#god bless America for these amazing filthy thoughts

[varricmancer]

Intertwined | 2

*** Cross-posted on AO3 ***

Pairing: Farkas x F!OC

Summary: A child of Mara was a soul blessed and bound to its mate for all eternity. Elizabeth Williams is summoned to Mara as a lost soul, only she’s from modern America and her mate is somewhere in the wilds of Skyrim.

A/N: Quick note - Don't worry! I don't plan on rehashing the script the entire time. This part was just essential so that Elizabeth recognizes where she is and what's going on.

***

She’d gone to college so she’s woken up to some horrible things before - puke in the bed, strange houses, dates that were definitely a product of beer goggles. She couldn’t ever remember feeling this horrible, however, not even during the worst hangover in her memory.

Elizabeth’s entire body ached, from the pounding in her head to the sharp stabs of pain in her ankles. The pain was amplified every time whatever she was in would hit something and bump her. If she was in a car they were the slowest drivers of all time, and they had the top down. The sun was piercing through even her closed eyelids. She tried to bring her hand up to shade her eyes from the painful light, only to realize she couldn’t.

She tried to crack open her eyes instead, but she was still groggy and her vision slightly blurred. She took a sniff instead, immediately recoiling. Overwhelming amounts of body odor, spoiled food, and what certainly smelled like shit of both human and animal variety.

Where the hell was she?

Someone groaned next to her and she finally managed to focus enough to see clearly. She looks up into the grim face of a strange man. His blonde hair was scraggly and clearly hadn’t been washed in ages as it hung around his face. He wasn’t ugly, just kinda dirty. Like, Kurt Cobain after a roll around in some dirt.  

“Hey, you’re both finally awake. You were trying to cross the border right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush same as us and that thief over there.”

She looks around, finally noticing that she’s in the back of an old rickety wooden wagon, the kind that they usually put in old westerns or other period movies. There are several men stuffed in the back with her, all of them with their hands tied in thick rope. The one nearest the back of the wagon is even gagged. She looks down at herself and notices that she is indeed tied up too, but she also has an extra rope tying to her the man next to her. The one blinking up at her groggily with red eyes set in a face of grey.

Okay...so she guesses she’s still dreaming? Her head really fucking hurt and she could barely think straight, but she felt like she knew what was going on. If only her head would stop pounding enough for her to concentrate.

“Damn you Stormcloaks... Skyrim was fine until you came along! Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn’t been looking for you I’d have stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell. You there, “ he nods towards the grey man next to her, who stops glaring at his ropes long enough to lift a questioning eyebrow at the angry brunette man. “You and me, we shouldn’t be here. It’s these Stormcloaks the Empire wants.”

“We’re all brothers and sisters in binds now,” says dirty Kurt.

“Shut up back there!”

Elizabeth startles at the sudden shout, turning to look at the drivers themselves. They were wearing what looked like medieval armor. She even spotted a glint of metal on their hips, like they were carrying real swords. She gulped and spared a look at the grey guy still tied to her, noting that he looked just as freaked out as her even if the proud tilt of his head remained.

“What’s wrong with him, huh?” The angry brunette man snorts and nods his head towards the large gagged man in the back.

“Watch your tongue! You’re speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King.”

Apparently, dirty Kurt had said something truly terrifying, because angry brunette looked ready to piss his pants. “Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You’re the leader of the rebellion... if they’ve captured you... oh gods, where are they taking us?”

“I don’t know where we’re going, but Sovngarde awaits.”

“No, This can’t be happening! This isn’t happening!”

Angry brunette looked on the verge of a panic attack and she was afraid his terror was infectious because she was starting to freak out herself. Her mind was finally clearing of the painful fog and she realized she knew this scene. She’d seen it play out a million times. She could quote it word for word if asked.

“Hey, what village are you from horse-thief?”

“Why do you care?”

“A Nord’s last thoughts should be of home.”

“Rorikstead. I’m from Rorikstead.”

“General Tullius sir! The headsman is waiting.”

Everyone in the wagon turns to watch as two official-looking men meet to talk. Elizabeth swallows thickly when she recognizes Hadvar. Fucking Hadvar.

“Good, let's get this over with.”

“Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh! Divines, please help me!” Angry brunette mutters loudly, rocking back and forth in his seat. What was his name again? Something with an ‘L’ she thinks.

