#Repent you vile sinners

[thetruekyle]

Y'all are so sick. ~Perturbing men to soak and sink deeper into their own unhealthy, violent tendencies just because you can't get off during sex or even masturbate at a distance without feeling like your lover is a fantasy rapist trying to kill you... and its concerning af, to say the least.

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

hi i wrote a song for crowley in a warped sort of catholic hymn style

ELEIMON AEGOVOSKOS [Crowley's Hymn]

Kyrie eleison

Sinner, repenter, o lover of mine Take what you will, I lay at your shrine Hellfire, holy water alike Bring damnation, salvation, oh peace be mine Please be mine

Nightshade nightingale Challenger of God Sea that parted, hope that failed Loveless child of the Lord

Tempter so tempted, o starmaker’s smile Give what you will, an inch for a mile Your kindness, wrath, both so alike Bring violent seduction, so beautiful, vile O beautiful guileless guile

Haloed and hallowed, o hollowed outcry Pray to the ruins of your darling sky Now lovers and allies, or foes alike We are ruined, remade, or at least we try O at least we try 

Heaven and Hell, o my Fallen divine Equal in wrath, follow close behind Mercy, damnation, twin judgements alike On your knees, your judgement will not be so blind You have never been blind

Forgive me for being blind O forgive me for being blind

Dies irae

On your knees, your judgement Is not so blind You see as they see, you feel it in kind On your knees, your judgement  Is not so blind Your damnation has made you divine Your damnation has made you divine

Please forgive me And please be mine

Kyrie eleison

-Asmi

Notes: There are references to old poems and hymns here, including Kyrie eleison which in Greek means Lord have Mercy, roughly, and Dies irae, an old Latin poem about the Last Judgement or Judgement Day, when God decides who is saved and who is cast into eternal flames.

The line On your knees your judgement is not so blind refers to that one shot in Season 2 Episode 3, where rather than Aziraphale who stands and judges the poor bodysnatchers, Crowley sits next to them and understands. Because he is fallen, and on his knees, his judgement isn't as blind as Heaven's.

Hellfire, holy water alike bring salvation, damnation refers to a sentiment I believe Crowley expresses about how whether Hell ends the world or Heaven, it will be ended just the same.

Now lovers and allies, or foes alike refers to their arrangement, about how either they are allies and lovers, or at the very least foes who are very, very similar at heart.

Finally, the title, Eleimon Aegovoskos, is Greek for Merciful Goatherd. Yep, this is a reference to the Job storyline. Because of how Crowley saved the goats though Heaven and Hell said to destroy them, and also because of that one Biblical story about Abraham where he is ordered to sacrifice his son, but really there is a goat waiting to be sacrificed instead. Crowley spares even the goats from needless sacrifice. Hence Merciful Goatherd, similar to how God is a merciful shepherd (I believe, I'm not sure) because Crowley's damnation has made him divine. I'm not Christian and I don't know much about this, so I'm open to corrections :")

[liquidstar]

What do you think of Typhon's version of pride?

Okay so my thoughts on Typhon and pride are the same as my thoughts on the depiction of the deadly sins in Re:Zero in general; In a story about identity and perception (self-recognition through the other), the most vile sin is a transgression on the self (of you or others)

When it comes to Typhon and pride in particular, it seems to be about placing your own perception of another person above all else. As if they could never be anything beyond what you see, because your opinion is always Right and Just.

I joked earlier about Typon being "Light Yagami if he was 12 and a girl," and though that was mostly goofing, Light WOULD absolutely be an example of pride as depicted in Re:Zero. But there are plenty more examples of how this vice could apply to people...

We need to understand a bit of Typhon's character- her father was an executioner who would kill "bad guys," giving her a warped perception of justice and penitence. Her decreeing of other people as "sinners" who deserve punishment, in simple and childlike black and white morality, is something that's coded somewhat religiously. (Which makes sense, with the sin theme in general). Which makes it ironic that she herself is a "sinner."

But that's another way this vice could apply in the real world too. You see it all the time. Whether it's religious people claiming you're a sinner for going against their beliefs, netizens deciding you deserve harassment for a problematic thing you did, authority figures deciding you're the problem child for not following rules, the media finding their newest object of ridicule, people who shun you for breaking a more, etc.

All this stuff is something that places a subjective judgement as a representation as the whole of one's being. And one that vindicates treating them as "sinners" or otherwise social deviants deserving of punishment. It's something that breaks people. It's something that shatters their sense of self. That makes it a sin, as it applies to personhood.

It's simply the pinnacle of Pride, the arrogance to declare your perception of another person's being to be the correct one. To pass judgement on them based on it, and to see yourself as the one fit to carry out this seld-determined justice, to demand their repentance, to destroy their being.

She says it herself, "Sin can only be repaid with pain. Sin will become a wedge that allows no escape."

But those are just my thoughts...

[writesaboutdragons]

365 Promises of God

Day 297 – Unless You Repent You Will Perish

I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. (Luk 13:3 NKJV)

Read: Luke 13:1-5

Ever imagine Jesus giving a facepalm? I sure do. I bet I’ve given him plenty of reason to have one. And today’s reading is no different. Jesus had just finished in Ch12 giving a discourse on being faithful to those put over you. Then he goes on to tell them that he’d come to bring division. And asks why they can’t judge among themselves rather than bringing each other to court.

These things seem random, but they are all connected, as we will see in a moment. The question that was presented to Jesus at this point was about a group of Galileans who followed Judas Gaulonites. Their sect believed that they had no sovereign but God, and did not recognize Caesar as king, refusing to pay any tribute or tax. They went so far as to endure suffering and death rather than call any man Lord. These men had been slaughtered by Pilate INSIDE the temple, and their blood had defiled the blood of the sacrifice, turning it into an abomination.

To those standing around, this seemed to them an indication of God’s judgement. They perished, and their sins could NOT be forgiven, because their own blood defiled their own atoning sacrifices. Surely God was condemning these vile sinners to hell, as evidenced by this tragedy. And frankly, the Jews in Jerusalem often thought those backwards people living in Galilee were bigger sinners anyway. Maybe Jesus was just like them?

It’s probable that this exchange was initiated because Jesus had discussed His own lordship in Ch12, and Peter had even called Him Lord. In fact, this word, kyrios, appears NINE times in Ch12. Would this multitude surrounding him call Him Lord? Eh, no, they missed the point to stab at him.

The men Jesus was addressing had condemned their brothers on circumstantial evidence. They turned the knife, so to speak, by pointing out that they were ‘Galileans’. But Jesus answers their question with a ‘question answer’. “Do you think these ‘Galileans’ were bigger sinners than all the other ‘Galileans’ because of this?” Normally, a ‘question answer’ isn’t rhetorical. But Jesus supplies the answer FOR them, because it’s critically important.

NO! They weren’t worse sinners than any other Galileans. Away with your condemnation of others for their misfortunes. Instead, look in a mirror and consider your OWN soul. Unless you REPENT, you will all likewise perish. Sadly, this was a prophesy and a promise. Because this tragedy DID happen to many standing there, in AD70, when Titus invaded Jerusalem to quell an uprising, and slaughtered a multitude there inside the temple where they’d taken refuge.

Jesus doesn’t stop there, though. He asks another question, much closer to home, about a tower in Jerusalem, overlooking the Pool of Siloam, that fell on and crushed 18 people. These weren’t ‘Galileans’. They were your close neighbors. Yet some random tragedy, an act of God so to speak, had happened, and killed them all. Were they worse sinners than all of YOU?

Again, he doesn’t leave the question unanswered. Away with your bigotry about the Galileans. Away with your condemnation of others. Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. And again, this is a prophesy that was fulfilled in AD70, when Rome, destroying Jerusalem, tore down towers, buildings, and walls, crushing the inhabitants of Jerusalem under the rubble.

Yet this sad promise doesn’t just pertain to the men standing there, does it? The statement Jesus makes here is critical for all of us to pay attention to. Hell is hot, and we are not. Unless WE repent, there’s outer darkness and weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth and a lake of fire.

‘Repent’ is not a word we like. It indicates we’ve done something wrong. It tells us we are headed the wrong way, and need to turn around. Most of us would like to avoid that word. To pretend we are all ok, doing what we are doing, and that somebody else is the ‘bad guy’. But when we take a good hard look at the person in the mirror, we understand the truth. It’s only by His mercy and grace that we have any hope of avoiding the eternal ‘perish’ indicated here.

It's my prayer that this promise is NOT for any of us. But even if you, reading this right now, realize this promise is aimed at you, it begins with a sweet word. The word, UNLESS. The same word the Lorax left at the end of that Seuss classic, and it’s the same word left for you and me. That word gives us hope, that there’s a chance. A chance to avoid all that unpleasant eternal lake of fire. The judgement we deserve, but can avoid, through that simple word, repent.

