#but also lord almighty. used to be able to get away with not washing my face every day but now it's morning and night

[bogglebabbles]

My skin is so gd oily.

[ginazmemeoir]

Women in the Indian Epics

This post is in response to @hindumythologyevent (i won’t be able to write tomorrow)

Ramayana and Mahabharata, while being epics centred around Hinduism, are actually integral parts of Indian culture as a whole. Everyone in India has grown up knowing about these epics, but never about the women. I would like to take this moment to make people realize THESE. EPICS. WOULD. BE . NON. EXISTANT. WITHOUT WOMEN. HECK ALL OF US WOULD BE.

1. RAMAYANA: While there’ s no shift in the status of women chronologically, there definitely is a marked changed in the social status of women in the epic geographically.

  North - 

Kaushalya : Princess of Southern Kosala (modern day Bundelkhand in India), she had proposed her marriage to Dasharath, Ram’s father, to stop the war between their kingdoms. In the epics, she is shown as “virtuous” and “sacrificing”, and is Ram’s birth mother.

Kaikeyi : Princess of Kekaya (modern day Pakistan-Afghanistan border region), she had married Dasharatha of her own accord, on her own terms. She was a powerful woman, and a powerful warrior - she had saved Dasharath’s life in a war, and consequently Dasharatha had granted her two boons. She used these boons later to banish Ram to the forest for 14 years and make her son Bharata the heir. A figure of scorn in the epic, Kaikeyi was actually an independent woman, who knew her cards.

Sumitra : She just kind of exists we don’t know much about her, except that she’s the mother of the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna.

Sunaina : Queen of Videha (modern day Nepal), she was actually the one who ran the kingdom while her husband, Janak, looked after the “spiritual” nd “philosophical” aspects. Most people don’t even know about her.

Sita : The female protagonist, she is the Princess of Videha, and thus also called Vaidehi. In fact, there is a language in her honour called Maithili after her. She is actually quite passive in the epics, shown as yet again “virtuous” and blah blah blah. A few versions also say that she was actually Ravan’s daughter, or the reincarnation of a woman who Ravan had molested and so the woman vowed that she would be the cause of his death (mmm not so much I mean the dude was asking for it). FINALLY she does something after Ram banishes her cause people accuse her of Stockholm Syndrome WHILE SHE’S PREGNANT, and then tries to take her back once he gets to know that he’s a dad - twist, Sita has to prove she’s innocent by WALKING THROUGH FIRE AGAIN (she did it once after she escaped). So instead of doing this shitty thing again, she invoked the Earth Goddess (another legend says Sita is her daughter) and went away with her.

Manthara : Kaikeyi’s nanny, she came along with her after she married Dasharatha to take care of her children. Shown as a disfigured old hunchback, she is the one who had “instigated” Kaikeyi to banish Ram and make Bharata emperor. She’s one of the most hated characters in the Ramayana.

South - (FINALLY women don’t call their husbands ‘lord’ or ‘my king’)

Tara : The Monkey Empress, Tara was a powerful individual. After her husband Bali was killed by Rama, she ran the kingdom while her brother-in-law Sugreev whored away. Really wise, and commanded respect.

Mandodari : Daughter of the architect of Asuras Mayasur, Mandodari was another powerful woman. She was Ravan’s first wife, and is often seen speaking her opinions in the epics, reprimanding Ravan and genuinely being a boss-ass bitch, which as the epics state “was unusual”. Legend also states that Shiva had made her out of a frog (manduk in sanskrit), so that Ravan could stop pestering them.

Shurpanakha : Quite literally meaning “as sharp as nails), Shurpanakha was Ravan’s sister. Also known as Meenakshi, some hold her responsible for the annihilation of Ravan as her revenge for Ravan killing her husband. She had actually tried to seduce Ram and Lakshman while they were in the forest, but instead they pranked her, and not in the nice way (people, YOU DO NOT PRANK A DEMON PRINCESS). So when she saw Sita laughing, she thought it wa sher idea and attempted to kill her. Immediately, the “chivalrous” Lakshman ran to defend Sita and cut off “the evil temptress’” nose. So anywho Shurpanakha tells Ravan to avenge her, and later she goes to Ayodhya and spreads rumours about Sita’s affair with Ravan for revenge.

Kaikesi : Ravan’s mother, Kaikesi was the original heir to Lanka before it was given to Kuber, the dwarf lord of wealth. She later married the monk Vishravas, and had almighty children (some say this is the only reason she married him). She was the one who created Mega Ravan after the war to avenge herslef.

Sulochana : The Naga Princess, Sulochana was the daughter of the snake king Vasuki. Not much is known about her, except that she committed suicide after her husband Meghnad (Ravan’s son) was killed.

other characters : Trijata - she was Sita’s bodyguard in Lanka, and also Ravan’s  niece. She was the one who consoled Sita and protected her from the other demons.

Lankini : The guardian of Lanka, she had been defeated by Hanuman.

Urmila : Sita’s younger sister, who was married to Lakshman. Later, she fell into a coma for 14 years, till the time all three of our protagonists returned.

Surasa : The Sea Dragon, she tested Hanuman’s strength on his way to Lanka by attempting to eat him.

Simhika : The Shadow monster, who ate creatures by grabbing their shadows. She was killed by Hanuman.

2. MAHABHARATA : Ok this epic is more recognized, and also the women here are SO much more badass. The Mahabharata represents a chronological change in women’s status in Indian society.

Urvashi : Queen of the nymphs (apsaras), Urvashi had married the mortal king Pururavas on the condition that nobody will hurt her pet lamb, and that nobody except Pururavas will see her naked. So the gods killed her lamb and “opened the doors with mighty winds” and “lit the skies with lightning” when Pururavas and Urvashi were having sex, so everyone could see Urvashi naked. She then left Pururavas, who grew mad. Later, she tried to seduce Arjun (Pururavas’ descendant) and when he refused, she cursed him to become a eunuch.

Ganga : The River Goddess, she married Shantanu only on the condition that he would never question her or her actions. Then, Ganga proceeded to drown all of her and Shantanu’s children. When Shantanu finally stopped her from drowning the eighth one, it was revealed that they were actually gods cursed as humans and Ganga was only doing this so that they could go back to being gods again. Anywho, since Shantanu had technically questioned her actions, she left him and took the child. This child was Bhishma.

Satyavati : She was born when a fish ingested a king’s sperm (LONG story), and the fish gave birth to her. She was known for her beauty that rivalled the gods, and also her fish stank. she had sex with the sage Parashara and gave birth on an island to Vyasa (the Mahabharata’s author). In return, Parashara granted her the boon of irresistible scent. Later, she married Shantanu on one condition - that only her lineage would rule the throne, which forced Bhishma to take his vow of celibacy. A woman of naked ambition, she made sure that it was her blood only that ruled the throne of Hastinapur.

Amba : The princess of Kashi (modern day Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh), she and her two sisters were abducted from their marriage by Bhishma on Satyavati’s order to be married to her son Vichitravirya. Amba escaped Bhishma, but her husband refused to accept as she “was now another man’s property” (BITCH). When she asked Bhishma to marry her, he refused because of his stupid vow. So she sought revenge on him and went to the warrior sage Parashuram. Parashuram was enraged at Amba’s condition, and invited Bhishma to a duel till death. However, he realized that their duel could actually end the world and stopped it. Angry, Amba burnt herself alive and promised to be reborn as Bhishma’s death. She was reborn as the transwoman Shikhandi, Draupadi’s sibling, and ultimately killed Bhishma. (more popular versions state that she actually stood in front of Arjuna, and since Bhishma couldn’t “raise a hand on a transwoman”, Arjuna could safely kill Bhishma from behind her.

Gandhari : Princess of Gandhara (modern day Afghanistan), Gandhari’s kingdom was destroyed by Bhishma and she was married to Dhritarashtra, the blind prince. To aid her husband, she also blinded herself for life by wearing a blindfold at all times. Mother of the hundred Kauravas, she had uttered that fateful curse which caused the destruction of Krishna and his empire.

Kunti : Princess of Mathura, she was adopted by king Kuntihoja. A resourceful and sharp woman, she had received a boon to have kids by any god she wanted. Out of curiosity, she tested the boon and got the son of the Sun god, Karna. Not ready to be a teen mom, she threw the baby in a river (the baby lived). Later she married Pandu, Dhritarashtra’s younger brother, and gave birth to Yudhishthir, Bhima and Arjuna from Yama (god of death and law), Vayu (god of wind) and Indra (indian zeus) respectively. She spent her entire life protecting Pandu’s five children after his death, even burning six people alive during the Varnavat incident.

Madri : Princess of Madradesh (present day Tamil Nadu, India), she was Pandu’s second wife and gave birth to the twins Nakul and Sahadeva from the Ashvini Twins (gods of healing and knowledge, she had used Kunti’s boon). She committed suicide after Pandu’s death.

Draupadi : Princess of Panchal (modern day Uttar Pradesh, India although some people say it could also be Punjab), she was born from fire. She and her brother were created to avenge their foster father Drupad. Married to all five Pandavas, she later became Empress of Indraprastha, and encouraged her husbands to fight for their rights. Molested and disrobed after the Gambling Hall incident, she vowed to destroy the Kuru dynasty - and that she would not wash her hair until they were washed with Dushasana’s blood, the man who had disrobed her. Krishna treated her like his own sister, and today she serves as an inspiration to all women.

There are a LOT more women in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, but i would have to write another separate 500 pager for that, and honestly i have run out of brain juice right now. so i leave you with this - STAY BADASS LADIES.

[blushingjared]

Can Anybody Hear Me?

We Get What We Deserve Prequel: Can Anybody Hear Me? (Eventual Sam x Dean x Reader x Castiel)

Square(s) Filled: Forced to Watch @badthingshappenbingo  Ship: None Yet Characters: Season 14! Chuck, Reader, Reader’s Parent’s, Dean, Sam, and Castiel (Briefly Mentioned) Rating: Mature Word Count: 1.4k Warnings: Death of Parents, Religious Upbringing, Slight Torture, evil Chuck, Spoilers for the end of Season 14, Melodramatic Chuck

We Get What We Deserve Masterlist

Summary: You’ve grown up hearing stories of a vengeful God. How his wrath is mightier than anything known to man. You counted yourself lucky that you were never the reason for God’s Almighty Power; except now, you were. After losing your family and being forced into a permanent dream like state, by God. You’re used as distraction for Team Free Will, the three men that you’ve fantasized about for years. You know them as the saviors in your favorite books, but now they need to focus and try their best to save you.

A/N: So...I don’t know what else to say really. Let me know what you think and if this series interests you. Let me know and I’ll tag you. Beta’d by @sweetness47

A mother sits alone in a dark hospital room. To her right, her daughter sleeps peacefully in the hospital bed. Gentle sobs from the lonely mother mix with the continuous beeping noises of the machines that are keeping her daughter alive. The woman begs, pleads, with a trembling voice as she recites her prayers. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. I beg you Lord. Please release my daughter from this pain. I-I know you have your reasons Lord.” Her tearful eyes linger on her daughter for another moment before her hands drop from her prayer to gently take ahold of her daughters hand.

“If this be your will Lord, then give me the strength to withstand it.” She takes in a shuddering breath before slumping back and wiping away at her tears with the back of her hand. Minutes tick by as the mother becomes exhausted and falls asleep in the hospital chair, hand still clasped around her daughters.

One of the nurses in the ward glances up at the clock on the wall. She needs to make her nightly run through of the patients, mostly the ones with critical conditions. Grabbing her clipboard, she goes to stand and head to her first patient. Someone catches her attention though.

The man looks average in most ways, he isn’t too tall or short. Neither too handsome or too unattractive. He’s got soft eyes and a gentle smile as he wears a red suit jacket. She can’t put a name to the face, but assume he’s a family member of someone in her ward.

“Can I help you?” She asks, tilting her head as he steps closer. Though he looks average, the nurse feels some sort of energy radiating off of him and she isn’t sure how to place it.

“Yes,” The man clears his throat and rocks back on his heels. They must have been behind his back because almost out of nowhere the man produces a bouquet of flowers. “I’m looking for my niece, Y/N Y/L/N.” That name she recognizes, but gives him a sad smile.

“I’m sorry sir. Only family members listed on their contact information are allowed past visiting hours. I’m happy to take them to her though.” She reaches out to take the flowers, but Chuck pulls them closer to his chest.

“I think you’ll find I’m on the list. Chuck Shurley.” After a bit of hesitation, the nurse pulls the clipboard from under her arm to take a look through Y/N’s file. Right underneath  the girl’s mother and father, his name is listed. She could have sworn it was only the two.

“Well then, right this way sir.” Chuck follows close behind as they maneuver their way down the corridors.

“I didn’t hear much about what happened. Do you mind telling me how Y/N ended up here?”

The nurse gives a small ‘tsk’ before shaking her head. “It’s such a shame, really. The mother comes in with her daughter and husband, blubbering about..” She pauses to look back at the notes within the file. “That’s right, about Angels. Woman believes one of them came down and tried to take the three of them up to heaven.”

Poking her head inside, the nurse looks around the room to see if Y/N’s mother was asleep. She shakes her head slightly and sets the files on the table, Turing back to face Chuck. The name suited him, she thought, before performing her routine check up on the girl

“They were ready to be taken to heaven, until he just stopped and let them go. Apparently, her husband had already died and the angel was in the midst of taking her daughter. As far as it goes medically, their bodies were perfectly fine, they just stopped working. At least her daughter’s body was able to recover most of her bodily functions. Most of  her brain shut down though, not long after she was brought here. Sort of like a coma, but more like she’s in a really long nap.”

Chuck cleared his throat as he set the flowers down. “How’s the mom?” He asked as his gaze lingers on you, his head tilting as he narrows his eyes slightly.

“Inconsolable. She keeps begging for Heaven to come back down and finish what they promised. It’s insane, really.” A heavy sigh leaves the nurses mouth. “I feel bad. I really do.” With that said, she finishes her check up and heads to the door. “It’s good that they have more family. You need that in times like these.” Turning back around, the nurse shuts the door and leaves the room to go check on other patients.

Chuck snaps his fingers and locks the door, head turning to the mother and stepping closer. He smirks slightly as he snaps his fingers and both women awake.

Your eyes fly open and you struggle to breathe, with the tube that had been helping your body only moments earlier, still stuck in your throat. Though it’s barely there, you notice a sick and twisted smile on his lips. You try to call out for your mother, although nothing comes out.

Your mothers eyes lift to Chuck and before she can form words, she’s on her knees. Hands on the edges of his pants, pleading once more like she had during her prayer. “Oh Lord. You heard my prayer, you came back. I..I cannot thank you enough. Please, finish what you started. Take us with you.”

The man you knew as your Father’s murderer was standing right in front of you. You recognized him now. You knew what he was, but it all seemed impossible. It couldn’t really be him.

“Oh I will,” he grinned as he looked down upon your mother. He let his smirk drop to a frown as he snapped his fingers. You cried out, trying your best to do anything but something was forcing you down, an invisible pressure making you unable to sit up or pull the tube out to call for help.

Chuck was forcing you to watch as your mother’s body dropped to the ground, lifeless and nothing more than an empty shell. It only caused more tears to stream down your face, more pain to fill your heart. Not only had you been forced to watch your father die, now he had made you live through the same thing with your mother.