Dirty Kurt - who she now realizes is Ralof - scoffs at the men. “Look at him! General Tullius, the Military. And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves, I bet they had something to do with this.” He pauses and looks around the filthy little village. “This is Helgen... I used to be sweet on a girl from here. I wonder if Velod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in... Funny, when I was a boy Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe.”

Elizabeth feels her breath hitch as they turn the corner, the little scene where the father is ushering his child into the house so he wouldn’t witness the deaths scarily familiar.

The wagon is slowing even more, and she looks around, amazed that she could recognize everything. There’s Hadvar, waiting with his list. There’s his bitch of a Captain. There’s the chopping block. There’s the tower where Alduin...oh fuck.

“Get these prisoners out of the cart!”

The wagon stops with a jolt and she struggles to keep her balance. The grey guy (Dunmer, she recalls. Dark Elves) is someone that she doesn’t recognize but seems nice enough since he pushes his shoulder against her to keep her from falling over. She smiles timidly in thanks, and he nods briskly. She realizes he’s been silent the entire time. Could he be the Dragonborn? It would be a giant fucking joke on the entire world if she was.

“Why are we stopping?”

Ralof looks at the angry brunette with pity shining in his eyes.“ Why do you think? End of the line. Let’s go, we shouldn’t keep the gods waiting for us.”

Ralof stands bravely and leads the way out of the wagon, despite angry brunette’s panicked whining.

“No! Wait! We’re not rebels!”

“Face your death with some courage, thief.”

To be fair to the guy, Elizabeth was starting to feel like breathing was becoming difficult. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she could feel her entire body shaking. To be honest, she was probably in the middle of both a panic attack and whatever shock did to the body. She felt almost detached and yet this still all felt almost too real.

“You’ve got to tell them we weren’t with you! This is a mistake!” angry brunette continues ranting.

“Step towards the block when we call your name, one at a time!” the female Captain shouted. Elizabeth glanced around nervously. Any moment now she was going to wake up. Hopefully, before she had to put her neck anywhere near the wooden block still stained with past kills.

Hadvar clears his throat and adjusts his papers before turning towards the gagged prisoner.

“Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm.”

They all turn to watch as the large man walks defiantly towards his place in line.

“It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric,” Ralof nods his head towards the man.

“Ralof of Riverwood,” he moves to his spot in line proudly.

“Lokir of Rorikstead.”

“No! I’m not a rebel! You can’t do this!”

Elizabeth flinches as angry brunette tries to make a run for it. She’d always thought this part was fucked up.

“Halt!” the Captain yells at him.

“You’re not going to kill me!”

Horrible choice for your last words, she thinks.

“Archers!”

Elizabeth observes in horror as the arrow flies through the air. Surprisingly enough it landed in his knee instead of his head or gut. He rolled around on the ground, groaning. Elizabeth thought she might be going a little crazy if all she wanted to do was giggle and make jokes about guards and arrows to the knee. Maybe the guard in Whiterun was angry brunette the whole time.

The Captain glares at the rest of the prisoners. “Anyone else feel like running?”

Hadvar crinkles his nose and looks at the Dark Elf man next to her.

“Wait... You there. Step forward.”

The man did his best to walk up to Hadvar without pulling her too much. He subtly eases her behind him and quirks an eyebrow at the soldier.

“Who are you?” Hadvar questions, glancing between him and the list in his hand.

“Sundrose Droleno,” the Dark Elf answers, his voice refined and currently sounding very bored and unimpressed with the entire affair. If Elizabeth hadn’t noticed the fear flashing briefly in his eyes while they were on the wagon, she would think him unaffected entirely.

“Another refugee?” Hadvar sighs. “The Gods really have abandoned your people, dark elf. Captain, what should we do? He’s not on the list.”

The woman sneers at him and shrugs. “Forget the list. He goes straight to the block.”

Hadvar frowns, obviously trying to hold back saying something. Finally, his shoulders droop and he looks at the dark elf, apology shining in his eyes but meaningless as everyone now knew how unfair this entire thing was.

“By your orders, Captain. I’m sorry. We’ll make sure your remains get returned to Morrowind. Follow the captain, prisoner.”

Hadvar finally notices Elizabeth behind the Dark Elf, frown deepening as he notes the combined rope.

“What’s going on here?”

“He tried to stop us from taking her,” one of the soldiers that drove the wagon answered. “Figured he’d come along easier if he had his...lady friend,” the soldier snorted, showing exactly what sort of friend he thought she was.