This Greek word, metanoeo, is found 34 times in the New Testament, and each time translated ‘repent’. It means to turn around. Turn from sin to God. Agree with God that what you were doing was wrong. It’s so simple, yet so hard, sometimes. And everything depends on it.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for another chance. You are always giving me second chances. Lord, I repent of what I’ve been doing that wasn’t right and good and pure. Help me to follow you with all my heart, today. Amen

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

A Prayer Upon a Solemn Occasion by Robert Bolton

Oh eternal God, most holy and most glorious, who dwells in the highest heavens, and with righteousness and truth sways the scepter of the whole world, … You are unto the wicked and rebellious wretches a terrible Judge and a consuming fire, but to the humble and repentant sinners a strong tower of defense, and their exceeding great reward. We [are] the most miserable and wretched of all Your creatures, though the most noble by creation, for they in their kinds and several conditions do You honor and service, but we whom You have placed in this world for a more singular and extraordinary glorifying of You have not only made ourselves more vile then the basest creatures, and more senseless in Your service then the beasts that perish; but have even combined with Satan, with hell and with all the powers of darkness, to blaspheme and dishonor Your great Name, to profane Your Sabbaths, to break all Your holy laws and commandments. Oh Lord, we thus sinful and unworthy, are here ashamed and confounded in Your presence; for our iniquities are increased over our heads, and our trespasses are grown up unto the heavens, so that if now in Your just judgment, You should come against us, as we have many times, and do daily most justly provoke You, it had been far better for us we had never been born.

Satan would challenge us for his; we should never see Your face again, nor the heavens, nor the earth, nor all the goodness which You have prepared for man. From the foul pollution of original sin, which has universally infected and possessed all the powers and parts both of our souls and bodies as from a filthy puddle, have issued all kinds of impurities, many works of darkness and fearful transgressions, both in our thoughts, words and actions. Much profaneness and hardness of heart [abounds], pride and hypocrisy, contempt of the power of godliness and godly men, a senseless neglect of Your Word and judgments, of the way to heaven and the salvation of our own souls. Even the best of us before our calling wearied ourselves in the vain pleasures and sinful fashions of this wretched world, being detained by the policies of hell, either in notorious sinfulness, or only formal hypocrisy.

We walked with boldness in the way of darkness and of death, after the devices and desires of our own wicked hearts, in much bitterness and malice against Your children and their sincerity. No, and since it has pleased You to enlighten our understandings with saving knowledge, and to pull us by the power of Your good Spirit out of the slavery of sin and Satan into the glorious liberty of Your children, our best actions and Your good graces in us, have been foully stained by privy pride and secret hypocrisy; we many times stay Your blessings from us by our dullness and untowardness at religious exercises, and by reason we do not faithfully those good things which we know, we have the knowledge of many evil things kept from us which we unadvisedly commit.

And whereas heretofore in our new birth, the sins of our unregeneration have woefully vexed and disquieted our consciences; yet such is the wretchedness of our corrupted nature, that we have sometimes looked back upon them even with delight, if we have escaped relapse and backsliding, we do not with that thankfulness and cheerfulness, as we ought, embrace in this happy time of grace and peace, those good means which You have ordained for our comfort and salvation; so that indeed we walk not worthy of that blessed vocation whereunto we are called, but by our many slips, imperfections and carelessness, we bring much discomfort upon our souls, disgrace to our Christian profession, dishonor to Your Majesty, and offense to our brethren.

Oh Lord, we beseech You for Your holy Name's sake, and for Your rich mercies in Christ Jesus to pardon us all these our offenses, and to forgive us all our sins known and unknown, howsoever, or whensoever committed, since or before our calling, and to bury them in the death and passion of our blessed Savior, and to hide them in His righteousness for evermore. There is no comfort to be expected to our conscience wounded with the terror of sin, either in heaven or in earth, in angel, saint, or mortal man, but only in the spotless justice of Your dear Son. Persuade therefore, we beseech You, upon a good ground, with plentiful assurance every one of our souls, that His precious blood was shed for our sins in particular, that we may sensibly feel the forgiveness of our sins and rejoice in the hope of eternal life.

And for the time to come we humbly entreat You to mortify in us all sinful affections, unruly lusts, and unlawful desires, to subdue in us the power of sin, and every corruption whereby Satan keeps us any way in his slavery, or at any time gets the dominion over us. Save us, we beseech You from idleness, worldliness, profaneness, security and all occasions whereby Your good Spirit is grieved in us, our graces weakened, and Your great Name dishonored. Vouchsafe us the spirit of judgment, that we may discern between the short span of this wretched life, and the length and breadth of immortality, that we never prefer the pleasures of sin for a moment, and a little glory and preferment in this world, before the testimony of a good conscience, and that excellent weight of glory laid up in heaven for all Your children.

Make us faithful and conscionable in our callings, zealous and sincere in all religious duties and services, and wisely resolute to stand for Your honor and truth against all opposition either by devils or wicked men. And so direct, we beseech You, and sanctify all our courses, that for a few and evil days in this vale of tears, we may so store ourselves with spiritual comfort, with a sound heart, with a strong faith and a good conscience, that we may stand firm and sure at the day of our visitation, and when upon our deathbeds we shall be set upon, by the weakness of our own flesh, the terrors of death, the fearfulness of the grave, and the fieriest darts of Satan, we may comfortably pass through them all, in the Name and power of Your Son, and be received with joyfulness and triumph into those sacred mansions, which He has already made ready in heaven for all those who truly love and fear You.

In His blessed name we pour out our souls in thankfulness, for all those many blessings and comforts which You have vouchsafed us, both upon our souls and bodies, both for this life and a better; for our health, wealth and liberty, our peace, plenty and prosperity, our food, apparel and preservation from our infancy to this very hour, and for all the good means of all these; for the free passage of Your glorious gospel now so many years amongst us. But amongst all other temporal blessings of our times, let us never forget, nor we, nor all our posterity forever, how it pleased You in our days miraculously to magnify the glory of Your mercy in our wonderful deliverance from the most secret, bloody, and fiery plot of the gun-powder treason, that great astonishment of men and angels.

All these outward comforts both public and particular are excellent and precious; yet they are such as we have common with the reprobates and those who shall never see Your face with comfort, but after a short time spent in the miserable pleasures of this vain world, shall be turned to hell and everlasting fire. We therefore more especially magnify Your great name for the more special pledges and tokens of Your infinite love, for that it has pleased You to confirm and seal unto us by our effectual calling, and the earnest of Your good Spirit, our election to eternal life from all eternity, our particular redemption from the powers of hell by the death of Your Son, and an undoubted assurance of the joys of heaven in the world to come. Increase in us good Lord, we beseech You, daily more and more this blessed assurance, which we infinitely esteem more dear then ten thousand worlds, by making us to grow in repentance and faith, and spiritual wisdom, and framing us to the obedience of Your Son in all knowledge, love and obedience.

Furthermore gracious Father, we humbly entreat You, with the bowels of Your tenderest compassions to be merciful unto Your whole church and every member thereof. Fence it mightily, we pray to You, with the Spirit of truth, knowledge, and zeal and constancy, that in these worst and last days it may make a strong resistance against the great main floods of popery, schism, profaneness and atheism.

Be gracious unto this sinful kingdom, and enter not into judgment with the horrible and crying sins, and the many fearful provocations thereof.

In the same look down with the special eye of providence and protection upon our dread sovereign James, by Your grace king of Great Britain, France and Ireland, defender of the truly catholic faith, and in all causes, and over all persons, next and immediately under Your Son Christ Jesus in all his dominions supreme governor. Oh Lord, as You have enlarged his royal heart even as the sand which is on the seashore for understanding, learning and wisdom, so we beseech You to continue unto him a proportionate measure of holiness, zeal and sanctification for the execution of that great place wherein You have set him, and the enlargement of Your Kingdom here on earth. Settle his crown fast upon his head, that he may long and religiously reign over us in despite of all his enemies both at home and abroad. Vouchsafe all the graces of Your good Spirit unto his gracious queen. Plant the true fear of Your great Name in the princely heart of his son, and let Your watchful providence and Your loving mercies forever rest upon all that royal family. Inspire his honorable privy counsel, his nobility, gentry, and magistracy with spiritual wisdom and heavenly understanding. Lead them all into Your sanctuary, and teach them out of Your holy Word, first and chiefly those things which concern Your honor and glory, the good of the people which depend upon them, and lastly the comfort of their own souls at the dreadful day of judgment, when they shall give an account of their stewardships.

Enrich, we pray to You, with Your best graces all the reverend bishops and ministers of this land. Endue them plentifully with knowledge, zeal, sincerity and discretion, that by their faithfulness and conscionable discharge of their duties, the many multitudes in this land that lie in darkness, ignorance, profaneness, popery and schism may be brought to the knowledge of Your truth, into a holy obedience to Your heavenly gospel to their own everlasting salvation.

Bless and be merciful to both our universities, Oxford and Cambridge. Comfort all Your distressed children wheresoever, or howsoever afflicted, whither with pestilence, war, famine, banishment, sickness, poverty, imprisonment, disquietness of mind, vexation of conscience, want of spiritual comfort, or whatsoever other cross or calamity it pleases You to exercise them with. Give them in the meantime a sure faith in Your promises, and inward comfort in Your blessed Spirit, and in Your good time a happy deliverance, whether by life or death, as it shall be best for Your glory and the good of their own souls.

Lastly, gracious Father for this sacred business we have now in hand, we humbly beseech You to bless and sanctify unto us at this time the preaching and hearing of Your holy Word, it is the ordinance of Your own infinite wisdom, it is the glorious instrument which You have appointed for the conversion and salvation of the souls of men. But unto us miserable wretches it has been many times through the barrenness of our hearts, the secret and deceitful corruptions of our nature, much sleepiness and drowsiness, but as water spilled on the ground, and even the breath of Your ministers scattered in the air. Forgive us, dear Father, all our former untowardness, irreverence and unprofitableness in these holy exercises; and now at length before we go down into our graves, into black and cruel habitations, from where we must never return to praise You upon earth; let us feel Your divine finger working in us effectually at the preaching of Your Word. Let us have the sense of Your omnipotency in conquering our corruptions and temptations, that we being thoroughly sanctified both in our souls and bodies, forsaking all our known sins, and laboring with sincerity to please You in all things, may have our fruit in holiness, and the end everlasting life. Amen.

