.

           “What’s going on?” Red demands.

           “We-we don’t know, sir,” one of the Massive’s engineers admits. “The Planet Exploder isn’t getting any power.”

           “Nnnnow may be a bad time to mention the ship was vandalized earlier,” another engineer squeaks.

           “What! And you’re just bringing this up now?” Purple barks.

           The Tallest shout with frustration at their underlings while the Resisty watch, dumbstruck. Johnny blinks and looks at Devi and Tenna, grinning.

           “So. What have you two been up to while I was gone?” he asks.

           They both smirk while Devi pats Skoodge on the head. “Well, you know us,” she says, “we don’t like to just sit around.”

           “Now’s our chance,” Zim declares. “Kio, hyper speed!”

           “Way ahead of you!” she exclaims as she types on the console.

           “No!” Red barks, “prepare to hyper speed!”

           “Our hyper thrusters aren’t getting any power either!” an engineer cries.

           “What!” the Tallest shriek angrily.

           Zim gives a cheeky salute before the call cuts out and the Resisty ship disappears.

           Red sighs miserably. “So he got away.”

           “Again,” Purple adds as his shoulders sag.

           They both chuckle wearily.

           Red takes a deep breath as he straightens up. “Begin repairs immediately. Then set a course for Earth!”

           Meanwhile, back on Irk, Rory, Civ, and Viv watch the standoff from the roof of the Main Command Centre. Rory grins as the Resisty ship zips into hyperspace.

           “He’s really not the type to just leave quietly, is he,” Viv comments.

           Rory laughs. “He’s better than I could have ever imagined.”

           Down in the city, Mar and Zinather pant as they rest in the street between two buildings. They’ve battled to a standstill and are covered in injuries and ruined uniforms. They don’t know how things turned out for the Battalion yet, but their fight ended not long before they escaped.

           “Mar,” Zinather says, “can I ask you something?”

           “Hm?” she grunts.

           “If you truly believe something is wrong with the Empire, why try to save it? Why not just let the rebels destroy it?”

           “Because I also believe it’s not a lost cause,” Mar replies, “it can still be fixed. Besides, it’s my home.”            Zinather sighs heavily and looks up at the sliver of sky he can barely make out between the surrounding buildings.

---

           “How are they?” Lard Nar asks as he, Devi, Tenna, and Skoodge follow Shmoopy through the ship.

           “Minor injuries- mostly abrasions, some bruises, a couple of cracked ribs,” she replies as she reads off her tablet. “Nothing that’s not easily fixed. I think, after the excitement ended and all adrenaline left their bodies, exhaustion finally took over. They’ll probably sleep for a long time.”

           Johnny looks up from the window as they enter the Battalion’s bedroom. Behind him, Zim, Dib, Gaz, Pepito, Squee, and Kio are passed out on the beds, sprawled out, snoring and drooling. Gir and Minimoose are with them, tucked under Zim’s arms. Nny shares an amused smile with Devi and Tenna.

           “Well, they deserve it,” Devi says before leaving. Johnny looks back out the window, at the stars and planets scattered across the endless sky.

[gffa]