Taking a step over your mother’s corpse, he stepped towards you and smiled. With a snap of his fingers, the tube was removed from your throat, but the force was still there, still pining your body to the hospital bed.

“You...You can’t be real. This...This is just a dream.” You sob, knowing deep inside this was real, but unable to come to terms with what was happening.

“We both know that’s not true Y/N. This is real, all of it.” He grins and runs a hand over your face. “Oh don’t worry, I’m going to give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of.”

Resisting the urge to spit on his face, you stay calm and snarl at him instead. “I want my parents back.” A wave of sadness washes over Chuck and you half believe it’s because you’ve made him realize what his actions are. Of course he doesn’t and instead he pulls away from you, sighing in disappointment before ranting.

“No! Don’t you see? You and The Winchesters won’t fall in love unless you go through the same trauma of losing your parents to something supernatural. Think about it!”

“Sam and Dean aren’t real! They’re just characters from a book.” Chuck simply shakes his head, clearly you don’t understand.

“You lack imagination Y/N. I would have thought all that fanficition you write about my world would have made you more open to the fact that there’s more out there than you realize.” You desperately want to think he’s crazy, but the part of you that knows this might be true is growing more confident that..Supernatural was real.

“Why are you doing this to me?” You beg for an answer. “I’m nothing special.” A pained noise leaves your throat as he shakes his head.

“No, you aren’t, but I’m gonna make you special. Sam and Dean will be so busy dealing with you that they’ll forget to even come look for me.” Chuck grinned as he watched you look at him in horror. “Now, go back to sleep.” With a snap of his fingers, you fall back on the bed, asleep like he wanted.

Chuck picks you up and snaps his fingers, taking you away from the life you had once been apart of, and bringing you with him the the one you’d always dreamed of. He needed to bring you to Sam and Dean, but he also needs to plan things out, figure out the full plot of the story. Figure out where he wanted the story to go next, now that he had you.

So, he dropped you off in Lebanon, not five miles from The Bunker, right at the nurses station and then disappeared. He was confident in the fact that you would be found and then placed back under the care of doctors. He had things to do now, but he was certain you were going to enjoy your first dream.

Dean doesn’t ever really have good dreams. More often than not, he’ll have nightmares. It’s just something he’s had to deal with ever since he can remember. Tonight is one of those good nights. He dreams of saving a cute girl from a witch and getting a more than deserved thank you. It’s nice, the girl is pretty and more than eager to give Dean whatever he needs.

His eyes snap open as he hears voices begin to talk outside of his room. He grumbled and turns his body onto his side. “Do you think he’s ok? Dean didn’t say much on the drive back from the cemetery.” Sammy’s voice cut through the wood of the door as Dean pulled his pillow over his head to try and block out the noise.

Soon enough, Cas and Sam had walked away and Dean could sleep in peace. He remembered the girl’s face and her name from the dream. He didn’t know why she stuck with him, but it didn’t matter. When he drifted off and back to sleep, Dean thought of Y/N again. There was just something about her that made him feel that whatever God had planned for them, it would be ok.

[dailyaudiobible]

04/18/2020 DAB Transcript

Joshua 16:1-18:28, Luke 19:1-27, Psalms 87:1-7, Proverbs 13:11

Today is the 18th day of April welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it's wonderful to be here with you as we bring another week to a close, continue the steps forward, day by day. So, we’ve been reading for the English Standard Version this week, which is what we'll do today and we will continue in the book of Joshua with chapters 16, 17 and 18.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for another week. Another week has gone by. They go by quickly it seems. Sometimes it feels like that time is dragging on and sometimes it’s like flying by and when we consider like how quickly we move through a month it feels like it's flying by and yet day by day step-by-step You are there guiding and instructing us through Your word, drawing us together in community. And, so we thank You for that. And as we release this week and it floats away and becomes a part of our history, we are grateful, and we are longing to see all that You have in store for us in the coming days and weeks. So, come Holy Spirit we pray. As we move into the end of this week may Your spirit hover around us in everything we do and say. And we ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website and that makes it home base for the Global Campfire, that makes it home base for a community like ours that’s wrapped all over the world and we come together virtually. So, just knowing that, knowing that that's home base is a good thing to know, it’s where you find out what’s happening.

So, the Prayer Wall lives there. That is a place that we can always reach out for prayer and always reach out and offer prayer. It’s always going, it's continual, you never have to be alone. You can reach out there for prayer. So, be familiar with that and aware of it. You can get to all of this within the app as well by pressing that little Drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner. So, lets continue to stay connected as we always have over all of the years. No matter what's going on in the world let’s remain connected in heart and Spirit as we continue our journey through the Bible.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link. It lives on the homepage. I thank you profoundly for your partnership. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, the little red button at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

This is Silver Lining Cindy from Seattle and my good friend Kristi Walker whom I met at the Moore conference a few years ago had some fantastic quarantine advice. She said at this time the best thing to do is to praise God. And, so, I followed suit and I came up with a list of phrases. Number one, so many dishes equals washing hands, very clean hands. There’s no parking tickets. CO2 emissions are down all over the planet and it is causing for some great views in different places. Very inspiring. From homeschooling I get to hear some really interesting stories from my kid that is…they’re very good and they’re very funny. My other kid is actually making use of a science kit that has been collecting dust for a few years. And, so, I’m excited about that. I’ve learned that by golly I can cook. I am donning this silver crown of wisdom atop my head from my undyed roots. I’m getting in touch with long-lost contacts. I found that wearing a robe to work is finally okay. Necessity breeds invention in so many ways, especially when you run out of ingredients in your kitchen. Jill, you did not have the Moore conference this year and just the foresight around this and what a blessing from God that it wasn’t…it didn’t happen. And Brian I’m so grateful that you and everybody got back from Jerusalem before everything got really crazy. Discoveries - eyes that can see. I’m learning a lot about the things that happen at my house when I’m normally at work, like all the crows that fly up to my roof. This is very interesting. And I’m also enjoying the lovely submission that we have no idea what God has in store for us and I pray that He feeds all of you in different lovely beautiful surprising ways every day. I have a certification exam that I am doing on Friday morning at 8:15 AM Pacific Standard Time. I’m really hoping for your prayers that I will pass my exam on Friday. I love you all.

Hi this is Scott Campo from Olean New York and I enjoy the Daily Audio Bible. Brian you do a great job and your daughter does a great job too on Chronological. And I just accepted the Lord and I’m a new Christian. And, so, have a great day.

Good morning DAB today is April 15th staying true to my calling on the 15th of the month for this entire year. This is your friend Val in Vegas. This is a praise report y’all, a stand up for Jesus, the Lord Almighty is strong and powerful praise report. This time last month I was in the hospital with double pneumonia, a ton of other health issues. I had just lost my job and felt so low that I believed God was mad at me y’all. And today just 30 days later I’m out of the hospital feeling amazing despite the doctor’s reports. I started my dream job last week working from home. You cannot tell me that our God is not able. Please, if you are out there like me on the edge in horrible health, hospitalized, unemployed and you feel like giving up, please, please, please listen to me. Listen to my words right now. God loves you. And my sister and my brother if He will do it for me, He will do it for you also. Thank you to everyone that prayed for me. This community has saved my life on more than one occasion and it can be done for you also. If you need prayer or have a praise report, please call in and share with us. There is power in the prayer circle of believers we have. We’ve got the most valuable tools here in this resource. Thank you, Brian thank you Jill, thank you Hardin family. Please call in and share…

This is Bonnie and this is for Victoria’s Venessa the respiratory therapist in Maryland. I heard you call in and I felt a connection to you because I also live in Maryland and my son who too lives in Maryland is a respiratory therapist. I want to call and in pray for you and I want to tell you how much I esteem you for coming out of your retirement to help your fellow respiratory therapists and patients. Heavenly Father I ask that You and Your great love and mercy, that You will keep Vanessa safe from the coronavirus and You would honor her dedication to these sick patients that she would come out of retirement to help him. What a great sacrifice of her time and talents that she is giving. I also pray for safety for my son Michael and his wife Sarah who is an ICU nurse. I pray for all medical personnel who are taking care of these patients and putting their own health at risk. I pray that there is enough PPE for all of them to keep them safe and enough medication and ventilators for the patients. I pray that more people would come to help in the hospital settings where there is so short staffed and overworked. I ask that You give wisdom to President Trump and the whole coronavirus task team and all the governors and leaders of all the states and all the countries on the best way to handle this pandemic. And most of all Lord I pray that Your will be done in the situation and that You are bringing people to Yourself through this. That’s the most important thing of all. And also, that You will be with the world as we strive to recover financially when this is over, and people would be able to return to work. And Father be with those who are sick and dying without family members, that is very heartbreaking and be with the family members who are grieving and can’t be there with their loved ones. Help us to trust in You because we know that You are in control of this and give us the peace that only You can give. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Good morning DAB this is Blessings Flow in Pennsylvania. I was just calling in to say hi. Today’s April 15th and I am lounging here with my…our six-month-old who’s just kicking and enjoying life. But I was just calling in to say hi and just sitting here grateful. I believe it was Stanley in Maryland shared today just how we have a rhythm and every day we can listen and partake in the word and listen to each other’s prayer requests and praise reports and feel connected whether in quarantine and before the quarantine. So, I just want to call in with gratitude and also to thank the Hardin family for the app, the app that has been and...and all of the new updates. Thank you, thank you for your tireless work that many people like myself and thousands around the world you’ve never met are able to reap the benefits of your labor of love and also to give back. So, I want to thank you for that. And I also wanted to shout out Kingdom Seeker Daniel and Lady of Victory, back in early March I think it was listening to the February 25th Community Prayer and you had talked about jumping over to the DABC. And that day I really didn’t feel any impetus to start that but for some reason the next day it was just in my heart to start listening to the DABC. So, I have been doing that and I’m a double DABber now. So, I just want to thank you for your faithfulness and encouraging us to do that. May God bless everyone. Blessings Flow in Pennsylvania…

[missrkl]

Descendants of Acts 2 - Easter Special

Chapter Five

Rachel’s monthly was coming, her two period of being fertile, and there were moments in her life, once every few months she would have it really bad. She would be extremely angry, or extremely horny, and the pain of the monthly would also be extreme. There was some medical term for it. Rachel felt a headache coming on as she sat in her online bible school. The lights was irritating her eyes, the sounds of the volume of the speakers of the students and teachers talking frustrated her. Rachel had negative thoughts as well, she was tired of this pandemic, she was tired of this monthly pain every month, for her it was really really bad. Soon the school finished and Rachel was able to sign out. She inhaled and exhaled deeply. As she went downstairs into the kitchen to get something to eat she saw the kitchen sink piled up, her parents always left their mess because of saving water, ‘wash only when there is a lot’ and so Rachel was already feeling fatigued because of the hormonal changes in her body, and she washed the dishes with annoyance. She cleaned up the kitchen and then made her dinner and ate it in the silence. Rachel decided to go to her online virtual reality The Holy Bible and as she went back upstairs and washed and prepped for bed, in her pjs and her curly hair up in a bun, she looked at herself in the mirror. She felt like wearing this sexy red dress for Pjs. Rachel thought she deserved to treat herself, after all here she was struggling and suffering, she deserved to have a good time.

Rachel logged on and saw David online, good. She changed her virtual outfit as well, black leather from top to toe, with long leather boots. David checked her out. Rachel wasn’t in the mood for chit chat and motioned for them to get started. She wanted to visit the South of town. The hardest town to crack in this game. They went to the market first and Rachel kept searching but at first couldn’t find anything. Then she saw this cross made out of diamonds. It has the words Gospel. She loved shiny things, and women loved jewellery, so she bought it. David began talking to her about his day and Rachel was only half listening. Nodding here and there and she believed that David probably didn’t notice any difference in her.

As they got nearer to the south of town, there was a strong darkness covering the area. David began having second thoughts, “hey Rachel, I don’t think we’re ready for this yet. I didn’t find anything in the market today”. Rachel rolled her eyes and said “we make a strong team David, let’s just give it a try, I’m sure we can turn back. You scratch my back I scratch yours remember?” This was their motto to spur each other on their missions. David said okay but lagged a little behind her. Rachel ran on ahead filled with irritation of the day she had. As Rachel entered the town the darkness covered her, she couldn’t see much. It felt like such a strong thick fog. Like a ‘valley of the shadow of death’ (psalm 23). Unknown to Rachel the town was surrounded by demonic forces that were weaving their powers to create the darkness. There was also the spirit of deception in the air. Rachel’s eyesight soon adjusted to the darkness as she felt David close behind her. She could feel his breath on her neck. At least she wasn’t alone. There didn’t seem to be any citizens here, maybe thEre wasn’t any? David said “We need to get rid of this dark fog covering.” Rachel saw this shrine just up ahead. It had Rachel’s deepest darkest secret sin, a very sexy lady dressed quite provocatively. It was like the demons knew her sin, though no one else knew, even in the virtual world? How is that possible? She was sure she wasn’t a lesbian. She just, found women attractive and that turned her on. Rachel gulped and she walked closer to this shrine and saw that it was surrounded by candles, was it an idol? Rachel had always hoped she would look like the women she liked, jealous of them was always something she hid well. Rachel could not feel David near her anymore. As Rachel gazed and gazed at this shrine the more her onscreen character became enraptured by it. Soon her character was so enraptured by it that Rachel could not move her character on the screen. Was it frozen? Rachel kept moving but nothing was happening. Boiling with anger Rachel flapped her arms about and as she did so her character had grabbed David who was now next to her and flung him down with a big wham! What was going on?

There was another player on the screen, a person who played the game with bad intentions, they had created some sort of spell on Rachel’s character, it was a hack code to control Rachel’s character! She had lost control! Rachel kept screaming at David, but her character would no longer obey and all she could do was watch as she saw her onscreen character take out her small knife. What was she going to do? She couldn’t just let this hacker hack her! Rachel quickly phoned her friend Michael, he was a computer freak, he’d know what to do. As she dialled michael’s number David was fighting back unsure as to what was going on. The demonic forces in the game was sneering and laughing at her at the same time. Michael picked up the phone and Rachel explained what had happened. So Michael hacked onto the programme and came up as a character on the screen, a blonde haired woman as he had just chosen the first character. Michael began typing in some sort of hackers code on screen as Rachel watched the knife going nearer and nearer to David. Self sabotage? Who knew this was possible in a game? Soon Michael’s hacker code was able to unlock and undo the damage done by the evil hacker and Rachel was able to control her character again as David whacked her on the head and she had fallen on the floor with a thud! Ow! Rachel screamed at David and then explained she was hacked.

All three of the characters stood side by side as Michael remove the hackers access to their location and soon he disappeared, and so did Michael. Rachel thanked Michael. Rachel had had enough, she already had a tough day and she had been swearing all day because everything had angered and frustrated her, including lights and sounds and with her monthly hormonal changes that made her way hormonal and emotional. Soon she was crying both in the game and real world. David held her and asked what was wrong. So in the darkness with the demonic forces watching Rachel confessed her sins of the week, the swearing, the throwing things at the wall in anger and frustration at her family, the sexy ladies she had been looking at online lately and David just listened. In the game the demonic forces began throwing the law right at Rachel, each hit was imminent, creating wounds and Rachel’s character was soon almost half breathing and in David’s arms. Alarmed David wondered what was going on? What kind of battle was this? David looked around and noticed the demonic forces, the law attacks and realised what had to be done. Rachel had bought something in the market. He scrambled around in her backpack until he found it and took out The Gospel. The diamond cross soon began to speak aloud in the darkness as the holy light of the gospel began to envelope around it:

Started off with a prayer - What can I offer the Lord

    for all he has done for me?