Source: Gleaning from Puritan Prayers (Vol. II)

[orthodoxadventure]

Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos by the Monk Paul

O undefiled, immaculate, incorrupt and most pure Lady, the pure Virgin Bride of God! Through your most glorious birth-giving, you united God the Word to mankind and joined our fallen human nature to the heavenly. You are the only hope of the hopeless, the aid of the embattled a ready help to those who run to you and a refuge for all Christians. Do not turn away from me who am sinful and vile, even though I have made myself totally useless through defiled thoughts, words and deeds, and my mind has become enslaved to the lazy pleasures of this life. As Mother of the God Who loves mankind, have pity on me, a prodigal sinner, in that same love for mankind. Receive the prayer I offer to you with defiled lips and pray to your Son, our Master and Lord, with your maternal boldness. May He open even to me the goodness of His deep love for mankind. May He overlook my countless transgressions, turn me to repentance and make me an experienced accomplisher of His commandments. Stand by me always in your mercy, compassion and love of good. Be my fervent intercessor and help in this life, driving off the assaults of enemies and guiding me to salvation. Guard my wretched soul at the time of my death, driving away the dark forms of the evil demons. Deliver me from eternal torments at the Day of Judgment and reveal me an heir of the inexpressible glory of your Son and our God. May I receive this, my Lady most glorious Theotokos, through your help and intercession: through the Grace and love for mankind of your only-begotten Son, our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, to Whom belong all glory, honor and worship, with His Father Who is without beginning, and His most holy, good and life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

[hieromonkcharbel]

The lamb of God without sin, of his own will, chose to endure the cross in His flesh and was killed for the salvation of us sinners.

With incorrupt flesh He tasted death to save our fallen nature.

You are the Wisdom and Power of God, the Father, the Brilliance of His glory, O inexplicable Jesus, incomprehensible Christ, only tenderhearted Lover of mankind, pour out upon me, a sinner, Your great mercy, and through your grace cast off all my apathy, slothfulness and lack of patience, so that in Your second coming I not hear Your fearful condemnation, "What did you endure for Me?"

In that fearful and horrible day, O Lord, You will say to us sinners, "All of you know what I endured for you.

I, God, took on flesh for you. I, the invisible one, manifestly lived on the earth for you.

For you I hungered, thirsted and worked.

For you I was persecuted and I was stoned.

I, the spotless one, was hit in the face and spat upon for you.

I, the sinless one, endured a disgraceful death for you.

And for you my side was pierced with a spear and to drink I was given vinegar mingled with gall.

All these things I have endured for you, so that you might be saints in heaven.

I have provided the kingdom of heaven for you.

I have called you my brothers.

I sent down the Holy Spirit to you. O man, what have you endured for Me?"

What will I, the vile, evil, sinful and polluted one, say in reply?

The martyr can motion to his wounds, his tortures, his sawed off limbs, and his suffering to the end.

The ascetic will point to his ascetic labors, his long fasting, vigils, lack of covetousness, weeping and long-suffering.

But what of me, who am lazy and wicked, to what will I point, but to the ugly fruits of gluttony, pleasure-seeking, slothfulness, greed, impatience, vanity, and apathy?

If You ask of me, O Lord, a record of the time which I was provided for repentance, but wasted in neglect, how will I justify myself?

If I am asked about my idle speaking, evil thoughts and motions, then what trembling, fear, and confusion will take hold of my wretched soul, and what tortures will follow afterward?

Have mercy, O Lord! Spare me, O Loving One.

Spare me, O Lover of mankind.

Spare me, O only Good One.

Be merciful and have mercy upon me according to Your great compassion.

Make firm my soul which has become corrupted by my laziness and apathy, O You who raises the lowly and rescues the afflicted.

You know how apathetic and pitiful I am.

You know how many wily and wicked thoughts fight against me.

You see the enmity of the enemy and the many schemes which he employs against me.

Be a help to me on account of your great mercy.

Make me serious and watchful, animate me, and deliver me by Your grace through the prayers of our immaculate Lady, the Mother of God and all the the saints.

St. Ephrem the Syrian

[kaznaths-thoughts]

A Philosophy of Evil and Dealing with Evil in Rothbard & Gazpus

There is a hard fought balance in our world as well as in the world of games. It is the gap between “Genuine Evil” which exists and “Consequential Evil” which is more understandable to us. Genuine Evil is that defiled, completely irreconciliatory evil that exists in the world and is typified by characters like Sauron, Asmodeaus or Arawan. It is the kind of evil that “never sleeps” and seeks only to “devour”. The other kind of evil is more “consequential” - it is the evil of Thanos, of Squidward, and of Saturday Morning Cartoon misunderstandings. It is an evil which is either misunderstood in its intentions and actions, or which takes on evil actions as the consequence of more understandable intentions. Rothbard and Gazpus use both, but intentionally so. 

More often than not, adventures proposed by Rothbard and Gazpus involve the latter form of evil which is more consequential. This kind of evil involves people desiring something, being unable to gain it, and then committing acts of evil in an attempt to achieve it. The ratking of the Adventure Supplement is one such example. It is not that these evils are “not actually evil”, rather, overcoming their evil may not involve destroying them. Rather, such “villains” present characters with delicate scenarios in which often kindness, generosity, and empathy serve as more powerful weapons to dispel evil and redeem people than the Sword itself. In this way, Gazpus and Rothbard encourage traits of adventuring heroes we often do not think of - like kindness, understanding, goodwill, gentleness, and self-control. It also gives us an interesting view into certain villains who parallel such villains in life - those who are “sinners” who desire and then take because they cannot have and are capable therefore of repentance and redemption; rather than “Dark Lords” who are cruel because it suits them.

Genuine Evil is presented in the form of outright attempts at cultivating evil, like the Order of Vile Magicians of the Grey Mountains. While Rothbard and Gazpus craft many of their adventures in favor of the latter, they do employ Genuine Evil within their world buildings - and rightly so. Some people are malevolent - some creatures do just mean to harm for the fun of it - and sometimes the villain really is a villain after all. 

But how do you know how to handle evil if it can vary so much? Why not slay the ratking? And what if I try to redeem Sauron? How do I know what to do or when to do it? When to be just or merciful? This prods Rothbard and Gazpus’  sentiment in their chapter on the subject: think. This is a trait of the adventurer often lost in our Table Top adventures which should be natural - a hero must be clever in order to be just as well as kind. Wisdom is the key to either one. To quote Rothbard and Gazpus: “Don’t be lazy. Use your brain. Observe. Never Assume.” This we must remember, the opposite of Wisdom is laziness. Wisdom leads to just and merciful heroes; laziness leads to just killing when it is convenient or fun - and that, my friends, is villainy. Pursuing Wisdom is what leads to heroism - the kind of heroism that can feed a starving thief with empathy just as much as slay a foul dragon lord.

[unfoldingmoments]

Dominating The Path Designed To Destroy You

Psalms 101 NLT

I will sing of your love and justice, Lord.     I will praise you with songs. 2 I will be careful to live a blameless life—     when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity     in my own home. 3 I will refuse to look at     anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly;     I will have nothing to do with them. 4 I will reject perverse ideas     and stay away from every evil. 5 I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors.     I will not endure conceit and pride.

6 I will search for faithful people     to be my companions. Only those who are above reproach     will be allowed to serve me. 7 I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house,     and liars will not stay in my presence. 8 My daily task will be to ferret out the wicked     and free the city of the Lord from their grip. You must surround yourself with faithful people. A faithful few will always bring more value to your life than a lying legion. You must not hire/ run with those who lower the bar of integrity. it's prudent to have people who live a life above reproach.You must not tolerate lying.

A culture of lying does a sinful lifestyle of sinful choices which must be covered up with lies. The snowball effect of sin can begin with a single off day.

You have to be Intentional about this daily protect what God has entrusted you to be.

Lord please don't take your holy spirit away from me punish me deal with me but whatever you do please don't take your holy spirit away from me okay you and I need to remember the more we desire to experience God's presence the more we must be militant about doing things God's way otherwise we're always just one step away from the path of compromise.