“Enough!” the Captain shouts. “Take care of her next. Whether she’s accomplice or camp whore makes no difference. She was with the rebels. Collect her name and stand her in line.”

“Captain, I don’t think…”

“Exactly. You’re not to think. You’re to follow orders. Or do you want to join them? Don’t think I’m not aware of where you’re from. A childhood friend of yours, perhaps?”

“No, Captain,” he swallows, shutting his eyes briefly before calling her forward.

“I’m sorry. What is your name?”

She swallows to wet her dry throat, answering softly, “Elizabeth Williams.”

Hadvar raises his eyebrow but scratches down the name. “And where do you hail from? High Rock?”

Elizabeth merely nodded her head, knowing that any other answer like, “Planet Earth,” or “Arizona,” would probably get her a trip to an interrogation chamber rather than waiting out here for the inevitable outcome.

He then waves for her to join the dark elf, no one thinking to bother untying them from each other before sending them to the block, apparently. As she steps up to her place, she searches the skies frantically for signs of Alduin. Unless her being here has changed things he should start heading over here soon. Hopefully, before they made her walk up for her turn.

She hadn’t realized how much she was shaking until the dark elf - Sundrose? - placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. He leaned over slightly and whispered in her ear, “Don’t let them see your fear. Head up, little one.”

She exhaled harshly and nodded, squaring her shoulders as she resumed her search. That’s right, she’d be okay. This man next to her was the Dragonborn. She was going to live.

General Tullius walked towards Ulfric, his eyes burning with hatred and fanaticism.

“Some here in Helgen call you a hero, but a hero doesn’t use a power like the voice to murder his king and usurp the throne.”

Ulfric growls warningly from beneath his gag, but the General ignores him.

“You started this war, flung Skyrim into chaos. And now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace.”

Finally, the sound that Elizabeth had been waiting for rang through the skies. The far-off roar of a dragon.

Hadvar looked around nervously. “What was that?”

“It’s nothing. Carry on.” General Tullius snapped, eyes never moving from Ulfric.

Captain Bitch salutes him. “Yes, General Tullius!” She turns to the priestess they’ve so thoughtfully provided. “Give them their last rites.”

The drably clothed woman nods and turns towards the line of prisoners.

“As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the 8 divines upon you-”

“For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with,” one of the Stormcloak soldiers snaps and marches towards the chopping block. Elizabeth swallows nervously, because holy shit, was she really about to see someone decapitated?

The priestess stops and stammers, looking at the soldier with a mixture of confusion and pity. “As you wish.”

“Come on! I haven’t got all morning!” The soldier bellows. Some of his fellow soldiers snicker, not seeming surprised by this turn of events at all. He takes one last look at Ulfric and they share a nod before he drops to his knees and presses his face to that horribly stained wood.

“My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?”

Elizabeth holds her breath as they step on the man to hold him down, and she watches in horror as the axe falls and -

A hand quickly grabs her head and turns it towards the side, and she finds shelter in the dark elf’s shoulder. Unfortunately, she could still hear the moment metal met flesh and the horrifying thud as they simply kicked the body to the side like trash.

“You Imperial bastards!” One of the Stormcloak’s yelled at the executioners, spitting into the dirt.

The gathered crowd of villagers were screaming a different tune - “Justice!” and “Death to the Stormcloaks!” were the most common. The first taste the game gave you of differing views and sides.

Ralof sighed and she peeked out of Sundrose’s arm to watch him stare proudly at the corpse. “As fearless in death as he was in life.”

Captain Bitch stood at attention, smirking gleefully at Sundrose. “Next, the dark elf!

The distant roar of a dragon grew closer.

You’re an asshole, Alduin, but right now I’d really like you to hurry and get here, she thought.

Hadvar dropped his hand to the hilt of his sword, searching the skies himself.

“There it is again... did you hear that?”

Captain Bitch ignored him, too power-mad to pay attention to anything else.

“I said... Next. Prisoner.”

One of the Imperial soldiers grabs Sundrose’s arm, yanking him forward.

“To the block prisoner. Nice and easy.”

To her horror, they still hadn’t untied her, so she was pulled right along with him and expected to stand at his side as they executed him. She definitely wasn’t picking Imperials this playthrough.

Sundrose knelt gracefully, turning his head to face her.

“Close your eyes, little one,” he said softly, watching her as the headsman raised his axe.

