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katie-the-bug · 4 months ago

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Tribulation Force: The Continuing Drama of Katie Getting Angry at a Book

As promised, we immediately return to Tribulation Force. In case you missed the first post, our cast: Rayford Steele, allegedly the greatest pilot in the world; Buck Williams, allegedly the greatest reporter in the world; Chloe Steele, Rayford's daughter and Buck's girlfriend; Bruce Barnes, pastor and expositor; Nicolae Carpathia, Antichrist; Hattie Durham, girlfriend of Antichrist.

The beginning of Chapter 9 is concerned with Buck and Chloe talking themselves in circles about their relationship or lack thereof before finally clearing up a misunderstanding that shouldn't have existed in the first place. Rayford and Buck promptly blame Chloe for making problems out of nothing and generally being a woman unreasonable. I hope somebody dies soon.

Buck: "The issue was the difference in our ages. Then I realized that with only about seven more years ahead of us, that becomes a nonissue." It's official: Buck thinks that the impending end of the world permits being creepy.

NOW Chloe thinks BRUCE wants to date her based on some mysterious flowers that arrived on her doorstep and is talking about how she's going to talk to him about THAT. I'm going to throw myself off a coffee table.

In Chapter 10, Buck has a single, blinding moment of common sense. "The UN signs a peace treaty with Israel and you think it's bigger than the disappearances of billions all over the globe?"

Somewhere in between all the nothing that was going on, Rayford has been offered a job flying Nicolae's plane. He doesn't quite take the job, but he does agree to fly Nicolae to Israel for the treaty signing. In a better story he would be grappling with the possibility of crashing the plane en route, killing himself but possibly killing the Antichrist and saving the world as well. Even if he didn't go through with it, the fallout of his decision would take his character in an interesting direction. Unfortunately Rayford is nothing but a bystander, and the story remains uninteresting.

"Buck laughed, not because the joke was any funnier than the first time, but because it was theirs and it was stupid." Congratulations, authors. You have captured one (1) relatable human experience.

In Chapter 12, a bunch of religious leaders under Nicolae's influence announce their desire to create "an entirely new religion, one that would incorporate the tenets of all." Meaning, for example, a religion that simultaneously believes in one god in one person and one god in three persons and millions of gods and no god and the Flying Spaghetti Monster, all at once. This only makes sense if you, like the authors, believe that the world only has two religions to begin with: True Christianity and Everything Else. The authors believe that Everything Else is fundamentally the same, and thus will eventually come together into a one-world-religion. The authors are crazy.

In Chapter 13, Buck interviews a rabbi during a cab trip, at the end of which the rabbi asks him to pay for it. Buck jokes that he'll do anything short of funding the rabbi's upcoming flight, and the rabbi says, "Now that you mention it-" The greedy Jew stereotype: you hate to see it!

In Chapter 14, Buck goes to Jerusalem to see the two witnesses, who are promptly attacked by a screaming man with a gun who claims to be on a mission from Allah. The violent Muslim stereotype: you hate to see it!

The two witnesses are not killed, because prophecy says they will preach for 1260 days. I think it would be really funny if they died only a few weeks in and threw the prophecy into chaos, but I suppose if I want to see that I'll have to write it myself.

Our new friend Tsion Ben-Judah says of Jesus, "His very name is as profane to the Jew as racial slurs and epithets are to other minorities." The authors have convinced themselves that the only reason Jews aren't Christian is because they hate Jesus personally. Just in case you still thought they had any respect for Judaism at all.

In Chapter 15, it's mentioned that Nicolae will be buying most of the world's media, and we get a list that includes Disney. This has no bearing on the plot, I just find it funny.

We get this in Chapter 16, while the characters are attending the treaty signing: "The Antichrist was on a course foretold centuries before, and the drama would be played out to the end." Followed by: "No one could stem the tide of history." The authors are now trying to convince us that our "heroes" are justified in not doing anything about the impending apocalypse. This book is so dumb.

"The seven-year 'week' had begun. The Tribulation." Wow, what an endi - why are there three more chapters?

In Chapter 17, Tsion goes on TV to discuss the messianic prophecies and criteria he's been studying for years - most of which are only messianic in nature by Christian reckoning. Unsurprisingly, he comes to the conclusion that Jesus was the Messiah and is promptly chased out of the studio. Nicolae remarks, "I would have liked him saying he was the Messiah better," and cements himself as my favorite character.

Chapter 18 begins with the words, "Eighteen months later." You guys realize you're supposed to put the time skip BETWEEN books, right? And with the number of things that have changed in the time skip, I feel like I'm starting another book anyway!

Rayford's narration mentions one "Amanda White," who had been mentioned exactly once before in the story as an acquaintance of his wife's. She is introduced as a good-looking, fashionable woman with a "servant's attitude." An entire romantic arc between her and Rayford is crammed into a summary of the preceding eighteen months, and I'm pretty sure the authors just want to give Rayford a second dead wife in a couple books.

The world has changed in many ways during this time skip - for example, the new world religion is now "Enigma Babylon One World Faith" and Nicolae is now the "Potentate" of the "Global Community." Terrible branding all round.

"The one-world religion was headed by the new Pope Peter..." That'd be Pope Peter II, ya Protestant.

Buck is devising an "anti-Global Community Web site on the Internet." Ah, the 90s.

In Chapter 19, we get the news that Nicolae and Hattie are expecting a baby. I've read enough summaries of this series to know that their relationship won't work out, but I want so bad for them to live happily with their little hellspawn. Hattie deserves it after all the shit these books are putting her through, and having a kid would open up some interesting characterization angles for Nicolae. I would love to see this giving him a genuine motivation to oppose God, as opposed to just being evil for evil's sake - he wants the world to go on so his child can grow up, and if he thinks taking over the world and wiping out Christianity will help, so be it. Excuse me while I outline a fanfiction...."Son of Rome and Babylon," coming probably never!

As of Chapter 19, WWIII has broken out, and it occurs to me - none of these major world events are connected to each other in any way. The Rapture doesn't contribute to the rise of the Antichrist, it merely heralds it. If the treaty with Israel has any bearing on WWIII, the book doesn't say. There isn't even any lead-up to WWIII in this book - we get a minor warning of it a chapter before it happens, and that's it. Jenkins and LaHaye aren't writing a story - they're writing a very elaborate checklist.

On the last page, somebody - Bruce - finally dies. I feel no emotion other than slight disappointment that it took this long.

And that's it for Tribulation Force. It's all downhill from here for characters and reader alike.

#katie reads left behind #left behind #long post #stay tuned #tw antisemitism #tw islamophobia

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iwishiwascuddled · 2 years ago

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“Blake?”

The small figure practically jumped out of her skin, the room not well lighting their face. BoJack had always gone to their place for the night, but recently she needed an escape from her own apartment.

Lighter in hands, joint in mouth, she was caught in the doorway to the balcony pool in her pjs. She took deep breaths, plucking the joint from her mouth. “Could you be any more frightening? Good lord BoJack, it’s 4 AM.”

“I know.” He says. “That’s why I’m wondering why you’re up.”

She sighs, seeing him eye her joint. “I know you’re doing your whole thing with sobriety, but I’m not you!” She exasperates. His face gave her a look that he couldn’t wipe off of his face. The look of a broken soul understanding another. “BoJack, I’m a 6th generation Green Triangle Californian, you expect me not to indulge?”

He was silent, his brows suddenly furrowing. “I never said shit about your pot. You do what you want.” He says. “You’re Blakely Honey. You can do whatever you want.”

Her face slowly dropped. He gestured to the couch. “Wanna talk?”

She snorts a laugh. “BoJack? Talking? This is new.”

His eyes roll hard. “Ok, yeah, make fun of your sugar daddy.”

“You’re not a sugar daddy, you’re...” Blake stutters on her words, setting the joint and lighter on the coffee table. “..you’re my fuck buddy? That’s even worse.”

As they both settle down, she criss crosses her legs, not sure how to start. Her brain was moving too quickly, like try to catch water in a ocean storm with no way to hold it.

He lets out a breath. “So, what’s going on? I mean, in your head.”

“What?” Her head turns to him confused by the statement.

He clears his throat. “Well, I know that you like to think a lot, and I’ve been there when you start to overthink and spiral into the void that is ‘yeah but’ and ‘what if’.”

She turned away, in utter shame. He was right. “Am I...doing something wrong?”

“What?” Her face was crossed with panic momentarily.

“Do..do you not like who I am?”

“BoJack..” She lets out a long sigh, he face in her hands. “What happens when you hate everything you’ve ever become?”

Guilt and fear was struck immediately, the tension in the room extremely high. He takes her hand, his thumb rubbing over her hand. He didn’t know how to answer, this was the question he had been asking everyone his entire life. After Sarah Lynn, he couldn’t afford to be this harsh with a soft soul.

Blakely and him had met through Diane, as Blakely was one of her work associates at Girl Croosh before they had all gotten fired. Blake took an immediate liking to BoJack, and there was something about Blake that BoJack couldn’t shake. Motherly, yet compassionate, things be never had in his life. She could also be as cynical and aggressive as BoJack, but he saw her as a fragile doll. He’s broken too many women now, if he broke even one more he might go off the deep end.

He kissed her cheek and said, “I’m not sure. But I think we can figure out together?”

She scoffs. “Hallmark generic much?”

“Hey, you’re asking the worst guy to give you advice. You should’ve asked Hollyhock.”

She lets out a broken chuckle, squeezing his hand. “Hollyhock’s always mad at everyone. It makes it hard for me to get her like I did you.”

“Hollyhock is just hardheaded, and plus she’s not really into mother figures all that much.” He said. “Blakely...do you..”

She looked up at him, even though they were both sat down he couldn’t help to notice her eyes looked like stars. Even through her pain, through all of the shit thrown at her by everyone in her life, she still managed to have the light of pure life in her eyes. She didn’t let the fame get to her head like it did him.

“Do you like working?” He asks. “As a celebrity?”

She shook her head. He looks at her timidly. “It’s not too late to cancel the job with Princess Carolyn and Judah. You don’t have to be in Birthday Dad.”

Tears start flowing from her eyes. “I just wanna be an author..” She admits. “I wanted to write a medical novel and help change healthcare and immortalise this country to finally be good for once in over 200 years. Why is LA so fucking shitty?”

He sighs, scratching his neck. He squeezes her hand as she leans on his shoulder, and they sit in solemn understanding of the cruelty of the world. No one should expect this much of a college student, nor should they of an asshole actor from the 90’s. People are people.

“I’m gonna call Princess Carolyn in the morning and tell her to cancel the contract. I’m not letting you go any further on this.” He said. “If you need to move back to Grass Valley, I can help you. I can get you on the next bus to Colfax and get you an apartment downtown. You can stay with your family but also still stay in California.”

She wipes her eyes, letting go of his hand so she can blow her nose. “BoJack-”

“I’m not letting you ruin your dreams. You want to be an author, I can do that. Just please, get out of LA.”

“I don’t want to leave you-”

“I’ll be fine.” He stood his ground, firmly at best. “Because for some reason, every time I hit a rock bottom, It gets better until I hit another rock bottom. But I’m not about to allow yourself to rip the silver spoon out of your mouth in exchange for a piece of shit acting career that will make you hate yourself.”

She stayed quiet, listening to this ramble. “Blake, if you stay here any longer, not only will LA haunt your every thought forever, but you will too. Every single moment of your day will be filled with regret if you stay here with me. I’m tar pit and you’re just...”

He stopped to see your face. You were scared, you looked as if you had seen a ghost.

“...you’re just too valuable for me to let you rot in this house with me. I’m not letting you go down with this fucking ship.”

She sighed. “You’re right.”

His face contorted. “What?”

“I said, you’re right.” She slightly snapped. “I tried to make it work in LA, and it’s ruining me. You’re right, BoJack.”