One of the things that I really enjoy about the comics and novels is how much they’ve done on the connective work between the fall of the Empire and the Rise of the First Order. There’s a lot of buildup established in Battlefront II and Cobalt Squadron and Bloodline, about where they came from, how they weren’t immediately recognized as the remnants of the Empire, that they weren’t originally militarized as far as people knew.  That what they were doing to planets in the Outer Rim (like how they strip mined the Otomok system) wasn’t really widely known.  But even more importantly--people didn’t want to know. “The scope and scale of the First Order military operation came as a shock to a complacent New Republic. What were first thought to be local defenses and ceremonial forces proved to be just the tip of a larger invasion force.” -- Star Wars: Propaganda “Over time, the former Imperials reunited as the First Order and coolly inhabited a wing of Republic politics until tensions reached a breaking point. The First Order seceded from the New Republic, a move that was welcome by many in the galactic capital. But others realized that without Republic oversight, the First Order would return to the Empire’s draconian ways and ambitious expansion. To counter this specific concern, Leia Organa of Alderaan founded the Resistance, a paramilitary group that probed the neutral space separating the First Order and the Republic for signs of treaty violations. “It was an age of interstellar tensions, of opaque political borders that fostered intrigue and suspicion. The New Republic obsessed over maintaining peace with a light hand, so as not to repeat the errors of the Empire. As part of the provisions of the Galactic Concordance, the New Republic instituted a drastic demilitarization meant to strip the galaxy of any single fighting force capable of vast conquest. New Republic politicians assumed the defeated Imperials would honor this treaty, and in fairness to their naivete, the hunger for peace was palpable across the galaxy. The Resistance tried to warn the Republic that the cost of peace was vigilance, although General Organa was subjected to accusations of fearmongering and saber rattling.” -- Star Wars: Propaganda “Although some in the New Republic had, at its start, wished to curtail any spread of Imperial imagery after the Battle of Endor, the new government’s dedication to freedom of speech and expression resisted any such attempts at censorship. Public opinion frowned on displays that romanticized the Imperial past, driving it underground. It is in this underground where resentment of the New Republic grew. The emergent First Order claimed the New Republic to be illegitimate, and propagated the belief that the Empire was put into power by the people of the galaxy. Much of their imagery reinforces this.“ -- Star Wars: Propaganda “With the New Republic being chiefly concerned with insular matters, and turning a blind eye to activity beyond its borders, it fell to the paramilitary force known as the Resistance to protect the defenseless. It was a controversial organization, receiving limited funding from sympathetic senators, while also being publicly derided within the Senate for being a destabilizing effort, or worse, an expeditionary arm obeying the commands of a warmonger.” -- Star Wars: Propaganda And it goes hand in hand with something that’s been threaded throughout a ton of material--I’m thinking especially of the Aftermath books and the Rebel Files book and the Propaganda book--is that one of the biggest failings of the New Republic is that they were desperately trying to avoid even a whiff of being anything like the Empire.  Sinjir lays it out in Aftermath: Life Debt:

But we also see it in other ways like the above.  People are tired of hearing about the Empire and another exposé on the slavery atrocities they committed. They’re tired of the wars they’ve been put through and that’s really understandable, the Clone Wars was the first one in a thousand years, then you had 20 years of the Empire’s oppression, then you had 4 years of the Galactic Civil War.  Of course people just wanted it to be done. But what I find fascinating, as Star Wars does more and more to build it up, in moments like this one:

Or pretty much all of Bloodline, is that people knew there were warning signs.  But they didn’t want to listen to it, they didn’t want to have to get up and fight again, especially with the New Republic trying so hard to win back former Separatist worlds and trying to do everything it possibly could to be Absolutely Nothing Like The Empire At All, to its own detriment. They don’t even want to hear about the Empire’s shit anymore, not even now that it’s over.  They don’t want to hear about what the First Order is doing out in the Outer Rim, they don’t want to hear about how its becoming militarized.  The Resistance is trying to deal with it as best they can, but they’re a small force against what seems like an impossible to defeat enemy: An apathetic public who doesn’t want to learn the lessons of the history they’ve just been through.  These terrible things that happened (like a group seceding from an established Republic, while arming themselves in a coming attempt to burn that established government to the ground and install a far more oppressive one) are WITHIN LIVING MEMORY.  But the public-in-general is tired of hearing about it, so they don’t. And sometimes that feels like an incredibly salient theme for the sequels to have, when I look around at the world today.  So many of the things we’re facing today are ones that are repeats of events WITHIN LIVING MEMORY and yet we don’t seem to want to face it.