“No need. He’s here,” she grinned, even as terror filled her at the very real Alduin flying close and landing on the stone building behind them. He roared, sending everyone around them into a panic.

“What in Oblivion is that?!” Hadvar yelled.

Elizabeth waited for Captain Bitch and the General to be caught up in the panic before reaching down to help Sundrose to his feet. They both stood there watching as Alduin set the little town ablaze, killing most of their would-be executioners instantly.

Suddenly Ralof appears and grabs Sundrose’s arm, tugging him towards one of the buildings.

“Come on! The guards won’t give us another chance! This way!”

They both run along after Ralof, with the still gagged Ulfric not far behind them. They rush into one of the still mostly intact buildings, slamming the door behind them. Ralof pulls a dagger off of one of the bodies inside, using it to slash all of their ropes. Elizabeth sighs and rubs her burning wrists in relief.

Ralof turns to Ulfric, his eyes wide in wonder - and though he would probably never admit it - a touch of fear.

“Jarl Ulfric, what is that thing? Could the legends be true?”

Ulfric finishes untying his binds and spits out his gag. “Legends don’t burn down villages.”

Alduin’s roars outside rattle the building as he nears their location, all of them looking worriedly at the walls.

“We need to move, now!” Ralof bellows, gesturing for them to follow him upstairs.

They all run until they can’t anymore, finally facing a dead end. The rest of the stairs had been smashed off by Alduin, leaving nothing but a giant hole in the stone wall.

“See the inn on the other side?” Ralof asked, turning to the two behind him. “Jump through the roof and keep going! We’ll follow when we can!”

And here she was, the end of Skyrim chapter one. She startles as Sundrose suddenly jumps without a word. She rushes towards the hole, watching in awe as he neatly lands with a slight roll, before standing up and dusting himself off.

He looks up with a charming grin and reaches both of his arms out.

“Jump, little one. I’ll catch you.”

Elizabeth gulps and walks trepidly towards the edge. She steels herself by taking a few deep breaths, staring at Sundrose as she launches herself from the edge.

Time suddenly stood still as she registered the roar of the dragon was far too close for comfort. She could feel the sweltering breath as he opened his mouth, the stench of sulfur bringing tears to her eyes. Then came the scent of searing flesh as her pained screams filled the air. The last thing she heard was the cry of horror from the man below her.

She supposed as far as ways to die went, this was probably up there. Death by video game. That wasn’t a video game. And it wasn't a dream. Because she was in Skyrim and she was very, very, awake.

***

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Thu., Jan. 16, 2020

Veneration of the chain of the Holy Apostle Peter

The Holy Church, today, celebrates a special feast in commemoration of the great benefit which God bestowed upon His people by miraculously delivering St. Peter, the visible head of the church, from prison. The entire event is described in the Acts of the Apostles, by St. Luke. Herod Agrippa, a son of Aristobulus, favored by the Roman Emperor Claudius, ruled over Judaea, with the title of king. To give more stability to his reign, he endeavored to make himself beloved by the Jews, for which there was no easier way than to persecute the Christians, especially those who fearlessly proclaimed the Gospel of Christ, as did the holy Apostles. He had, therefore, apprehended, and soon after beheaded, James the Great, brother of St. John, which bloody deed gave the Jews great satisfaction. To increase this, Herod commanded them to seize St. Peter, intending to make away with him in the same manner. His command was executed; Peter was taken prisoner, chained and locked in a narrow dungeon, which was guarded so vigilantly, that he could not escape. It was then near the Easter Festival, after which St. Peter was to be beheaded. The Christians, in deep distress, were praying day and night, that the Almighty would not permit His flock to be so soon deprived of its shepherd.

There was no human power to save him; but God, hearing the prayer of His people, delivered him by a miracle. On the eve of the day on which he was to be executed, God sent an Angel to set him free. Although heavily laden with chains, the holy Apostle slept peacefully, guarded by the soldiers. The Angel, who by his brightness, illumined the dungeon, struck him on the side and awakened him, saying: “Arise quickly. Gird thyself; put on thy sandals and cloak and follow me.” The Apostle, whose chains had fallen from his hands, and who thought it all a dream, obeyed and followed the Angel. They passed the first and second watches without attracting their attention, and reached the iron gate which led into the street. The gate opened without the aid of human hands. After having conducted St. Peter through one street, the Angel vanished and was seen no more. Not until then did the holy Apostle realize that his deliverance was not a dream but a reality. Hence he began to praise the Almighty, exclaiming: “Now I know truly that the Lord has sent his Angel and delivered me out of the hands of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of Judaea.” He proceeded immediately to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where the faithful were assembled in prayer.