“But you know..” As she continued, he hung on her every word. He took it to heart, harshly at that. Every sentence was agony but he loved it.

~~~

“Hawaii?” He asks. She nods in response.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, my flight is in 3 weeks. My step brother invited me to live at his place while he’s on his oil rig in Montana. That’s enough time to wrap up my shit here in LA and move.” She chuckles. “You act as if you’re the captain of this ship, but have you ever noticed you never get to make decisions for yourself?”

“Excuse me?” He smiles back at her. “I can assure you that I am 100% in control of my own life.”

“It’s always your manager or your producer or your agent, even your publicist or your fucking book writer.” Her eyes drool a little. “I never get to hear anything from your mouth, BoJack. It’s always Philbert’s, or Secretariat’s, or..I don’t even know at this point. ”

“What are you implying?” He urges.

“I’m saying, BoJack, you don’t have a free will anymore!” She says. “You just keep getting treated like a replaceable cog in a machine of media, and it’s pointless! I just want you to speak to me, person to person.”

He gives no response. She had a point. Everytime BoJack made any sort of progression, he immediately got sabotaged right back down.

“You should’ve gone back to Wesleyan.” She says. “Gone back to teaching. It��s the best thing you could’ve done right now. But you fucked that up too. Do you know how difficult it is to get to my job - which is in the middle of town, by the way - when paparazzi keep swarming me for Sarah Lynn information?”

He stays silent, anger but love still across his face. She lights the joint as it holds place in her mouth, puffing it until it lights. “I’m sorry.” He says to no one in particular. She scoffs.

“Tell it to the judge.” She says, letting out her breath.

“I didn’t mean for it to be like this.”

“It’s not your intentions.” She says. “It doesn’t matter what your intentions were. Because that part of the situation is over. Now it’s about your actions. It’s about what you’ve done. Its about whats happened and how it’s going to be handled.”

“All I can say is...I’m sorry.” He says. “I have no excuses.”

“I wish I could help you. I like defending you sometimes, because I love you, BoJack. Other times, it’s so overwhelming.” She says. “It’s like trying to swim in a lake with cement bricks tied to your shoes. And every time you’re able to get to the surface, something hits you and you’re pushed back into the lake, barely able to get a breathe in before being plunged back into the cold water.”

He sighs. “Trust me, my friends and I have been drowning for a very long time.” He says. “I love you too.”

She giggles. “Remember when we first met?”

He smiles. “How could I forget? You were glowing that night.” He chuckles in return. “You had the weirdest earrings on.”

“I was going through a custom earring phase, I thought worm on a string would look good.” She laughs some more.

“You did look good.” He said. “You can make anything work.”

“You wanted to say something to me that night.” She said. “But PC pulled you away to talk before we could speak any longer.”

He gulps.

“What were you going to tell me?”

He knew she’d ask. Her memory isn’t good for recent events, but she can keep a perfect record of anything over 6 months ago. Once she’s taken 6 months to process it, then she remembers. It had almost been two or three years now.

“I wanted to say..” he started, but paused quickly. “I wanted to tell you how gorgeous you looked.”

She forces a laugh. “Doubtful.”

“I’m serious. You had the most amazingly sewn blue blouse, it had gold sequins that looks like constellations,”

“I remember, I hand sewn every bead.”

“and you’re make-up made you look like and angel with the white and gold liner and pastel blue lips,”

“You remember the details of my makeup? Weirdo.”

“and you had overall shorts on, and a backpack with roses on it.”

“Get to the point, Romeo.”

“The point is, you put so much work into your outfit and no one noticed. They just...expected it of you.” He said. Her face softly smiled, her eyes meeting his. “But I thought, ‘why did she put so much work into a bunch of assholes’. You should’ve been the talk of the town that night, not some stupid movie.”

“...BoJack, that was a show with you in it.”

“Yeah- fucking- whatever.”

She smiles, leaning back onto the couch. BoJack does the same. She turns her head to his.

“Do you think.. if we had met at an earlier time, this would’ve worked?” Her query seemed far fetched to him. “Like what if we met when I was moving back from Texas? Or before I moved there in the first place?”

“I think that no matter what time you met me, we would always be this.”

“And what is ‘this’?”

The wind blew through the open door, the black night sky peering through his windows like a dripping ooze.

“‘This’ is..” He stumbled. “‘This’ is one of the best things that ever happened to me. With me. For me. And I can never thank you enough, Blakely. I’m so sorry.”

She giggled at his apology. “BoJack, even though you are one of the weirdest things that has ever happened to me, I loved my time with you. I loved every party, every interview, every stroll in the park and every night spent just like this.” She snorted a quick retort to balance the words, “and every night we’ve spent with me trying to get you to hold back your load so I could actually get off.”

“You trained me good. But now I cum on a specific command and I don’t think that’ll be helpful anytime soon.” He smiled at her outrageous laughter that filled his home. Her presence was overwhelming, but also enough.

“Those are the parts I’ll miss. But..”

“But?”

“I won’t miss the accusations.” His heart heavied. “I won’t miss the zero privacy of the architectural structure of your house. Or the fear of you relapsing, or the fear of you going back to your self destructive habits, like going back to multiple month benders where I don’t know if you’re alive. Considering eighteen people have killed themselves on me, I thought I was being generous to you. I won’t miss the idiocy of your schemes against others when you think you’re helping.

I DEFINITELY won’t miss the chicks from the bar leaving at an ungodly time and me dragging you to the clinic to make sure that the next time we touch I won’t get chlamydia.

Another thing I won’t miss? Princess Carolyn.”

He chuckled. “Woah, what? PC? Why?”

“She’s a constant reminder.”

“Of what?”

“That someone worked on you for 25 years- longer than I’ve been alive- and they still weren’t able to fix you.”

The feeling in the room left as he had to process that thought. “You really think that?”

“She’s been with you since your first agent. She worked harder than your actual agent to get you whatever you wanted. She busted you out of bed, she cured your hangovers, she’s taken you to hospitals, funeral homes, agencies, interviews, but you never noticed.

I don’t want to be the girl that does everything for you just for you to not notice and not fix yourself. And I think that’s fair enough.”

He laid there in awe as she stood from the couch, throwing the roach from the joint off the balcony. He hadn’t even noticed she was smoking the whole time.

“I’m heading to bead, Bo.” She turns in the doorway to his room. “I love you.”

As she’s about to enter the darkness, he sits up. “Blakely?”

She turns back around. “Yeah?”

“I want to get you something.” He started, making her giggle. “As a farewell gift. Anything you want.”

She stared at the city outside, leaning against the bedroom doorway as she pondered this. Her eyes meet his again and he’s entranced.

“I always liked hydrangeas.”

#bojack horseman x reader #bojack horseman x self insert #bojack x reader #bojack x self insert #im sorry im not editing it to say reader or y/n

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dailyaudiobiblechronological · 1 year ago

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7/21/2023 DAB Chronological Transcription

Hosea 8 - 14

Today’s the 21st of July, I'm Jill. Welcome everyone to Daily Audio Bible Chronological. If you're new, we're so glad that you're here. Grab a cup of coffee. Get yourself a Coke, Iced tea, lemonade, whatever. They just come on in. It's so good to be here with you as we read through the Bible in chronological order. We do it every day and we get through the Bible in its entirety in a year. Where in the Old Testament Still going to be here for just a little bit more. And we're making our way towards the new, which is sort of metaphoric, sort of symbolic, and sort of real life, at the same time living in the newness of what is and looking to God to see what it is that he would want to Resurrect and redeem in our own lives. So we'll just take a deep breath together here, And hold it just for a second. And let it go. And we'll let go of all distractions around us, let go of all of the demands of life. If we don't, they could literally eat us alive. We'll just take the next couple of minutes to center ourselves around the scripture reading for today and see if God might want to speak some things to his kids. We're continuing the book of Hosea today and we are going to finish that little guy. Some harsh language in this little guy. But we hear the heart of God calling for his people to return to him. And so we will pick up where we left off yesterday Hosea chapters 8 through 14, and today we're reading the New Living translation, Hosea, Chapter 8.

Prayer

This concludes the prophetic book of Hosea. Father, we thank you for your word today. Thank you for being here with us, meeting here with us as we journey through the word of God together. I pray that we would be a people that give you thanks and praise in the plenty And and want. That we know you in every season of our lives. And that we choose to remember Your goodness in all of it. We pray this now and the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Announcements

Daily Audio Bible, That's home base. Check it out if you have not. Take a look around.Check out the store, there's some fun things there. They're intended to enhance your journey through the reading, if you Journal, pencils, T-shirt, coffee, coffee subscription, and have it mailed fresh to your door every month. If you would like to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you so much for your partnership. We could not do this without you, so grateful that we do not have to. If you're giving by mail, DAB PO Box 1996, Spring Hill TN 37174. Or hit the give icon up at the top right hand corner of your mobile device. And lastly you can look for the give icon on the website. If you need prayer or if you would like to pray for someone that's previously called in several different ways for you to do so 800-583-2164 or utilizing that mobile app. Once again that the red circle button up at the top right hand corner of your device, you have two minutes on the prayer line. Hit Submit. At the end and then turn the wheel over to Chronological and it will get to the right place.That's it for me today. I'm Jill. We'll turn the page together tomorrow. It's been a joy and an honor to be here with you, Until then Love One another.

Community Prayer Line

This Is Saved by Us Grace and Happy Valley. China, I just listen to the Your July 15th podcast and I have to admit, I kind of snickered when you Talked about How stupid it seemed that The kings of Israel and Judah had heard the warnings from the prophets, and still they turned from God and worshiped other gods. Because I thought, Good grief, think of this country we've got. Well, especially our political leaders are prime examples of that, and there are so many people that don't Don't go to church, and possibly never have been to church. It's obvious that This nation has turned away from God, as have many nations around the world. Oh, then a lot of the churches, Teach their people to hate sinners rather than listening to Jesus who says love one another, even your enemies.The only way to bring sinners to Jesus So he can work on them. Is to love them. I have to admit, I find it a lot easier to love sinners than to love the haters. I really have to work on that. So pray for me, please. But we need to heed the lesson from today. We have God's word We've got it all spelled out for us, and still so many have turned away. God bless you all. Bye.

Hello my DABC Family. This is his Hands on me tea. Today's date is July 15th and I just want to pray for a couple of people. I want to pray for Lakisha and family. Whose sister lost her baby and her life doing childbirth. Lord, I just pray that you wrap your arms around this family who is broken, who don't understand, who is hurting, who have so many questions right now. Father, I pray that you send your healing. Hallelujah. I pray that you send your deliverance. I pray that you send your comfort, and I pray that you send your peace in Jesus name. And Father, I pray for Cory's from Texas, whose mother-in-law is in the hospital. And she's going through kidney failure, and she has fluid on her lungs, and she's suffering from suspects. Lord, I pray that you touch her body, make her whole Father, God, in the name of Jesus, I pray that you touch this family who has been at the hospital 24/7. I pray for Cory's wife that you give them peace, you give them comfort. I pray that your will be done in this situation. I pray that you will wrap your arms around this family. Let your your peace that surpasses all understanding be in their hearts and in their minds is in Jesus name. I also pray that you give the doctors wisdom and knowledge on how to properly treat Helen, God. In Jesus name. Amen.

Good morning DABC Family. This is his faithful one in Arizona and I am calling on Sunday July 16th and I just wanted to say thank you for those of you that prayed for my husband To to find work. I really appreciate the prayers. He will be starting a part time teaching job in August and He's got a few tutoring jobs that he's going to be doing throughout the week. And so I just think you and I praise God for those that have come in. Uh And I just want to ask for your continued prayers for him. As he continues to push against God and just try and do everything on his own. I see him Being independent and Just Not wanting to submit. He's He's fully vested on He is the one that's going to solve the problems and he's the one that's going to make things work. And just giving up on God, God can't help him, and so I just ask for your continued prayers for him. I just want to tell you guys that I am so appreciative of this community. This is only my second time calling and I just have been feeling the urge to call back and keep you guys posted with things that are going on. So I thank you. I pray for you guys as I hear the prayer requests come in and I praise the Lord with you with your praise reports. So keep them coming. Keep encouraging