Prayer:

I want to pray over you especially those of you who are on the path and I'm not going to presume to know where on the path of compromise you are but I just have a really strong burden to pray for anybody on the path and anybody whose foot is hovering above the path about to step onto it for the first time let's pray Holy Spirit we are desperate for your help and we all need it we are sinners in need of a savior we acknowledge our wrongdoing we acknowledge acknowledge our proclivity to do that which is not right we acknowledge our desperate need for you oh God lord I pray for any and every person who is on the path of compromise right now God I pray a dangerous prayer would you scare them if need be if things have gotten so far down the path would you scare them before they go any further would you instill in them a healthy Godly scriptural fear of the Lord and fear of consequence how this will affect their marriage how this will affect their children how this will affect their Church how this will affect their business God would you scare us if you must with the consequences from our choices to compromise don't let us go any further oh God Holy Spirit would you visit my brothers and sisters arrest them stop them before it goes any further and for those who are just in a rough spot and it's it's a stressful season and and they're just they're just carrying so much weight God please would you not allow them to use that as reasoning for setting foot on the path of compromise God may your people be a people whose lives bring you more Glory not more mocker. God make my life a life which brings you more Glory not more mockery and we are all one step away from a fall God thank you for your mercy and your grace for those who have fallen who desire never to fall again who are seeking to live on their faces before you for the rest of their lives God would you remind them that you've removed their sin as far as the East is from the west and would you remind them that living a life of repentance moves further and further and further away from those wrong choices so long ago thank you God for your forgiveness forgiving us what we don't deserve and not giving us what we do deserve we want to bring you more Glory we want to lift you up God please help us not to fall may we never set foot or even get near the path of compromise in Jesus name amen amen I

Even if you've slipped your way down the path of compromise you have today, I believe that's what King David would say to you : you have today, do it differently today and then again tomorrow if God gives you a tomorrow and keep going further and further and further away from that wrongdoing on that path of compromise which cost you so much.

- Preston Morrison

[yhwhrulz]

Charles Spurgeon's "Morning & Evening" Devotional for August 28

Morning

“All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me.”

Matthew 11:20-30

The remarkable portion of Scripture which we are about to read contains in a small space the three great truths of human responsibility, the sovereignty of electing love, and the free proclamation of the gospel. If we cannot reconcile them, we must, nevertheless, believe them, and wait for clearer light.

Matthew 11:20

Therefore it is clear that they ought to have repented. Jesus would not have upbraided them for impenitence, if penitence were not their duty.

Matthew 11:21

A very mysterious statement, since it involves the singular fact that the mighty works were not done among those who would have repented, and were done among those who refused to repent. The way of the Lord is far above the comprehension of men.

Matthew 11:22

Though as to open sin the Sidonians were beyond measure vile, yet they were not so guilty as those who had wilfully refused the gospel, and therefore their punishment would be less. This the Lord repeated, varying the words.

Matthew 11:23 , Matthew 11:24

Yet Sodom’s doom is fearful beyond imagination where then will despisers of the gospel appear? Our Lord now changed the theme and discoursed upon sovereign grace.

Matthew 11:25-27

Here is the author of election the Father, his right to choose Lord of heaven and earth, the objects of his choice babes, and the only reason of his choice which he deigns to give us ”so it seemed good in thy sight.” Our Lord next bore testimony to himself as the great channel by which the blessings of electing love flow down to those whom he has chosen. The doctrines of grace are as true as the fact of our responsibility, and the two agree in one, though few can see where they meet. Salvation is all of grace, damnation is man’s fault, and his fault alone.

The third part of our reading contains a full, free, personal, present invitation to sinners to come to Jesus. No ministry is complete where this is kept in the background. As we read it may we feel the drawing influence of the Holy Spirit, and find rest in Jesus at once.

Matthew 11:29 , Matthew 11:30

Is there one here, who has hitherto refused the invitation? Let him come now! Come, and welcome. Remember it is not to sacraments, or to priests that you are to come, but to Jesus himself. He, and he alone, can give perfect rest to all who are obedient to him.

“Come hither, all ye weary souls,

Ye heavy laden sinners come;

I’ll give you rest from all your toils,

And raise you to my heavenly home.

“They shall find rest that learn of me,

I’m of a meek and lowly mind;

But passion rages like the sea,

And pride is restless as the wind.

“Bless’d is the man whose shoulders take

My yoke, and bear it with delight;

My yoke is easy to his neck,

My grace shall make the burden light.”

Jesus, we come at thy command;

With faith, and hope, and humble zeal,

Resign our spirits to thy hand,

To mould and guide us at thy will.

Evening

“She loved much.”

Luke 7:36-50

Luke 7:36-38

We are not informed as to how she came to know and love the Saviour. It may be that some gracious word of his had recalled her from a life of infamy and shame, which was fast ending in misery and despair. Filled with deep repentance, and moved with holy reverence for her Lord, she brought the greatest treasure she possessed, and used it all for him, standing behind him in her bashfulness, washing his feet in her humility, weeping for penitence, kissing his feet for love, and unbraiding her tresses and using them as a towel, out of supreme devotion to him, to whom she owed her all. Happy woman, to be able thus to show her devout attachment to her Lord.

Luke 7:39

He had never thought of our Lord as he should have done, and now his respect quite fails. He could not think that any good man would allow such a woman to come so near him. Simon did not understand Jesus, but Jesus well enough understood Simon, and therefore spoke to him.

Luke 7:44-47

Self-righteousness can never serve after the same fashion as love. It does its duty in the formal style of force work, and not with the zest and delight of true affection. The attempt to save ourselves by our own merits never brings forth those emotions of entire devotion which arise from a sense of grace bestowed and sin pardoned. Are there not in our own case reasons for fervent love? He who writes this exposition feels that, above all men, he is bound to love his forgiving Master. Do not the same feelings occur to others?

Luke 7:48

Her love brought her a fresh token for good, another assurance of forgiveness. Gratitude for former favours is the sure method to obtain more.

Luke 7:50

He did not take the trouble to rebuke the impudent murmurers, but he persisted in consoling the loving penitent. He honoured her faith, and bade her go, with his peace resting upon her, for he did not wish her to be disturbed by cruel tongues. Learn hence how delighted Jesus is to forgive great sinners, since they bring him great love in return, and see also how free his mercy is, since he frankly forgives those who have nothing to pay.

Love and grief my heart dividing,

With my tears his feet I’ll bathe,

Constant still in faith abiding,

Life deriving from his death.

Here it is I find my heaven,

While upon the cross I gaze.

Love I much? I’ve more forgiven;

I’m a miracle of grace.

Copyright Statement This resource was produced before 1923 and therefore is considered in the "Public Domain".

[heartforchrist]

7 churches 7 days.

The church at Ephesus is spiritually strong. It was founded well and taught by the best possible leaders. Paul trained and retrained the pastors there in Acts 20. They loved him so much that they wept when he said he was leaving.

The church at Ephesus had aligned itself with the powers of darkness and embraced the vile nature of corrupt politics. For this, Christ warns the church in Revelation, that their prominence and blessing will be removed. The book of Ephesians further addresses the immoral decline of the church in Ephesus.

Writing to followers of Jesus living in this sex-obsessed culture, the apostle Paul said, “Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God's people” (Ephesians 5:3 KJV). Paul was saying, “Stay away from immorality, adultery, and covetousness.”

Revelation 2:1 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:

Revelation 2:2 'I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false;

Revelation 2:3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary.

Revelation 2:4 But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

Revelation 2:5 Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place-unless you repent.

Revelation 2:6 Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Revelation 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.' Message to Smyrna

1 Timothy 1:2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines,

1 Timothy 1:4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.

1 Timothy 1:5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

1 Timothy 1:6 For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion,

1 Timothy 1:7 wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.

1 Timothy 1:8 But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

1 Timothy 1:9 realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers

1 Timothy 1:10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,

1 Timothy 1:11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.

1 Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service,

1 Timothy 1:13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief;

1 Timothy 1:14 and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 1:15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.

1 Timothy 1:16 Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

1 Timothy 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

[itsyourchoicedevotionals]

Wants To Complicate

“Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,” Luke 24:45-46ESV

Every Sunday morning, growing up as a child, we quoted the Apostles Creed: I believe in God, the Father almighty,
      creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
      who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
      and born of the virgin Mary.
      He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
      was crucified, died, and was buried;
      He descended to hell.
      The third day He rose again from the dead.
      He ascended to heaven
      and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
      From there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the holy church,
      the communion of saints,
      the forgiveness of sins,
      the resurrection of the body,
      and the life everlasting. Amen.

All of our belief as Christians hinges upon Christ’s sufferings, death, resurrection and ascension. Our’s is the only ‘religion’ in all the world where the God worshipped paid the penalty for the worshipper’s sins. Every other ‘religion’ demands the worshipper must earn their salvation. No, we don’t have to earn anything only receive what our God has done for us.

His death, His willingness to die might be understandable, if He died for only the creme de la creme— the best of the best of society. But no! Christ died for every sinner, even the most vile person to ever breathe, (i.e. the pedophile, murderer, trafficker, dictators), all have their sins forgiven, whether they accept their forgiveness or not. Of course this is conditional on each person receiving this forgiveness for one’s self.

The difficulty of the gospel is: we don’t have to do anything but believe. Mankind wants to complicate it with rules and regulations. After Paul had preached to the Gentile (us) world, he returned to Jerusalem to ask the original apostles if his preaching was in vain. They decreed after much prayer— “that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.” Acts 15:29ESV. Denominations have been founded on rules and regulations about every manner of outward thing, but the original fathers sought what went into the body. (Blood— in various parts of the world people drink the blood of animals, make pudding out of it.) What we take into our bodies today are polluted by any number of these things without our awareness. We must trust in His grace to cover even those sins, we’re not aware of committing.

Some day Holy Spirit will open the understanding of the Scriptures to everyone. Saints will see where they’ve missed it— to repentance. Sinners will understand, rueing the fact they missed the truth —to it being too late for repentance. “…In the time of favor (of an assured welcome) I have listened to and heeded your call, and I have helped you on the day of deliverance (the day of salvation). Behold, now is truly the time for a gracious welcome and acceptance [of you from God]; behold, now is the day of salvation!” 2Corinthians 6:2AMPC If you haven’t already, will you heed the call? It’s your choice. You choose.