When he knocked at the door, a servant, named Rhode, came, and asked who was there. Judging by the voice that it was Peter, she was so greatly startled with joy and astonishment, that, without opening the door, she ran back to announce the news. They all believed that she was insane, but as she reiterated her words, some said that it must be his guardian Angel. Meanwhile, the Saint repeated his knocking at the door. They opened it and perceived, with amazement, their beloved shepherd safe and free from chains. Their joy on beholding him was as great as had been their grief when he was taken prisoner. Having given the sign for silence, St. Peter related all that had happened to him. They all gave thanks to Divine Providence when he had ended, and learned to trust in future to the heavenly power and mercy...keep reading

St Honoratus of Arles

Saint Honoratus was born in Gaul (modern France) about 350, and came from a distinguished Roman family. After a pilgrimage to Greece and Rome, he became a hermit on the isle of Lerins, where he was joined by Saints Lupus of Troyes (July 29), Eucherius of Lyons (November 16), and Hilary of Arles (May 5), among others. The saint depleted his youthful vigor through fasting and asceticism, and so “the powers of the body made way for the power of the spirit.” Though in poor health, he managed to follow the same rule of fasting and keeping vigil as those who were younger and stronger than he. He would visit the sick when he was even sicker than they were, offering consolation for body and soul. Then, fearing he had not done enough for them, he would review each case in his mind to determine how he could ease their suffering. Adorned with virtues, Saint Honoratus treated a variety of spiritual diseases, freeing many from their enslavement to vice. His insight into each person’s character enabled him to apply the appropriate remedies for restoring souls to spiritual health. Saint Honoratus died in 429 shortly after being consecrated as Bishop of Arles. Saint Hilary, his relative and successor, delivered a eulogy which still survives. From the site of the Orthodox Church of America (OCA)

James  1:19-27 NKJV

Qualities Needed in Trials

19 [a]So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Doers—Not Hearers Only

21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and [b]overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

26 If anyone [c]among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Footnotes:

James 1:19 NU Know this or This you know

James 1:21 abundance

James 1:26 NU omits among you

Mark 9:10-16 NKJV

10 So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.

11 And they asked Him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

12 Then He answered and told them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.”

A Boy Is Healed

14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. 15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. 16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”

[2forgive]

I am concerned with what goes on around the World and what we see happening here on the Yakama Indian reservation. We have lived in the Yakama Indian Reservation most of our lives 82 years and find it becoming more segregated and dysfunctional in so many homes and businesses, as alcohol and drugs has caused such hate for what has happened in the past.  We are seeing bitterness destroy people’s ability to feel ashamed and clean up their homes and lives. I have heard so many times attending functions within the community “White Man’s Religion” as they tried to force us to be like them. They tried to destroyed our traditions and way of life and I feel this has caused a lot of Indians to become full of bitterness towards the white man and his religion.

God created us all with the ability to make decision that would bring goodwill and peace to all, as we accept the way, truth and life that is contained in His Word the Bible; the text book on how then should we live? It is not my way, truth and life, for we did not create this world, God did. God gave all men and women the ability to either be good, or bad. This is proved by how our conscience works for us or find it dead to where we do not care, but are given over to a reprobate mind set.  It seems like being bad is more beneficial, for one does not have to work at it, for we are born to do wrong and have to be taught what is right. That is the reason we need a savior to teach us how to achieve our potential He created for us all. When we feel we can be a god in control of our lives, we step into the way, truth and life of Satan that is full of bitterness and bereavement. Satan was cast out of heaven for the simple reason he was as good as God. He is still doing all he can to fool mankind into thinking he is the light of the world, for sin is fun for a season. We see this by the way gambling with our lives is common, for the thought of being in control is what the Devil specializes in. It is not until we see ourselves throwing up and eating our own vomit we want to change our life style and want to accept the love of the Lord that gives us a good self-image, to where we are proud of who we are, thinking of others the way God created us for goodwill and peace.