Hi DABC family. This is under construction. I'm sorry for another prayer request, but.So Heart broken and beat and exhausted. And it's just I feel like this relationship is just killing me slow. Before I met my other half, I prayed and I prayed and I prayed for God to bring me an Angel.Add instead.I got the devil.Wrapped in a pretty package.I had so many hopes and dreams.I wish just for us.And instead I live in hell.My own little hole.Hidden behind a facade.That everything's OK.I don't.Really know what to pray for?How to know that I don't want to give up?I'm fine giving up on Earth.If you're better if we went our separate ways.I have really got to work a miracle for that to happen.No trauma.No extra.Just.Please keep me in your purse.

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lesfeldickbiblestudy · 2 years ago

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Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 1 * PART 2 * BOOK 70 LO-AMMI - NOT MY PEOPLE – PART 2 Hosea 1:1–2:18 Okay, it’s good to have you back. I guess you all got served your coffee and everything. For those of you joining us on television, again, we thank you for being with us. We thank you for your kind letters. My, mail time just seems to be getting better every day. We just praise and thank the Lord for it. We thank you for your financial help. In fact, as we noted in our newsletter, you’ve all been so good that we were able to take on a few more stations. We’re not going to hoard the money. When it’s available, we’re going to use it for God’s glory. You know, I always appreciate the fact that when people come by to visit us, they suddenly realize we don’t live any different than our neighbors up and down the road. Don’t expect a mansion when you come to visit Les and Iris Feldick, because we’re not into that. We’re just as common and ordinary in our lifestyle as anybody else. We appreciate everything that you do for us, so that we in turn can serve the Lord in what He has given us to do. All right, we’re in the Minor Prophets. We’re starting with Hosea. For a little recap, in case we’ve got somebody that missed our last program, Hosea writes in the same vein as Isaiah and Jeremiah. It’s all a warning to the Nation of Israel to either come out of their idolatry and their unbelief or God’s wrath is going to fall. As we were just discussing at break time, that’s the way God has dealt with Israel over and over. Then after the chastisement comes the blessing. I guess it was Dick that said, “Well, now I can’t quite figure that out.” I said, “Well, what do you do with a kid that’s disobedient? You whip his little rear end and hope that it’ll straighten him out.” Well, that was the way it was with Israel. She had to have a good whipping once in a while. It would have its results, and then it wouldn’t be long and down they’d go. In fact, in the Book of Judges that’s just what it is. It’s a roller coaster. They’ll go up to a time of tremendous blessing and they’re obedient. Then down they go and in would come the hard times. The enemies would overrun them, and they’d cry out. In would come a righteous judge, and up they’d come. That’s Israel’s history. Well, Hosea is living at a time, as we pointed out, only about 200 years after King Solomon. The Northern Ten Tribes have already gone as far into idolatry as a nation of people could go. Consequently then, with Hosea living in Judah, which is still close to the Temple, so they’re not as prone to idolatry as the Northern Kingdom. Hosea is instructed to go up to idolatrous Israel and take a wife. That’s what I pointed out then in our last half hour - he did not go to a house of ill repute like a lot of people think the language implies. No, he went up to idolatrous Israel to take a wife, because God is going to show, symbolically, the future of Israel. All right, so back in Hosea chapter 1 we’ll repeat verse 2. Hosea 1:2 “The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms (the idolatrous Northern Kingdom) and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.” Now, lest you think that I am barking out of left field, let’s go up to the New Testament a minute. I wasn’t going to do this, but I think maybe we should. Go up to Colossians; all the way up to Paul’s little letter to the Colossians chapter 3 verse 5. Remember from our last program we were stressing that the very first of the Ten Commandments was “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not bow down to them.” So, idolatry and unbelief, I guess, are the two biggest controversies that God has with the human race. Not just with Israel but with everyone. All right, now look what Paul writes to the Gentiles at Colossi. In Colossians chapter 3 verse 5 and I’m making the point why God hates idolatry.

Paul, of course, is writing to you and me as believers, and he says: Colossians 3:5 “Mortify (or put to death) therefore your members which are upon the earth; (That is, the members of this physical body – the appetites of it – put it to death. And what are they?) fornication, (That, of course, is sexual immorality.) uncleanness, inordinate (or unnatural) affection, evil concupiscence, (In other words, just constantly thinking and talking on the wrong side of the coin. And here it comes--) and covetousness, which is (What?) idolatry.” Have you ever thought of it that way? Have you ever thought of it that coveting is idolatry? Why? When you covet, what do you show? What you want. When you covet something, you want it. Well, why do you want it? Because it’s almost a god to you! So, it just snowballs. All right, let’s back up a little ways to Ephesians chapter 5 verse 5. Ephesians 5:5 “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, (or an immoral person) nor unclean person, nor (What?) covetous man, (See the categories, how they all stick together?) who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” Have you ever caught that before? So, why do suppose the Apostle said that the sin that really got him to consider his sinfulness was which one? Which one did he mention? Coveting! It’s the worst of all. I’ve made mention of it down through the years. You stop and think. Can you break any other of the nine commandments without coveting first? You can’t do it. Coveting is the root cause. That’s why God hates it so. It’s the thing that leads to idolatry. Okay, read this verse again. “…nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” They’re not going to be there. Now, we’ve made the point before, Paul doesn’t speak of people going to the Lake of Fire. He just uses the other approach that they’re not going to be in Glory. Well, if they’re not in Glory, then the Lake of Fire is their destination. All right, let’s come back to Hosea, if I’ve established that God hated idolatry! Now, I guess I’d never really thought of it before until I was making preparation for this the last several months, I guess, off and on. When Israel was in Egypt, when the whole Nation of Israel had finally found their way down to Egypt because of Joseph and the food that was available, what were they surrounded with already in Egypt? Idolatry! I know when I taught Exodus and we came to the plagues, I made the point that every plague that God brought on Egypt was one of Egypt’s gods. That’s what made it such an object lesson for the Egyptians. In other words, when He turned the Nile River into blood, what was the Nile River in the religious life of Egypt? It was a god. They worshipped it! The flies? They worshipped them! The frogs? They worshipped them! Practically anything that lived and moved the Egyptians had already made into a god. Well, that’s what Israel had been surrounded with. So you see, when they got down around Mt. Sinai, as we mentioned in the last program, and Moses was up in the mountain, they didn’t know what had happened to him. They’d forgotten all about the miracle of the Red Sea. So, they come to Aaron, who was the secondary leader, and say what? Make us a god like we had in Egypt. Oh, it…it’s insidious! Just because we’re living in a culture that has nothing to do with gods of silver and gold and stone and so forth, doesn’t mean that there’s nothing that can be an idol. Everything around us can become an idol. That’s our whole materialistic situation today. It really boils down to an idolatry that takes all the thoughts of God away from their mind. And my, we’re seeing it all around us, aren’t we? Okay, back to Hosea. So, he goes up to Israel, verse 3. Hosea 1:3-4 “So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; who conceived, and bare him a son. 4. And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and

I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the House of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.” Now, you’ve got to know your Old Testament. Who ruled and reigned in Jezreel? Ahab and…Jezebel! Jezebel – the most wicked woman that ever lived! She had such control over the Jewish people of Israel that they had gone just as deep into it as she had gone. So, what’s the warning? You’re going to be punished just as severely as she was. Now, I’m not going to repeat on television what the end of Jezebel was. Well, it wasn’t pretty. If you don’t know what it was, go look it up when you get home tonight. You probably won’t sleep. But anyway, God is warning them: As Ahab and Jehu and Jezebel – that’s what’s coming for you if you do not turn around. Hosea 1:5 “And it shall come to pass (God says) at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.” Now today we call it the Valley of Esdraelon or even the Valley of Megiddo. It’s that beautiful valley about, oh, just a few miles north and west of Galilee. It stretches all the way over to Mount Carmel, which is just a little ways from the city of Haifa, which is in the news lately. But it’s a beautiful valley! My, we stand on the high cliffs of Nazareth and look out over the Valley of Megiddo, and it is just unbelievable the beauty of that valley, especially now that it’s been brought back into production. Okay. So, that was the whole symbolic purpose of the birth of this first son. That he will be a picture of the horrors of Ahab and Jezebel who inhabited Jezreel. Okay, now verse 6. Hosea 1:6 “And she conceived again, (She’s going to have a second child.) and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, (That is unto Hosea.) Call her name Lo-ruhamah: (The name means - I’ll not have pity.) for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.” Now, before we get judgmental against our merciful God, turn back with me to II Kings chapter 17. Now, this Scripture makes it explicitly clear why God has to take such stringent disciplinary action against the Ten Tribes of Israel. II Kings 17 and, oh, my goodness, I’d like to read it all. But I’m always afraid if I read too much Scripture somebody might grumble and lose attention and so forth. I’m just going to hit some of the highlights. Let’s drop down to verse 7. II Kings 17:7-9a “For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, (the same God) who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, 8. And walked in the statutes of the heathen, (That would be the Canaanites after they went in under Joshua.) whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. 9. And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities,…” Now, I’ve got to stop, because I’m afraid a lot of times people don’t stop and think. Why do you suppose idolaters always built their places of worship on the highest elevation possible? Have you ever thought about that? To get closer to God – wherever He’s at! So they’d always go to a high place to worship their dead idols. Yet they were recognizing that there was someone higher. All right, come back again to the text. II Kings 17:9b-10 “…and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. 10. And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree:” Does that tell you something? The land was covered with idols and places of worship of those idols. What a travesty! God’s chosen people! And the Temple is still down there in Jerusalem! Many of them probably went down and worshipped at the Temple. Now, what does that do? That makes it even worse! Now they’re mixing idolatry with the worship of the true God.

That’s worse than a faithful husband, after years of a loving marriage, going and having an affair. It’s devastating. This is what broke the heart of God. I think it wouldn’t have been nearly as bad had they lost the Temple, forgot the priesthood, and then with no alternative going into idolatry. That would have been one thing. But they mixed them. Now, I’m just having a thought. What am I thinking? What are we doing today? What are denominations and churches doing today? Same thing! You know, I’ve always used the illustration, and I’m going to use it over and over. I used it not too long ago in the very vestibule of a home where I was going to spend the evening. I just had the right opening, and I shared this with them. I want every one of my listeners to have it on the tip of your tongue, because this makes it so plain. There is no room for argument. You’ve heard me do it, but I’m going to do it again. In the last verse of Genesis chapter 1, God looked at creation and what did He see? A perfect creation. Not a flaw. There was not one speck in all of creation that He could look at and say, “Wait a minute, I’d better…I’d better change that a little bit.” No. It was perfect. So, what does He do in chapter 2 verses 1 and 2? Sat down! He rested. Well, why not? There wasn’t anything else to do. Everything was perfect. All right, now we jump all the way up to Hebrews chapter 1. I’ll let you look at it. Oh, I wish people could just get through their spiritual thinking that this is where it’s at. Hebrews chapter 1 - might as well look at verse 2, because then verse 3 will be completely explained. Hebrews 1:2a “(The God of verse 1) Hath in these last days…” Now, I always have to stop and remind people. Remember that Christ’s first advent was the beginning of the last days according to the Old Testament prophecies. All right, so the God of the Old Testament prophecies-- Hebrews 1:2-3a “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he, (God, the Triune God) hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he (the Son) made the worlds; 3. Who (God the Son) being the brightness of his glory, (He was God! He was the Creator with all the power of the Godhead. All right, so He was--) and the express image of his person, (that is of the Godhead) and upholding all things by the word of his power,…” Now, do we establish who Jesus Christ was? I hope it does! The God of Creation. The God of Glory. All right, now then, when this great God of Creation, with all the power of the Godhead-- Hebrews 1:3b “…when he had by himself purged our sins,…” Now, stop a minute. Where was that accomplished? At the cross! That’s why when people jump on me as being too Pauline, how can you be too Pauline when all you know is the preaching of the cross? I’ll never back down. They can scorn all they want. I will never back down. It’s the preaching of the cross that Paul is constantly emphasizing. All right, here it is again. Hebrews 1:3c “…when he had by himself (the work of the cross) purged our sins (What did He do?) sat down…” Why? For the same reason he sat down in Genesis chapter 2. The work of the cross was so perfect. It was so flawless that there was nothing that could be corrected. There was nothing that could be added to it. It was complete. It was all sufficient. So, He could sit down and rest. It’s finished. And immediately, as soon as it was revealed I feel primarily through the Apostle Paul, what’s the first thing mankind starts doing? Mixing other stuff with it! Mixing it, mixing it! Most of my people across the country now realize the word is - blenderize. They put it all in the blender, and they turn it up on high, and they parcel it out. Then they wonder why we get sick to our stomach. Now, is that a finished work? No. It’s adulterated. It’s been adulterated by--whatever. I don’t have to name them. All I do is create enemies if I do that. So, I’ll let you do it. But, oh, Beloved, it was so complete.