LET’S PRAY: Father God, where we’ve missed it we ask Your forgiveness. Where we’ve purposely missed it, we repent. For those who have never found You, I pray now will be their time, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

by Debbie Veilleux Copyright 2023 You have my permission to reblog this devotional for others. Please keep my name with this devotional, as author. Thank you.

[stpaullutheranchurch]

november 13 2022

November 13th 2022

Old Testament: Malachi 4:1-6

Psalm: Psalm 56

Epistle: 2nd Thessalonians 3:1-13

Gospel: Luke 21:5-36

Sermon Text: Luke 21:25-36

Sermon Title: “Your Redemption is Drawing Near”

Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

“For behold, the Day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and evildoers will be stubble … leaving them neither root, nor branch”. (Malachi 4:1) “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars. People fainting with fear and foreboding of what is coming on the world … and then they will see the Son of Man, coming in a cloud, with power and great glory. When you see these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads because, your redemption is drawing near”. (Luke 21:25-28)

There is a line from a (rather obscure) pop song from the 1980’s that goes like this; “We will walk right through heavens door and proudly raise our hands”. This seems to be the attitude of most in our sick and twisted culture/world; either claiming there is no God, or outright mocking Him; shaking their fist at the heavens; saying I know better what is right for me. Most, in our world, no longer make any secret of their sins, even boasting about them. Willfully murdering millions of babies in the name of choice, denying our sexuality, that God created us with when “He knitted us together in our mother’s womb”; (Psalm 139:13b) claiming men can be women and women can be men; mutilating children in the name of transgenderism.

All of these things were enshrined into law in several state constitutions this past Tuesday and many other states have already passed such laws or are promoting them. The churches’ and parental concerns about such things are dismissed by many in authority as bigoted and hateful; and parental notification and consent have also been wiped out. In many places in our country, government authorities are threatening to arrest parents or remove their children from homes that refuse to go along with these evils; claiming it is abusive not to affirm these vile behaviors. One state even passed an addition to their constitution saying that doctors cannot be held accountable if (for any reason) they refuse to treat new born infants.

In our nation, we are truly living out what the Apostle Paul described in Romans 1; “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them … So, they are without excuse”. (Romans 1:18-19, 20b)

“Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a debased mind, to do what ought not to be done. They are filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice … murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness … gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless”. (Romans 1:28-31)

Like in the days of Noah and of Sodom and Gomorrah, sinners engage in all kinds of evil acts, secure and carefree, with no fear of God; laughing at those who bear witness to the truth of God’s wrath and threatened punishment. As Walther described in his day, and its even worse today, “the world has descended into a pit of vileness and have drunk deeply from the cup of shame”. We are ripe for God’s judgment.

So, how do we respond? Certainly, we are not to respond in carnal security, denying our sins and thinking that we are immune from such false beliefs. God is sounding the warnings for all to hear, even those in His church, that the day of His return is very near. So, we are to respond as Luther wrote in the Small Catechism, (4th part of Baptism), “the Old Adam in us (sinful nature) should by daily contrition and repentance, be drowned and die, along with all sins and evil desires”. God offers no comfort to the unrepentant sinner; as the prophet Malachi declared, “Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming, shall set them ablaze … so that it will leave them neither root nor branch”. (Malachi 4:1)

While the unbelieving world continues in their false security; the heavens will suddenly open and “all the tribes of the earth will mourn” (Matthew 24:30a). “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory”. (Luke 21:27) On that day, just as on the day of death, there will be no more time for the unbeliever to change their mind. In His grace, God provided the remedy for sin and death, by sending His Son Jesus to die for the sins of the world, but “the time of grace will end with the appearance of the judge … this could happen today, even this hour, and it should prompt us to rise immediately and to flee into the wounds of Jesus Christ”. (C F W Walther sermon on Luke 21)

In the Gospel text, Jesus first warns the people of His day about the coming destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 A. D., and then He speaks of signs that will occur as the time of His second coming draws near. “There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the seas and waves; people fainting with fear and with foreboding at what is coming upon the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken”. (Luke 21:25-26)

As fearful as these events are/will be, Jesus tells us His people, “when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near”. (Luke 21:28) So, we who are baptized and believe in Christ, prayerfully look forward to that day, for when “Christ appears a second time, (it is not to) deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him”. (Hebrews 9:28) Therefore, Jesus instructs us, “Watch yourselves … Stay awake at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man”. (Luke 21:34a, 36) So, when Jesus says, “Surely, I am coming soon, (we reply) Amen! Come Lord Jesus”. (Revelation 22:20b)

Since the day of Jesus’ second coming is a day of joy for the Christian, let us go to the Small Catechism to review what Scripture teaches about Christ’s Second Coming. First, the Scriptures teach that Christ will return visibly and with great glory on the Last Day. Jesus said, “As lightening comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man”. (Matthew 24:27) “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne”. (Matthew 25:31)

At Jesus’ ascension, the angel told the disciples, “this Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, will come again in the same way you saw Him go into heaven”. (Acts 1:11b) John also, in the book of Revelation declares, “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him”. (Revelation 1:7) Therefore, the teaching of some churches that there will be a secret “rapture” of God’s people to heaven before the final judgment is utterly and completely false. (unbiblical)  

Second, Christ (our Savior) is coming to judge the world by His Word. “Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats”. (Matthew 25:32) “We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ”. (2nd Corinthians 5:10) “He will judge the world in righteousness”. (Acts 17:31a) Jesus also said, “I came to save the world, (but) the one who rejects Me … has a judge; the Word that I have spoken will be His judge on the last day”. (John 12:48) Contrary to the teaching of some churches, Jesus is not coming again to set up an earthly kingdom for 1000 years; for He taught, “My kingdom is not of this world”. (John 18:36)

Third, contrary to the predictions of many misguided people throughout the history of the church, Christ will return on a specific day, known only by God. The Apostle Peter and Paul wrote, “the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night”. (2nd Peter 3:10a, 1st Thessalonians 5:2b) Jesus also taught us, “Concerning that day or hour, no one knows” (Mark 13:32a) and “You must also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect”. (Matthew 24:44) We must be ready, because “it is appointed for a man to die once and after that comes the judgment”. (Hebrews 9:27)

Fourth, before Christ’s return, there will be increasing turmoil and distress in the church and the world, “the Holy Spirit expressly teaches that in the latter times, some will depart from the faith”. (1st Timothy 4:1a) “Because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold”. (Matthew 24:12) “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes and pestilences in various places. And there will be terrors and great signs in the heavens”. (Luke 21:10-11)

Why does Christ give us these signs of His coming again in glory? He gives these signs in order to demonstrate His love for us. It is a great kindness of God to warn us about the troubles to come, so that we do not fall away from Him when things get difficult; for “He who began a good work in you, will bring it to completion in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ”. (Philippians 1:6)

He also gives us these signs to drive out any false security that people may have about His coming judgment. These signs take away any excuse for unbelief, because Christ has been warning us for a long time that the judgment could come at any time. These signs are also for our encouragement, “because your redemption is drawing near”. (Luke 21:28b) When trials and tribulations come upon us, we long even more for deliverance from them and from this world, which is not our home. Again, we pray, “Amen, Come Lord Jesus”. (Revelation 22:20b)

This is the fifth thing the Catechism teaches us about judgment day, the return of Christ Jesus in glory is a source of hope and joy for the Christian. As St. Paul wrote to Titus, “(we are being) trained to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age, (as we) await our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession”. (Titus 2:11-14a)

What do the Scriptures teach about the resurrection of the body? “They teach that on the Last Day Christ “will raise me and all the dead and give eternal life to me and all believers in Him”. (3rd Article, Explanation) The opposite is also true; those who have not believed in Christ will be raised to eternal punishment. As Jesus declared, “God will say to those on His left (unbelievers), depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels”. (Matthew 25:41) Hell was not created for any people, but those who reject Christ will nevertheless end up there.

“And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will arise, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt”. (Daniel 12:2) For those who have trusted in Christ, He has promised to “transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body”. (Philippians 3:21) So, “blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord from now on”. (Revelation 14:13a)

Knowing Christ’s promises, we can now say with the Apostle Paul, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death where is your victory? O death where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”. (1st Corinthians 15:54b-57) Having been forgiven, we gladly receive God’s gift in Word and Sacrament, and we now look forward to the day of His return with confidence, “straighten up and raise our heads, because your redemption is drawing near”. (Luke 21:28b) Amen.

The peace of God …

[dangerousoperatoroperadonkey]

There’s also a Xtian teaching to not be so concerned with the splinter in another’s eye when there’s a log in your own.

So, from a Xtian perspective, even though it is trendy to make all sin equal because all sin yields death, even original sin (not saying I agree with this, just that it’s a commonly held belief)… there are still teachings that point out that hypocrisy is to be avoided.

I’d argue that we Xtians should considered adopting that teaching on a societal level, not just a personal one. The sins our community has committed against Jews (others too yes, but focusing on this community in particular for now) amount to a log (to put it mildly). Someone calling us “antisemitic” and hurting our feelings is a splinter. Or not even a splinter if the callout was correct (which it probably is). Either way, it’s not ours to call them out in return.

Jews don’t owe us common ground. Some may give it, some may not. Those who do aren’t “better” or “more virtuous” than those who don’t.

It is not appropriate for Xtians to expect non-Xtians to repent as we do or seek conflict resolution according to our theologies. In fact, we are simple called to forgive and turn the other cheek.