I will lift up the cup of salvation

    and praise the Lord’s name for saving me.

I will keep my promises to the Lord

    in the presence of all his people.

The Lord cares deeply

    when his loved ones die.

Psalm 116:12-15

Rachel’s eyes shed a tear. The lord cares deeply when his loved ones die. The gospel continued:

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,’ he said to them. ‘Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Mark 14:22-26

This moment must have haunted the disciples the following day. Jesus’ strange words at supper must have replayed in their minds as his body was literally broken and His blood was actually shed on the cross. And then the day after that was the Sabbath and so, with broken hearts they would have dutifully attended synagogue returning home for a familiar, highly ritualised meal. 

‘Lunch on that Sabbath, straight after synagogue, would have begun as it always did with a blessing spoken out—are you ready for this?—over the bread and wine that were to be served with the meal. If any of the eleven remaining disciples were capable of eating that day, the grace spoken before lunch on Holy Saturday would have stabbed their hearts with remembrance of that Last Supper shared with Jesus . . . Sometimes, when God is silent, our hearts are breaking and our prayers lie unanswered, there can still be signs: faint flickers of hope and meaning expressed to us and for us in Scripture, in fellowship, and especially in the bread and wine.’

Yielding Prayer

Remembering the sacrifice of Jesus, I offer myself today as a living sacrifice for those I meet, by lifting my hands in surrender and personalising the words of the Anglican Service of Communion:

‘Almighty God, I thank you for feeding me with the body and blood of Your Son Jesus Christ. Through him I offer you my soul and body to be a living sacrifice. Send me out in the power of Your Spirit to live and work to Your praise and glory.’

Rachel remembered in both virtual and real life that Jesus had died for her and forgiven her sins. There was no longer any more need for sacrifice for Jesus was the perfect lamb of God who had taken away her sins. “I’m sorry Jesus” Rachel said aloud and David heard her. Soon the gospel gave life to Rachel’s character and she was able to stand up. Rachel looked around her as she saw the law of demonic religious forces around her and she filled with holy wrath this time opened up her bible on the screen and read out loud:

“But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.””

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3:10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I rely on Jesus! I rely on Jesus! Rachel shouted. Rachel had remembered Jesus, his forgiveness, his mercy, his slow to anger, his sacrifice end kindness and as she remembered how forgiven she was, how she didn’t need to earn and she herself didn’t earn this salvation the darkness of the south town lifted. As the darkness lifted Rachel and David saw lots of citizens in chains of religion. So Rachel read to them the gospel story, the place shook. Then Rachel remembered the weapon of praise, she took it out and a song began to play:

There is no bondage

Every chain is broken

There is no bondage

Jesus our hearts are open

No guilt, no shame

All my stains erased

There is no bondage

Every chain is broken

There is no bondage

Every chain is broken

There is no bondage

Jesus our hearts are open

No guilt, no shame

All my stains erased

There is no bondage

Every chain is broken

Every chain is broken

Every chain is broken

Every chain is broken

Every chain is broken

Every chain is broken

Every chain is broken

Every chain is broken

Every chain is broken

Every chain is broken

Every chain is broken

Every chain is broken

(No bondage jubilee worship)

As the song played Rachel took the weapon of praise sword and began slashing the chains of the citizens and they all got on their knees and declared Jesus as their lord and saviour, especially after having witnessed Rachel face her sin and conquer it with The Gospel. A thousand citizens came to Christ that day. Rachel and David took them to the temple of the lord and a message was sent to them stating that since they beat this level that only few can beat, they have been invited to join the Justice League tournament of the holy Bible game in the national tournament in December. They would compete against those others who had also passed this level and the winner would win a new bible that is quite large and lots of Christian books and worships albums and an actual trophy with their name engraved on it. David and Rachel hugged each other and David told Rachel never to give up hope, and next time she was having a bad day to please let him know first before just heading off into battle!

[badkatdesignsmastersblog]

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cuddy, Luke. BioShock and Philosophy : Irrational Game, Rational Book. Chichester, West Sussex, Uk ; Malden, Ma, John Wiley And Sons, Inc, 2015.

This book is one of my favorites for discussing the inherent political and philosophical issues in games. The Bioshock franchise has a lot to say about rejecting control and programming, be it the programming of polite society (“would you kindly”) or the more metaphorical rejection of a tyrannical parent’s expectations (Elizabeth Comstock’s entire character arc), and these myriad messages are parsed and considered through numerous philosophical and sociological frameworks. It constantly questions the ethical and moral implications of the many decisions a player can make in these games and pushes many varying views on the arcs of the different characters. It is a fascinating look at how games can help develop a critical mind towards structures in power through consistent diegetic writing and references to prominent (and wrong, in Ayn Rand’s case) thinkers in its scant dialogue.

Dyer-Witheford, Nick, and Greig De Peuter. Games of Empire : Global Capitalism and Video Games. Minneapolis, University Of Minnesota Press, 2009.

Yet another book to feature leftist views on the history of gaming (this entry was written like third to last chronologically), this one is more concerned about how technology that was once used to code subversive counter-culture gaming experiments in the 1970’s has since been expropriated to further capitalist and neocolonial interests and goals. As visual mass media like films and video games and TV has since supplanted print media (posters and print ads), all sorts of insidious agendas and troubling trends can and have been implanted subtly into what we normally consume, such as the glorification of warmongering and conquest games that then link through to the literal army website for enlistment.

The book itself is a critique of late stage capitalism and neoliberal interests that have made up the backbone of real-life simulation games like Second Life and America’s Army, and a galling look at the slimy ways we are fed ideology through games. 

Guillaume De Laubier, and Jacques Bosser. Sacred Spaces : The Awe-Inspiring Architecture of Churches and Cathedrals. New York, Abrams, 2018.

Growing up in a majority Catholic country with a highly devout grandmother and many aunts and uncles subscribing to that grift masquerading as a religion meant getting dragged to upwards of 40 church ceremonies and a lot of subtle proselytizing and covert conversions. All it did for me was make me fall in love with the gaudy excesses of its aesthetic sensibility. This book feeds my irrepressible need to look at Gothic architecture and stained glass and informs a lot of my aesthetic choices. The photography of church interiors and descriptive passages of the historical significance of Gothic architecture in relation to churches constantly informs my many aesthetic choices as both a goth and an agnostic/Jewish designer fascinated with the aesthetics of high Catholic camp and excess.  

Hernandez, Patricia. “The Cyberpunk 2077 Crunch Backlash.” Polygon, 7 Oct. 2020, www.polygon.com/2020/10/7/21505804/cyberpunk-2077-cd-projekt-red-crunch-youtube-jason-schreier-labor-the-witcher-3.

DISCLAIMER: While I am aware of the opinions surrounding Polygon and its purported corporate agenda, I have elected to source this article regardless, as it is reporting on an important aspect of the industry and the future we as designers have to look forward to as crunch becomes more and more normalised.

This article details the ways that CDPR (CD Projekt Red) treats its designers and developers, with six day work weeks and broken promises of ending crunch. It also shines a light on how netizens and players respond to negative reporting of this trend and how worryingly apathetic and downright disdainful the responses are. Exploitation isn’t new in any industry, but it scares me that someone could die of overwork and the people they’re slaving away on a game for wouldn’t care because “that’s just the way the industry is”.

Kakutani, Michiko. The Death of Truth. London, William Collins, 2018.

This text is invaluable for anyone who cares about how biases in the media they consume changes and warps news based on what they care about, while also addressing the trend of fully fabricated news to scare less informed (and often conservative) constituents further into their holes of prejudice and uneducated opinions. As a media student it’s fascinating to consider, but as a person living in the world it’s downright necessary. The sooner a person is aware of the biases in the media they consume, the faster they can learn the importance of diversifying the voices they listen to and address the blind spots in their information pipelines, and this book is really good at diving into the kind of language and rhetoric to be on the lookout for to parse out bias, which keeps me on my toes about the media I want to put out in the world.

Löwy, Michael. “Capitalism as Religion: Walter Benjamin and Max Weber.” Historical Materialism, vol. 17, no. 1, 2009, pp. 60–73, www.urbanlab.org/articles/moneyspeak/Lowy%202009%20-%20capitalism%20as%20religion.pdf, 10.1163/156920609x399218. Accessed 28th November 2020.

This article attempts to interpret one of the socialist critic Walter Benjamin’s reflections on capitalism as a societal framework, and how it had at the time of writing (1920s) come to resemble something closer to a religious cult. The unpublished paper makes allusions to Max Weber’s book The Protestant Work Ethic and The “Spirit” of Capitalism and Ernst Bloch’s (then unpublished) Thomas Münzer as Theologian of the Revolution.

Currently I believe this critique of capitalism has only become more relevant. He couldn’t have predicted the ravenous cultlike behaviours of Apple fanatics but that’s nothing more than the end point of the behaviours he was critiquing a hundred years ago come to roost. It’s important for people involved in games to understand this and take it to heart if we don’t want the industry to be more overrun with triple A yearly sports releases and the latest instalment of “grizzled white guy with gun and traumatic backstory”.

Skal, David J. The Monster Show : A Cultural History of Horror. New York, Faber And Faber, 2001.

This work is basically a historical look at the western media’s depictions of its greatest monsters, often discussing contextually as part of the cultural zeitgeist of any given time. It’s a fascinating look at the intersection of fear and semiotics in our current cultural landscape and additionally details the creation and eventual decline of the Hayes Code and normalisation of queer-coding villains, although my personal viewpoint on the matter is that it would have benefited the text to have delved into monsters and their depictions across nonwestern cultures, because fears (outside the unknown and darkness) aren’t really universal, and it would have made an interesting contrast to see the differences between a traditional western vampire and a manananggal, but I digress.

Unrelated to its cultural discussions, it also serves as a pretty scathing report of theatre writer pettiness and old Hollywood drama.

Weber, Max, et al. The Protestant Ethic and the “Spirit” of Capitalism and Other Writings. New York, Penguin Books, 2002.

This seminal work by turn of the century German theorist Max Weber proposes that a line exists between the puritanical beliefs that heavily relied on working oneself to the bone to be considered a moral person in the eyes of the lord and the eventual rise of industry and capitalism in western Europe. He juxtaposes the Protestant beliefs in productivity for its own sake to wash oneself clean of sin with the way that work under capitalism is presented as a way to contribute to society and, in some instances, repent and atone for transgressions and wrongdoings, arguing that one indelibly led to the other.

As a socialist (and non-Christian) myself, I believe I should be able to critically analyse the ethics of working myself (and others) to the bone, and why we’re taught it’s good and moral to push ourselves to physical and mental exhaustion. I don’t want my work to be created under conditions that are both spiritually and physically crushing, and this text is paramount to the analysis of so-called worker-oriented games companies and their policies towards worker welfare.

Woodcock, Jamie. Marx at the Arcade. Haymarket Books, 2019.

As a socialist myself I found this book to be a great insight into gaming as transgression from the systems of hierarchy around us. In a world where all anyone cares about is money, capital and the almighty bottom line, the idea that taking time for yourself is a revolutionary act fighting capitalism is definitely an interesting one. Yes, there are systems to serve within the game, but it’s a fascinating look at what we can consider transgression from the oppression of real life. Gaming is, according to the writer, an inherently unproductive activity where capital is not served (unless you work for a warcraft gold farming operation), and therefore a revolutionary action where you put yourself first. It can be an outlet for passion, and in some cases a coping mechanism for mental issues. It really made me hopeful in the industry I want to work in. (Disclaimer: I realise this barely scratches the surface of the book but it’s what stood out to me the most and what resonated with me the most.)

Wright, Alexa. Monstrosity : The Human Monster in Visual Culture. London, I.B. Tauris, 2013.

Another look at monsterhood, this time analysing our fears through personhood and how we as a culture project our fears on those who are different from us. I did a lot of research on monsterhood and how we see the other as inherently frightening for my final paper for university (which I will eventually upload as a reflective post because I still stand by a lot of it), and I think it’s valuable to know why we’re afraid of things so we can begin to unlearn harmful misconceptions of people who aren’t like us. As someone who wants to work in games art (focusing mainly on character art), I personally want to challenge the fear of the other through my work, and I want to use signifiers that are traditionally thought of as fearful to create more thoughtful art and hopefully help humanise that which was once considered hateful and gross.  

[live4yahushua-blog]

Amightywind prophecy #137

Prophecy 137 IMMAYAH’S Lullaby

Spoken under the Anointing of the RUACH HA KODESH

Through Apostle Elisheva Eliyahu

Received August 29, 2016 – Released May 30, 2017

* * * * * * *

YAHUVEH’S Words to Elisheva to be added before the Prophecies:

I warned you a long time ago Elisabeth [Elisheva], not to name this Ministry after a man or a woman. Even before there was a Ministry, I put it in your spirit.

For none of this has been done by your hands. None of this has come forth from your mouth.

It is from the Mouth of YAHUVEH that has given birth. It is from the Mouth of YAHUSHUA, your MASHIACH, that it has been given birth. It is from the Mouth of the RUACH HA KODESH, your IMMAYAH, that it has been given birth.

If it had only been by your hand, it would have failed long ago.

It is by the SHKHINYAH GLORY’S WIND that blows across this earth, the HOLY WIND OF REVIVAL. It is not by your breath, or it would have failed.

“I AM the LORD YAHUVEH: that is MY NAME: And MY GLORY I will not give to another, Neither MY PRAISE to graven images.” Isaiah 42:8

(Prophecy 105)

In July 2010, YAHUVEH GOD also said to add the following as a warning to those who mock:

But they mocked the Messengers of GOD, despised HIS Words, and scoffed at HIS Prophets, until the Wrath of YAHUVEH arose against HIS People, till there was no remedy. —2 Chronicles 36:16

* * * * * *

Prophecy Begins:

That’s all right children, just rejoice! This shows you how much satan hates the love that I have given both of you—he fears the words that you have spoken! Ezra, he knows that I have given a weapon like none other and I’ve told you all along it was love! But when you combined it with the words husband and wife NO WEAPON IN HELL CAN COME AGAINST IT!

For this day this has been redeemed! It doesn’t matter whether you have Internet! I just want you to see: How, Ezra, I anointed you even back then to even play the songs in the order I told you to! And the love Ezra—as you sat there so helpless—you just wanted to hold her in your arms and comfort her! And if you can see this video, you would see it on your face.

And instead I just kept telling you, first is singing that lullaby. That is a lullaby straight from Heaven.

Do you know IMMAYAH gives you each your own lullabies? You can’t always hear it. Seldom can you hear it and seldom do you know each other’s lullabies.

But Ezra I take this opportunity, since the devil has taken the Internet, to speak this Word to both of you. Ezra I gave you Elisheva’s lullaby.

There’s times when you are praying and so distraught, and you may be weeping, and all of a sudden a peace comes over you—and you don’t even know where it comes from. It’s just like a “Hush MY child” and a LOVING PEACE comes over you. That is your IMMAYAH. And SHE’S singing you a lullaby. And SHE’S rocking you in HER Arms.