Now what God asks us to do with that finished work of the cross is believe it! Believe it! Believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and rose again! Then repentance will follow. Absolutely! My, we hear it every day, where ungodly men – and I’m just thrilled that we get so many letters from the men. Ungodly men say that when they believed this their whole life was changed. Well, a changed life is a what? It’s a u-turn. And what’s the u-turn? Repentance. But, can you make a u-turn in the flesh? No way. You cannot repent in the flesh. It takes the power of the Holy Spirit to make that u-turn. But, oh, once you make that u-turn, everything changes. Everything is different. All right, so here we have it that twice God did something so perfect that nothing dared be added to it. All right, now I guess I just about forgot why I came back here. But I came back to--go ahead and turn to Galatians chapter 1. Remember, I’m dealing with the fact that Israel was mixing idolatry with the worship of the true God of Abraham. They hadn’t forgotten the Temple. They hadn’t forgotten the work of the priests, but rather than traipse down to Jerusalem, they thought it was better to embrace an idol. All right, now today we’re dealing with the same thing. That’s why I’m here in Galatians chapter 1 verse 6. I don’t see how anybody--and I know I’ve got a lot of pastors and preachers listening to me. I’m addressing them just as well as anybody else. Beloved, look at what the Book says, not what Les Feldick says. What does the Scripture say? As I said here not too many programs back, so far as I’m concerned, Paul’s epistles could just as well be written in red, because every word he writes came from where? The ascended Lord Jesus Christ. Never forget that. This isn’t Paul speaking his own mind. This is Paul speaking the very words of Christ. Galatians 1:6-7a “I marvel (I’m amazed) that ye are so soon removed from him who called you into the grace of Christ (Out of their paganism, they’d turned their back on all that. They had made some headway in this life of forgiveness and grace. But then what? They succumbed) unto another gospel: 7. Which is not another;…” These false teachers didn’t come in with something totally different. They just said, well, that’s okay. You rest on what you believe, but you’ve got to be circumcised. You have to keep the law. You have to eat right. You have to do this right. That’s what you have to do. And they fell for it. All right, now read on. Galatians 1:7 “Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” What’s the other word for pervert? Adulterate! Where are you, Angelo? We were just talking about it yesterday. Adulterate means you bring in things that don’t belong. All right, and so he says: Galatians 1:8 “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Why? Because they’re adulterating that perfect work of the cross! And God won’t have it. Oh, they can have glowing experiences. They can probably even have glowing testimonies. But if they have mixed something with that finished work of the cross, I think they’re wasting their breath. I think God’s going to be a lot more particular than most people think. And it’s scary. Because if He has done a job so perfectly and has made it known and we walk it underfoot, then what?

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deniigi · 5 years ago

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Well hey not a Cali person here but I am going to San Francisco for the first time next week. Any recommendations on what to explore that might not be on a blog or a touristy site??

oh hey boo!!

Great question! It depends on what you like.

I personally am a huge fan of nature/food/outdoors-y things, but there are loads of very cool places to go and do inside things at if you want.

I think some of my favorite places are as follows:

Golden Gate Park (very good)

Stern Grove (literally where I got engaged. Very good for dog watching. It’s basically a big stadium full of eucalyptus trees with a dog park in the middle. There’s a little lake. It’s very relaxing)

Stonestown Farmer’s Market (happens on sundays, unless they’ve changed it since then). There’s another Farmer’s Market on the Embarcadero during the week (Tues and Thurs and Sat) but it’s more expensive.

If you’re into hiking, there’s John McClaren park, San Bruno Mountain, Fort Funston (love love love fort funston), Tiburon across the bridge, The Marin Headlands (like, stunning, stunning, stunning!!)

If you’re into city walks, there are some really cool shops along Divisadero. You HAVE to get Bi-rite icecream if you can digest/afford it. It is worth the pain and money, I swear to you. Best ice cream in the damn city. There is a place by Dolores Park to get it, but the big shop is on Divisadero (and I personally think the one on Divis has a nicer walk back to the Castro muni station if you’re not driving)

There are the murals in the Mission (I believe they’re on Valencia, the really famous ones. They’re in an alley right beside this bright pink community thrift shop). The Women’s Building mural is pretty damn amazing.

Sometimes, honestly, I like to pick a direction in the Castro area and just walk because there is street art all over the place, all over the houses, garage doors, etc. If you get off on at the Castro station, cross the street, and just keep walking (not on Church street, on the side of the street Orphan Andy’s is on) you can get a lot of that cool art and that street will take you right to the heart of Mission.

In terms of food, I would recommend Panchitas (for pupusas) and Dinosaur’s (for Vietnamese Sandwiches), but there’s also an A-MAZ-ING Japanese place in West Portal called Sushi Suki which doesn’t look like much, but their food is great and way cheaper than the fancy place right across the street (be sure to ask for the check, though, they’re not great about bringing it to you and picking it up).

(Lol, anyone who’s from SF can 100% tell that I lived in the south part of the city by this list)

ANYWAYS

There’s a super cool mosiac staircase on Moraga St if you’re into art and getting up somewhere high. And while you’re headed down that way, if you don’t want to go to Chinatown proper, on Irving Street, there are hella Chinese markets and lots of great dim sum places. Taraval’s Kingdom of Dumpling is straight up the best place in the city for dumplings, although getting a seat is nigh impossible since there are max 12 in the whole place. There’s also a load of good hot pot places on Taraval if that’s what you’re into.

If you’re into art, my fave museum is the Legion of Honor (everyone goes to the DeYoung, but I’m like, not moved by it). It’s cheap with a student ID if you’ve got one. Their gift shop is good, but bring a snack--not a whole lot of food over int hat part of the park). The Asian Art Museum is very good too (also cheaper than many others around)

If you’re about shopping, I’m gonna say that Crossroads is a pretty good community thrift store for clothes. If you want kitsch, Cliff’s Variety on 24th in the Castro is pretty decent (you can get pride flags there! and they have 2 stores, one for artsy things and one for household things. The artsy one has adorable souvenir type things and a lot of super useful stuff)

So yeah.

Is this enough?? I could probably keep going but this is the stuff off the top of my head.

#lol #this is basically 'matt's guide to a low key weekend in SF'#if you like coffee go to Judah??#Or 9th and Lincoln has some great bookstores and coffee places and food #okay I need to stop #SF TAKE ME BACK I MISS YOU SO MUCH

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clarkslibrary · 4 years ago

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𝕀𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕆𝕦𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖

Pairing: steve rogers x OFC (Juniper Loughty), mild OMC (Judah) x OFC (Juniper)

Word Count: 2,849

Warnings: ANGST, alcohol, breakups, swearing, jealous steve, unrequited love, heavy nicknames,nat and bucky being right for 10 mins straight, angst crashing nat’s bday

Author’s Note: Hi lovelies! This is first fic (vv nervous) and i was inspired by @honeysucklesteve ‘s 4K writing challenge💕 let me know if any warnings need to be added and feel free to leave feedback! [collage was made by me and fic was inspired by In and Out of Love ; by Oh Wonder] ALSO I TRIED PUTTING A READ MORE TAB AND DUMBLR WONT ACCEPT IT

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“That’s the last one, June Bug.” Nat wrapped her in a hug.

“Thanks, Nat.”

“You sure you’ll be alright?” She asks and scans Jupiter's features for doubt.

“Yeah, eventually. I’ve done it before,” Juniper says with a sigh. “Just never thought it would be like this.”

“Me either, kiddo.”

The first night was the worst and all she could do was cry. Memories carved at her until all that was left was a quivering girl.

Juniper tries to remember where it all went wrong. Where did it all break? Surrounded by her belongings, she felt truly homeless. It was as if her home had been ripped from her hands.

The sun pulls her from the floor. It’s bright beams shining through the brownstone’s windows. It gave her the courage to stand up and slowly unpack. She thought that sifting through her things beforehand was hard but now the absence hit harder.

His coffee mug.

She always hated that blue, chipped mug; his first gift from Natasha, when he came out of the ice. The ceramic was all scuffed and it had permanent coffee rings on the inside. Now, she would give anything to hold it in her hands. Feel the warmth of his black coffee, two sugars.

Slowly, her books filled the shelves and her clothes spilled into the closet. The cozy bedding she had once loved, looked wrong.

“I can’t do this.” Juniper’s face falls into her hands.

Her breakdown is cut short by a curt knock. The air in her lungs locks up. What if it's him? Did he change his mind?

She quickly smoothed her hair, shaking it out, and wiped away the tears.

“Coming!” Her voice sounded clear despite the war of screams it faced hours earlier.

Her hands shook, reaching for the knob but she blew out a breath and swung open the door.

“Hey, I’m from next door and saw you moving in. Just wanted to introduce myself.”

Juniper shoved the disappointment away and took in the man before her. His dark hair was curly, falling across his forehead leading to bright blue eyes speckled with brown.

“Hi, I’m Juniper.” She stuck out her hand and he took it with a soft grip.

“Judah,” he smiles and she forces a tight one back. “You okay?”

She flinches at the question and scolds herself for it.

“Yeah, just stressed from unpacking and the move.” Juniper takes back her hand and waves it nonchalantly.

“You sure? I can always help if you want.”

“Help?” She asks, confusion lacing her tone.

“Help you unpack? Looks like you had a lot of boxes but I don’t wanna be too forward.” He holds his hands up in innocence.

Juniper pulled her lip between her teeth looking back at the boxes still piled in her foyer then back to Judah. He looked muscular enough. His worn shirt did little to hide the contours of his shoulders and arms.

“Uh, I think I could use some help actually.”

She stepped back opening the door enough so he could slip in.

“Don’t mind the mess,” she mumbled, slipping past him to sweep tissues from last night into her arms.

“Don’t worry about it.” He flashes her a smile and she weakly nods. “You have a nice unit. The setup is a little different than mine but mostly the same.”

She didn’t want small talk. She wanted to be busy.

“Do you wanna start over here?” She asks and he turns to meet her stare.

“Uh, yeah sure.”

“These two need to go upstairs, the second door on the right.”

“Gotcha.” he flashes her a wink before squatting and lifting the boxes like they were nothing.

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Judah seemed to pick up on the fact she didn’t wanna talk. Juniper directed and he did it; occasionally cracking jokes about her taste in tourist knickknacks.

“Hey, I’m gonna order some pizza. That's good with you?” She asks him when the sun starts to sink.

“Sounds delicious,” he quips, making himself comfortable on the velvet couch.

“Comfy?” She teases and he sighs leaning back even further, spreading his legs taking up half the couch.

He was huge standing and even bigger sprawled out like a baby.

“The comfiest.”

After calling in the pizza she flopped next to him occupying the other half of the couch.

“So, what made you move?”

The question makes her raise up and look at him. He still has his eyes closed and is stretched out.

“It’s complicated,” she blurts and he cracks open one eye at her.

“I’m listening,” he says softly.

“I got broken up with.” The words sound foreign and they sting even worse. “Uh, we had been together a year ago yesterday. Well, it would have been a year.”

“Their loss.”

The words make her snort in disbelief.

“So untrue but thanks for the pity.”

Judah sits up and stretches before pivoting his body towards her.

“Look, you are a catch. I wouldn’t have spent a whole day helping a stranger unpack unless I felt they deserved it.”

“You admit that you did this to get in my pants?” She jokes and he shrugs.

“Wasn’t a part of the plans but I do enjoy some spontaneity.” The drop in voice made a chill run across her skin.

“Oh.”

A rough laugh leaves his chest and his hand catches hers.

“Listen, whoever this person was, obviously didn’t see your worth. Sometimes things don’t work out and it's for the best.” He pauses for a beat. “Besides, how would I have ever met you, Berry.”

“Berry?” She asks with a quirked brow.

“Like Juniper berry.”

“That’s a new one,” she says with a smile. “I like it.”

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6 Months Later

“Jude, c'mon share,” Juniper whined, reaching for the pizza slice.

She was currently climbing over the behemoth of a man trying to get a bite.

“You already had your bite,” he protested twisting away from her on the couch.

A determined look settled on her face.

“Oh no, not that look.” Judah stretched trying to wiggle away but she was already on top of him.

Luckily they were at his house because her couch would have never handled this roughhousing. Her knees landed on either side of his waist and she pressed his chest down with one hand, reaching with the other.

“Berry, this is my slice!”

“Not for much longer,” she says with a grin. She grabs the slice and takes a bite. “Mmmm,” she moans and Judah stills under her.

“That good?”