And before any Xtians think, “oh yes, that’s right by doing this I am morally better. I’m killing them with kindness.” No. This is not why you are called to do this.

Our debt is greater. Our sin more grievous. The death and genocide and destruction of culture and generational trauma our faith and community has visited upon Jews (and <insert almost any other culture here>) is monumental.

And someone pointing out to us our antisemitism just… isn’t the same. Even if they do it in a “mean” way (and tempt us to think of them as sinning for not walking on eggshells to protect our feelings.)

And if we can’t even acknowledge the history of our church, the sins we committed and continue to perpetuate even today, how can we even begin to repent for that? If our response to correction is to lash out and say “no, you’re the sinner!” Or calmly say, “well, really, you didn’t pander to us or try to understand our point of view and that’s really worse than signal boosting one of the most vile antisemitic figures in our church” or, “we don’t owe you an apology unless you meet in the middle” as if both sides had an equal amount of work to do in reconciling this situation…

Dear fellow Xtians… in cases like this actual “middle” requires us walking 99 miles to meet their 1.

So I've spent a lot of time untangling Christian exegesis of parables and talking about how the way Christians interpret parables almost always ends up being antisemitic.

But aside from how it makes them think about Jews and Judaism and Jewishness, I also want to talk a bit about how it makes them sympathize more with abusers than with victims.

The easy-to-point-to culprit here is the trilogy of parables that culminates in what most Christians know as the Prodigal Son story.

The common interpretation of these parables is that God does (and therefore Christians should) value a repentant sinner over someone who's never sinned.

The problem here isn't the stories themselves--they're pretty enigmatic as far as their actual meanings--but Luke's gloss:

"Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."

(Mark says, "So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost," which is very different.

So on its face, in 2023, that's a blatantly dangerous, abuser-supporting belief. What is it like to be a child sexually abused by your youth pastor and to hear that the fact that he hurt you is part of what makes him somehow spiritually "better" than you?

And we can see it play out in the way Kevin M. Young, a popular progressive pastor on Twitter (who describes himself as "post-evangelical" and was the senior pastor at a Quaker congregation) responded to being told one of his tweets was antisemitic, and then jumped in to support a woman who responded by identifying herself as a fan of John Chrysostom (the literal author of "Against the Jews" and the most antisemitic of the Church Fathers, which is saying something).

I'm not going to transcribe the whole thing, because it's not all that important for what I have to say about this, but I am going to call out a few lines:

"The American Christian approach to t'shuvah sees the victim's spirit, character, and speech as equally important to the offenders. I.e. in Christendom, the victim can exceed the sin of the offender simply by their reaction (if it be in sin or acted in a way that is not Spirit led)."

So, to be clear, if someone assaults you, and you don't meekly forgive them in a "Spirit led" way, you're somehow worse than they are.

The uniquely Christian brain rot here is in seeing every sin as an opportunity for forgiveness. After all, if being a repentant sinner gives you a higher spiritual status--if there's more "rejoicing in Heaven" over you--than that of your victim, then you have to sin to get there. It treats other people as props in your salvation journey, not as fellow humans whose suffering matters. (Combine that with the Christian idea that suffering is somehow virtuous in and of itself, and you've got a very toxic recipe. Not only, by abusing others, are you guaranteeing your own value as a repentant sinner, but you're giving your victim the opportunity to ennoble themselves through suffering.)

Of course, a key word here is repentant. Put a pin in that.

These sort of exchanges on Twitter--a Christian being outright genocidal toward Jews, and a supposedly progressive Christian figure jumping in to defend the Christian, with seemingly no ability to comprehend that the Jews in the conversation are human beings who may have their own trauma around violently antisemitic language, with boundless empathy for the Christian abuser and none for the Jewish targets of their abuse--happen frequently and just as frequently leave Jwitter baffled in addition to angry.

Why all this empathy for the abuser and none for the victims?

I think a lot of this comes out of progressive Christian exegesis of parables, which is frequently looking for the radical "twist" to the story.

E.g. in the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, the assumption is that the audience of the time would have empathized with the Pharisee, and thus the twist is to make them empathize with the tax collector. In the story of the Good Samaritan, the assumption is that they would have seen the Samaritan as a threat, and the twist is to make him the hero.

The thinking goes that the audience would have had empathy for certain groups and none for others, so the stories push them to feel that empathy for the latter, and that this was needed to balance the scales, to make sure everyone was receiving love and empathy and care.

Except that this, in modernity, has the effect of simply reversing the roles, not balancing them. The groups that are assumed to be in good social standing get no empathy, even become the implicit villains, and the groups (supposedly, since this is now a Christian-dominant society) traditionally looked down on get all of it.

That might still be a balancing act if the "looked down on" groups were actually marginalized. But in the Christian imagination, that role is filled by sinners in need of Christian grace, not necessarily demographically marginalized groups.

The idea seems to be that the victims are getting sympathy from elsewhere, so it's the Christian's job to make sure the abuser/sinner gets sympathy too.

But I'll point again to that pesky word "repentant."

Ultimately, when it comes to treatment of Jews and Muslims and anyone else who points out that a Christian has in some way harmed them, Christian sympathy goes immediately to the offender before the offender has even expressed any repentance.

The repentant sinner is so much more valuable, at this point, than their victims that they must be preemptively forgiven, that they are more valuable purely because they now have the potential to repent.

And this seems to be lurking under not just how "progressive" pastors act on Twitter, but in a lot of our cultural narratives around, say, college rapists and their futures, around white people who are publicly called out for racist acts, etc.

[kurtie4life96]

Song request: im afraid to go to heaven with Eddie but make it sexy PLEASE

I'm Afraid I'll Go To Heaven

E.M. × F! Reader

Summary: Eddie is sick and tired of being called a "Satanist". Maybe his best girl friend can help him relieve that frustration.

CW: MDNI 18+, smut, dom!Eddie, sub!reader, graphic, rough sex, unprotected sex, a bit of ritualistic sex, choking, BLOOD play, KNIFE play, exhibitionism, spitting, handcuffs, masochism/sadism, oral (f receiving), anti-christianity, Christian protesters, smoking

THIS IS VERY ANTI RELIGIOUS/CHRISTIANITY. DO NOT READ IF THAT'S OFFENSIVE TO YOU. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

"Here we go again." Eddie mumbled through gritted teeth.

You sat in the passenger seat of his van as he turned into the trailer park, a swarm of angry protesters with picket signs shouting at the two of you, scattered across the front of his house.

"The cops won't do anything?" You asked, sighing out of frustration.

He laughed, motioning towards the protesters, "Nope. Why should they, anyway? I am part of the satanic panic, after all."

After the events of the Upside Down and Eddie almost dying, he was nearly charged for the murders that Vecna had committed. Miraculously, Hopper had managed to clear his name, placing the blame on Jason, as he was there when Patrick died, mercilessly bullied Fred, and his girlfriend was Chrissy. Plus, Jason was now dead. It was all too easy.

But the people of Hawkins still weren't convinced, still called Eddie a murderer, a Satanist, a devil worshipper.

They protested at Hawkins High, his graduation, even going as far to protest outside of his house.

The crowd slowly started to dissipate after a few months, but they were still relentless, calling him a sinner, a murderer, telling him he was going to burn in hell, to repent.

You had tried to protect your friend from these people. You'd screamed at them, threw trash at them, stuck by his side.

But Eddie was still miserable. And they were never going to stop.

Eddie pulled up in front of his trailer, parking and turning his van off. People began to surround it immediately, yelling at him, perhaps the both of you, holding up picket signs with some of the most vile words on them you'd ever seen.

He ran his hands through his hair, agitated, and punched the steering wheel suddenly, cursing to himself.

You reached your hand out to gently hold his, an attempt to calm him down, "We just have to ignore them and go inside."

Eddie snatched his hand away from yours, hurting your feelings a little, but you understood his anger, not taking it too personally.

"I'm sick of just ignoring them!" He exclaimed, wide-eyed, "I know that's what Hopper said to do, but I can't do it anymore, I just- I can't do it!"

He opened the car door and you quickly followed, rushing towards him as he confronted one of the middle-aged, bearded protesters, getting in the man's face.

"You need to repent, young man," he started, "if you want to live forever, be with loved ones in Heaven, you must confess-"

"I don't wanna live forever!" Eddie shouted, taking an even closer step towards him, making the man stumble back a bit.

"You're going to burn in hell-"

"Then so be it!" Eddie smiled maniacally, throwing his hands up in the air, turning around to face the crowd, "I don't want to go to Heaven, I'm afraid to go to Heaven!"

You looked to the crowd, worried, as they began to argue with him, but Eddie cut them off quickly.

"I'm not afraid of a so-called Devil, or- Satan, I'm afraid of being around people like you forever!" He paused to laugh again, screaming, "It's like me- people like me, are your only entertainment in this shitty town now!"

Eddie snatched a picket fence from a nearby protester, smashing it on the gravel, and throwing the broken wooden stick on the ground with an audible, frustrated groan.

The people went nearly silent for a moment, only quietly murmuring amongst themselves as your heart beat rapidly, waiting for Eddie's monologue to end.

"Whatever is waiting for me on the other side, I'm sure it's better than being around you Bible fucking, no spined, fiction loving fucking sheep!"

He was panting heavily now, turning red from rage as the silence continued. You grabbed his arm, giving it a gentle tug.