You see in these end times the devil is going to try to counterfeit any way he can. For the evil ones have their own “queen of heaven” but I tell you there is but ONE and SHE is your HEAVENLY MOTHER. This is why I reveal these secrets to you now so others will understand. This is why I add even now, 89 and 90, [ ADD LINKS ] more revelations about WHO the RUACH HA KODESH is.

For those who will receive HER, the SWEET HOLY SPIRIT as a MOTHER, this will be a blessing.

And now I take this opportunity, I YAHUVEH, to give a new Prophecy, a new Revelation from Heaven. For Ezra you’re going to share that lullaby and this is what satan fears. No one can duplicate it. This is just further proof when I call a soul mate a soul mate, one who is Holy—and I mean Holy, obedient, who have their priorities straight—of I, YAHUVEH & YAHUSHUA & IMMAYAH.

I share secrets especially with those I call MY best friends; you and Elisheva, know things that come straight from Heaven.

And so Ezra when she needed calming down, at a time when she thought it was the worst in her life (but March 7 turned out to be the best in her life and this I gave you in May, as you had gone through all of this with her) as I kick out the worst in her life and bring the best in her life, that’s you Ezra—and I showed you something no one has ever known and you just started singing it: It was Elisheva’s lullaby. Where she had been crying, you calmed her.

And everyone who belongs to YAHUSHUA, follows YAHUSHUA, who has the HOLY SPIRIT within, your IMMAYAH, has their own lullaby. This is what I want to share with you so you can encourage others. This is how much your MOTHER loves you. This is how much your HEAVENLY FATHER loves you. Does not an earthly mother share lullabies, sing lullabies? A loving mother! Then why do you think your HEAVENLY MOTHER would not have a lullaby for you?

Oh but Ezra you’re special for it is as you said, you do not even know where the words came from. I delight in sharing secrets with MY friends! Do I not say, ‘I do nothing without sharing MY secrets to the Prophets’ (Amos 3:7)?

Amos 3:7

But there are some who are higher than just a Prophet. There are some who are higher than an Apostle. And I call you two MY best friends! For MY best friends can be trusted! MY best friends have already been tested! And when the testing still comes, MY best friends will pass their tests.

So this is the Words I was going to say before Elisheva your internet [connection] was taken away. All because Ezra you said how much you loved her! And you called her your wife! And that was the end of her internet! But I will not be stopped! I want you to understand so you can yet encourage others. And everything I’ve prophesied in that private Prophecy given in May, you have seen come to pass. For your love has been built on the CORNERSTONE—on trust and on love. And it only gets stronger.

And I want everyone to know—what’s going to be happening in this world oh so very very soon. For the United States is just begging for a war. The satanic elite—anything to stop this election and cause Donald Trump to be in defeat! You’re going to need a lullaby. You’re going to need to know WHO YAHUSHUA is. You’re going to need to call upon HIS NAME! Do it now before it’s too late!

How many people are humbling themselves? How many people are falling on their faces? How many people are asking, “Heal this land! Wash away the sin?”! How many people are standing up for morality? How many people are asking for I YAHUVEH to turn MY Face of Wrath away! How many people? I’ll tell you this! Not enough!

Those who belong to ME, those who are washed in the SHED BLOOD OF YAHUSHUA, those who follow and obey YAHUSHUA, those who worship YAHUSHUA, those who obey MY laws—for they know this, the laws did not save them, YAHUSHUA’S NAME & BLOOD saved them but they are still going to want to be commandment keepers! To be circumcised in heart and obey the first law to love ME with all their mind, their soul, their body, their being! This is the first law, “Love the LORD thy GOD!” That’s I, YAHUVEH! That’s YAHUSHUA! And that’s IMMAYAH! More than anything or anyone on this earth!

That’s circumcision of heart where you will want to follow the other laws, not just the Ten Commandments but the Torah Laws (those that are meant to be kept at this time). And I promise you this, when you obey every Word I say, when time of famine comes, again there shall be manna on the ground. I will send MY Holy angels to feed those that need [to be] fed.

I’m telling you all this to give you a different kind of lullaby for it isn’t long now. In fact there is a battle who will push that red button first! I’m warning you now.

Elisheva I gave you a dream! You called it the “Starving Baby Dream.” Get it out in the front again! Have someone make a video of it for you’re very close to it. And you were in a glorified body and the radiation you saw melting the peoples’ faces off. And I’m telling you this: There’s a race now who will be the first one to push that red button? Who will call the war of wars? Will it be the U.S.? Will it be Russia? Will it North Korea? Will it be China? Who will it be?

There are things going on behind the scenes and I’m not mentioning any other or that video would be censored—but it all started with a lullaby and Ezra I prove that the lullabies are real when you sang that to Elisheva. When she was at her most broken and you were there MY son, and you’ve been there all along for you shall have a glorified body, just like Elisheva. And I’m going to use you—both of you—in a way this world thinks not. Go and read the “Starving Baby Dream” and make sure a video is made as quickly as possible and pray for Donald Trump like you never have before because he truly does not want war. The war mongers in the White House right now are making plans. Other nations, other countries are right now making plans.

Elisheva: Are you there? [ Phone disruption. ]

[Prophecy continues: ] These are the Words I have to say. I do speak shalom. I do pray now blessings, I’m telling you this! I, YAHUVEH pray blessings on the children who belong to YAHUSHUA, filled with IMMAYAH the SWEET RUACH HA KODESH! Hold on tight to the Hem of YAHUSHUA’S Garment for very quickly now you’re going to experience that which you’ve never experienced.

The sealed Prophecy [78] is soon to be revealed! The one that I forbid Elisheva even to remember for it lasted 24 hours all in a dream. She’d wake up and she’d return to it again and again and I warned her not to try to remember. But I will say this: There will not be one person on the face of this earth that will not be able to say that they knew someone who died. This is how close it is to nuclear war.

You have tempted ME and tempted ME, oh enemies of MINE! You have thrown morality back in I, YAHUVEH’S Face! You have even tried to imitate life and animate life! You are not GOD! I shall show you WHO is GOD ALMIGHTY! THERE IS BUT ONE YAH! THERE IS BUT ONE YAHUSHUA! AND THERE IS BUT ONE IMMAYAH, HOLY SPIRIT!

You make your plans and you think the people are stupefied, they’re comatose. They breathe the air with your poison in it—getting their eyes focused on stupidity like this Pokemon GO. It’s opening portals to hell, inviting demons in! You have been warned! Now what will you do with it?

Just like I warned [of] the books of Harry Potter—your children would be demonized—and I asked you what will you do? Are you going to obey? Or are you going to allow the schools to teach it? Don’t come to YAHUSHUA and ask for your child to be delivered when you purposely allowed it!

I AM YAHUVEH! And I change not! And I AM YAHUSHUA! And I change not!

It matters not what year it is! OUR Words stand firm and WE will do all that WE say. And planet Earth, I refuse to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah and the seven cities! You mocked even creation! So now the GOD OF CREATION shall mock you when you cry out for mercy! Those who do not belong to YAHUSHUA, no mercy shall you find.

So here’s a new Prophecy, all because satan wanted to go before ME and stop this next Prophecy.

Repent of your sins! Fall on your faces! Only in the NAME OF YAHUSHUA is there Salvation! There is but ONE INTERCESSOR that comes before MY Throne and that’s only in the NAME OF YAHUSHUA and only through HIS SHED BLOOD.

[…]

End of Prophecy.

Ezra: Yes. Thank YOU HEAVENLY FATHER. Thank YOU YAHUSHUA. Thank YOU IMMAYAH for this wonderful Word, encouraging Word and so much revelation. We thank YOU ABBA YAHUVEH and we give YOU the Glory in YAHUSHUA’S NAME. Amen.

[datblog16]

God’s Faithfulness vs Man’s Faithlessness

Throughout scripture, there is an underlying current of God’s constant faithfulness and mankind’s unfaithful nature. People tend to say that the God of the Old Testament was a God of violence and judgement. The people that say these things have obviously never read the Old Testament.

They forget that mankind forsook their creator time and time again, and it was God’s mercy that did not allow for the human race to be completely wiped away. God is immutable, which means His nature never changes, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

His love for His people, despite their waywardness, their following of false gods and idols, their blatant disobedience to God’s commandments, God’s love for His chosen people never changed, He always brought them back to Him, but it was usually always through judgement, and the ultimate act of redeeming His people was seen in the sending of His son to become an atoning sacrifice.

Focusing on that theme of God’s faithfulness vs. man’s unfaithfulness, let’s come to the New Testament, specifically an encounter we are all familiar with, between a Samaritan woman and Jesus.

John 4:5-18

5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman and asks her for a drink. Jesus proceeds to tell her that He is able to provide her with living water with which she will never thirst again. When she asks for a drink of this living water, Jesus tells her to go call her husband.

I’ve always thought of this conversation as very confusing. Obviously, Jesus and the Samaritan woman were not on the same page. Jesus is speaking about a spiritual truth and the Samaritan woman is not understanding and thinks He is talking in literal terms, about earthly water.

Then Jesus tells her to go call her husband when all she asked for was the living water that Jesus claimed to provide, as if the woman wasn’t already confused enough. Why did Jesus answer this way? What does this woman’s marital affairs have to do with anything?

The truth is that Jesus knew the woman did not understand, her eyes were still closed to the truth, her ears were not understanding the mystery of which Jesus was speaking, so He had to open up her heart.

Let’s go to another passage to understand a little better.

Jeremiah 2:1-13

The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: “This is what the Lord says: “‘I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown. 3 Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,’” declares the Lord. 4 Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob, all you clans of Israel. 5 This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. 6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and utter darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’ 7 I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable. 8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols. 9 “Therefore I bring charges against you again,” declares the Lord. “And I will bring charges against your children’s children. 10 Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar[a] and observe closely; see if there has ever been anything like this: 11 Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. 12 Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the Lord. 13 “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

The Lord God had called out Israel as His bride. He led her out of Egypt, through the wilderness, providing food, protecting them, caring for them, establishing them, and leading them to the land He had promised for them. He told them to be faithful to Him, to not follow other gods. But they turned far away from Him and went after worthless things. They forsook their GLORIOUS GOD, THE SPRING OF LIVING WATER, and dug their own broken cisterns that can’t even hold water.

Let’s look at another passage.

Jeremiah 3:12-14

12 Go, proclaim this message toward the north: “‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will not be angry forever. 13 Only acknowledge your guilt—you have rebelled against the LORD your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’” declares the LORD. 14 “Return, faithless people,” declares the LORD, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.

Isaiah 54:5

“For your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.”

Coming back to the passage in Luke, Jesus was calling out to the nature of the Samaritan woman’s marriage. Like Israel, she had been unfaithful, she had been pursuing many lovers, she was creating her own cisterns that could not hold water. Jesus reminded her that only One lover mattered, the lover of her soul, the spring of living water. Stop pursuing the things that cannot satisfy, the things of this world that will run dry. Pursue the fountain of living water, from which you will never thirst again.

John 7:37-38

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

The Samaritan woman had placed her affection on the wrong things. Where is our affection going? What idols and false gods have we replaced for God in our lives? Who is our husband? Are we following many different husbands or our one true husband?

Ephesians 5:25-27

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

Jesus is reminding his bride, the church, the body of Christ, to come back to Him. He is coming back soon and He is going come back for a pure bride, we need to individually ask ourselves, where have we gone astray? What has taken priority over Jesus in my life? Where is my time, energy, and affection going? Don’t be an unfaithful bride, don’t flirt with the world, and come back to Jesus on Sundays. It doesn’t work that way. We have to repent and come back to Jesus wholeheartedly. We love because He first loved. As He is the faithful husband, so let us be the faithful bride.

[mydrdmind]

My song roots

Of the 600+ hymns in the 1991 Baptist Hymnal, the following list comprises the hymns that I remember singing with regularity prior to the 1991 publication.  All of the hymns listed here, to the best of my knowledge, were also in the 1977 New Broadman Hymnal (which was bound, organized, and typeset almost identically to the 1975 Baptist Hymnal.) Both the 1975 Baptist and 1977 New Broadman Hymnals were the hymnals I grew up with. The reason I opened with my statement about the 1991 Baptist Hymnal is that while there were many “new” hymns and songs included at that time of publication, I did not begin using it regularly in worship until between 1995 - 2006.  There are also many hymns that I became more familiar with in my later years that were included in all 3 of the hymnals mentioned above, however, they were not a regular part of my pre-college years. There are also other hymns, (i.e. A Mighty Fortress is Our God) which are absent from this list only because they were not a regular part of my youth even though I was familiar with them.

The main reason for this list is to identify a canon of song that was foundational to my spiritual development. In doing so, I was able to use the contents of the 1991 Baptist Hymnal in order to get some data that interested me. Out of approximately 662 hymns, the only ones that were sung with regularity are listed below – 149 out of 662. What is also interesting is that out of the 149 hymns below, only 131 were non-seasonal hymns. Of the 149, there are 10 Christmas, 3 Easter, and 5 Patriotic hymns/songs. So for most of the church year, the canon of song I grew up with consisted of 131 hymns. How do I know they were done regularly?  First, at 45 years old, I can still sing many of these, to some degree, from memory, and I haven’t used a hymnal or programed all but about 10 of these hymns regularly in worship for over a decade.  Second, I grew up in a very small congregation, and for a period my Father was the song leader and my Mother was the pianist.  I also served as song leader for 2 years before going off to college. Music was what we did. 

Now here is the really interesting part. The order of service was usually: Song, Invocation, Song, Song, Welcome/Announcements, Song, Song, Offertory Prayer, Offertory (Choir or Instrumental), Sermon, Invitational Song, Dismissal Prayer. We did on average 6 hymns a week. But wait, we also had a different Sunday night service! Although we sang one less hymn on Sunday night, that still brings the total to 11 different hymns each Sunday chosen from the 131 non-seasonal hymns. And of course, we always omitted the 3rd verse of every 4 verse hymn. What I have realized through this little research exercise is that the reason why these hymns are so embedded into my memory is because with 11 different hymns each week out of 149 to choose from, there was a fair amount of repetition! Even if we did not repeat a hymn until the list had been exhausted, that would have only lasted 13.5 weeks into the year. At minimum, each hymn would have to be selected 3.8 times a year. But I know that is unrealistic because several hymns were more popular than others. At any rate, repetition was part of reason why these songs have been ingrained in me.

All this is to say that this exercise has given me a personal understanding of the importance of establishing a canon of song in my current ministry so that future generations will be able to pull from a rich history of song, albeit, not necessarily from a specific hymnal.  In my next post, I will look at the hymns and songs that have formed me from 2006 to the present.