“Mmhmm,” she hums around the bite and then offers him one.

“You go ahead, Berry.” He smiles and his hands land on her hips.

“Jude, you’re the best.” She juts out her lip giving him the sweetest pout.

He could feel the warmth of her skin on his forearms, her thighs exposed by her sleep shorts and her well-worn shirt slipped down the smooth column of her neck onto her shoulder.

No matter what time of day she looked breathtaking. Dark ebony hair, crystal clear eyes that looked like starlight. He wanted to tell her these things but when they met she was still so broken.

“I was gonna ask you a favor actually,” she mutters, putting the slice back over into the empty box.

“Whatcha need?” He thumbs rubbed smooth circles on her thighs and she steadied herself with her hands on his chest.

“There is this party coming up. My friend Natasha’s birthday and I really wanna go but not alone.”

“The scary one?”

Juniper laughs and shakes her head yes.

“Yeah, the scary one. Anyway, would you wanna be my date?” She rushes the last couple of words thinking her heart might explode.

“Your date?” Judah asks and she cringes.

“Never mind, I knew I shouldn't have asked because now things are-“ her words are cut off by him pulling her into a tight hug

“I’ll take that as a yes?” She murmurs pressed against his chest.

“Hell yeah,” he grins, pressing a kiss to her hair.

˜”*°•.˜”*°• 🖤 •°*”˜.•°*”˜˜”*°•.˜”*°• 🖤 •°*”˜.•°*”˜˜”*°•.˜”*°• 🖤 •°*”˜.•°*”˜

Steve wasn’t expecting to see her and damn did she look good. The way his heart flitted to his stomach and made him want to hurl; it surprised him. Junie was glowing. Her hair was just the way he liked it, up in the front exposing her jawline and plump lips. It cascades down her back as silk catching gleams of light.

She hadn’t even seen him yet and he could make out the faint scrunch of her nose when she hugged Sam, laughing.

He missed her.

The rough sting of reality pierced him when an arm snakes around her waist pulling her close.

He didn’t recognize the guy and frankly could care less who he was. All he wanted to do right now was rip his hands off of his Junie. Juniper smiled up at him and leaned into his touch.

Steve didn’t even know the glass in his hand had shattered until her eyes snapped to meet his. The flash of realization and the immediate hard gaze cut him worse than any broken glass.

“C’mon let’s get some air punk.”

Bucky slings his arm around Steve’s shoulder steering him towards the balcony. Steve’s shaking the scotch from his hand and wiping it on his jeans when the door slides shut.

“Dammit.” He grits out and Bucky watches as he slams his palms against the railing. “Do you know who he is?”

“Steve,” Bucky starts but Steve cuts him off.

“Who is he?”

“I don’t think that’s for the best.”

“Awh, c’mon cut the bullshit.”

“He is her date.”

The confirmation makes him drop his head looking at the busy street below.

“His name’s Judah. She introduced me earlier while you were between eye-fucking her and murdering him.”

Steve scoffs and Bucky lets out a dry laugh.

“You asked me for the truth pal.”

“Is she,” he pauses, “happy?”

“Seems to be.”

Steve hums to himself and feels the ache settle in his chest. She was happy without him. It had been 6 months and he still couldn’t be bothered to take her body wash out of his shower. He’d hate to admit when he got really bad and the missions stopped, he sat with water pouring, and the cap popped open. Now and then he’d feel like she was there. That he would open his eyes and see her like out of a movie.

“Why are you getting so upset about this? You broke up with her.” Bucky’s words are harsh but true.

“I did it for her safety.”

“Bullshit, if that were the truth she would still live in the compound surrounded by people to keep her safe.”

He stews in the silence and Bucky grips his shoulder.

“To be as old as you are, you sure can be an idiot.”

A humorless laugh leaves Steve and he drops his head, wondering what it would be like if he was less of an idiot.

˜”*°•.˜”*°• 🖤 •°*”˜.•°*”˜˜”*°•.˜”*°• 🖤 •°*”˜.•°*”˜˜”*°•.˜”*°• 🖤 •°*”˜.•°*”˜

Juniper sipped her drink as Nat slid into the barstool next to her.

“Hey,” She says grinning at her.

“Hi, birthday girl!” Junie abandons her drink pulling Nat into a tight hug. “Feels like it’s been forever since I have seen you.”

“Probably, because you have a hunk keeping you company.”

Juniper’s face flushed and Nat nudged her with a grin.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” She says taking a sip of her drink.

“Seriously, though I’m happy for you.”

Nat watches as Juniper nods muttering a thank you.

“Now, what’s on your mind June Bug?”

“Nothing,” She says, shooting her friend a quick smile.

Natasha quirks a brow at her and watches as Juniper’s eyes flit to the balcony where Steve had left with Bucky.

“He has been a mess too.”

Juniper’s heart stutters not expecting to hear those words.

“I don’t know why he is such an idiot but he does still love,” Nat starts but she is cut off.

“I can’t hear this right now.” Juniper downs her drink and slides it back to the bartender. “Sorry, I need a minute.”

The party is booming; her eyes scan the crowd for Judah but he is nowhere to be found. Taking deep measured breaths her legs carry her down the hall to the elevators.

“Stop freaking out,” She mutters to herself.

“Are you okay?”

The familiar voice makes her jump and squeezes her eyes shut. If only she could will him away.

“Go away.”

“Are you okay? I am not leaving you here like this, Junie.” Steve’s voice was even and calm.

“That’s absolutely rich coming from you,” She grits out pressing the elevator button. “Why are you here? Huh? Come to laugh at what a mess I am.”

“What?” Steve asks his brow furrowing with confusion. “Is that what you think of me?”

“Just forget it,” Juniper says as the elevator door opens with a ding. “Have a good night, Rogers.”

“Wait, just a second.”

She escapes into the elevator but his boot wedges into the closing doors. Up close she can see the creases of his worry and the storm brewing in the blue of his eyes. His hair messy; disheveled by his raking fingers she guesses.

“Talk to me.” His gaze burns into her.

Even with the frown on her face, she was gorgeous. The lighting of the party didn’t do her justice. Here he saw the peach dusting her cheeks and the shine of her ruby lips.

“Why should I?” Her eyebrows pinch together and he doesn’t respond. “You broke up with me, Steve.”

“I only wanted to keep you safe,” He says letting the doors close and essentially forcing them in proximity. “That has always been my priority.”

“Safe? Did you forget I had worked alongside you for three years? I am capable of guarding my own safety.” She reaches for the buttons but his hand catches her wrist.

“When things get bad, all I can think about is you. All I want is to see you, talk to you,” He says softly. “Sometimes, I still can hear you. Singing that awful song in the shower.” A sad smile flits across his lips. “I dream about you. Dream that I’ll wake up and you’ll be there.”

“Steve,” She protests and he pulls her closer.

“I think about kissing you.” His touch feels like an old habit she could never shake. “Think about laying you down and kissing every inch of you. God, you’re gorgeous. You know that, right?”

Juniper can see his tongue pressing against his bottom lip and the drag of it across his teeth. Her stomach buzzes. Months ago she would have pulled him into herself like so many times before; but now, her skin crawls.

Why was he doing this now?

“Steve.” She pulls her wrist from his grasp. “I have someone now. He wants me.”

Steve recoils at her words and clenches his fist.

“It’s time for you to move on.” She can see the anger and confusion lacing his features. “It’s not easy, trust me. It’s painful and feels like the worst kind of betrayal.”

“I love you.”

His words make her freeze, curdling the contents of her stomach and making her tongue heavy with unspoken words.

“Steve,” She whispers and she cradles his cheek for a moment. “I’m sorry.”

Juniper presses the open door button and escapes him taking a gracious gasp of air.

˜”*°•.˜”*°• 🖤 •°*”˜.•°*”˜˜”*°•.˜”*°• 🖤 •°*”˜.•°*”˜˜”*°•.˜”*°• 🖤 •°*”˜.•°*”˜

Judah finds her coming back into the party.

“Hey, I’ve been looking for you,” He says and frowns when he sees the tears clouding her eyes. “Berry, what’s wrong?”

“I just, I,” She gasps trying to catch her breath.

“Shh, it’s alright. I’m here.” Judah pulls her into him, wrapping his arms around her small form. “Let’s get you home.”

Juniper wanted so desperately to feel better at those words but her home wasn’t a place.

It is a person.

Just some tags, pls don’t feel pressure to read 🖤

@speechlessxx @mypoisonedvine @buckycuddlebuddy @nsfwsebbie @worksby-d @redgillan @whitestarbucky @cloudystevie

#honeybunswritingchallenge #honeysucklesteve #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers fanfic #steve rogers headcanons #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #king steve rogers x reader #steve rogers #fanfic #marvel #marvel fanfic #fic: in and out of love #clarkslibrary #my writing #my fic #my oc character

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noirapocalypto · 3 years ago

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🖊️ could I get one for each? 🥺

Thank you so much!! @wanderingaldecaldo 💕💕💕

For this OC ask game.

🖊️- Technically, Embry is still homeless despite having been in Night City for a while now. He used to live out of his car or rent out a motel room before he met the gang. Now a days, he couch surfs with each of them. Some days he'll spend with Renato, some days with Paolo, some days with Paola, and just rotates between the three. He does feel bad doing this, but the other three genuinely have zero problem with it and enjoy having him around.

He doesn't make too much money to afford getting an apartment of his own, so he's accepting that this might be his living conditions for a good while until he finds some more permanent work. He does try to give them their privacy when they need it though, so sometimes he'll go back to renting a motel or perhaps crashing on someone else's couch (from outside of the group).

Embry is also a very good guest, by the way. He always cleans up after himself and contributes to the chore workload 😆It's the least he can do, since they let him live with them rent-free.

🖊️- Renato is not really a superstitious guy, nor does he really put much thought into what happens after one dies. He also doesn't really have much thoughts about anything paranormal.

However...

Renato used to live in another, much smaller apartment within the same megabuilding that he currently lives in now. It was like, his starter apartment, once he began to pick himself back up onto his feet. He didn't notice anything weird at first. Any odd noises, he immediately assumed it was due to his neighbors or just the general noises of living in a building that big and populated.

Then he started feeling cold spots in random places of his apartment, which he assumed was just the cooling system acting up. Then little things started to happen, such as items not being where he had left them. Keys that were tossed on the shelf by the door would wind up on the coffee table in the living room. A jacket he could have sworn he left hanging over his desk chair would be crumpled halfway across the room.

At one point, he even began to feel random touching. Just soft taps on the shoulder or hearing whispers/sighs up close and personal.

It never escalated to anything extreme or something that would cause him to feel like he was in danger. He did end up moving to a larger apartment after a while, but he never really told anyone what was going on nor did he ever find a rational explanation. To this day, he still passes it off as nothing, but there will always be a part of him that wonders. He was tempted to ask his landlord one day, but he felt perhaps it was best to just live in ignorance.

🖊️- If Paolo could pick (and afford) a pet, he would definitely go with a ferret. Cats are also a close second, but he for sure seems like a ferret guy. And he would totally be a good pet dad! His entire social media feed will go from selfies to selfies AND his ferret 😆He would definitely dress it up too, giving it a lil matching coat and tiny sun glasses to match with his aesthetic. The most stylish ferret in Night City.

🖊️ - Paola has perfected and weaponized the 🥺face, and she is not afraid to use it in times of dire need. Once she busts out the sad puppy eyes, it's over. It's pointless to argue. Paolo and Renato know to look away the second she starts to pout, but Embry still has some learning to do. And that's how she's gotten away with picking dinner for three weeks straight.

🖊️- If it weren't for his cats, Judah would barely spend any time at home. His penthouse is luxurious...but empty, cold and quiet. Once his maids and servants head home, his place becomes almost uncomfortable to be around in. There's no one around, no one to talk to, no one to keep him company. That's why he tries to keep anyone who is willing to put up with him around at all times, even if he has to pay them for their time.

#SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG #some are shorter than the others #i just have a lot to say about a few of them 😆#ᴏᴄ ⋆┊ʀᴇɴᴀᴛᴏ ᴠᴇɴᴛᴜʀᴀ #ᴏᴄ ⋆┊ᴇᴍʙʀʏ ᴇʟʟɪꜱ ᴋɴɪɢʜᴛ #ᴏᴄ ⋆┊ᴘᴀᴏʟᴏ ᴠᴇʟᴀsǫᴜᴇᴢ #ᴏᴄ ⋆┊ᴘᴀᴏʟᴀ ᴠᴇʟᴀsǫᴜᴇᴢ #ᴏᴄ ⋆┊ᴊᴜᴅᴀʜ ᴅᴜʙᴏɪꜱ

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murphxthexwitch · 4 years ago

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❤️ from Judah

If we kissed? [x] Quickie. [] Tongue. [] Softly bite your lip. [] We wouldn’t. [] Long and meaningful. [] Let’s hit up the bedroom. [] You remember last time? [x] Awkward… (Murph: Aren’t you taken? 😅) [] Lol no.

Would I go out with you? [] Yes, definitely. [] No. [] I want to, but it wouldn’t work. [x] Maybe. [] Nope, you’re like family. [] You’re cute, but probably not. [] Just simply not my type. [] If I knew you better. [] Already did. [] I don’t know.

If we took a picture together, we’d be… [x] Hugging each other. [] Just chilling. [] Holding hands. [] Kissing. [] Acting dumb. [x] Normal picture. [] You holding me from behind.

You are… [] Cute/Pretty. [x] Good looking. [] Sexy. [] All of the above

You + me + room = … [x] Movies. [] Cuddling. [x] Hanging out. [] Kissing. [x] Playing games. [] Everything. [] Wouldn’t let you in.

You should… [x] Hit me up. (so we can grab a coffee and talk about art sometime!) [] Be mine. [] Marry me. [] be studying

If we got married, I’d… [] Divorce you. [] Make kids. [] Take your money and bounce. [] Smash every day. [] I would cheat on you. [x] Be faithful. [] Kill you in your sleep [x] We wouldn’t

@judahxbachmann

#answered #ft. judah

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acynicalcat · 4 years ago

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8 people I would like to know better!

Omg thank you @stubbychaos for the tag! I dont get tagged very often to do these things (I guess Im not all that interesting? lol)

Favorite colors: Blue!!!💙 Aqua, teal, mizu, azure. I love most shades of blue. I find the colour really soothing and relaxing. It reminds me of the seaside 🏖 I also really love green and that smokey purple-grey shade.