[6ad6ro]

making 9-11 jokes is actually somehow more insufferable than those weird 18 year after-the-fact “patriotic” (racist) remembrance posts. memeing about ppl dying is fucking pathetic and also icky. like i was edgy teen too once so i get it, but you’ll end up bein embarrassed by it later so stop. nobody is impressed by you showin off your lack of basic empathy. it just makes u look REALLY dumb n childish. if u wanna really “rebel” maybe make a post about how the us govt literally used it as fearmongering to turn the world into a MUCH worse place for everybody? rebelling against a corrupt government is cool as hell. but rebelling against bein nice is the dumbest thing in the world.

[skycendre-blog]

The worst thing about the whole "mages attacking you in the Hinterlands" thing is letters like the ones in "Codex entry: Stronghold of the Apostate Mages". They're really trying to tell you that it's dangerous to free oppressed mages because look, they'll just immediately develop a god complex and try to take over the world! See? It's not just fearmongering! Because that's definitely realistically how refugees who just escaped lifelong abuse would typically behave. I hate this game sometimes.

I have a love-hate relationship with BioWare exactly because of this thing. You’re on point, anon. We get some Codex entries like the Annulment of Dairsmuid in which we see Chantry brutality and pointless violence at its worst, and then we there’s the “mages attacking you in the Hinterlands” dynamic and the kind of Codex you mentioned.

I am FINE with controversy and moral greyness, but it must have a context. Context for mages was built throughout THREE videogames (DAO DAA and DA2), lore was established, dynamics too, everything fit in its space. We know for a fact (because the games told us) that mages in the Circles are not trained to fight, except a scarce few of them. We know for a fact (because the game told us) that mages are trained to be docile and obey, and Templars to be aggressive and kill on sight. And we know for a fact (because the game fucking told us) that except when an abomination is involved, it NEVER HAPPENED in Thedosian history that fleeing or rebelling mages turned violent against the random population.

And let’s be honest - why people who have spent the entirety of their lives locked in a building would want to attack random people? What’s supposed to be the purpose? Why are they doing that, what are they trying to accomplish?

I can accept anything BioWare wants me to accept, but it must have a context. And there’s none here. Where are the children apprentices, where are the old senior enchanters? THEY should be the refugees. They have spent a whole life of captivity and abuse, or have recently been kidnapped from their homes. They probably suffer from severe PTSD, a lot of them. They wouldn’t want to see another Templar EVER AGAIN.

So yeah, you’re on point. The narrative is obvious here: it is not okay to rebel. “You supported mages in the past three games? Dude you were wrong, sorry ‘bout that. See, the Chantry was right - give the mages a chance to be free, they randomly turn into vicious beasts and attack iNnOcEnT pEoPLe because why tf not. So umm, the Chantry does a lot of bad stuff... no, we’re not condoning that, of course, but... mages ARE dangerous... they must be controlled, see? Better if you choose Cassandra as Divine. Leliana is an extremist, and you don’t want those bad bad mages to be free now, do you? And Vivienne, sure, she reinforces the Circles bUt sHe’S a MaGe tOo she can’t be “too good” (*whispering* because all mages are bad!). So yeah, better to make Cass Divine.” So that nothing changes, and the “mage rebellion” gets completely flushed down the toilet.

[unimatronic]

Are you ready for a MAJOR INFODUMP about The Librarian? Yes? Good.

In ENDGAME, one can ascend to godhood no matter your background or species so long as you meet certain conditions. Likewise, anyone can become a god’s angel, as becoming an angel is literally just being picked by a god to either become or Ascend to the status of Divine Servant or something similar:

transcript: Angels = Divine servants of a particular god who serve them as right/left hands, helpers, warriors, and messengers between the various realms and were strictly created for said work. Angels are usually created by their god, but may also be Ascended Humans as well (re: the god forcibly Ascended them, which is taboo amongst most). In the case of deities, angels are often a reference to their particular body part that helps their work (eyes, ears, hands, ect) and are usually numerous. Angels that belong to a deity are always parts of the deity at least 85%, meaning vessels may be possessed but will always inevitably be, serve, and host the deity without qualm. Any angel type may have a charge. God eaters may be commissioned to hunt angels or may find them pests that get in the way of their endeavors.

