#conquering faith

[walkswithmyfather]

1 Samuel 17:37-40, 45,47,50 (NLT). [37] “The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!” [38] Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. [39] David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. “I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. [40] He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine. [45] David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. [47] And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!” [50] So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword.”

“Conquering Faith” by In Touch Ministries:

“We can respond boldly because God’s power is available to us for each battle we face.”

“The Lord wants to build strong faith in us so we can stand firm in His mighty power. He does this by placing us in challenging situations that are beyond our strength. If we trust in ourselves, we’ll fail. But we will discover God’s great faithfulness if we imitate David’s example from today’s passage:

Godly motivation. The young shepherd’s desire was to defend the Lord’s name. In our challenges, we must examine our motives to be certain they’re Christ-centered, not self-focused.

Recognition of the battle’s nature. David’s struggle in the physical realm was against Goliath. But the real battle was spiritual, and so is ours (Ephesians 6:12)

Memory of God’s past faithfulness. David’s confidence was based on the Lord’s power that enabled him to protect his sheep from wild animals. Even if you’re a fairly new Christian, you also have a history of God’s faithfulness to strengthen and encourage you.

Dependence on the Lord. David didn’t rely on traditional armor or weapons; he trusted the power of God to direct a small stone into the head of Goliath.

The One who conquered sin for you will also watch over, strengthen, and care for you in every challenging situation you face. Trust Him.”

[thehungarythrophy]

if i was a real poet i would talk about landoscar leading mclaren back to glory being written in the stars, and destiny and the prophecy of their racing numbers, but i am tired so i can only offer this :

[amaltheas-garden]

people still shocked that in the year of our lord 2024 some of us don't want to see Dany get her 'happy ending' by becoming the white savior who was promised

[meangreennunseen]

Part of me wants to give Dorn a wife. Just because I want to crack that man's skull as a wallnut.

[yashley]

Say something true!

[dismie]

"is black hat actually... the good guy?" he's a landlord. you realize he's a landlord right? you acknowledge that he is canonically a landlord?

[alwaysrememberjesus]

You Can Conquer Your Fear

[succulentsiren]

What are you afraid of? Conquer That.

[howtomakeyousee]

[g1deonthefirst]

truly if you think tlt is positive about or even neutral on christianity (and catholicism specifically) i think you need to go back and reread tbh. because in the very first book we learn that this is a series where two people murder 200 children that were placed in their care because they believe their religion justifies or even compels it. the real-life parallels are almost too on the nose.

[disenchantedif]

why are you alwaysss fucking sick?

[randomnameless]

It's always interesting to see how UO gives to its local church a neutral role in the world - dare I say neutral good as in the faith is cited by some characters as their source of inspiration and strength to endure the various events the game puts them through...

And then, apparently, the decision of not having the option to kill Sanatio is controversial?

albion thoughts under the cut

Albion was undercooked because bankruptcy and all, and I already wrote a bit about the general wtf of that arc that can basically be summed up as "Scarlett's dad told his two right hand men that his daughter is away/in hiding and made them swore to never reveal anything about her to anyone, including themselves", so when Scarlett's dad kicks the bucket, they both know a heir exists somewhere, but they can't trust each other and have a fall out instead, which leads them to fight and, ultimately, to the "plot" and "antagonism" of this arc.

Sanatio's basically in charge of the Orthodoxy - Nigel is in charge of its knights? - and the Pope's second.

Pope told Sanatio Scarlett exists and went away for a "mission", but never told him where she was sent to - something only Nigel knows.

The Pope kicks the bucket - given how Galerius laments his death in Cornia, I doubt Arant was killed by his goons or something after unlocking 5 out of 6 sanctuaries, that's why he's super happy that they finally found Scarlett to unlock the last one - and then Sanation, as the de facto dude in charge of Albion is faced with a dilemna.

Not knowing where Scarlett is, he either reveals to his people and the faithful that the Pope is dead and is line is extinguished - which would send the faithful and the people of Albion in disarray because 1/the pope and his line are revered/sacred in Fevrith's religion 2/the orthodoxy falls apart, including the local churches etc etc, and we see and are told that the faith is the only thing some people rely on to withstand and survive the Zenoiran invasion -

Or Sanatio hides the Pope's death - asking Baltro to sort of preserve his body from decomposing too much - thus lies to the people of Albion and the Faithful, but at least they can still have faith/believe that somehow things are going to be better, and the Church is still, somehow, allowed to do its stuff (Zenoira apparently doesn't mind the church helpind people and doing Sharon things).