"C'mon Eddie, let's go inside now." You urged him with a soft, quiet voice.

"Yeah," he announced loudly, still glaring at the crowd, "let's go inside."

You both began to walk up the steps to the front door, Eddie turning towards them again for a moment to throw up his infamous devil horns, before flipping them off.

You walked in first, him slamming the front door behind him.

"You okay?" You turned to him, an empathetic, yet worried look on your face.

"Yeah," he let out a breathy chuckle, "yeah, I'm okay. Are you okay?"

You nodded, giving him a half smile, "Yeah."

Eddie sat down on the couch, sinking into it with a big sigh, fumbling with his rings, chewing on his lip as he stared off into space for a moment.

Little did he know how much your nerves were on fire, from the adrenaline and excitement you felt watching him get angry, snapping at the crowd and losing it a bit.

Watching him yell at the protesters, smash that sign, the way he stood up for himself, put those awful people in their place, it had butterflies filling your stomach, it made your face feel a little too hot. It didn't help that he was in a bad mood, that he was twirling his metal rings on his fingers.

Sure, you'd had a bit of a crush on Eddie of course, especially after his bravery fighting the demo bats, but you hadn't acted on your feelings. It wasn't the right time. He was going through too much, and the two of you had been close friends for years.

Eddie must have noticed you staring off into space too- or more so, staring at his hands, because he had said your name three times before he got your attention.

You perked up, coming back to reality and grinned awkwardly at him, playing with your hair anxiously.

"Sorry, what?"

He looked at you questioningly, like he was trying to read you, one of his hands gesturing towards the seat next to him, "I said, come sit."

"Oh, yeah, of course," you walked over towards the couch, sitting down next to him, feeling unable to relax.

"Smoke?" Eddie held up two cigarettes and a lighter, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, sure, thanks." You grabbed one from his fingers, staring at them a little too long again.

You put it between your lips, patting your pockets to look for your own lighter.

"Uh-uh," Eddie scolded you, putting his own cigarette between his lips, lighting yours and then his own, taking a long drag, "pretty girls don't light their own cigarettes."

You took a drag and smiled ear to ear, scooting closer to him until your thigh was touching his, shoving his shoulder playfully, "I've heard that one a few times now, Munson."

"Don't act like you don't like hearing it, though." He chuckled, then stopped, his smile fading away as he heard the faint voices from the protesters still outside.

"Fuckers," he spat, taking another long drag, "they're never going to leave me alone. They'll never leave you or Wayne alone, either. Not til' we leave the damn country or some shit."

"Yeah, probably not." You responded quietly, pursing your lips together, staring at your cigarette.

The both of you sat in silence for a few moments, deep in thought, watching the smoke circle around in the sunlight coming in through the blinds.

"What if there was another way?" You glanced over at him, asking nervously.

"What do you mean?" Eddie gave you a perplexed look.

"What if," you sighed, putting out your cigarette, your heart beginning to beat hard against your chest, "What if there was just... another way?"

"I'm not gonna 'repent for my sins', if that's what you're saying-"

"No, no," you shook your head, "fuck that, hell no. I mean... what if we scared them? Like... enough to make them go away? Leave you alone?"

"How?" Eddie scoffed, taking another puff of his cigarette before reaching his hand towards the ashtray to put it out.

"Hold on," you grabbed his arm abruptly, stopping him, your breathing shaky.

"What're you..." He trailed off, shifting in his seat.

You grasped his hand, keeping eye contact with him, as you slowly moved it towards the back of your forearm.

Eddie screwed his eyebrows together, in disbelief, as your forced his fingers on your forearm, putting his cigarette out on your skin.

You gasped in pain and hissed, your skin seering, before Eddie yanked his arm back, throwing it into the ashtray and grabbing your arm, inspecting the burn.

"What the fuck? Why would you do that? Are you okay? Jesus Christ, why? Why did you do that-"

"Eddie," you said his name softly, like a prayer, "Eddie... if it's okay, we should scare them."

He paused for a moment, still holding your arm, before responding, "What are you proposing?"

"I'm proposing," you took a deep breath, looking into his eyes, "we could make a mess. A mess that'll scare them for life."

Eddie raised an eyebrow at you, looking intrigued, pressing the pad of his thumb into your skin.

"What kind of mess?"

"Eddie, I like you. I know it's not the best time to tell you that, but you don't have to like me back," you continued to ramble, "I know the things you like to do when you're... having fun. You've told me. And I like the same things too, sometimes."

Eddie stared at you intently, leaning closer towards you, motioning for you to continue, "Go on, I'm listening."

You sighed, "You could use me, if you want, we could make a big scene, you know, scare them off, but only if you want to, you can say no-"

He interrupted you by grabbing both sides of your face, his rings cold against your skin as he crashed his lips onto yours, leaning into you as much as he could. Your body froze for a second, in shock, but you quickly kissed him back, resting your hands on his shoulders and humming contently.

"Oh, sweetheart, my pretty angel," Eddie broke the kiss, pressing his forehead against yours, his lips grazing your own as he spoke softly, "I thought you'd never ask."

"Really?" You pulled back and looked into his dark eyes.

"Really." His lips curled in a smile, then slowly faded as he asked, "Are you sure that's what you want? Because- I could really hurt you."

You nodded eagerly, "Yes, yeah, it's what I want. It's what I want with you."

"Okay," Eddie sighed, sitting upright as he looked down at you, "but if it gets to be too much, tell me. There's... a lot of weird things I'd want to do with you."

You sat on your knees, gazing up at him, almost as if you were worshipping him. His beautiful brown eyes, his long, frizzy dark hair framing his face just right, his clothes, his plump lips making you feel intoxicated.

"Eddie," you assured him softly, reaching a hand towards his hair, brushing it with your fingers, "nothing is gonna be too much. I like weird. And with these insane assholes outside," you looked towards the window, "how about we make it fun? Like you said... we're just entertainment. Let's put on a show."

He stared down at you, breathless, his heart racing, feeling absolutely feral- a mixture of his anger, excitement, and the sight of you fully giving yourself to him.

Eddie looked over to the window above you that faced the front yard, the crowd still there shouting, and he opened the blinds, staring outside with a sinister smile.

There was a moment of quiet between the two of you, the air thick with tension and anticipation, as you gazed at each other with locked eyes, before Eddie crashed his lips against yours again, much harder this time as he grabbed your hair to yank your head back, his other hand gently cradling the side of your neck.

You moaned into each other's mouths lightly, the kisses increasingly becoming faster, animalistic, carnal, not being able to get enough of each other. You both panted heavily between kisses as you smoothed your hands down his sides, then sliding them under his shirt to feel his scars and soft skin.

Eddie slid his tongue across your bottom lip languid, feeling like silk, the taste of him silencing all of your thoughts as you licked into each other's mouths feverishly, deeply, him tasting sweet like cherry coke- before he bit down on it, hard.

Normally this action would make someone gasp, yelp, cry even- but not you. You sighed contently as Eddie sucked on your bleeding lip, then sat upright again to look down on you, as if he was a God.

"Open." He commanded in a low voice.

You did as you were told, knowing what was coming next. He spat your blood back into your mouth, the taste of iron flooding your senses. You swallowed, licking your injured lip before he could tell you to do so.

"Fuck," Eddie groaned, "you are fucking unreal."

He stood up from the couch suddenly, and before you could question him, he grabbed your ass and lifted you up, setting you down harshly on the top of the couch, your back facing the window.

"I can't wait to put bruises all over this pretty skin." He rasped.

He lifted your shirt up eagerly, pulling it off of you and tossing it to the side.

"No bra, huh?" He smirked.

Before you could respond, Eddie went straight for your jawline, at first kissing it sloppily, then getting greedy, sucking and biting on your skin brutally, as he palmed your breasts, groping them and pinching your nipples, making you gasp and arch into him, his hair tickling your shoulder.

He made his descent down your neck and chest, sucking your delicate skin so harshly it began to bleed as you huffed and raked your fingers through his hair and tugged, wrapping your legs around him, silently asking him for more.

He licked down slowly between your breasts, keeping eye contact with you, then took one into his mouth, kissing and swirling around his tongue.

"Eddie, please," you whimpered, still tasting iron, "more..."

"More what, pretty girl?" He asked in a husky voice.

"Just... more," you whined, "just- I want you!"

"Fuck," he moaned lowly.

He pulled down your pants and panties off your hips and legs frantically, but swiftly, throwing them to the side with your shirt.

Eddie stood back for a moment, admiring your now nearly naked body with hungry eyes- the only garment still on you being your slouch socks, your bare ass pressed up to the window, as you gazed at his lithe figure.

"Open your legs." He gently demanded.

You did as you were told, and he breathed out a shaky exhale as he gazed at your heat.

He looked up towards your face again, your bleeding bruises, your bloodied lip with hooded, unholy eyes.

You grasped the back of the couch with both hands, leaning your head back, and let out a desperate sigh.

"Eddie-"

He kneeled on the couch quickly, spreading your thighs apart, then sliding two fingers along your soaked lips, and began to move his tongue along your clit messy and rapidly, lapping at your heat with a heavy tongue that somehow felt like velvet.

You cried out a mixture of his name and expletives as euphoria gripped your body, arching into his mouth and your muscles tightening.

"Eddie," you cried, "fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, oh my god-"

He slipped two fingers into you easily, curling them harshly, you feeling his rings at your entrance.