Angels can, however, “fall” and become demons for a variety of reasons, including forsaking their gods, questioning their gods motives, or straight up participating in the God War against the gods:

transcript: Demons = Divine servants who have lost their way or forsaken their god. They no longer seek to serve the purpose they were made for and/or have cast off their charge. Ascended Humans and Deities may be called Demons if they rebel against their god or given purpose. Deity angels (aka those that are not living beings (and thus are a part of the deity)) cannot rebel as they often do not possess sentience outside of their deity. Vessels strong enough may overcome a deity’s control, however, and expel the deity from them with enough work. This usually leads to them becoming an outlier, or an individual with no real purpose/place in the cosmos that can exist outside the Game and the realms they live within. Many Ascended Human, Vessel, and Deity demons are expelled from their reality and forced nomads/wanderers, and aren’t welcome anywhere due to the supernatural “taint" or “warble” to their aura (deities and gods are very protective over their realities). God eaters don’t often bother with demons (as many of them are demons themselves), but there are always exceptions to the rule. A particularly powerful and intrusive demon may be seen as a target due to their meddling in the universe, or any wrongs they’ve committed against a certain god eater.

Becoming a demon can be simple and less symptomatic, or it can be incredibly trying and life threatening. It all depends on the god/deity betrayed by the angel, and their crimes committed against said god/deity. Not many get the book thrown at them even if they are rejected outright (which is a major punishment to most all its own), but others get physical and magical mutations in conjunction to their rejection. Those of particularly vindictive gods/deities may get cursed, such as the Rebirthing curse The Fearmonger suffers that won’t let him die, but "erases” his memory and powers upon each death due to forcing him to “start over” as a child (which is unnatural for Chimera and thus an excruciating process in its own right).

The Librarian, or Lib, is a human demon that once served a particularly powerful god before and during the God War. (For context, the God War was a war that turned the universe and humankind against gods/deities as a whole and caused a whole shitmess of problems, including the universe condemning gods/deities to mortality (forcing them within the veil) where those who hated/were betrayed/scorned by gods/deities, called the God Eaters, could kill them easily). Lib in particular was never quite a follower of his particular god, being rared up by his parents and their cultural pressures as an offering for the god in question, who took angels in young and essentially ruled with them as a tyrant. When old enough, he realized he felt the mantra of his god was bullshit and decided to speak up about it, especially given the terrible treatment of his own people during the God War. When this happened, he was outcast by his god and fell from angel to demon status, where he joined the God Eaters in their fight against gods and deities and consumed godflesh once before becoming a self-proclaimed vampire and consuming godblud/godblood exclusively.

His consumption of godblud led to him eventually possessing powers he hadn’t previously and caused him to go a bit hysterical (as godblud does). In this hysteria, he managed to make a pact with Linduru, the third Player of the Game, and became a Child of Linduru. Under her will, he went out and began destroying villages and humankind en mass and eventually drew the attention of his fellow God Eaters when he proclaimed himself a god who would “make things right” by “carrying out Decay’s will” on the universe. He has a particular beef with Artem, given the man has an incredible hatred for anyone tied to Linduru (for good reason) and Lib may have been part of Linduru’s plan to kidnap his daughter and forcibly turn her into a mushroom child (aka Linduru’s “lesser” children who are forced to live in her forest for the rest of their lives). Also, we all know Lib just can’t shut his fucking gob for five minutes and loves taunting people, so there’s that.