Here is my list:

Non-Seasonal Hymns

All Hail the Power of Jesus Name (CORONATION)

All the way my Savior leads me

Amazing Grace

Are you washed in the Blood

At Calvary

At the Cross

Because He Lives

Blessed Assurance

Blessed be the Name

Blest be the tie

Break Thou he Bread of Life

Breathe on me

Brethren, we have met to worship

Christ receiveth sinful men

Come Christians, Join to Sing

Come Thou Almighty King

Come Thou Fount of every Blessing

Count Your blessings

Down at the Cross

Doxology

Fairest Lord Jesus

Faith of our Father’s

Footsteps of Jesus

Glorious is Thy Name

God, Our Father, we Adore Thee

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Have Faith in God

Have Thine own way Lord

He Hideth my soul

He is able to deliver thee

He Keeps me singing

He Leadeth Me! O Blessed Thought

He Lives

Heaven came down

Heavenly Sunlight

Higher ground

Holy, Holy, Holy

How Great Thou Art

I am Resolved

I am Thine O Lord

I have decided to follow Jesus

I know whom I have Believed

I love to tell the story

I must tell Jesus

I need thee every hour

I stand amazed in the presence

I Surrender All

I will sing of my redeemer (MY REDEEMER)

I will sing the wondrous story

In loving kindness Jesus came

In the Garden

It is well

Jesus is all the World to me

Jesus Loves Me

Jesus Paid it all

Jesus, Keep me near the cross

Joyful, Joyful we adore Thee

Just a closer walk with Thee

Just as I am (WOODWORTH)

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

Let others see Jesus in you

Living for Jesus

Lord, I’m coming home

Lord, send a revival

Love Divine , All Loves excelling

Love lifted me

Make me a blessing

Make me a channel of Blessing

Moment by Moment

More about Jesus

My Faith looks up to thee

My Jesus I love Thee

Near to the heart of God

Nothing But the Blood

O Worship the King

Oh, How I Love Jesus

On Jordan’s stormy banks

One Day

Onward Christian Soldiers

Open my eyes that I may see

Pass me not, O Gentle Savior

Praise Him! Praise Him!

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Redeemed how I love to proclaim it

Rescue the perishing

Revive us again

Rock of Ages

Savior like  shepherd lead us

Send a great revival

Send the light

Set my soul afire

Shall we gather at the river

Since Jesus Came into my heart

Softly and Tenderly

Speak to my heart

Spirit of the Living God

Stand Up, Stand up for Jesus (WEBB)

Standing on the promises

Sunshine in my soul

Sweet hour of Prayer

Sweet, Sweet Spirit

Take my life and let it be consecrated (YARBROUGH)

Take the name of Jesus with you

Tell it to Jesus

Tell me the Story of Jesus

The Lilly of the Valley

The Nail-scarred hand

The Old Rugged Cross

The savior is waiting

The Solid Rock

There is a fountain

There is power in the Blood

There shall be showers of blessing

There’s a land that is fairer that day

This is my Father’s World

Tis so sweet to Trust in Jesus

To God be the Glory

Trust and Obey

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Victory in Jesus

w/hen the morning comes

We are called to be God’s People

We have heard the joyful sound

We’re marching to Zion

What Friend we have in Jesus

When the roll is called up yonder

When we all get to heaven

Wherever He Leads I’ll Go

Why do I sing about Jesus?

Without Him

Wonderful Words of Life

Patriotic Hymns

America the Beautiful

God of our Fathers

Mine Eyes have seen the glory

My Country tis of thee

The Star-Spangled Banner

Christmas

Angels from the realms of Glory

Angels we have heard on High

Away in a manger

Hark, the Herald Angels sing

It Came Upon the Midnight clear

Joy to the World

O come, All Ye Faithful

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Silent Night

The First Noel

Easter

Christ the Lord is Risen Today

Crown Him with Many Crowns

Low in the Grave He Lay (He Arose)

[piouscatholic]

#Universalis

Friday 19 July 2019 (other days)

Friday of week 15 in Ordinary Time

About Today · Readings at Mass · Office of Readings · Morning Prayer · Terce · Sext · None · Evening Prayer · Night Prayer · Yearly calendar · Universalis site · Settings · Tweet

Morning Prayer (Lauds)

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

INTRODUCTION

O God, come to our aid.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning,

is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen. Alleluia.

Hymn

We bless you, Father, Lord of Life,

To whom all living beings tend,

The source of holiness and grace,

Our first beginning and our end.

We give you thanks, Redeeming Christ,

Who bore our weight of sin and shame;

In dark defeat you conquered sin,

And death, by dying, overcame.

Come, Holy Spirit, searching fire,

Whose flame all evil burns away.

Come down to us with light and love,

In silence and in peace to stay.

We praise you, Trinity in One,

Sublime in majesty and might,

Who reign for ever, Lord of all,

In splendour and unending light.

Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal

Psalm 50 (51)

God, have mercy on me

Against you alone have I sinned: Lord, have mercy on me.

Take pity on me, Lord, in your mercy;

in your abundance of mercy wipe out my guilt.

Wash me ever more from my guilt

and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know how guilty I am:

my sin is always before me.

Against you, you alone have I sinned,

and I have done evil in your sight.

Know this, so that you may give just sentence

and an unbiased judgement.

See, I was conceived in guilt,

in sin my mother conceived me;

but you love truth in the heart,

and deep within me you have shown me your wisdom.

You will sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be made clean;

you will wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

You will make me hear the sound of joy and gladness;

the bones you have crushed will rejoice.

Turn your face away from my sins

and wipe out all my transgressions;

create a pure heart in me, God,

put a steadfast spirit into me.

Do not send me away from your presence,

or withdraw your holy spirit from me;

give me again the joy of your salvation,

and be ready to strengthen me with your spirit.

I will teach the unjust your ways,

and the impious will return to you.

Free me from the guilt of bloodshed, God, God my saviour,

and my voice will glory in your justice.

Open my lips, Lord,

and my mouth will proclaim your praise;

for you do not delight in sacrifices:

if I offered you a burnt offering, it would not please you.

The true sacrifice is a broken spirit:

a contrite and humble heart, O God, you will not refuse.

Be pleased, Lord, to look kindly on Zion,

so that the walls of Jerusalem can be rebuilt,

Then indeed you will accept the proper sacrifices, gifts and burnt offerings;

then indeed will bullocks be laid upon your altar.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning,

is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

Against you alone have I sinned: Lord, have mercy on me.

Psalm Translation

To see the offical Grail psalms, get the Universalis app.

Canticle Jeremiah 14

Lamentation of the people in the time of famine and war

We know our offences, Lord; we have sinned against you.

Let my eyes shed tears, night and day, let them never cease,

for the daughter of my people is afflicted with a great affliction,

with the worst of all wounds.

If I go out into the fields – behold, those slain by the sword;

if I go into the city – behold, those wasted by famine.

Prophet and priest go through the land, they know nothing.

Surely you have not rejected Judah, thrust him from you?

Surely Zion has not become hateful to your heart?

Why have you struck us down beyond all hope of healing?

We have looked for peace, but no good came;

we have looked for the time of healing, but trouble came instead.

We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the evil done by our fathers:

we acknowledge that we have sinned.

Do not make us a reproach, for your name’s sake,

and do not make us a disgrace before the throne of your glory.

Remember the covenant you made with us: do not bring it to an end.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning,

is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

We know our offences, Lord; we have sinned against you.

Psalm 99 (100)

Enter the Temple with joy

The Lord is God; we are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth,

and serve him with joy.

Exult as you enter his presence.

Know that the Lord is God.

He made us and we are his

– his people, the sheep of his flock.

Cry out his praises as you enter his gates,

fill his courtyards with songs.

Proclaim him and bless his name;

for the Lord is our delight.

His mercy lasts for ever,

his faithfulness through all the ages.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning,

is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

The Lord is God; we are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Short Reading

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ©

I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me, and that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and the agonies I go through for Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.

Short Responsory

In the morning let me know your love.

– In the morning let me know your love.

Make me know the way I should walk.

– In the morning let me know your love.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

– In the morning let me know your love.

Canticle Benedictus

The Messiah and his forerunner

The Lord has visited his people, he has come to redeem them.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption.

He has raised up the sign of salvation

in the house of his servant David,

as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones,

his prophets through the ages:

to rescue us from our enemies

and all who hate us,

to take pity on our fathers,

to remember his holy covenant

and the oath he swore to Abraham our father,

that he would give himself to us,

that we could serve him without fear

– freed from the hands of our enemies –

in uprightness and holiness before him,

for all of our days.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High:

for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path,

to let his people know their salvation,

so that their sins may be forgiven.

Through the bottomless mercy of our God,

one born on high will visit us

to give light to those who walk in darkness,

who live in the shadow of death;

to lead our feet in the path of peace.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning,

is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

The Lord has visited his people, he has come to redeem them.

Prayers and intercessions

We have a high priest, able to sympathize with us in our weakness, one who, because of his likeness to us, has been tempted in every way, but did not sin. Let us pray to him:

– Show us your mercy and compassion.

Lord, for the joy which lay in the future, you willingly went to the cross:

make us share your death, that we may also share your joy.

– Show us your mercy and compassion.

Lord, you said ‘Let any man who thirsts come to me and drink’:

give your Spirit now to those who thirst for you.

– Show us your mercy and compassion.

You sent your disciples to preach the gospel to every nation:

bless those men and women who devote their lives to preaching the gospel today.

– Show us your mercy and compassion.

Help those in pain to know that the Father cares for them

for he loves them as he loves his own Son.

– Show us your mercy and compassion.

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Almighty Father,

let your light so penetrate our minds

that, walking in your commandments,

we may always follow you, our leader and guide.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.

Amen.

The official Grail translation of the psalms, which is used liturgically in most of the English-speaking world, has not been displayed here, for copyright reasons. The following apps do contain the official translations.

[dailyaudiobible]

02/01/2020 DAB Transcript

Exodus 13:17-15:18, Matthew 21:23-46, Psalms 26:1-12, Proverbs 6:16-19

Today is the 1st day of February, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian. So, as we close a week, we begin the second month of the year and what a joy it is to have made it this far on the journey with you settling into a rhythm now that will carry us all the way through this year together but all the way through the Bible as well. And probably after a month we, you know, if…if…it's been a daily rhythm for a month we can see…we can see why the Bible matters, how interesting it is and how deeply it can touch our lives and bring truth into our souls. So, great to be here with you on this first day of the new month. It’s the same week, so we’ve been reading from Evangelical Heritage Version this week, which is what we’ll do today. And the children of Israel in the book of Exodus have exited Egypt and their enslavement and that is kind of the point at which they’re adventure begins. And, so, we are right at the beginning of the…of the next era with the children of Israel. Exodus chapter 13 verse 17 through 15 verse 18 today.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and we thank You, we thank You for bringing us across the threshold and into the second month of the year. We thank You for the life that You've given us. We thank You for the journey that we are on together as we continue to allow Your word to speak into our hearts. We thank You for the month of January and all that You have begun to do inside of us because of that month. And, so we set our sights before us into this month that we are about to live, and we realize that we are at this threshold. In this second month that story has not yet been told. And day by day step-by-step choice by choice we will write the story of that month and we invite Your Holy Spirit to permeate it. We pray that on every page that we would write that Your name would be in every sentence and paragraph, in every thought word and deed of our lives in this coming month. May we honor You. Come, Holy Spirit we pray we pray. We love You, we worship You, we pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the web site, its where you find out what’s going on around here. So, stay tuned and stay connected. The Prayer Wall lives at dailyaudiobible.com. You can access it using the Daily Audio Bible app, but that is a fantastic resource if you're shouldering burdens you shouldn't carry alone or you just want to help, you just…you just want to pray for your brothers and sisters and stay connected in Spirit. That’s a fantastic resource.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There’s a link, it’s on the homepage. Thank you profoundly for your partnership. I am…words…words are not…I mean…words…the…I just don't have the vocabulary. I’m in awe of what God has done and I’m grateful beyond words that…that each day we can meet here like this. And, so, thank you for your partnership. So, there’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address if you prefer is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request a comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here next week, which happens to be tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi DAB family this is Daniel in Florida I’m calling today for prayer and healing for my marriage of 24 years. I’ve been a terribly selfish husband throughout our relationship, and I have trouble with lying to her. She is such a beautiful and wonderful caring woman. My lying is putting great stress on her and breaking her heart. I don’t know why I lie to her and is always about my things, but I know I need to stop. I need her forgiveness and I need to start rebuilding her trust. She’s the only woman I want to be with, and the one God gave just for me. I’m, self-sabotaging my relationship. Please pray that I don’t lie to her and she can forgive give me and let me start rebuilding her trust again. Thanks.

Hello, my name is Charisse I’m a woman of God and I’ve just had tragedy in my life. I’m in the hospital right now. I had a car accident on January 6th and I lost my husband. We left behind two little __ two twins nine months __ years old, nine months Augustine and Constantine and a __ is __. __ and he is such a good soul. His name is __. I had to have three surgeries. I broke my femur, ruptured spleen and my pelvis. I’m asking for strength to get through my physical therapy so I can get home to my children and the long journey of…of healing because of my sorrow. I’m only 32 years old and my husband was 32 years old also. I’m only on January 8th Daily Audio Bible and I’ve been listening for about six months now. Thank you for your prayers.

Hi, DABbers it’s Carla Jean in Las Vegas calling to thank all of you who have reached out to me and prayed for me following by call about my son Noah and my situation for the last six months or so. But tonight, I’m calling to pray for others. Brian, I heard your call about being severely depressed and having anxiety. Please know that God is not far away from you. He’s right there. Diana Davis I’m praying for you and your family. We are storming heaven for Almighty healing, and I pray for your sons as well. Harold I just loved your call. It uplifted me. It reminded me what I love about the DAB family and I’m glad you joined our family. Michael you have a daughter in Texas that has cancer. I’m praying for her as well. Heather you said you were consumed by fear that you’re so very tired. Reach out to the Lord. We are reaching out to Him on your behalf. God’s Smile I just want to thank you. Every time you call, I smile. So, thank you so much. Annette in Oklahoma City, same thing. When I hear your voice it just brings me great joy. Slave of Jesus you brought me to tears with your prayers for Diana Davis today. Thank you brother and I pray for your protection as well while you’re in the Middle East. Diane Olive Brown I know your dad’s funeral is tomorrow. Please know that I’m covering you in prayer. I love the reading that you’re going to be reading. Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus the Lord. That’s my prayer for all of us. I love you my DAB family. Thank you, Brian so much.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible my name is Soraya and I am…I’m in __, a small town near Barcelona Spain and I am, calling to pray for Brent from Ohio and my prayer is not only for the Lord to deliver him from the addiction of pain medication but also for him to grow closer to the Lord and to find strength in the presence of the Lord. And it’s just like Psalm 121 says, that the Lord doesn’t sleep just to save you from the harsh…harshness of the sun and the moon. And I pray that you can find comfort in knowing that there is a God. There is the one and only God who watches over you and over your sleep, that He sees you, that the God of __ that saw her in her suffering sees you Brent in your addiction and your pain and may you then find courage and strength in that and the daily word to do your part. The Lord will do you His part because He is faithful, and He is good. So, I pray that you also are encouraged by the many testimonies in this community ass many of us that have overcome addiction, broken marriages, and deaths, illnesses. So, please know that it is possible, that it is possible with the grace and powerful hand of the Holy Spirit for you to overcome this addiction. This addiction does not define you, but rather you have hope in the Lord Jesus in the powerful hand of the Holy Spirit. I will continue to pray for you Brent from Ohio. Thank you and have a…

Hi, this is Rebecca from California. My sweet dad went to be with Jesus November 25, 2019. He was a regular listener of Daily Audio Bible and we had sweet times together listening as I’d care for him. And it was so many special memories listening to the Daily Audio Bible with my dad. At night when he couldn’t sleep, we’d put on the Daily Audio Bible again and we’d listen to it to give him peace of mind and just dwell on God’s word and it would often just cause him to be to relax and rest. I thank you Brian for this ministry. I continue to listen and have been for several years and I will always think of my dad and the time together. And I thank you that he’s rejoicing in heaven and that we have this special time listening to God’s word together. Thank you for blessing us with that. It was such a blessing to have you reading when I couldn’t and to have that…God’s word washing over us in the middle of the night. And I know my dad loved Jesus so much, he loved of the Daily Audio Bible, he loved the community and the Prayer Wall And, I know that many of you who didn’t know him will see him in heaven when we all get there. Thank you and God bless you.