You gasped at the action, raking your hands through his hair, and you felt him smirk against your wet heat as he began to snake his other hand up your bare chest.

You needed more of him, so much more, and you grabbed his wrist, beginning to guide it towards your neck.

Eddie instantly got the hint, and wrapped his big hand around your throat, pressing his fingers into the sides of your neck.

You groaned in pleasure as blood ceased to travel to your brain, ecstacy taking over every inch of your body as your eyes rolled into the back of your head as he continued to savor you relentlessly.

"Harder," you managed to choke out, "please, harder-"

He moaned against you at your request and squeezed harder, making you see stars.

Your skin was on fire as you began to lose composure, and the world crashed around you, the strongest orgasm you've ever felt hitting its peak as you tried to moan, but your voice was strained.

Eddie continued to work you through your high, then kissed your sensitive nub, making you twitch before pulling back, his mouth slightly agape and wet with your slick as the both of you panted. He licked his lips and leaned towards you, kissing you gingerly as you tasted yourself on your tongue, then he promptly bit your lip again, reopening your wound.

"You look so hot when you're bleeding," he huffed against your mouth.

You gripped his shirt with one hand, then reached towards his hard, aching length with the other, making him groan.

"Eddie," you mumbled, "please, take them off, let me-"

"Next time, baby," he assured you, "next time. The sun is gonna go down. We need to hurry."

Your stomach fluttered at his words, 'next time', as you watched him take off his jacket and shirt swiftly, then pulling down his pants and checkered boxers, letting his cock free.

You stared at his length with wide eyes. You knew he would be a little big, but he was larger than you'd imagined. Your mouth nearly watered at the sight. You then watched him lean down to pull something out of his jean pockets.

Eddie stood up, holding up his switchblade, the sharp tip of it shining as he gazed at you intently.

"Do you trust me?" He asked.

"Yes," you whispered.

"Give me your hand."

You reached your arm out to him, excitement and nervousness bursting in your abdomen.

"This is gonna hurt, okay?"

You softly smiled and nodded, "Okay."

He grabbed your wrist, pressing the blade into your palm and quickly slashing a line into it, blood beginning to pool in your hand immediately. You winced at the pain, but gave him a hum of agreement.

Nodding at you, Eddie took to his own hand, slicing it the same way he did to yours, blood dripping through his fingers.

He threw the knife to the side before intertwining his fingers with yours, pressing your bleeding wounds together, then grabbed the back of your head, leaning in to kiss you passionately.

He pulled back, and took to your chest, smearing the mixture of each others blood all over your neck and breasts, his eyes seemingly turned black.

You whimpered at the sight, but were pleasantly surprised by how much it turned you on, rubbing your thighs together for some friction as your core ached.

"Turn around." Eddie instructed you, grasping your thigh, motioning for you to turn over.

With a sharp inhale and exhale, you turned around, knees on the seats of the couch, hands grabbing the back of couch, as you looked out the window, the crowd of people still outside now looking back at you in horror.

You smirked at them maliciously, wiping your face, smearing it with more blood to terrify them even more.

Eddie groaned at the action and kissed your lower back, squeezing your ass, taking his length into his hand.

"You're the most beautiful thing that's ever happened to me. And I'm gonna ruin you."

"Do it, Eddie," you whispered.

He lined his tip with your entrance, then gripped your hips harshly, slamming all the way into you with ease, bottoming out.

You both gasped loudly in unison, his cock stretching you out in a way that could only be described as perfect.

"You're so tight, fuck, you're gonna kill me baby." He groaned.

Eddie began to set a slow, but harsh pace, pounding into you deeply as you pushed back against his thrusts. It felt so much like Heaven, that you nearly forgot what you needed to do.

As he continued to snap his hips into yours harshly, you squeezed your wounded hand, collecting more blood in your palm, and dripped it onto the window, smearing it between his thrusts until you were satisfied that it was covered.

He began to fuck into you faster, hitting your cervix every time, as you began your work on the window, drawing a sloppy, inverted pentagram with your fingertips through the blood, the both of you cursing and moaning each other's names.

The crowd outside was horrified at the sight of your bloodied chest, the bloodied window, and the symbol you drew, making them leave the property rapidly in terror, like a bat out of hell.

You arched your back even more, goosebumps spreading across your skin as you both moaned, Eddie still fucking into you, raking his fingernails on your back, leaving behind a pattern of scratches.

Once you'd noticed that the voices outside had disappeared, you wiped your uninjured hand on the fogged, bloody glass, peering out the window.

"Eddie, fuck," you stammered between his thrusts, "it worked- they- they left. They all left."

He let out a breathy laugh, slowing down his pace, smoothing his hands up and down your back, "Oh, angel. You're so smart. Such a good girl."

You chuckled a bit through pants, reaching your arms back towards him to touch him, to hold his hands for a moment.

Eddie suddenly pulled out of you, and you whined at the loss, confused.

"What are you-"

Before you could question him, he grabbed your waist, lifting you up off the couch and making you yelp, throwing your naked body over his shoulder and quickly heading to his bedroom.

"Eddie," you laughed nervously, "what's happening?"

"Sh," he shushed you, placing a kiss to your side, then throwing you on your back onto his bed of messy sheets and blankets, gasping as your body hit the mattress.

You gazed up at him in anticipation, as he held his infamous handcuffs in one hand.

"Do you still want me?" He asked in a husky voice.

"Yeah, of course I do-"

"Good," He interrupted you and smiled wickedly, "arms above your head."

You bit the side of your lip and grinned, doing as you were told.

He got on the bed and crawled over you, placing the handcuffs over your wrists, clicking them in place, making sure they were tight, then kissed your injured lips softly.

Eddie leaned back, spreading your legs open for him gently, his length still rock hard.

"You're cumming like this."

You shivered at his words, and he gripped your hips, yanking them up towards his cock, and pushed himself inside of you.

"Fuck, Eddie,"

"Jesus, you're still so fucking wet," he cursed.

He began to thrust into you again, at first slow, but quickly becoming desperate, pounding into you with a harsh and fast rhythm, gripping your hips tighter and tighter, surely leaving bruises.

You felt fire in your abdomen as he continued to fuck into you, him biting and kissing your knee sloppily as the new angle of his cock hit your sweet spot every time.

"Eddie, I don't think I can last long, fuck-"

"Me too, sweetheart," he groaned, putting a hand between the two of you, circling your clit with his thumb as he watched himself disappear inside of you, "cum with me."

You felt his cock grow even harder against your walls, making your eyes nearly roll in the back of your head, tears burning at the corners as you almost sobbed, crying out expletives as your orgasm took a hold of you, shockwaves gripping your body.

Eddie felt your walls clench around him, making him come undone as he emptied himself deep inside of you, biting your knee to hold back a loud moan as he followed closely after you.

Your highs came to a halt, as he gently lowered you back down, and collapsed on top of you.

You both panted heavily against each other, trying to catch your breath as he finally slid out of you. He held the sides of your face and kissed you desperately, then planted kisses all over your face, making you giggle.

"So, uh, that was..." Eddie trailed off.

"Amazing. It was amazing." You finished his sentence breathlessly.

"Yeah?" He lifted his head up and smiled at you.

"Yeah," you smiled back, "we should... do this again... soon."

"Yes, we should," he kissed your forehead, "we really should. Gotta take you on a proper date first."

He sat up from the bed, and you whined at the loss of his body heat.

"Well angel," he started, "we need to clean up all the blood and stuff, ya know, and fix our hands before Wayne gets home."

"Yeah, we do, but Eddie," you showed him your hands, "you gotta get me out of these cuffs first."

"Oh yeah, yeah, duh," he laughed, "the cuffs. Of course. Just need to... find the keys." He began to look around his room worriedly.

"God dammit, Eddie."

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

by William MacDonald

Devotional for September 27th

“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” - Revelation 21:8

It probably comes as a shock to anyone reading this verse that the fearful and unbelieving are listed together with what we would think of as outrageous, vile sinners, and that they will share the same punishment for all eternity.

It probably comes as an added surprise to note that the fearful are listed first. This should be tremendously sobering to any who excuse their timidity as a trifling matter. Perhaps they are afraid to accept the Lord Jesus because of what their friends might say, or because they are of a naturally retiring disposition. God does not excuse it as a trifle; He views it as culpable cowardice.

It should also be sobering to those who are listed second—the unbelieving. We hear people say, “I can’t believe” or “I wish I could believe.” But those are insincere statements. There is nothing about the Savior that makes it impossible for men to believe in Him. The trouble does not lie in man’s intellect but in his will. Unbelievers don’t want to believe on Him. The Lord Jesus said to the unbelieving Jews of His day, “…you refuse to come to me to have life” HYPERLINK "javascript:" NIV).

No doubt many of the fearful and unbelieving think of themselves as decent, cultured and moral people. In this life they would want nothing to do with murderers, with the immoral, or with those who practice magic arts. But the irony is that they will spend eternity together because they never came to Christ for salvation.

Their doom is “the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” This is, of course, the supreme tragedy. People may argue about the existence of hell and the fact of eternal punishment, but the Bible is very explicit. Hell does exist at the end of a Christless life.

What makes it especially sad is that neither the fearful or the unbelieving or any of the others listed in our verse have to go to the lake of fire. It is completely unnecessary. If they would just repent of their fears and doubts and other sins, and turn to the Lord Jesus in simple, trusting faith, they would be forgiven, cleansed and made fit for heaven.