Last song I listened to: Ive been on this huge Lo-Fi hiphop beats and chillhop. It makes great background music for studying or reading or even just while you’re working and want some non-intrusive background noise. The title of the last Lo-Fi chillhop song I listened to was Dive Bar by ENTRO//. I would highly recommend checking it out.

Favourite Musicians: Im really big into the Indie scene. Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker is probably my favourite alltime Indie band and I would HIGHLY recommend checking them out to anyone who is interested in indie music. Some other bands I really enjoy are The 1975, Judah & the Lion, Matt Maeson (his song Hallucinogenics? ugh. so good!). Royal & the Serpent has this great song called “Overwhelmed” which I relate to on such a deep level.

Last film I watched: Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. 🌠Yo, my ADHD has had me hyperfixating SOLEY on Star Wars for the last few months lol. Ever since the final season of Clone Wars came out Ive been on a 24/7 StarWars kick. Thought it would be fun to go through all the Star Wars material in chronological order. 🌌

Last TV show I watched: I’ll be honest, Im not really a big TV watcher. There is very little in terms of TV programming that actually sparks my very limited attention. But I have currently been crushing my way through two docuseries on Netflix. The first one is called Myths&Monsters and the second is the Babies documentary. Myths&Monsters sort of takes a look at specific themes in mythological fiction across different cultures and over time and how universal our stores actually are (appeals to the lit. nerd in me) and the Babies documentary examines the way babies brains grow and develop in the first year of life AND LET ME TELL YOU, THAT SHIT IS FASCINATING! Like some of the shit science is discovering now is INCREDIBLE. I listen to more podcasts than I watch TV.

Favorite original character: I have a sister trio that is my absolute favourite original character. They tend to make it into all of my non-published writing. You have the elder, responsible sister and then the younger shit-disturbing twins. They’re kind of the sisters I wish I had.

Sweet, spicy, or savory: Sweet and Spicy together is probably one of my favourite combinations ever. Mango Habanero hotsauce? *chef kiss* 🔥🔥🔥

Sparkling water, tea, or coffee: Oooo I NEED my coffee in the morning. 😩 I get very grumpy without it (and honestly the migraine that follows isnt worth skipping morning coffee). Im also super obsessed with tea. I used to work for a tea company and let me tell you, if you give me a chance I will talk your ear off about tea. How it is grown, how it is produced the whole nine yards. 🍵🌱

Pets: I have a dog 😊 His name is Atlas, he is 11 years old and he is honestly the best boi. I know a lot of people say that about their dogs but seriously, Atlas really is the bestest boi in the world.

Here is Captain Atlas, my One-eyed Sky Pirate ❤😍

8 people I would love to get to know better are @no-droids-allowed @maiden-of-asgard @di-kut @star--wars--imagines @vercopaanir @djxrxn @leok-rogue No pressure if you've already done it or just don't want to :3

#these are fun!#I dont actually get tagged to do these things lol #tell us about yourself #starwars #personal #thanks for tagging me!

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thesesoftregrets · 4 years ago

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The Following Of The Star

If I were wise, I would have brought frankincense to this horse pasture and stinking creek; it would have, at least, helped with the smell. As it is, I am roughly one hundred and twelve miles southeast of Bethlehem, Kentucky. It is the night of the great conjunction, but I’m in over my head.

Last night fog took everything it left us guessing what was the moon and what was electric light in photographs. Tonight I have only one small picture, a screenshot on my phone of the place in the sky, but the roads leading into this place were all winding switchbacks, so I will spend half the night looking north to what I firmly believe to be the southwestern sky. Directions will not matter anyway. The conjunction will only be visible for a few hours after the sun has set, so wherever I do here at ten p.m. is irrelevant, I’m already late to the party. The saving grace of this night is the meteors; they are infrequent but huge, burning across the night sky.

My best friend's son (7) asks me to take photos of these for him. I say that I’ll try, even though I know that I won’t. Things get crazy in the night sky; it will all happen too quickly.

Meteors

According to the America Meteor Society, the meteors I observed were the Ursid Meteors. The Ursid meteors are the least observed major meteor shower, overshadowed by cold temperatures and the Christmas holiday. As I read on about the Ursids, the article highlights certain times when the shower might be more active. The increased activity will be due to the earth passing through areas of debris from past year's showers.

Trash has never looked so good; I am a collection of debris from past years.

Fog

When I moved inland from the Pacific northwest I became interested in fog, something I had taken for granted now provided loose lines of connectivity between my old life and my new one. I have only now come to learn that the weather service classifies fogs differently. Near the Great Lakes, we are more likely to see a Steam Fog, while someone in the mountains might encounter any number of fogs. After some consideration, I think that what I saw, out in the horse pasture the first night, was valley fog.

The recipe for valley fog is a simple one; the ground gets wet, then the skies clear, this allows temperatures sink to near the dew point. This fog is sometimes so thick that it gets referred to as tule fog.

Walking along the little country road it is hard to recognize my own hand in front of my face, hard to separate the scattered lights from cabins and barns from the distant lights of the stars and moon. Why have I become so obsessed with being lost in the fog? What is it that fog has come to represent for me? I think about it as I retreat back down the road to the pasture; fog does not make me feel lost. Fog does not make me feel lost because it reminds me of other places and other fogs, the specifics of this landscape fade away; I could be anywhere right now, you could be anyone. We are all fumbling around searching for clues here in the valley fog.

Bethlehem

There are at least twenty-eight cities in the world named Bethlehem. If I were a Biblical Wiseman following this “star” and I was close to the end of my journey, I would likely be looking for Bethlehem, Kentucky, or Bethlehem, Indiana. The two are both unincorporated communities with few residents whose only claim to fame is the flood of traffic that their regional post offices both receive every Christmas from folks wanting a Bethlehem postmark on their Christmas cards. It makes sense, I guess. Bethlehem is arguably more synonymous with Christmas and more accessible than the North Pole. Still, the idea of naming a tiny town this way seems a little presumptuous. It feels a little bit like naming your child after a movie star in hopes they will get famous one day. When, the reality is, all you are doing is setting them up to get bullied in school.

But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall he come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

But, I am not going on to Bethlehem; I will stay down here in the fog, down here in the debris. I will stay one more night and wait for the thing to happen.

Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened

Grand Conjunction

When it finally came to pass, I was worse for the wear, slightly hangover from red wine and s’mores and reeking of campfire from the half damp bundles of pine I had burned to stay warm. Tuesday, December 22 was bright and sunny in rural Kentucky. I was exhausted but full of renewed hope from having just made it through the longest night of the year. I drove to the Shell station for crackers and Ale 8.

While I was there my phone switched back on, I reconnected with the world. The conjunction would be visible in the southwest, near Aquarius, and directly under Capricornus. Also, the best time to view this thing was going to be right after sunset. So, with a new resolve, I set out on the third day to see this thing.

And the evening and the morning were the third day

By the end of the day, I was the last car at the last parking lot on Sky Bridge Road. From the car I continued on foot one-quarter mile to a photo viewpoint forgotten by time; here I would wait for it. By this time everything was dying, my phone was dying, my camera was dying, and I was in desperate need of a warm meal and a hot cup of coffee, but I waited. As the sun went down I pointed my camera to the southwest. “Is this it?” a friend asks across a weak connection “I don’t know, I think we’ll know it when we see it” I replied. As the sunset, the only thing I could see across the southwestern sky was the chemtrails from airplanes, all smoke, all fog, all debris.

Then it happened. 6:03 pm it became clear that the body of light in the southwestern sky was not messing around. The sun fell further and further below Pine Ridge, as the light weakened the light from the star, the thing, the conjunction, began to show itself. I had been right, I knew this was it when I saw it; this was the thing.

This was a loose line of connectivity through a thick tuel fog of history. This was something astronomers and wise men had seen and pondered on centuries before. As it came to be more prominent I stared at it with all the air knocked out of my body. I began feeling the immense weight of something so much bigger than myself; this was it, this is what I came looking for.

The rest was just fog and debris.

#christmas #holidays #grand conjunction #astronomy #writing #poetry #Kentucky

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inkvvells · 5 years ago

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⧼ toby regbo, cis male, he/him/his / quarter-life crisis by judah and the lion + desks piled high with books and materials, always crowded but never messy; guilt and shame that eat away at him with every mention of family moments and memories he chose to not be part of; three cups of black coffee to make it through the day, four if there’s too much that needs done (there’s always too much that needs done). ⧽ ━━ hey, isn’t that PERCY WEASLEY? i read a daily prophet article on them, once ; the TWENTY-NINE year old pure blood WIZARD is a GRYFFINDOR alumnus who has gone on to be a MINISTRY EMPLOYEE. i’ve heard they can be quite DRIVEN & METICULOUS, but i don’t know… they came off very OSTENTATIOUS & NEUROTIC in that interview. it really is hard to know what to believe these days though, isn’t it? — [pinterest]

who ordered a pretentious, family-abandoning guilty nerd? no one?? guess this one is on the house then. i’m???? super inspired in writing this bio and its more of a character analysis than anything else bc he’s an established enough canon that we don’t know much about personally so i went ham but i’m not about to ask y’all to read the mess i’ll inevitablty type up for him, so here are a few brief bullet points for now bc i want this up:

learned that the best way to get praise was to do everything he was told, be as respected as bill and charlie, and look after the younger kids. he took these lessons and ran with them into overdrive because percy only knows two modes: zero or one-hundred. hence how he turned out to be a killjoy

stupidly smart and stupidly ambitious. the sorting hat considered putting him in slytherin and he debated with it until the hat got annoyed with him and gave him gryffindor instead. you can pry that hc out of my cold, dead hands

so much of him is based in guilty: for the fight he had with arthur, for putting up so much distance between him and his family for years, and for not coming back to them until the very last minute. there’s also an immense level of guilt thinking he had a part in fred’s death, because he was there when his brother was killed and he wonders if he hadn’t caused a distraction, if fred might still be alive. he’s never spoken about any of his guilt because he’s about as good at communicating as he is at having any chill (aka, not at all)

after the war (and all of the grief and pain and healing that followed), percy made his primary focus on rebuilding his relationship with his family. it’s not been easy, but if the war taught him anything, it’s that he will not lose even more time

currently employed at the ministry (duh) in the department of magical transportation because jkr said that somewhere, i’m just too tired to cite the source

i’ll make a stats page and link it later along with the rest of the finished bio, thank u and good night

BIO — under co.

Born the third son to Molly and Arthur Weasley, one of the very first lessons Percy learned was that it was easy to get lost in the crowd. In a family that finally tapered off at seven children, there was always someone crying, laughing, or making some sort of racket (sometimes all three at once). It was such a loud environment, and it was clear early on that Percy didn’t like loud. He liked things to be quiet and structured, because that made sense to him.

While all of his brothers were causing chaos, Percy was more likely to be found trailing after their mother. It was the only time when he felt like he got one-on-one time — he’s never been all that great at sharing, you see, even within his family. Even better than the time, he quickly realized that it was the best way to get recognition in a family as big as his. Rather than trying to make the biggest display for reinforcement, Percy learned to set himself apart by doing exactly what he was told. When his older brothers were away at school, and the younger kids were causing Molly to want to tear her hair, there was an overarching, sometimes unspoken (often times not) question of, why can’t you lot be like Percy? Responsible Percy, who completed all of his lessons as soon as possible and made sure to not track mud into the house and make a mess. It didn’t matter that it made him less likable to his siblings. It didn’t matter that that lack of likability sometimes felt like a lack of love, either (not that he would say that out loud). Their family was under enough stress, with seven kids and strained finances. He wouldn’t be the one to add any more stress.

Over time, it became less about being the responsible one for the sake of being good, and more so just... because that’s who Percy was. He could be overbearing to a fault, and it wasn’t helped by the fact that he sucked at communication. Whenever he scolded the younger kids for even the most minute thing, it didn’t come from a place of anger. In Percy’s mind, rules were established to keep you safe, and if his siblings broke any of the his mother’s rules, it meant they were making themselves unsafe. He may have been garbage at showing it, but Percy always has and always will love his family. The thought of something happening to them, especially something he could prevent, was not okay in his book. They needed to listen in order to be safe, and if that meant he had to act like an overbearing mother to guarantee that, then so be it.