Hi this is Asia from Chicago I’m calling in today for Brent. He called in about having pain medication addiction. So, I just wanted to say Brent, dude, it is so great that you have called in and asked for help. That is the first step in recovery, is admitting that you have an addiction. And, so, I’m so proud of you and God sees you in that and sees your heart and wanting to change. So, I just pray that whatever pain you are relieving, whatever need you have that is making you numb it with that euphoria, I just pray that you would be able to be honest with yourself on whatever deep root issue is there, whether it be maybe pain from parent or pain from some loss in your life. Your heart and your body are trying to grieve those losses and sometimes it’s so much more painful to come face to face with that pain and so we self-medicate but I promise you bother from my experience with depression and anxiety it’s only from coming face-to-face with the root problems, grieving those pains, that we are able to truly let them go and become a renewed, transformed, healthier version. So, I’m praying for you brother. I love you. I know it’s so hard. You’re so hard on yourself. Give yourself some grace and take it one day at a time. Look for resources like Narcotics Anonymous. They are such a helpful resource. So, I’m praying for you and I love you. Praying for your wife as well. This is Asia from Chicago. Love you guys. Love you Brent. Bye.

Father, empty me of me and fill me up with all that is thee the sun is shining very bright and I sleep serenely through the night every day I seek your face and ask you God to take your place as Lord and Master in my heart keeping me and sin far apart rescue me from self and stress and help me give my very best walking strong and unafraid and thanking you for all the progress made

blindtony1016@gmail.com. Like to give a shout out to Drew from the bay area. Hope you’re still hanging in there. Know your loved and thought of and Egbert Lopez and Tracy Baker. Both of you, know you’re in my prayers daily and thought of all the time. Hope you’re all well. And once again Brian and the Hardin family, thank you for this wonderful podcast for God’s Holy Spirit to flow. Keep it flowin’ y’all. All right. Bye-bye.

Hi y’all my needs Devon and I’m a missionary in Mozambique Africa. I just wanted to thank Daily Audio Bible for what they do is help me tremendously just to be able to, while I’m out working, well I’m out you know doing…doing what I do, to be able to just listen to God’s word. So, I just wanted to thank y’all and I just wanted to ask if y’all would pray that God would just continue to move in Mozambique just the way He has been moving that He would continue to move and continue to just rain down His presence and His grace and mercy on this country. Thanks. Love you all. Have a great day.

[embhm]

Chapter 187: How to REALLY make SOMEONE WORRY!

Note: Thank you to Sienna and Sae for the translation of this chapter! <3 I also dedicate it to the almighty cat/neko. They don’t necessarily have to be a tsundere uke because they are related to the King of Beasts (Lion) and the Lord of the Jungle (Tiger). I’m looking at you Kev! -_-       - Alec

While reading, please read the footnotes at the end of the chapter for clarification.

NO SPOILERS PLEASE!!!, in the comments or anywhere on this account. We have not finished reading the novel. No copy/paste and all that other shenanigans either. Votes/likes/comments are highly appreciated.

Translators: Sienna & Sae      Editors: Jowly & Alec

As always, THANK YOU for reading and enjoying the journey with our FAITHFUL boys:

GU HAI & BAI LUO YIN

《你丫上瘾了》

Chapter 187: How to REALLY make SOMEONE WORRY!

After letting out an exuberant burst of laughter, Bai Han Qi finally noticed that inside this private room, he was the only person who dared to wear a wide smile on his face. The remaining three silently stared at him and showed a cold expression as if the temperature of the room was below 20°C. At first, Aunt Zou had every intention to squeeze out a smile along with Bai Han Qi since she too held the same feelings regarding this seemingly “strange” situation. However, once she felt the two pairs of eyes–of the two sitting in front of her–shooting sharp and dangerous daggers in her direction, the smile at the corners of her mouth dies down involuntarily.

At long last the silence that loomed over them for what seem like ages was finally broken when Jiang Yuan spoke up again. Unsurprisingly, the words that crawled out of her mouth were harsh, hurtful and demeaning as they rained down on Bai Han Qi.

“Bai Han Qi, did you bring your brain with you today? Our son is suffering from such a serious problem, yet you still have the guts to laugh!! Should I call you a kindhearted and generous person, or should I call you an idiot? Our son is not experiencing puppy love nor is he cheating on a girl. He is having problems with his sexual orientation. This is a serious mental illness. Don’t you understand any of this at all?”

Although confronted with Jiang Yuan’s harsh accusations, an exceptionally cool air of calmness still played out on Bai Han Qi’s expression. So much so that even the aura around him seems relaxing.

“I believe you should look at yourself. Then, you’ll be able to see the reason for why our son doesn’t like women, right?”

Steam rose above Jiang Yuan’s head at those words. Caught with such fury, her eyes were  immediately sprinkled with an inky crimson color that were soon going to spill out. She points her finger firmly at Bai Han Qi and continues to catechize him. “What do you mean by those words?”

All of a sudden, Gu Wei Ting’s hands slam on the table. Then he himself bellows furiously, “Both of you, stop quarrelling!”

As soon as Gu Wei Ting shouted, no one dared to make a sound.

“Bai Laodi,[1] I’m going to make it clear to you. I will never approve of the two of them being together! Ever. I only invited the two of you here to resolve the problem. Regardless of whether or not you acknowledge the issue, it has already happened. Also, what I have to say is, whether right or wrong, you and I both have this heavy burden in our hearts now.”

Jiang Yuan took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears. She looks as though she was far more broken-hearted than anyone else was.

Even though the meal was already served, no one moved their chopsticks. All the while it was only silence and a divided sense of right and wrong that pervaded the atmosphere between them.

Gu Wei Ting brought his wine cup up and sways it in front of Bai Han Qi’s eyes.

“Bai Laodi, I hope that after you drink this, you can think of a concrete solution to this problem.”

After clinking their glass of wine against the other, both drained the contents in one gulp.

As the proverbs goes, wine has the unique savoir faire to incite a person’s courage. After Bai Han Qi finished his cup of wine, his cheeks immediately flushed red, while his pupils were beaming with giddiness and a youthful vigor.

“In regard to this problem, I would like to say wholeheartedly to let things take their course.”

Gu Wei Ting, “…”

Jiang Yuan, whose tears had dried up, fixed her gaze at Aunt Zou straightaway.

“Didn’t Yin Zi say that you’re like his own mother now? Then, I would like to listen to your opinion as his so-called mother about this matter……”

Aunt Zou’s heart tightens as she unconsciously shoots Bai Han Qi a quick glance. Not long after, she shifts her gaze back at Jiang Yuan. Letting out a sigh, a hint of embarrassment and awkwardness seeps through her smile.

“The truth is, I only intended to be an audience in today’s meeting.”

Hearing such simple words, the answer lacking substance in her opinion, Jiang Yuan became extremely livid; to the point that it nearly drove her to an untimely death.

Looking at the two in front of him and their reactions to what he had just informed them, Gu Wei Ting finally understood everything. The couple he invited today were neither his allies nor his comrades, rather they could be called complete reactionaries instead! No wonder the relationship between their two sons can develop and deepen as swift and violent as it did. As it turns out, there were actually two despicable people aiding their heinous actions!!

“I don’t care how you two educate your children, but I must look after my own son!”

Having said that, Gu Wei Ting proceeded to walk out of the room with a gloomy and dark face. Meanwhile, Jiang Yuan grabbed her bag and glared at the two who remained seated with furious eyes before ruthlessly following her husband out.

—–

During the weekend, Gu Hai woke up before the crack of dawn and conscientiously washed his face and rinsed his mouth. Afterwards, he fixed his hair into a natural and easy style before changing into his some clean clothes. When he walked toward the side of the bed, he could see that Bai Luo Yin was still sleeping peacefully.

As he silently leaned against the bed to watch him for a few more seconds, he blew a few strands of hair sitting near Bai Luo Yin’s eyes and watched as his lashes began to flutter. Lowering his head just a bit more, he whispered softly. “Yin Zi, I’ll head out and buy breakfast first. By the time I come back, you had better be done putting your clothes on! Got it?!”

Instead of replying to Gu Hai, Bai Luo Yin immediately buried his head deeper into the quilts.

Used to this kind of reaction, Gu Hai simply smiled and sweetly kissed Bai Luo Yin’s tinted ear. “I’ll get going then.”

The fuzzy, indistinct voice–that had attempted to pull him out of his comfortable sleep everyday–gradually died down. By the time Bai Luo Yin opened his eyes again, the sun was already high in the sky. There were no familiar scents of breakfast wafting from the kitchen. Nor could Bai Luo Yin see Gu Hai’s tall and muscular figure within his line of sight.

For the entire morning, Bai Luo Yin searched everywhere for Gu Hai. He even took the initiative to call every single person he could reach and yet none of them had any news regarding Gu Hai.

Consumed with terrible anxiety that seemed to stab at his heart repeatedly, his feet brought him to Bai Han Qi’s workplace.

“Was Da Hai taken by his father? Two days ago, his father invited Aunt Zou and I to discuss something. After listening to his opinion, it seems he was very adamant in his disapproval regarding the two of you being together.”

Just as Bai Luo Yin turns around to leave, Bai Han Qi pulls him back with a bit more force than usual.

“Don’t go looking for Gu Hai’s father so recklessly. The military base is not a very good place. If by any chance you manage to provoke someone there, they won’t be imprisoned even if they were to beat you! Or worse, even kill you.”

Taking his father’s words into account, Bai Luo Yin then simply held Bai Han Qi’s hand and began to console  him. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. My mom is there, so they won’t dare harm me.”

After he finished speaking, Bai Luo Yin left Bai Han Qi’s office hastily with large and vigorous strides.

Bai Han Qi could only sighed heavily as he watched his son walk away. 

This kid… there’s completely no way of going back for him anymore!

—–

The moment Gu Wei Ting saw Gu Hai, his first words to him were: “Enlist in the army.”

Gu Hai was utterly shocked and puzzled by Gu Wei Ting’s sudden change of attitude towards him. Because of Gu Wei Ting’s rough method of handling this ‘problem,’ their relationship–that had just gotten better a few days ago–became tense and cold once again. But Gu Wei Ting had already stopped caring about their kinship. In Gu Wei Ting’s judgement, Gu Hai had not taken this short lived sentiment between father and son earnestly either. So even if he treated Gu Hai well, this son of his would only manipulate him for his own gain.

“You should give up on this idea altogether. I’ve said it before, I will never enlist in the army.”

Gu Wei Ting’s complexion metamorphosed, giving off a cold aura that became even more unrelenting. Within seconds, his manner of speaking also turned ruthless.

“Either you enlist or you break up your relationship. You can only choose one!”

Gu Hai’s gaze turns sharp, “This is my life. I don’t need anyone to dictate it.”

“Hehe……” Gu Wei Ting sneered coldly at him, “Then, show me how big your determination is! Didn’t you fearlessly dig a tunnel huh? Starting now, you’d better stay inside that tunnel. If you still can’t understand your problem or get over Luo Yin, then don’t ever hope to get out of there!”

In just a few short hours, Gu Hai had managed to land himself into a dark tunnel. A situation opposite from his warm and cozy room earlier that day.

At the time, in order to finish the passageway as soon as possible, he wasn’t worried about making it wider. Instead when he had it made, there was barely enough room for one person to pass through. As a result, aside from sitting or lying down, it was impossible to stand up from where he was. If he were to try and move, he could only slowly crawl around this uncomfortable and claustrophobic tunnel.

Gu Hai closed his eyes and imagined that the end of the tunnel was Bai Luo Yin’s room. In that room, where he had lay down countless times, his mind’s eye saw Bai Luo Yin laying on the bed, waiting for him, all the while wearing an arrogant yet lovable and awkward countenance. Gu Hai burned every detail of Bai Luo Yin into his memory as he remained there in the darkness. So as long as he could endure staying in this tunnel without a hitch, he could reach Bai Luo Yin’s room. He would then be able to hold him tightly in his arms and accompany him to sleep.

—

“General.” Sun Jingwei said as he stood at the doorway, hesitant to go inside.

Gu Wei Ting was sitting in his chair, pretending to read the newspaper, but in the truth, none of the words actually registered in his mind.

“Come in.”

Sun Jingwei entered with a depressed face and a dreary cloud of darkness looming over him.

Gu Wei Ting spoke indifferently behind the newspaper, “If there’s anything in your mind, say it directly.”

“Take Xiao Hai out of the tunnel. The temperature at night is very low and the surrounding walls are damp and humid. It’s too harsh for him to stay in there all night long. If by chance, anything bad happens to him and possibly afflicted with frostbite, wouldn’t you be the one with the most regret?”

It was a long time before Gu Wei Ting replied, “Is there anything else?”

Not another word came from Sun Jingwei as he remained still.

“If there’s nothing else, then take an early leave.” Gu Wei Ting stated coldly.

Sun Jingwei’s face looked like he still wanted to speak, but then he held back his words.

Noticing the obvious hesitation, Gu Wei Ting shot him another glance, “Why haven’t you left yet?”

Weighed down with remorse, Sun Jingwei trudged slowly towards the door and began his exit.

Looking at his subordinate’s retreating back, Gu Wei Ting suddenly spoke up, “Next time, it is not necessary to report about his situation. The entrance of the tunnel is in my room. Even if he dies inside, there is no need for you to pull him out.”

Sun Jingwei’s footsteps came to a sudden halt before he finally pushed the door open and silently left the room.

Gu Wei Ting put the newspaper down before his gaze unconsciously swept towards the floor. It has been more than ten hours and within that period of time, Gu Hai has been inside the tunnel having had nothing to eat or drink. Gu Wei Ting never heard him utter a sound or even a groan. Gu Hai always had that extremely stubborn temperament as he continues with his silent opposition.

Meanwhile, Sun Jingwei had covertly lifted the floorboard on his end and squeezed a blanket inside the tunnel.

In reality, he had already snuck some food to Gu Hai during midday and also around the evening. Although there was some concern on his part because he doesn’t know whether Gu Hai had eaten it or not.

While pondering upon this issue for the moment, a phone call from Bai Luo Yin had disrupted his train of thought. He could clearly hear the anxiety in the young boy’s voice informing him that he was currently at the entrance of the military base, yet he was prohibited from entering.

Sun Jingwei merely offer some kind words and advised him, “Yin Zi, it’s better for you to go home. Xiao Hai is alright. He is sleeping in the General’s room right now. In two days, the General has to leave on a mission. This time, the mission will last for two month so he wants to properly accompany his son before his departure.”

Bai Luo Yin still had some more words he wanted to say, but Sun Jingwei had already hung up the call.