"But that means working with Zenoira, the ones who invaded his homeland and the baddies of the verse!"

Having replayed that part in Bastorias, we have a NPC who's basically telling us that while Albion apparently "accepted" to work with Zenoira, their autonomy is nothing but a façade since Zenoira stationned a good chunk of its army there : in a way, Albion is occupied by the Zenoirans.

Without any clue about Scarlett's survival or location, I suppose faced with "we destroy you and what makes your people withstand our occupation/nonsense" and "you will lie to your people and we won't turn you in minced meat, you'll be left with some degree of autonomy (lel) but we won't kill your people (not overtly at least)", it was basically having him be stucked between two hard choices, but only one meant immediate doom, so it's the one he avoided.

Of course it sucks - and a half baked plot being a half baked plot - means that when the Liberation Army manages to boot Zenoira away from Albion, Sanation's choice to accept the Zenoiran rule, if it means temporary respite for his people is seen as fishy/inacceptable, but iirc his Raenys rapport is pretty upfront : some people resent him for siding with Zenoira, and yet, he picked what was, at that time, the "lesser evil" between the two.

Albion is interesting because it's one of the few recurring motives in this arc, and it contrasts well with what we saw in Cornia in the beginning.

Clive's rapports with Joseph are all about him coming to terms with what his father did - and how it wasn't useless - even if it mean his and his family's death : he fought and resisted against Zenoira. Clive himself seems to have little love for the lords who "turned against the crown" and sided with Zenoira after the invasion.

We could have had a confrontation with Monica (and Melisandre!)'s pov, because Monica's grandpa apparently supported Zenoira under the promise/assurance that Galerius and his army were going to let their people alive/alone if they sided with him (as much as Zenoira follows on those kind of promises lol). But then, it's revealed that Monica's grandpa was actually supporting, in the shadows, the Liberation Army.

In the last arc of the game, this is echoed again through Jerome - the knight who bakes sweets. Sure, there's not a lot to say about him since we recruit him so late in the story, and he has nearly no rapport convos to flesh him out : and yet we see in his mission that he is a local lord who is very much appreciated by his people, but immediately surrendered when Zenoira invaded Albion, instead of fighting them (like Fodoquir!) because if he surrendered, it'd mean his people would be spared.

And they were untouched (apparently?) by the Zenoirans.

However, Jerome still thinks he deserves to die (Alain can execute him if the player wants to be an ass I guess) because, even if it was for his people's sake, the thing is he still worked/accepted the Zenoiran rule.

Interestingly, in an era where some people cry everywhere they want "morally grey" settings, it's the second time that when some characters are faced with impossible dilemnas, some part of the fandom revile them for picking a "wrong choice".

in both cases, those people are in charge of that setting's major religion, maybe it's just a coincidence?

Clive wonders if his father made the right choice to priorize "the cause" over "his people", when Jerome immediately abandoned "the cause" for "his people".

and then you have Fodoquir who abandons both when his people sacrifice his son

I guess I'd really have appreciated a rapport conversation between Jerome and the Cornian knights, but VW ran out of time/money.

[wordsoftheheartandsoul]

God, help me to see myself as You see me. Remind me to combat every negative thought with powerful prayer. Let me hear your voice when the voice of insecurity is too loud. Show me Your face when I'm scared to show my own. I know with You, I can conquer fear and discover joy, but without You, I am void.

Morgan Richard Olivier - One Still Whisper

[direwombat]

still trying to piece together the late-roman empire jakesyb au and fl;asdfj it really is just putting my own personal hc for jacob's bisexuality on blast wherein, in this au, he is mostly interested in men (ie, his fellow soldiers/his boytoy staci) but then there's also something inexplicably alluring to him about syb's strong, lithe, barbarian warrior's body

[justana0kguy]

2024 APRIL 07 Divine Mercy Sunday

"For the love of God is this, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith."

~ 1 John 5:3-4

[blackbrownfamily]

Ancient Hebrews