He’s been forcibly imprisoned in a Hell Bubble by Melancholy before (Hell Bubbles are miniature “prison cell-like worlds” that force you to live in a personal hell you cannot escape from; they often erase your memories of your previous life as well), as well as forced to exist in the Nothingness (aka exist within a space that should be tearing him apart, but cannot, leading to an incredibly painful and emotionally destructive experience) for a long while by the God Eaters. As of late, he has escaped and possessed an animatronic from Unimatronic Daycare (The Librarian, a bearded vulture animatronic) as a Vessel to disguise himself from the God Eaters in hopes they’ll finally leave him alone even though he has no plans to change his behavior now or ever. He cannot remember his old name, but is unbothered by it for the most part, simply living his days on impulse and personal desire instead of planning something for the future. The future is so short-lived for him, he figures it’s better this way (a symptom of the PTSD his experiences have most likely given him).

Most of Lib’s powers consist over decay and death, though aren’t quite necromancy. Due to the godblud he has in his system (and keeps via hunting the divine), he has the power to forcibly assimilate himself to whatever vessel he possesses and cause them to become a physical part of his body. Because he needs godflesh and godblood to survive, however, this power is unstable and can lead to him physically meshing with anything he enters in such a way that he’d suffer incredible pain were he to separate himself again. As it is now, Lib has a very low supply of godblud in his system and cannot unmerge with his animatronic suit without serious self injury. However, due to his curse (thanks to the God Eaters shoving him in the Nothingness), he also cannot die, meaning were he to actually separate from it without godblud, he would become a mesh of flesh and absolute agony until he could manage to pull himself together again.

[dfroza]

Love is eternal life.

and in Light our hearts belong to our heavenly Father, forever.

this is the most beautiful thought you can think, being illuminated by the Spirit in clear view of the Son.

and what we’re truly longing for in this world, is Heaven. because it is our True Home and it is pure Love. but we’re also here for a reason, for a time, which includes not only sharing this truth but conserving it as well.

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 13th chapter of the Letter of First Corinthians where Paul writes about Love:

If I were to speak with eloquence in earth’s many languages, and in the heavenly tongues of angels, yet I didn’t express myself with love, my words would be reduced to the hollow sound of nothing more than a clanging cymbal.

And if I were to have the gift of prophecy with a profound understanding of God’s hidden secrets, and if I possessed unending supernatural knowledge, and if I had the greatest gift of faith that could move mountains, but have never learned to love, then I am nothing.

And if I were to be so generous as to give away everything I owned to feed the poor, and to offer my body to be burned as a martyr, without the pure motive of love, I would gain nothing of value.

Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance. Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense. Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong. Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up.

Love never stops loving. It extends beyond the gift of prophecy, which eventually fades away. It is more enduring than tongues, which will one day fall silent. Love remains long after words of knowledge are forgotten. Our present knowledge and our prophecies are but partial, but when love’s perfection arrives, the partial will fade away. When I was a child, I spoke about childish matters, for I saw things like a child and reasoned like a child. But the day came when I matured, and I set aside my childish ways.

For now we see but a faint reflection of riddles and mysteries as though reflected in a mirror, but one day we will see face-to-face. My understanding is incomplete now, but one day I will understand everything, just as everything about me has been fully understood. Until then, there are three things that remain: faith, hope, and love—yet love surpasses them all. So above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run.

The Letter of 1st Corinthians, Chapter 13 (The Passion Translation)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 48th chapter of the book (scroll) of Isaiah that points to the significance of adhering to truth:

“Listen carefully, O Jacob’s tribes,

you who are called by the name Israel

and come from the lineage of Judah,

who solemnly swear in the name of Yahweh

and claim to worship the God of Israel.

But there is no truth or righteousness in your confession!

Indeed, you name yourselves after the holy city

and say that you depend upon Israel’s God.

Yahweh, the Commander of Angel Armies, is his name.

“Long ago I prophesied things that would happen.

I issued decrees and made them known.

Then suddenly, I acted and made them happen.

I knew you were stubborn.

Your neck is like a rod of iron,

and you’re as hard-hearted as brass!

Long ago I told you these things.

Long before they happened

I proclaimed them

so you would never be able to say,

‘My idols did this;

my wood and metal idols decreed it!’