While he was his mother’s shadow growing up, there was also a deep respect for his father. That respect greatly shifted as Percy grew up and learned their family’s status in the wizarding world, but as a little kid? He wanted so much to be like Arthur. That’s why his desire to enter the Ministry has existed as long as he can remember. Thus began a serous case of tunnel vision further fueled by Percy’s own ambition. Once he set his mind to something, good luck getting him to change it. And Percy’s mind was set on the best.

One thing Percy has kept to himself for years is something said to him during the sorting ceremony his first day at Hogwarts. Slytherin would suit you. Percy determined that that stupid hat must be broken, and mentally argued with it for a solid minute before it put him in Gryffindor — like his parents, like Bill, and like Charlie. His only real care? That he couldn’t stand to feel more disliked in his family than he already did.

His school years were everything that he needed them to be. By the time he started, he already had everything planned out. Get top marks? Done (friendly reminder that Percy got twelve O.W.L.’s, how tf). Become prefect? Done. Become Head Boy? Check, check, and check. Of course, it was far more than just a bit stressful when the twins started school and his lecturing towards them went into overdrive. Then Ron, who’s life seemed to be put in danger every five seconds after befriending Harry Potter. And then the entire debacle that was Ginny’s first year. Needless to say, Percy got his first grey hair at aged sixteen. But he managed to deal with (read: ignore) all of his stress and worry, and left Hogwarts with Os on all of his N.E.W.T.s and a job offer at the Ministry. Everything was going to according to plan.

Everything did not go as planned. His first year at the Ministry was an absolute disaster, to put it lightly. His boss never learned his name, which was humiliating enough. But Percy knew that what he wanted involved playing along in order to work your way up, so that’s exactly what he did. And it worked! Even when most of his correspondence with Crouch was done through letters, it felt like something. Being asked to carry out Crouch’s role in the Triwizard Tournament felt like a reward. Nevermind that he was 18 at the time and that job should have been done by somebody much more established than him. So when word got out that someone had been Imperio’d for ages by someone, Percy was an easy target to blame for not noticing. He could have bit back that had barely known Crouch beforehand, why was it being put on him? He didn’t fight back though. That wouldn’t do him any good. He took it all in stride, bit his tongue, and did what he’d always done: exactly as he was told.

We don’t discuss the fight and his subsequent abandoning of his family.

Percy doesn’t like to think about the almost three years that followed. Why would he? The first few weeks were spent seething with anger, towards his father and towards himself. After the anger cooled, it was replaced with overwhelming guilt. Not for the doubt that he’d had in his parents’ side, oh no. He was still very adamant that they were delusional for trusting the word of a teenage boy and an old (though arguably respectable) man over the governing forces, those same forces that he’d been in awe of since he was a kid. No, Percy’s guilt lay in the accusations he’d shouted, and the blame he’d placed on his father for their family’s financial state.

listen i’ll elaborate on his time during and after the war later, it’s like 2am and i’ve been fighting with my laptop for hours and this is already sO MUCH THAT NO ONE ASKED FOR, PERCY IS JUST MY CHILD

#nox.intro #percy.

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waterloou · 5 years ago

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Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Part 4

Judah had just finished decorating the place when Micha walked in, thermos perched at her lips.

“How many flowers did you order?” She asked, looking around at the lavish decoration.

“I assure you, it’s in the budget.”

She raised a brow at the man, “our budget or your budget? Judah you NEED to consult me before you make any frivolous buys”

“I’ll have you know it’s national flower week and these will spruce up these dreary halls.” He spun around, marveling at his work.

She rolled her eyes, although a small smile slipped onto her lips, “youre lucky I had my coffee this morning”

He didn’t seem to hear her, humming to himself as he waltzed around the main room.

She shook her head and walked to her office.

“Send me the expense receipts for this!” She called over her shoulder before closing the door behind her.

She turned back to be met with the mortician, Silas, sitting in the chair adjacent to her desk.

“Silas?” He looked up, and his expression smoothed into a cool, content one.

“Hello” he bowed his head lightly in greeting. She smiled and sat in her chair.

“What brings you here so early this morning? I thought you didn’t start work until later-“

He held up a finger and pulled out a box of donuts, a few missing and some edible flowers scattered around the box. He frowned slightly, before his brows bunched together, “Phineas” he sighed, before placing it on the table.

“Phineas is why you’re here so early?” She teased lightly, pulling out her laptop. He gave her a look and she laughed.

“I got breakfast, but phineas must have gotten into them”

Phineas sat in the morgue, feet propped up on the table as she munched on a donut, two more sitting on the table.

“Anyways.” He opened the box and Micha placed a hand over his.

“You’re too kind.” He spared her a small smile as she pulled a donut out and took a bite.

“My favorite. How did you know?”

“I pay attention to you when you speak, did you know?” He sat back in his seat, his smile spreading to a grin.

“That’s news to me” she picked up one of the flowers in the box. “Phineas has good taste in flowers, I must say”

The two sat in silence, eating their donuts, before Silas’ watch beeped.

He sighed, and wiped his mouth, “I must leave for work” he got up and straightened out his suit. “See If Judah wants any of the donuts.”

Micha got up and walked around the desk, smiling up at him before she reached up to straighten his tie.

He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead.

“See you tonight?” She asked as he started to leave.

“Of course.”

“I’ll be at the restaurant wearing a dress”

“Oh what a coincidence, I’ll be wearing a suit and tie”

The two chuckled before he left.

Silas walked into the kitchen of the restaurant and tapped Mac on the shoulder.

“Oh, hey Silas” she greeted. He held out a box of edible flowers and gave them to her.

She smiled and took them.

“I was running out of them, how did you know?” She set them down, “thank you”

He simply smiled and waved his hand, “Phineas got a new batch and I figured you’d like some”

“Tell her thank you”

“I will” he bowed his head slightly before leaving, going to the front of the restaurant, where Micha stood in a stunning deep purple dress.

She smiled as he approached and pulled out a few roses.

He raised a brow, “for me?”

She nodded, and he gently took them from her hand, bringing them to his face.

“They smell lovely, almost as lovely as you look tonight, my dear”

He took her hand and twirled her, getting a giggle from the woman.

“Table for two? Micha?” A server called and Micha threaded her fingers through Silas’ and raised her hand.

“That’s us”

“Follow me”

The two went inside and sat down, opening their menus. Silas ordered a bottle of champagne and the two toast to each other, Silas kissing her hand.

Mac came out, two beautifully decorated plates.

“Figured I’d serve you two as a thank you for the flowers.

“Thank you, these are beautiful”

“Absolutely stunning, dear” micha pulled a sprig of lavender and handed it to Mac, “thank you”

Mac took it and tucked it into her chef shirt, leaving half to peek out over her breast pocket, “I knew I was missing something.” She set a hand on the other woman’s shoulder before going back to the kitchen.

Characters(by appearance):

Judah: owner and funeral director of House of the Dead funeral home and mortuary. Ghoulie.

Micha: accountant of the House of the Dead/Ghoulies.

Silas: Mortician for the House of the Dead. Helps Ezekiel out with torture methods. Known for his bluntness and brutality (except with those he’s fond of).

#ghoulies #ocappreciation #ghoulie oc #fic: pushing daisies flower shoppe #riverdale fanfic #silas #phineas #micha #mac #vannah oc #judah #house of the dead funeral home

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coffeehouseblue · 4 years ago

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Today's coffee: iced latte with vanilla cold foam. I messed up the espresso again but the vanilla was nice.

I was reading the end of 2 Kings today and there's a part where King Hezekiah finds out that a lot of terrible stuff is going to happen to Judah after he dies because of something HE did and he's basically 'okay well at least it'll be after I'm gone, I just want peace in my lifetime'.

That's really sad and selfish to me. His own people are going to be carried off into slavery and since he won't be around to see it, Hezekiah decides it doesn't matter.

I think a lot of us do the same thing today. It's kind of like hearing about people starving in another country and not caring because it's not your problem. This is probably the most natural reaction to hearing about suffering that will never be real for you.

It's a hard choice to have compassion and to carry the burden of grief for people you'll never meet, but things only ever change when people start caring. Things only ever change when people are willing to help strangers across the globe or strangers that will be born 100 years from now. Let yourself feel compassion, sorrow, and even horror at the state of the world. Let yourself feel it and then let it move you to action. If we can see past ourselves, we can begin to impact the world outside of us.

#coffee #iced coffee #morning #aesthetic #words #thoughts #journal #biblescripture #bible reading #kings

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lesfeldickbiblestudy · 2 years ago

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Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 2 * PART 1 * BOOK 61 THE VICTORIOUS SACRIFICE OF CHRIST ISAIAH 51 - 53 I think most of our listeners know that we tape four of these programs in order when we do our taping, and in between we have a coffee break so we’re informal. I’m not associated with any one group. There’s no one underwriting us. We just depend on the Lord to supply our every need. It’s miraculous how He keeps doing it month after month. We get our bills paid and the bank account is just about down to zero but then here it keeps coming. So, we just thank every one of you for your help and especially for your prayers. All right, we’re going to get right back into the book of Isaiah and we’re going to jump in at chapter 51 today. As I’ve done before, I like to spend at least a moment or so at the beginning of every taping session explaining the background of this particular portion of Scripture. Isaiah, remember, is a prophet writing in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, but he addresses the whole nation of Israel. He’s writing 700 years before Christ. He’s writing 100 years before the invasion by Nebuchadnezzar. That tells us that God’s wheels grind slowly. Even though Isaiah is prophesying some of these things as though they are going to happen next week or next month, yet it doesn’t become a reality for a hundred years. You know, I’m reminded of the same thing today. My, as fast as things are pointing toward the end-time and we almost feel that the Lord could come next week, and He may, but, with God time doesn’t mean that much. It could go still go on for a good while, yet. To us it doesn’t seem possible, but it could. So, we don’t want to just get careless and say, "Well, the Lord won’t come yet for another hundred years." On the other hand we have to realize that we can’t get over sensationalized and say, "Well, the Rapture will take place next week or next month or next fall or whatever." All right, so the book of Isaiah then is a book of prophecy. In it you will find no salvation for Gentiles. It is strictly a book that is detailing the things that are going to come to pass in the life and time of the nation of Israel. Now, this chapter again happens to come back on a high note. In the previous chapters we’ve seen how God is foretelling judgment to come and chastisement because of their rebelliousness and their unbelief. But, now, this chapter is a high note, again. Here we’re dealing with some of the good things that are in Israel’s future. All right, come in with me at Isaiah chapter 51 verse 1: Isaiah 51:1a "Hearken (listen) to me, you that follow after righteousness,…" Now, what does that mean? Now he’s addressing the believing element. Again, I always have to emphasize, that a lot of Jews today think that every Jew is going to end up in Paradise or Heaven or whatever they think of, simply because they’re members of the family of Abraham. Well, I beg to differ because even the Lord Jesus Himself warned them constantly, "you are yet in your sin." He spoke graphically of those who would be sent to the Lake of Fire because of their unbelief. So, there’s nothing to indicate that all Jews will be saved simply because they’re members of the nation of Israel. There’s always been the believing element, a small percentage, a remnant, and the rest have been doomed. Isaiah 51:1a "Hearken to me, you that follow after righteousness, you who seek the LORD:…" Now, that brings up another thought. So many times we’ll get a letter in the mail or a phone call, "Well, how can I know that I’m saved?" Well, this is our first response. "Where are your priorities? Would you rather be with God’s people or the people of the world? Would you rather be in a Bible study or would you rather be in a filthy movie? Do you have a hunger for the Word of God? Or do you never open its covers? Do you have a time of prayer? Do you talk to Him? What about your life style? Are we a believer or aren’t we?" Now, you cannot practice these things in the flesh very long.