So, when I drop the I and replace it with Jesus others and you, to where our spirits become proud allowing us to become a blessing in eight different ways. When we accept abiding in the vine; Jesus we then are able to understand the beatitudes of Matthew 5 which begin with verse 3.blessed are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God. This is understanding we are conscience of our need for Help from God, as He gives us salvation over the power of Satan and we realize we are not our own, but Gods. This starts by feeling sorry, for ourselves as we can’t, but God can, as we cry out to Him every moment of the day for performing what is right, not doing the sins that causes the wages of no money, no friends, low self-esteem, loss of everything of worth. But thank the Lord He gives, or provides for us what we need as our consciences cry out for help! We are always in need of Gods help of grace and mercy, for we are sinners begging for God to allow us to open the door of our hearts, so He can come into our store house filling us up with His blessing. It is the joy of the Lord that He gives to those who are abiding in Him.

Then the second beatitude becomes possible.  4.Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted. Sin hurts and cause us to mourn, for we are missing out on God’s love and the love we need from one another.  Lord help us to see the need to be able to love ourselves the way God created us for goodwill and peace, that we can be a blessing to all. It is strange Jesus seemed to never laugh but that He wept for the needs of the people.

5. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. This is not being weak, but consecrated to God, for we are not our own, but abiding in Him, having a mark of being different doing goodwill and being peace to all regardless of who they are, for God created us all. We are not militant wanting to settle the account but waiting on God to settle the account of bad behavior and attitude.

6. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. When we hunger we are going to get full, as it is a sign we are going to grow becoming stronger and stronger in all areas of life. Let’s realize we are as healthy as what we eat. Also, we are as healthy as what we drink and we need Discipline to give us freedom to be aware of what we take into the body, soul and spirit so we stay blest healthy.

7. Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy. This is an attribute of Godliness that is ours, as we are willing to be forgiven, so then we can be forgiving. We are seeing the Republicans and Democrats show no mercy, but hate for one another, to where we have no peace for we are not united, but divided and mercy is a two-way street that will either destroy us, or unite us to be glorified and a blessing.

8. Blessed are the pure in heart; for they will see God. This is transparency at it best, as we work at achieving Gods perfection in all we do and say, we can achieve our potential as we keep abiding in the vine, Jesus or Lord. To be pure takes a lot of work dealing with the impurities. It is as we apply the Blood of the Lord and allow Him to cleanse us up, we become pure and holy as God created us in the beginning of time. The heart must keep pure of sinful lust; covetousness is called filthy lucre. Purity of heart is something your in control of, for out of the heart the mouth speaks. That’s the reason David prayed create with in me a clean heart O, God when he coveted. Are we seeing Gods, love, mercy and grace regardless of the circumstance in our present state here on earth so we will see God in Heaven that awaits us?  It is the pure in heart that are seeing God now and will see him in Heaven.

 9. Blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called the sons of God. This is showing a Christ like behavior and attitude as Sons of God. We want to live together in harmony as brothers and sisters abiding in the Lords House protecting us from fighting with one another. Peace makers are needed to day in our Religion, Government and our Economics to show order and respect for one another. God created us for goodwill and peace and that takes surrendering to the Lords way, not Satan’s way. It is impossible for mankind to be peaceable and reconcile those who are at variance, and to promote Christian love among those under charge without a personal relationship with the peace maker Jesus, as He said to all gathered at the cross; Father forgive them they do not know what they are doing.

10. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake; for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Now here we are seeing the importance of suffering as persecution brings cleansing, as God is really real, making the storms of life bearable. This gives us the ability to have an identification with the Lord. He was allowed to die and put in a Grave, but rose within three days, to give all life as they call upon Him. Lord, help us to day to want that freedom and peace that comes as I am dedicated to you regardless of how we are treated by mankind.

11 Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely. This is hard to accept until you become one with the Lord, seeing everyone that was martyred, as you see yourself. This is gives me, liberty, or gives me death, at the greatest degree. It is amazing how often we are seeing today people that are being martyred for the simple reason they are telling the truth and people do not like it, for Satan is controlling people spirits like never before.

Living on the Yakama Reservation is a challenge for we have a Nation with-in a nation. Yet we live in America, where it is in God we trust and have our being. Then as a Nation we have given the Native Americans the opportunity to govern themselves, which makes it very difficult, for we have two laws. When you are on the Reservation we are governed by Indian Jurisdiction. This is a challenge for all, as many times we do not see justice, so safety is a concern, for life and property. We have more missing person on the Reservations that is a concern to all. Yet, we do not seem to have the ability to address it. I personally have been to three meeting already this year that have tried to address this concern and no one can’t seem to find an answer. Then crime on the reservation multiplies for the simple reason, no one has to suffer the consequence for wrong, we forget everyone has to pay a price of injustices. Are we not seeing lawlessness in our Reservation increase to where it is causing many to suffer? Jurisdiction is prevented the State Patrol from helping with justice as the Yakima Sheriffs are doing all they can to help, but the Tribal officers are in control. So, for us to have lawfulness requires we all work together for goodwill and peace the way God created us all.