You have heard what I foretold and have seen it all unfold,

so admit that it happened and I was right!

From now on I will tell you about new things never seen before,

hidden things, well-guarded secrets you know nothing about.

They are created now, brand new today, not long ago!

You’ve never heard of them before now,

so you cannot say, ‘Oh, I already knew about that.’

You have never heard nor understood;

your ear had not been opened beforehand.

Though I knew that you would fight against me

as a rebel from birth,

yet, for the sake of my great name and for my glory,

I held back my anger and was patient with you

so I did not whittle you down to nothing.

See, I have purified you in the furnace of adversity,

but not like silver—I have refined you in the fire.

For my own sake alone I will do it,

so my name will not be dishonored.

I will not yield my glory to another.

“Listen to me, O Jacob,

Israel, whom I have called:

I am the One and Only,

the First and the Last.

With my mighty hand I laid the foundation of the earth;

with the span of my right hand I spread out the cosmos.

And when I speak to them, they both stand at attention.

Now, all of you gather around and listen.

Which of the gods has foretold these things?

I, Yahweh, love this man,

and he will carry out my purpose against Babylon.

He will be my “arm of might” against the Babylonians!

I am the one; yes, I am the one

who called him by name before he was born.

I have led him forward on a prosperous, successful path.

“Draw near to me and listen:

From the beginning, I have not spoken in secret.

From the beginning of time, I was there.”

And now Lord Yahweh has sent me, empowered by his Spirit!

This is what Yahweh, your Kinsman-Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says:

“I am Yahweh, your God.

I am the One who teaches you how to succeed

and who leads you step by step in the way you should go.

If only you had listened to my commands,

then peace would have flowed like a river for you

and success would wash over you like waves of the sea.

Your children would have multiplied

to become like the sand of the seashore

and your descendants like grains of sand.

There would be no end of them,

and I would not cut them off.”

Go! Leave Babylon!

Flee from Chaldea!

Announce it with joyous singing!

Let everyone know!

Proclaim it to the ends of the earth!

Say it loud and clear:

“Yahweh has rescued his servant Jacob!”

The people weren’t thirsty

when he led them through barren, desolate deserts,

for he broke open the rock for water to flow for them.

The rock was split open, and rivers gushed out!

“There is never peace,” Yahweh says, “for the wicked.”

The Book (Scroll) of Isaiah, Chapter 48 (The Passion Translation)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for monday, july 26 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons about not giving in to fear:

Most of us understand that loving God is our essential obligation, the end or "goal" of all the other commandments, the very reason why God has spoken and why we exist. Yeshua plainly taught that this was the point of "the Torah and the prophets," the rest being commentary (Matt. 7:12, Matt. 22:36-40). However, while love is our greatest duty - the yoke of heaven - you might be surprised to learn that the most frequent commandment is simply al-tirah, "Be not afraid." Over and over again in the Scriptures we hear the LORD saying to those who trust in Him, al tira, "be not afraid" (Isa. 41:10).

This is a word for the exiles of every age: Be not afraid - al-tirah – not of man, nor of war, nor of tribulation, nor even of death itself (Rom. 8:35-39). If God be for us, who can be against us? Indeed, Yeshua came to die to destroy the power of death "and to release all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery" (Heb. 2:14-15). The resurrection of the Messiah is the focal point of history - not the "dust of death." Death does not have the final word. Indeed, because Yeshua is alive, we also shall live (John 14:19). Because of Yeshua's victory, we can now live without fear: al-tirah, "Be not afraid, it is I." "There is no fear in God’s perfect love," as the Apostle John wrote (1 John 4:18). If we love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), then we find courage because of the heart He imparts to us... God will uphold you – even in the trials of your faith.