Now, anybody can do some of these things for a while, but you cannot just go on consistently living the agenda of a Christian unless you are truly a child of God. So, here again, it was to those who knew that they were believers that Isaiah is writing and he says: Isaiah 51:1b "…look unto the rock whence you are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence you are digged." I think he’s going all the way back to the onset of the Nation with the Abrahamic Covenant. Then, verse 2 makes that certain. Isaiah 51:2 "Look unto Abraham your father, (the beginning of the Jewish race) and unto Sarah who bear you: (Not Hagar, but Sarah.) for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him." Here, again, is what so many church people do not understand. That the nation of Israel came about because of God’s Sovereign decision to call one man, pull him out of the mainstream of the Adamic race and out of him bring about the nation of Israel. It was supernatural because both Abraham and his wife Sarah were beyond the age of normal childbearing. So, everything about it was a supernatural phenomenon. Then out of that line of Abraham came Isaac and then Jacob and then the twelve sons and the Twelve Tribes. So, here is the progression of this little nation of Israel, never great in number, usually around six, seven, eight million, which is nothing. They have never been great in number and never been great in square miles, but they’ve been the least of the nations. Yet, this is the nation through whom God has chosen to give us the Word of God. It was this nation through whom Christ came. It’s this nation around which all of prophecy revolves. If you take Israel off the planet there’s nothing left for prophecy. Nothing. This is why when these people claim that the Jews have disappeared they have to throw away prophecy, because there is no prophecy if there is no Israel. We just got through emphasizing that on our last two weeks of teaching up north, how everything rests on God’s dealing with the nation of Israel. All right, so it’s to these believing Jews, now, that the prophet, as the spokesman for their eternal God, is speaking. Isaiah 51:3a "For the LORD, (Jehovah) will comfort Zion: (Remember, Zion is a hill in Jerusalem.) he will comfort all her waste places; he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD;…" Now, we’ve got to stop. Why is there that kind of language in an upbeat chapter? Because, you see, whenever Israel is out of the land it becomes desolate. It becomes totally unproductive, uninhabited, it becomes a barren desert. While we were up north last week somebody gave me some more out of Mark Twain’s book The Innocents Abroad. I’ve read parts of it over the years, but this was even more graphic. When Mark Twain was traveling in the area of present day Israel, or what was then called Palestine, way back in the middle 1800’s, this was his description. "The land is totally barren, it’s desolate. The weeds of the desert don’t even grow here. The wild animals of the desert are unknown because it’s totally desolate." All right, so this is what the Lord is showing them after they’ve been out of the land. They’re going to be captured in 600 BC (we’ve still got the timeline on the board from our last taping). Nebuchadnezzar came and took the whole nation of Israel captive out to Baghdad and Babylon. But, what happened to the land of Israel? It became desolate. For seventy years it was desolate. We showed in our last taping that when they came back to Jerusalem, the Arabs hadn’t come in and made it productive. They hadn’t cleaned up all the residue of Nebuchadnezzar’s siege and destruction. It was all still there. Then, a hundred years after that Nehemiah comes back and what does he say? "Everything was rubbish." Well, why hadn’t the Arab’s gone in and made it livable? Well, God won’t let them. It’s always been that way. Every time Israel is removed from the land, nobody comes in and makes it their homeland. It remains desolate.

But, we’re dealing, now, with the first time, the 70-year captivity. It will be a wilderness, it’ll be desert, but when Israel comes into the place of blessing it will suddenly become productive again. It’ll be "like the garden of the LORD." Now, verse 3, reading on: Isaiah 51:3b "…joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody." In other words it will be normal life, especially for the believers. Isaiah 51:4a "Hearken unto me, O, my people;…" Now, "my people" in the Old Testament is Israel. Nobody else. Now, granted, you and I can come back here and make some applications, but by and large this is written strictly to the nation of Israel. Isaiah 51:4b-6a "…and give ear unto me, O, my nation: (See, that’s not us. That’s Israel.) for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment (or my rule, or my government) to rest for a light of the people. 5. My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, mine arms shall judge the people; the isles (or the borders of all this) shall wait upon me, and on mine arm they shall trust. 6. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath:" Now, this is leaping clear out now, clear to the end of the millennium even. That’s what I told you earlier in this book of Isaiah. You’ve got three periods of time that are distinctly referred to, and you have to almost go to the text to find out which one it is. The first one was the near-term Babylonian invasion, 606 BC. The next one would be the destruction by the Romans in 70 AD, but then the final one, leading to the end of everything as we know it and ushering in eternity, is at the end of the millennium. So, this is looking all the way to the end of the millennium when it says : Isaiah 51:6b "…the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, the earth (the planet as we know it) shall wax old like a garment,…" Now, what do you do with an old garment? Well, you pitch it. However you’re going to get rid of it, whether you burn it or whatever. You just cast it aside; it’s gotten rid of. Isaiah 51:6c "…and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. " In other words, after this old planet has run its course, eternity kicks in and we go into eternal things. Now, it’s amazing how many times Scripture refers to this very fact. Back up, if you will, to chapter 50, and verse 9. Isaiah 50:9 "Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up." Now, back up for another portion of Scripture, which is in Psalms 102, verse 25, and we’ve got the same kind of language. Psalms 102:25 "Of old thou hast laid the foundation of the earth; the heavens are the work of thy hands. 26. (Now look what’s going to happen.) They (the earth and the heavens, I think the whole universe) shall perish, but thou (the believer) shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:" In other words, all the things that God has created. All right, now, let’s jump all the way up to the New Testament and we’ll see how we have the same language repeated even in the New. Come with me to Hebrews chapter 1, and let’s jump in at verse 10. Hebrews 1:10-12 "And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth (Now, that goes back to creation of Genesis 1:1.) and the heavens (The universe and everything that God’s created.) are the works of thy hands: 11. They shall perish; (It’s not going to last forever.) but thou (the Creator) remainest; and they (back to creation) all shall wax old as doth a garment; 12. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: (In other words, it��s all going to cast aside someday.) but, (the Eternal God) thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail." All right, let’s go ahead a few pages to II Peter chapter 3.

Here we have almost the same thoughts but in different wording. All right, II Peter, chapter 3, verse 10, it wonderful how all of Scripture fits when you get on a certain theme. II Peter 3:10-11 "But the day of the Lord (Now, that starts with Christ’s first advent and goes all the way past the millennium.) will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements (The very things that make up matter.) shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11.Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, (see just like working in a chemistry laboratory) what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy manner of living and godliness." II Peter 3:12-13 "Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, (in other words when all of these things will supernaturally start taking place) wherein the heavens being on fire shall be (what?) dissolved, (melted down.) and the elements (that which makes up matter again) shall melt with fervent heat? (But, is that the end? No, next verse:) 13. Nevertheless we, (we who trust the Word of God) according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth (no wickedness, no curse but what?) righteousness." That’s the hope for the believer. All right, let’s go all the way to the last chapter of your Bible, or next to the last anyway. Revelation chapter 21 and how glorious it is to see that all of the writers of Scripture, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, talked the same language. Revelation 21:a1 "And I saw a (what?) new heaven and new earth: (why?) for the first heaven and the first earth were (what?) passed away;…" They’ve disappeared. They’ve burned up. They’ve melted down, or however you want to put it. Then he sees in verse 2: Revelation 21:2 "And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Now, we know from another portion of Revelation that this glorious city is going to be how big? Fifteen hundred miles cubed. Some think it’s a pyramid, I think it’s a cube but that’s irrelevant. But now look, would a city of that size rest on this little planet? Why, it would be cantilevered clear over on every direction. So, what does that tell us? This new earth, I think, is going to be so huge it’ll make Jupiter look like a model. It’ll be of such dimension that that 1500-mile city can come down and won’t stick out over the edge one bit. This is the prospect, and we know that God is in total control. All right, that’s the beauty of Scripture. Now, back to Isaiah 51 again, reading on: Isaiah 51:6a "… and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: (In other words, the unbelievers are going to be removed along with that earth that’s been under the curse for all these thousands of years.) but my salvation shall be (how long?) forever,…" That’s the hope of the believer. Nothing comes to an end for the believer. Even this old universe can be burned up and totally destroyed and a new one come in its place, and we’ll still be ready to enjoy it. Isaiah 51:7 "Hearken unto me, (That’s a second time now that Israel is told to listen.) ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings." Now, isn’t it amazing? It’s God’s people who maintain order and blessing and yet the rest of the community reviled them. It’s always been that way. It’s never been any different. It’s the same way today. You know, as I’ve mentioned before in this program, one of the editorial writers of Time magazine has made the statement that he hates, he detests Christianity. He thinks it’s the worst thing that has ever happened to America. Well, he’s free to express his thoughts. But, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He may be a highly profiled editorial writer but he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Christianity is what made this nation; it’s not what has destroyed it. But, nevertheless, it’s always been that way. The believer has been reviled by the unbelievers, even in Israel. Isaiah 51:8 "For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, (You know what moths can do to a wool garment.) and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation." The unbeliever is only here for a little smatter of time and he goes to his doom. But, the believer is going right on into eternity to come. Isaiah 51:9a "Awake,…" The first of three times this is said in the next series of verses going on into chapter 52. Well, what does that tell you? Well, just like we say today – wake up! You know, we’re seeing evidence of this even in America today. Wake up and realize there are forces out there that want to destroy us. But, people have got their head in the sand. My, we had evidence of it again the other day in Minneapolis, how people are so ready to embrace all of these elements that want to destroy us. How can they embrace something like that?They’re asleep! They’re ignorant, and how sad. But, see, Israel was no different, so even the believers are told, come out of your lethargy – wake up! Isaiah 51:9b "…put on strength, (He’s not talking to the unbelieving element, he’s talking to the righteous, awake, put on strength.) O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, and the generations of old, Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?" Now, that sounds like something hard to comprehend, but the Rahab here is an indication of Egypt when Israel was under their bondage, and the dragon is a reference to Pharaoh and how he misused them and enslaved them. All right, verse 10, speaking of the God of Israel: Isaiah 51:10 "Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, (See how this is all evidence of Israel coming out of Egypt.) the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over." Well, who were the ransomed? Israel. The believing element. Isaiah 51:11a "Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return,..." Now, what does that word "return" indicate? They’re going to be gone. You can’t return if you haven’t left. Now, this is all prophesied as if it’s already happened. That’s the beauty of prophecy. So, Isaiah is speaking of this first initial out casting from the land, which was the Babylonian captivity, only 70 years in length. But, in that 70 years, the land would become desolate and Israel would return. All right, he’s speaking as if it’s already happened. Isaiah 51:11-12 "Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head; they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. 12. I (the Lord says) even I, am he that comforteth you: who are you that thou shouldest be afraid of a man who shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;" In other words, he will go into the grave. Isaiah 51:13 "And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, (Here we come back again to God’s power of creation, His Sovereignty.) and laid the foundation of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?" Now, you want to remember the oppressor in view here is Babylon. He’s going to be coming in less than a hundred years, and he’s going to destroy Jerusalem and the Temple and take the nation of Israel captive. All right, verse 14: Isaiah 51:14 "The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. 15. But (Take heart, Israel!) I am the LORD thy God who divided the sea, whose waves roared: (Referring back again to the Red Sea.) the LORD of hosts is his name. 16. And I have put my words in thy mouth, I have covered thee in

the shadow of my hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, (What’s the promise?) Thou art my people." That’s God speaking to Israel. What an assurance! Yet, in unbelief, the vast majority of them constantly reject it. All right, now here’s the second wake up call. There’s going to be a third one in chapter 52, but here’s the second wake up call: Isaiah 51:17a "Awake, awake, stand up, oh Jerusalem, which hath drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury;…" In other words, they’re going to come through chastisement and judgment before they can receive the blessings of the God of Israel. So, it’s always been, and so it will be even in the future.

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