At midnight, Sun Jingwei tossed and turned on his bed, unable to sleep. It’s not surprising, who on earth with a conscience would be able to sleep! All the while there is a live person underneath the floor in such a cold place!!

Upon exiting his room, Sun Jingwei noticed that the lamp in Gu Wei Ting’s room was still on. He couldn’t help but to sigh heavily as he watched the flickering of the light for a moment.

In the end, he is your son, who is freezing beneath the floor. Do you think it’s possible to sleep?

Sun Jingwei went for a walk while smoking. He strolled around and around until his feet brought him to the entrance of the base. As a result, he caught sight of a familiar silhouette.

Instead of leaving, Bai Luo Yin was still standing in front of the entrance like a sentry guard on duty. The only difference was that his clothes appeared more flimsy.

Sun Jingwei hastily approached him.

“Son, why haven’t you returned home yet?”

Shaking his exhaustion away, Bai Luo Yin replied in a slightly hoarse voice, “I’m waiting for Gu Hai.”

Hearing those words spoken so softly, with a bit of sadness welling in their tone, Sun Jingwei’s complexion immediately changed. It wasn’t possibly to make out whether he was seething with anger or anxiousness.

“Didn’t I tell you already? The General wants Xiao Hai to accompany him during these two days. You should obediently wait for him at home. What did you come here for huh?” Sun Jingwei walks out and drapes a coat on Bai Luo Yin’s shoulders as he spoke.

Instead of keeping the coat on, Bai Luo Yin returned it to Sun Jingwei. “Uncle Sun, do you think that your words can deceive me?”

For a short while, Sun Jingwei was rendered speechless as a hint of helplessness seeped through his eyes.

“Even if Xiao Hai was being locked up by the General, you can’t be as foolish as to wait here all day long, right? What can you achieve by doing this? If by chance the General comes out and finds you here, he will definitely become even more angry. Listen to uncle, okay? Quickly go home. If there’s really something important that you need to say, it’s better for you to wait until tomorrow morning before coming here again.”

Since Sun Jingwei put it that way, Bai Luo Yin really turned around and began to walk away.

However, before Sun Jingwei could let out a sigh of relief, he saw Bai Luo Yin looking around for a dark corner. Before long, he crouched alone in that nook and hunkered down.

“Ei……”

Sun Jingwei felt lost having run out of words to say to the boy.

These two kids, they really know how to make someone worry!!

===============

Translator’s Note:

[1]Lǎodì - an affectionate form of address for a male who is not very much younger than oneself

———————————

Are you addicted?

The original novel is written by Chai Jidan.

We do not own any of its content, we are translators and editors.

[busybrain7]

JESUS CAN STILL RESTORE YOU INCASE YOU BACKSLID.

---------------------------------------

🖌️What is Backsliding? When a person who is on the path of salvation "slides back" into their sins and turns away from God, this is known as backsliding."But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear "(Zechariah 7:11).

🖌️Backsliding can happen to any believer who allows sin and unbelief in their life, and it is a fearful thing, for "the backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways"(Proverbs 14:14).

🖌️Backsliding does not necessarily mean a loss of salvation, but it can certainly lead there.This is why the Bible warns believers many times not to compromise their faith in Christ and to repent when they receive the chastening of the Lord."Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee" (Deuteronomy 8:5; also see Hebrews 12:5-11). The Lord is faithful to discipline those He loves, drawing backsliders back to Himself.

🖌️In addition to chastening, backslidden believers will also experience conviction by the Holy Spirit, calling them to restore their relationship with the Father through repentance. It is critical to heed these warnings because sin sears the conscience and ultimately hardens the heart — eventually to the point where a backslider is completely unable to repent."For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away,to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame" (Hebrews 5:4-6). Those who once knew the way of righteousness but fell away and do not repent will indeed come under judgment along with wicked sinners.

💎"And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed"(Isaiah 1:28).

💍💍The Scriptures are clear: you cannot be a partaker of Christ while you participate in the world's sins."Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God"

(James 4:4). This why we are warned not to quench the Spirit (I Thessalonians 5:19),resist the Spirit (Acts 7:51),or grieve the Spirit which God places in every believer:"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption"

(Ephesians 4:30), for if we reject the Holy Spirit within us, we have rejected our salvation.

🖌️After King David sinned with Bathsheba, he realized how close he had come to losing the Spirit. Most likely, David recalled that the Spirit of the Lord had departed from King Saul (I Samuel 16:14). David's heart was broken over his sin, and he cried out to God, "Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me"(Psalm 51:11). If David had not repented when his sin was brought into the light, he may not have had another chance.

✅Ultimately, the Spirit of God will not continue dwelling in a temple tainted with idols even as it is written:

🖌️"For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty"

(II Corinthians 6:16-18).

🖌️Thanks be to God that He is merciful and able to heal a person's backsliding, as in the prodigal son story in Luke 15:11-32. He even goes after His backslidden children saying,

💎"Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God" (Jeremiah 3:22).

💎Hosea 14:4 says that God "will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from him."And again, we read that those who turn to the Lord with all their heart "were as sheep going astray;but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls" (I Peter 2:25).

🖌️Those of you who have left the straight and narrow path to pursue things of the world (like the prodigal son), your Heavenly Father draws you back.Repent, turn from your sins, and get back on track by bringing sin to the light, heeding the conviction of the Holy Spirit, reading the Word, and crying out to God. He says,

💎"Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever"

(Jeremiah 3:12).

To those of you who have lost your first love, Jesus says,

💎"Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent" (Revelation 2:5).

🖌️Take to heart the warnings of these Scriptures so that you will not be ashamed before Jesus at His coming."Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee" (Revelation 3:3).

💍🖌️💍FINALLY: One final word of caution: it is extremely important that Christians exercise discernment in the Body of Christ. There are backslidden preachers and teachers who once knew the Lord, but have since fallen away and grown cold in their relationship with Him. Yet, these men and women are still preaching and performing mighty signs and wonders, for "the gifts and calling of God are without repentance"

💎(Romans 11:29). Guard your heart from these "certain men crept in unawares" (Jude 1:4), because they are turning the grace of God into a license to sin in order to justify their own lusts.They preach a man-centered, prosperity-driven gospel, promising their followers liberty, but they themselves are servants of corruption (see II Peter 2:17-22). You will know them by their lack of spiritual fruit.

🖌️Psalm 51 is a good commendable prayer for restoration, is the prayer David prayed to God after commiting grevious sins and God forgave him after confession and repentance.

💎Psalms 51: (KJV)

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

Shalom♥️

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https://archive.org/stream/TafsirAlQurtubiVolI/Tafsir+al+Qurtubi+-+Vol+I_djvu.txt (2:2) Sahlh of Muslim in the hadith of lyad ibn Himar al-Majasha'I when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah looked at the people of the earth and hated them, Arabs and non-Arabs, except for the remainder of the People of the Book. He said, 'I sent you to test you and to test others by you. I sent down to you a Book which cannot be washed away by water. You recite it asleep and awake.'" It is said that this phrase indicates the part of the Qur'an which was promised in Makka. It is said that when Allah Almighty revealed to His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in Makka, "We will impose a weighty Word upon you" (73:5), the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, continued to wait for this promise to be fulfilled by his Lord. When "AlifLam. MTm. That is the Book, without any doubt" (2:2) was revealed to him in Madina, it had the meaning: this Qur'an which was revealed to you in Madina is that Book which you were promised and which I revealed to you in Makka. It is said that the word "That" indicates what was revealed in the Torah and Gospel concerning the Qur'an. The implication is that it is that Book which was foretold by the Torah and Gospel. The Gospel and Torah testify to its soundness and it deals with what is in them as well as containing things which are not in them. It is said that "That is the Book" is a reference to the Torah and Gospel themselves, so that the meaning is "Alif Lam Mlm. Those two Books" or the like of those two Books, meaning that this Qur'an contains what is in those two Books. So the word "that" indicates two, the possibility of which is attested to in the Qur'an when Allah Almighty says, "A cow, not old or virgin, but some- where between the two (dhalika)" (2:68), making it clear that the word "that" can refer to two things. It is said that "That is the Book" refers to the Preserved Tablet, that Book on which the destinies of all existent things are record- ed. Al-Kisa'1 said that it refers to the Qur'an in heaven which had not yet been revealed. It is said that Allah Almighty promised the people of the Book that He would send down a Book to Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and so it 135 al-Baqara indicates that promise. Al-Mubarrad said that the meaning is that this Qur'an is that Book by which you seek victory against the unbelievers. It is also said that it means all the letters of the alphabet, out of which all books are composed. This is somewhat borne out by the derivation of the word kitab (book) which is a verbal noun from kataba, yaktubu. From it comes katlba (squadron), so called because it is composed of horsemen gathered together and takatta- ba is used when horses are deployed in squadrons. Kutba is a seam, and the plural is kutab. So kitab is the writing by the scribe of the letters of the alphabet joined together in words. It is called a Book, even if it is just writing. The word kitab also denotes obliga- tion, judgement, prescription and the decree. without any doubt. The word "doubt" (rayb) has three meanings. One is doubt, the second is suspicion, and the third is need. So there is no doubt and no suspicion about the Book of Allah Almighty. It means that it is true in itself and it is revealed from Allah and is one of His quali- ties, uncreated and not within time, even if the unbelievers doubt that. It is said that the phrase is a prohibition, meaning "Do not doubt." The words end as if He were saying, "That Book is true." The word raba is used when you have doubt and fear about some- thing. In it is guidance The word huda (guidance) in Arabic means right guidance and clarification, in other words it involves unveiling, guidance and increased clarification for the people who recognise it. There are two types of guidance. Guidance can mean pointing out the way and this is what the Messengers and their followers are able to do. Allah says, "Every people has a guide. " (13:7) He said, "You are guiding to a straight path. " (42:52) So he has given you that aspect of guidance which entails direction, calling to the truth and admonition. That aspect of guidance, however, which involves people actually following the path and reaching the goal is the business of Allah alone. He says to his Prophet, may Allah bless 136 (2:2) him and grant him peace, "You cannot guide those you would like to." (28:56) Guidance here means filling the heart with faith. Further examples of this are when Allah says, "They are the peo- ple guided by their Lord, " (2:5) and "He guides whoever He wills" (35:8) where guidance means being actually moved to the path of guidance. Abu'1-Mu'all said, "Guidance means 'bringing to' and it entails guiding the believers to the paths of the Garden and roads which lead to it, as in the words of Allah describing those who do jihad, 'He will not let their actions go astray. He will guide them... ' (47:4-5) or in the case of the unbelievers to the Fire, as in His words, 'Guide them to the Path ofthe Blaiing Fire' (37:23)." f or the godf earing: Allah Almighty singled out the godfearing for His guidance, even though the Qur'an, in fact, is guidance for all creatures, in order to honour them because they believe and affirm what it con- tains. It is related that Abu Rawq said, "'Guidance for the god- fearing y means honour for them. It is ascribed to them out of esteem and honour for them and to show their excellence." The word "godfearing" is derived from taqwa whose linguistic root is said to mean to be sparing of words. Ibn Faris related that. That is indicated by the hadith, "The godly (taqi) is sparing in his words and the godfearing (muttaql) is above both the believers and the obedient." He is someone who protects himself, by his righ- teous actions and sincere supplication, from Allah's punishment. It is derived from guarding oneself against the disliked by putting a barrier between you and it. It is reported that Ibn Mas'ud said one day to his nephew, "Nephew, do you see how many people there are?" "Yes," he replied. He said, "There is no good in any of them except those who turn to Allah or are godfearing." Then he added, "Nephew, do you see how many people there are?" "Yes," he replied. He said, "There is no good in them except for a man of knowledge or a stu- dent." Abu Yazld al-Bistami said, "A godfearing person is some- one whose words are for Allah when he speaks and whose actions 137 al-Baqara are for Allah when he acts." Abu Sulayman ad-Darani said, "The godfearing are those from whose hearts love of appetites has been stripped away." It is said that a godfearing person is one who is protected from shirk and free of hypocrisy. Ibn ' Atiyya said, "This is false because someone could be like that and still be a deviator." In relation to taqwa 'Umar ibn al-Khattab asked Ubayy, "Have you ever taken a path between thorny bushes?" "Yes," he replied. He said, "What did you do?" He said. "I gathered in my clothes and was careful." He said, "That is taqwa" Taqwa comprises all good. It is Allah's directive to all human beings and it is the best acquisition a person can get. Abu'd- Darda' was asked, "Your companions utter poetry but you do not memorise any of it." He refuted them, declaiming: A man wants to be given his desire but Allah only gives him what He wills. A man says, 'My profit and my property,' but taqwa of Allah is the best thing that can be acquired. O Jy^/^JJ 3 those who believe in the Unseen and establish the prayer and spendjrom what We have providedfor them; those who believe The word "believe" here means hold to be true. Linguistically iman (faith, belief) is affirmation. In the Revelation the words of the brothers of Yusuf "You will not believe us," (12:17) mean "believe that we are telling the truth". Qatada is reported as saying, "Son of Adam, if the only time you want to do good is when you are feeling enthusiastic, you should know that it is the nature of the self to incline to ennui, indifference and boredom; the believer, however, is the one who spurs himself on; the believer is the one 138 (2:3) who takes heart; the believer is the one who remains strong. The believers are those who cry out to Allah night and day. By Allah, a true believer continues to say, 'O Lord' secretly and openly until he is answered secretly and openly." in the Unseen In the language of the Arabs, the ghayb (Unseen) denotes everything which is hidden from you. It is used for the setting of the sun. Mughlba is used for a woman when her husband is absent. We fall into a ghayba, meaning a hole in the ground. Ghayaba is a forest, which is a group of trees into which one disappears. It is also used for low-lying ground, because it is out of sight. Scholars disagree about the meaning of the word here. Some say that what is meant by "Unseen" in this ayat is Allah Himself. Ibn al-'Arabi said that this is weak. Others have said that it is the Decree; others that it is the Qur'an and the unseen things it con- tains; others that the Unseen are those matters about which the Messengers report which are beyond the scope of human intellect: the signs of the Last Hour, the punishment of the grave, the Gathering, the Resurrection, the Sirat, the Scales, the Garden and the Fire. Ibn 'Atiyya said that these statements are not mutually exclusive. The Unseen refers to all of them. It is, in fact, the prescribed laith indicated in the hadlth of Jibril when he said to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Tell me about faith (iman)" He replied, "It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, and to believe in the decree, both its good and its evil." He said, "You have spoken the truth." 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said, "There is no faith better for the believer than faith in the Unseen." Then he recited, "Those who believe in the Unseen. " (2:3) In the Qur'an we find, "We are never absent (gha'ibln)" (7:7), and also, "Those who fear their Lord in the Unseen." (21:49). Allah cannot be seen by the eyes and cannot be seen in this dimen- sion of existence but He is not absent to investigation and deduc- tion. The believers believe that they have a powerful Lord who will repay all their actions. They fear Him in their hearts and fear Him 139 al-Baqara when they are alone where others cannot see them, through their knowledge that He is aware of them. These ayats agree and there is no contradiction in them. Praise be to Allah! "Unseen" is also said to mean their consciences and hearts. According to this understanding, the words "they believe in the Unseen" mean "they believe in their hearts". In other words, their hearts are filled with faith in contradistinction to the hearts of the hypocrites which are empty of faith. That is what al-Hasan said. and establish Establishing the prayer means performing it together with its pillars, sunnas and positions at the correct time as will be explained. Qama here does not have the normal meaning of "stand" but rather means to continue with and firmly establish. The call known as the iqama of the prayer is well-known. It is sunna with the majority so that, if someone fails to recite it, he does not have to repeat the prayer. Al-Awza'I, 'Ata', Mujahid, and Ibn Abl Layla, however, made it obligatory and anyone who for- gets it has to repeat the prayer. Some scholars say that, if someone abandons it intentionally, he should repeat the prayer. That is not because it is obligatory since, if it that were the case, those who forget and those who abandon it deliberately would be subject to the same judgement. It is for making light of the sunna. Allah knows best. the prayer Linguistically the root of the word "salat" (prayer) means sup- plication. Evidence for that is the words of the Prophet, "When one of you is invited for food, he should accept. If he is not fasting, he should eat, and if he is fasting, he should make supplication (salla)" When Asma' gave birth to 'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr, she sent him to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Asma' said, "He wiped his head and prayed (salla) for him," meaning made supplication. Some people say that it is derived from the word sala, which is the cord in the middle of the back which separates at the base of the spine and goes round it. From it is also derived the word 140

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Returning to God

On this post we continue our series through Genesis and we will be studying Genesis 35. But before we turn to Genesis 34 let’s take a moment to review Genesis 34.