Of course this doesn't mean that we should pretend that evil doesn't exist or that there's no real danger in this world. No, the Scriptures are clear that there are spiritual enemies in the world and we are engaged in a genuine spiritual war (1 Pet. 5:8-9; Eph. 6:10-18). Indeed every day the media attempts to frighten us by broadcasting lies and fearmongering propaganda. We must fight these messages of fear by remembering the truth and promises of God; we must never fear mere men but rather the LORD our God, who is our Maker, our King, and our Redeemer. We must train our minds to see beyond mere appearances, to ignore the messages of this dark world, and to look for God’s Presence in everything.

We must trust in the LORD and His care for our lives, which always comes “as we hope” in Him... May it please God to impart to each of us the courage that comes from Heaven itself. May He help us not to live in fear, but rather to walk in faith, full of confidence. So remember: al-tirah, "be not afraid!" Let us be strong and be strengthened in Yeshua our King!

Shabbat Shalom, chaverim, and thank you for praying for me this week; it truly helped me... [Hebrew for Christians]

7.23.21 • Facebook

and another about choosing our treasure:

Your faith must mean something to you if it is to mean anything to God, for “without faith it is impossible to please him” (Heb. 11:6). There must be agreement between your heart and what is real. The LORD must be your “ultimate concern,” the passion of your heart, your desperate treasure, or he will be as nothing to you (Matt. 13:12; Luke 8:18). God’s Name is Savior, Healer, Redeemer - the One who is everlastingly interested in your life (Heb. 4:13). As the late Abraham Heschel once remarked, "God is of no importance unless He is of supreme importance." Likewise King David said, echat sha'alti me'et Adonai, otah avakesh: "One thing I ask of the Lord; that is what I will seek" (Psalm 27:4). David asked for one thing – not many things. He did not come with a litany of requests. He was not double minded. He had focus. As Kierkegaard said, "purity of the heart is to will one thing." David sought the best he could find. He wanted the "pearl of great price."

The most important thing in life is to decide what is the most important thing in life - and then to act accordingly. Time is short for all of us, and it is more vital than ever to find healing for our woundedness. We have to quit pretending to be what we aren't and learn to be honest and vulnerable. Spirituality without honesty and humility is a sham. If you don't know how to begin, then begin there - by knowing your confusion, your need for the miracle of God's help and direction... For instance, if you don't know how to really love, then confess your heart's condition and pray for the miracle you need. It is a great mercy to be broken, in desperate need of heart, afflicted, tested, and in mourning. As it is written, "God has compassion for the lowly and broken, and saves the souls of the powerless" (Psalm 72:13).

When God said, "Let there be light, and there was light" (Gen. 1:3), He seemed to put on light as a robe of the Divine Majesty and Kingship: He wrapped Himself with radiance as a tallit gadol... Da lifnei mi attah omed (דַּע לִפְנֵי מִי אַתָּה עוֹמֵד) – "Know before whom you stand." The whole earth is lit up with God's glory, and every bush of the field is aflame before us -- if we have eyes to see (Isa. 6:3). May it please the LORD to open our spiritual eyes so that we can behold more of His glory and majesty in this hour... Amen. [Hebrew for Christians]

7.26.21 • Facebook

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

July 26, 2021

His Precious Blood

“But the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them….Then Samuel took a stone...and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.” (1 Samuel 7:10-12)

The Philistines had stolen the Ark of the Covenant, given to Israel by God. In a battle to take it back, the Lord miraculously intervened, routed the Philistines, and retrieved the Ark. Samuel, the spiritual leader of Israel, ordered the people to erect a lasting “stone of remembrance” called Ebenezer to commemorate God’s deliverance of them from their enemies, a scene reflected in the hymn “Come Thou Fount.”

Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy help I come;

And I hope by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood.

The great “Hall of Fame” of faith in Hebrews 11 extols many biblical heroes for their great works of faith and then mentions those who would overcome after Bible times, persevering through deadly trials. Some survived, some were killed, some wandered to find their dwelling place, but all needed rescue through the shed blood of God’s own Son. For you “know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold….but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19), “which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:6). Please come quickly, Thou Fount. JDM