It is amazing that united we stand, but divided we fall is seen around the world in Government, Politics and Religion. This should make us, or force us to make sure we know the way, truth and life, God created us with, so all can be safe and sound in our environment. God created us all out of dirt and from that dirt. He created women from the rib of man closest to his heart, that we might love one another. As long as man has existed, man and women have had difficulty working at being united, so they could achieve their potential, for we have an enemy; Satan, that does not like obedience, but control and he is controlling many in the world in which we live. Lord help us to understand we can’t do what is right, for we think it is our right to freedom. Doing what we please, gives way to the easy way, that requires no work. God’s way is giving up, and let Gods truth and life reign, for God so loved this world, that He gave His only begotten son; that whosoever believeth upon Him shall not perish but have everlasting life, that is being saved. Saved from what? My way, my truth and life not doing it Satan’s way, when we become disconnected and shorted out of God’s blessing.

Does this sound like I hate life and the life of others? No, I love you and want you to have life abundantly and full of the joy of the Lord, knowing that God, that is within me, nothing is impossible. So, let’s become united to the Lord, so we can bear the fruit the Lord wants us to produce in us to bring glory and honor to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

[billrhetts]

7 Days Street Preaching in Nashville Tennessee & a Report on the Reformation Conference.

I just got back from spending an amazing seven days in Tennessee. My primary reason for going, was to attend Reforming America Ministries third annual two-day Reformation Preaching Conference, which was hosted at Calvary Bible Church in Joelton. I traveled afar to sit, lean, listen, and learn under a collective team of extraordinary polished sophisticated Bible Scholars. As one person said, we were “richly fed” and we “drank well” from their solid teachings. Regarding one particular Bible topic, one described this privilege as sitting under that teaching of a “no higher accolades of academia.” The aforementioned speakers taught and preached various sermons, as well as through each of the Five Solas. All their vendors were very resourceful. I purchased a book by the last survivor of the WWII U.S.S. Indianapolis, what a blessing it was to speak with him. To enhance my library, I also purchased a 3-volume set on Psalms (my wife gave me a $280 spending allowance, but lots of that went towards parking costs downtown). Do you know what we need today? Preachers who are actually out there, where the dead are. Uncloistered men, who care nothing about religious accommodations, or ivory towers. They may use libraries, but they do not love them. They would rather stand out in the midst of a depraved humanity, and cry out thus saith the Lord, hear the Word of the Lord. We need to take this so called good theology, and get it out there where the dead are. – Paul Washer Their itinerary provided us with plenty of time to engage in Biblical fellowship, whereas I had the privilege of enjoying their company and conversations. When it all ended, it was difficult to say good bye, so I slipped away, and quietly drove off. I wasn’t going to let any of them see any tears in my eyes (they probably already think Californians are sissies). Brethren, that’s how wonderful this conference was. Besides, every time I come to ‘the South,’ I wish to remain there, but I do have a wonderful wife in California. The Lord certainly used this conference to teach, edify, train-up, and equip myself and others for the ministry. As mentioned in my previous video about this trip, the best way to maximize the financial investments for this trip, was to make a ‘missions trip’ out of it. Therefore I spent one week preaching and sharing the glorious Gospel in the streets of Nashville. I concentrated on Broadway, west of the Cumberland River (from 1st Ave. S. to 5th Ave. S.), which consists of the renowned historical entertainment district for country music. I must confess I was very surprised. Having evangelized Sin City (Las Vegas), I quickly learned that the ‘late night – early morning’ crowds in Nashville were far more sinister than Vegas, including Prostitutes (the old VICE Cop in me is able to detect them). Of course the worldlings were acting just like the world, but so were many ‘professing’ Christians. If the professed convert distinctly and deliberately declares that he knows the Lord’s will but does not mean to attend to it, you are not to pamper his presumption, but it is your duty to assure him that he is not saved. Do not suppose that the Gospel is magnified or God glorified by going to the worldlings and telling them that they may be saved at this moment by simply accepting Christ as their Savior, while they are wedded to their idols, and their hearts are still in love with sin. If I do so I tell them a lie, pervert the Gospel, insult Christ, and turn the grace of God into lasciviousness. – Charles Spurgeon Since their locals lived in the progressively complacent Bible Belt, most of them had normalized partying and revelry. One professing Christian woman told me that her Pastor was “down with it,” and she believed drunkenness is not a sin (too many ‘Pastors’ are causing their sheep to stumble). Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). I cannot remember how many times I was told “Jesus turned water into wine,” by beautiful young girls staggering down this filthy decadent sidewalk, which at times had remnants of washed down vomit on it. I lost count how many times I warned them, that they believed in ‘another Jesus.’ It’s a shame that these locals did not sit under the Pastors that spoke at the aforementioned conference. And if they did, one of three things would surely occur. Either they’d be convicted, converted, and/or offended and leave. I will share one particular encouraging experience. While I was distributing tracts a group of decent looking youngsters approached me (this was still early in the evening). They advised they were Christians. Regretfully I was skeptical, as I assumed they might be partying, but thankfully I was wrong. It’s a beautiful thing to see young people carrying large Bibles in a place like this. They were from their church, evangelizing the same location. One of them told me that they were in serious need of encouragement, and that I was encouraging to them. However I failed to tell them, that it was they that encouraged me (I hope they read this). I then let them know that I was about to begin some ‘stop-light preaching,’ and invited them to watch. You’ll enjoy watching their excitement in the below video. By God’s grace I was able to personally distribute thousands and thousands of Gospel tracts, I preached to many more, and engaged in many conversations. Some of them were humble and receptive, a few seemingly repented, while others were belligerent, and fell just short of becoming violent. I had to constantly reassess when to stop, and when to move-on to the next block. Since these large crowds were all on the sidewalk, my large TOA megaphone would have been inappropriate to use. Therefore I used my Aker-38 in the areas where I did not have to compete with sounds emitting from the many bars and saloons. Consequently my voice had to be raised far above a normal level (I don’t like ‘that tone,’ or voice inflection, but it was necessary). I really thought this location was going to be mostly about the history of Tennessee, and their music industry. But I quickly learned that is was more about celebrating lasciviousness, sensuality, alcohol, and the bar scene. Since some of the crowds remained inside the bars and saloons, for long periods of time, I evangelized their interiors. Remember, if our evangelism is Biblical, then we will be hated by the world, so naturally I was 86-d from most of them. Take note that when I was asked to leave, I immediately and respectfully did so. Therefore there was no trespassing, nor bad witness. I also evangelized their Peddle Pubs and Peddle Taverns. As one woman peddled her liver and soul away, she read the front cover of my Gospel tract. She then scoffed the Gospel message by fully exposing her breasts. This place was like evangelizing hells mouth. Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop, within a yard of hell. ~ C.T. Studd. If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for. ~ Charles Spurgeon. Other than those many encounters which were audibly or visually R-rated, I regret not having my GoPro camera recording the entire time. Nonetheless I did not bring extra memory cards, nor was I able to store files on my tablet, and it would not be wise to spend ‘too much time’ at home later going through so many files (I need to spend less time at my desk, and more time in the streets). Therefore, the below video depicts only a ‘summary’ of a much larger labor of love. I want to thank those that financially contributed to this outreach, your dollars went to great use. Since I had a refrigerator in my motel room, I went grocery shopping, and ate in my room. However I did eat out thrice, and yes their barbeques are great. But they’re ‘big on pigs,’ and not much on beef. Above all, God was glorified, Christ was exalted, His church was edified, and the lost either read or heard the Gospel, and God’s Word promises to not return void. Sola Deo Gloria! If you would hear the word aright, [then] practice what you hear … hearing only will be no plea at the Day of Judgment—merely to say, “Lord, I have heard many sermons.” God will say, ‘What fruits of obedience have you bought forth?” The Word preached is not only to inform you, but reform you, conform you, and transform you … If you hear the word and are not bettered by it … your hearing will increase your condemnation. … We pity those who do not know where to hear the Word; but O how much worse will it be for those who do not care how they hear. To graceless disobedient hearers, every sermon will be a log to heat hell. It is sad to go loaded to hell with many logs to make it hotter. Oh, beg the Spirit to make the word preached powerful! Ministers can but speak to the ear, the Spirit speaks to the heart, and you must apply it. – Thomas Watson – a 17th century preacher.https://youtu.be/ZllS0ipTKzg