For more details on Genesis 34 you can read my post When God is Absent.

After a chapter of tragedy and no mention of God a major shift takes place. God takes the initiative and peaks to Jacob.

Hearing God causes Jacob to initiate some changes within his household.

And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Genesis 35:2 NKJV

Put away the foreign gods.

What we know: There were foreign gods among those in Jacob’s household.

What we don’t know: How those gods got there.

Possibilities:

Rachel brought them from her father’s house. Genesis 31:19

Jacob’s sons took the gods of the Shechemites as part of the plunder. Genesis 34:27

Living in the land of Canaan was influencing the beliefs of Jacob’s family.

Why put away the foreign gods?

Because it was God, the God of Abraham and Isaac, who appeared to Jacob when he fled from the face of Esau his brother. Jacob wants to to obey God’s call to go to Bethel and make an altar to God, the true God who answered him in the day of his distress and has been with him in the way which he has gone.

Why would they hold on to gods who had done nothing for them? This behavior seemed silly to me at first glance, but the more I thought about it, the more I realize it might not be so different from some of our behavior in modern days. Don’t we sometimes hold on to destructive habits that only hurt us? Don’t we have things in our lives that don’t help us grow spiritually but rather often come between us and God? Are there things in our lives that, if removed, would allow us to connect more deeply with our God?

Also Jacob apparently was aware that his God is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5; 43:14; Deuteronomy 4:23-24). Even though its hundreds of years before Moses receives the 10 commandments (Exodus 20) Jacob seems very aware of the character of God and His will. This suggests that the 10 commandments were not anything new but rather only an official statement of what had been true from the very beginning.

Purify yourselves.

Physical cleaning and washing. (Exodus 19:10, 14; 29:4-9; Leviticus 8:6-13; 13:6)

The reason for this is unclear. There are clear benefits for being clean and there could also be moral parallels that would serve as a way of teaching the people about the character of God. There are also several examples of the people being called to wash themselves related to religious activities as well as detailed prescriptions to how the priests should be washed with water before putting on their priestly garments. (references mentioned in hyperlinks above)

Change your garments.

This in all likelihood references putting on clean clothes.

This cleansing was required probably due to the looting of the corpses at Shechem (Genesis 34:29; Numbers 31:19-20). The rape of Dinah is also rendered as “defilement” (Genesis 34:5,13,27; cf.34:7; 2Samuel 13:12).

The response?

So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem. Genesis 35:4 NKJV

Interestingly, they do not simply break or destroy the idols. The idols and earrings could be melted and made into something else allowing them to keep the valuable metals and precious jewels that likely adorned the idols. There are other references to jewelry and specifically earrings being taken from plunder and/or dedicated to the LORD or becoming a snare for God’s people. (Exodus 32:2-4 Golden calf; Numbers 31:50 Dedicated to God; Judges 8:24-27 Gideon’s ephod; Deuteronomy 7:25 Don’t be tempted by the gold)

By burying all the gods and earrings at Shechem Jacob and his household were putting their past behind them and moving forward in faith to what God called them to do. They were leaving behind significant wealth that had been gained immorally and were moving forward trusting that the same God who had always been there for their father and their forefathers would continue to provide for all their needs. The wealth of the children of Israel was not to come from the immoral and vengeful murder and plunder of those around them. (For a whole post related to Israelite warfare check out my post about God’s command to Utterly Destroy)

And indeed God protected Jacob and his family by causing all his enemies to be terrified (Exodus 15:16; 23:27; Deuteronomy 2:25; 11:25; Joshua 2:9; 1 Samuel 14:15).

I just want to take a brief moment to recognize the importance of Deborah. It is worthwhile to notice that the memory of her life of faithful service and of the mourning over her death has been accounted worthy to be preserved in the word of God. Some might think she was just a handmaid, but her death has been recorded int he word of God. Her love and dedication did not go unnoticed.

Jacob arrives and, obeying God, he builds and altar. Just like he did at other times, like his father Isaac (Genesis 26:25) did and like Abraham did (Genesis 12:7-8; 13:18). And God appears to him and renews His promises, the same promises made to Abraham, and Isaac (Genesis 35:11 cf. 12:2-3; 17:6; 35:12; cf. 12:7; 26:3).

Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. 11 Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. 12 The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” 13 Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. 14 So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. 15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel. Genesis 35:9-15 NKJV (Bold mine)

Jacob must have experienced an emotional roller-coaster. Rachel, his favorite wife was pregnant again! Benjamin would be the only son of Jacob to be born in the land of Canaan. The fact that he was born in Canaan is a testimony to God keeping His promises to Jacob. Sadly, Rachel died due to labor complications. She was buried south of what would become Jerusalem and north of what would become Bethlehem. The fact that Rachel was buried in the promised land also shows God’s fulfillment of His promise. Indeed that land would belong to the children of Jacob, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior would walk on that land, healing and teaching. Jesus would eventually die and rise again not too far from there. Right now Jacob probably feels a mix of pain and joy, a confusion of emotions. Jacob probably had many questions for God. I doubt Jacob would be able to understand that Jesus would bring salvation to all of humanity and how he would be born of his sons. The Messiah would be his descendant, but also the Son of God. Even in the midst of what must have been a terribly painful event for Jacob, the mention of the location points forward to the salvation of the planet. I take this to be a reminder that even in the pain God is still in control. We may hurt and the reasons may be unclear, but we can trust that God is in control and that He is able to bring some good out of if.

But for now, Jacob was probably feeling far away from God, confused as to why his wife had died. He not Jacob obeyed God? Had not Jacob built God an altar? Where was God now? Didn’t God care? It is difficult to understand and to believe that God loves us when He does not behave the way we expect Him to, and especially when we are in pain.

But things will get worse…

Because of Ruben’s incest he lost his birthright and Joseph received a double blessing (Genesis 48:5-20; 1 Chronicles 5:1-2;). That is why Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh are considered sons of Jacob.

Jacob is finally reunited with Isaac, his father. This completes God’s promise to bring Jacob back to his father’s house (Genesis 28:15,21).

At the death of the patriarch Isaac, Jacob takes his father’s role in the promised land (Genesis 37:1). Everything is going according to the blessings and promises God made to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. With this transition complete, the future stretches forward, though we can already see the dark clouds foreshadowing a coming storm.

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PRAYING LIKE JESUS...

Mt 6:9-13 says:

After this manner therefore pray ye:

Our Father which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done

in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.

Amen 

Jesus tells us to “pray like this” ((emphasis mine))  The Lord God, our Savior Jesus will teach us HOW to pray…  I hope this will bless you as much as I look forward to what the Lord has to say (through me) today!

Our Father, which art in heaven…  The very first thing that I noticed was that our Lord isn’t selfish, He shares His JOY with us.  The Joy of His Father, making God our Father too!  Sometimes, it is hard to share.  But this time, I am so glad that Jesus did!

Our Father-  He belongs to us!  He has a home (in heaven) and, IN us!  His heart is grand!  And, as the believer of Christ Jesus, we have HOME in His heart. There is lots and lots of room!  Hallelujah!!!

Hallowed be Thy name… What is your first thought when you read this tiny sentence?

Hallowed:  A song comes to my name…Holy is Your name….Wonderful is Your name…. I reverence Your name…  The powerful/sacred/worshiped name of God!

Abba, I reverence your name.  I am in awe of You.  Holy is your name.  Absolute are You, Abba.

All that I am IN YOU is because of Your name.  Because of Your Son, Jesus, who is You; Almighty God!  I can get so excited because You don’t have just one name, yet you are ONE, THE ONE and only true God, the invisible God! Mine!  Ours!  All because we believe. \o/

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth, as it is in heaven…

Your kingdom come ((YES)), & will be done ((YES)) on earth, in earth, here right here where we are and where YOU are….  Your YES in heaven meets our faith/yes on/in earth.  They meet/resound/rejoice in/on Your… Yes…

God’s will WILL be done! always!  He is God!  His will may not “match” what you may want, but what GOD WANTS is always right…ALWAYS!

I had a revelation of this part of scripture…  I seen a combination lock.  It had lots of numbers, and millions of combinations… but there is only ONE that can unlock this lock.  God’s yes has to match His will for heaven and earth to speak to each other and

agree on God’s will (His final say).  Our job is to have faith, and pray to believe to receive and have.  Mk 11:24    Wait for, hope for, and expect… our God….Ro 8:25   Believe & you shall Receive!!!! Mt 21:22    Do you see God’s will in these scriptures?  If God’s will weren’t in them we wouldn’t have hope to have faith!  God’s will is phenomenal!  There is nothing like it, or Him!  Heaven and earth meet together, in agreement, in one accord and your YES, your answer, your part in God’s will— does this….  thy will BE DONE…  Don’t you LOVE your Abba?

give us this day, our daily bread…

JESUS, give us this day…YOU…all of who you are!  All of who you are IN me!  All of YOU, Jesus, today.  Not only in my today, but my tomorrows, all the way to You, my Holy and Wonderful Lord.  All the way, to Our Father…  Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God… My bread is YOU.  My bread is Your Word. My faith feeds on this bread, and I grow IN You.  You did this!  So that I would be reconciled to You.  You made peace because of Your blood shed on the cross.Col 1:20  I am free because of Your Word.  I am cleansed. Your Word is near me!  even as close as my mouth!  Your Word endures forever! You are the Word, and we love You, Sweet Jesus.  Thank you!!

forgive us our trespasses… as we forgive those who trespass agains us…

Forgive-  sometimes forgiveness is hard…  but not so hard if you look at it this way…

Jesus forgave me, therefore, I must forgive others if I want to be forgiven.  How can I expect to be forgiven and be with God if I hold on to unbelief?  

Unbelief!  Did you say unbelief???  Yes!  God says to forgive.  If so, I will be healed, and thus, forgiven myself.  If I hold on to a grudge, all my life,  I am most miserable.  I feed that beast!  And, believe me, it is a hungry beast, demanding my time, my mind, my actions….  But Jesus has a better answer!  FORGIVE others!  Is it hard?  Sometimes!  (Honestly answering this question), but it is a MUST.  Remember what Mat 5:8 says?  Blessed are the PURE IN HEART… for they shall see God.  That was my wake up call.  MY LIFE GOAL IS TO SEE GOD!!!  Therefore, I must rely on my faith/belief in Christ’s blood which cleanses me, and washes away my sin of unforgiveness, so that I may forgive and become free!

Some people have it all wrong…. forgiveness is not for the other guy!  NO!!! no, no!!!  Forgiveness is so that I may become free.  That I may be released from the bondage.  So that this misery and chains that hold me to this LIE may be broken, in Jesus name, by faith and obedience and trust in you God.  Yes!  as a Christian, I must believe Him!

Sometimes, we need to swallow that ugly pill of unbelief…  our sins are forgiven as far as the east is from the west…never meeting again…forgotten.  So, why is it that you hold on to unforgiveness?  No! Stop! This isn’t God’s will!  Be done with it! Forgive.

lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one…

Does God lead us into temptation?  Is God a tempter of evil?  I hardly think so!  I believe this part of scripture says this: (I’ll pray it out)

Abba, help us to keep our eyes open.  Help us to know “who” our enemy is.  He is called the evil one.  Help me to recognize this tempter.  Help me to know and respond

to his lies with a resounding NO!, IN JESUS NAME…  He is a sweet talker of sin, making sin look so enticing… But… help me to remember that I want to SEE God!  I want this enemy to be far, far, far from me.  Deliver me, Jesus!

Thank you, for the scripture in James which tells me to SUBMIT myself to You, and RESIST that devil.  Thank you, that scripture tells me that this enemy will flee.  FLEE!

Because, when I come to You, Your presence fills the place…  He is extinguished!  His fire is put out.  It’s the blood of Jesus which speaks…and STOPS the enemy’s flow.  He is silenced.  He is tore down.  He is extinguished to nothingness.  He is noise.  His noise isn’t so enticing, no it is not, but a loud gong!  This roaring lion seeking whom he can devour need beware! Angels are encamped all around God’s Children.  The blood of Jesus speaks loud and clear, and the enemy shall be stopped.  His assignments -against me- broken.  Why? faith? Yes, faith, but also because: Jesus PRAYED for us in this prayer.  He prayed: DELIVER US from the evil one.  Hallelujah!

How do I keep this roaring lion from devouring me? Look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith! Submit to God, and resist this devil! God is faithful!  And faithful to the faithful.  Is this you???

for Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory forever…

You see, it is all about God!  Your life, and where you fit in…is all about God!  It’s all about His kingdom!  This is why we can say: HALLELUJAH!!! and raise our arms high…to Him…  unto Him who is able to do, exceedingly, abundantly, all we can think or ask, according to the Power (JESUS) that works in us.  Is Jesus IN you?

If so, we can recognize God’s divine in us!  His kingdom, power and glory IN us! forever!  Hallelujah!!!

and Jesus ends this prayer with:

AMEN!

AMEN: God’s yes!  He is a yea and amen God!! 2 Cor 1:20  

Amen, Praise the Lord forever!  Psa 89:52   Praise be to the Lord God of Israel!!!  Amen and Amen!.. Everlasting to everlasting….Ps 41:13…   And the whole earth is FILLED with His Glory!!!  Ps 72:19   The God of peace be with you all….Amen!!! Rom 15:33

ending: He is YES!  HIS PRAISES ARE YES! (Forever), THE WHOLE EARTH IS FILLED ((Full)) WITH HIS GLORY, YES!!!

NOW, UNTO YOU LORD, KING ETERNAL, IMMORTAL, INVISIBLE, THE ONLY GOD, ((The only True God)) BE HONOR, GLORY FOREVER AND EVER….((and ever))  AMEN 1 Tim 1:17      AMEN, and let it be so.  

Jesus, be with us in this prayer!  Thank you, for teaching it to us.  

Bless your Word and honor it today, in Jesus name I pray, amen to the glory of God!