#israel shall fall in this lifetime

[gael-garcia]

They Do Not Exist (1974) by Mustafa Abu Ali (watch)

[sweetewa]

The sickness of Israel needs to be wiped off this earth. Destroying lives, destroying potential, destroying knowledge, destroying history, destroying innocence, destroying, beauty, destroying joy, destroying nature. All they know is destruction, their existence represents the regression of humanity. In this lifetime, Israel SHALL FALL.

[aristotels]

honestly even if by a miracle israel manages to come out on top they done. they cant even defeat hamas and are trying to start a fight with hezbollah. that shithole aint making it to a century old.

we shall see it fall in our lifetimes 🫶

[theprayerfulword]

September 19

1 Corinthians 9:19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.

Romans 13:7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor

Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.

Psalm 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Hebrews 12:14 Strive to live in peace with everybody and pursue that consecration {and} holiness without which no one will [ever] see the Lord.

1 John 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

May you find your strength and might in quietness and confidence toward the Lord, and your salvation and deliverance in repentance and rest in the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 30

May you wait for the Lord, Who is a God of justice, for He longs to be gracious to you, rising to show you compassion. Isaiah 30

May you cry to the Lord for help, for He is gracious and will answer as soon as He hears you. Isaiah 30

May you have ears to hear the Spirit of the Lord from behind you saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” for once you have known true communion with God then you will detest and discard those things on which you have relied and to which you have given the regard and devotion that belongs to your Creator. Isaiah 30

May you sow the ground liberally with good seed, for the Lord will send rain in the right season and the harvest from the land will be rich and plentiful. Isaiah 30

May you find, when bruised and wounded, that the Lord will bind the bruises and heal the wounds. Isaiah 30

May you sing as on the night when the Passover is kept and your heart rejoice as when people ascend the mount of the Lord playing flutes, for the Lord, the Rock of Israel, will shatter His enemies with His voice and strike them down with His scepter, and every stroke the Lord lays on them with His punishing rod will be to the music of tambourines and harps. Isaiah 30

May you look to the Holy One of Israel and seek help from the Lord, for He does not take back His words, and will rise up against the house of the wicked, those who help evildoers, and when the Lord stretches out His hand, he who helps will stumble and he who is helped will fall, both perishing together. Isaiah 31

May you return to Him Who has been revolted against, rejecting the idols your hands have made, for the Lord will shield you and deliver you, “passing over” you to rescue you, as His enemy is destroyed by a sword that is not of man and their stronghold will fall because of terror, because the Lord's fire is in Zion and His furnace is in Jerusalem. Isaiah 31

My child, do you have needs? Turn to Me, asking Me in faith, to meet those needs. Do you have faith that I can meet your needs? Consider My Word. I have promised that the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed before My kindness would depart from you. You have not simply a lifetime of kindness but an eternity of kindness from Me. Do you believe that will be sufficient? Then ask in that faith for My kindness in your situation. Have you failed to obey My command and followed your own way to your sorrow, needing rescue and forgiveness? My Word states that the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. You will not be sent a person to preach a gospel of condemnation to you, or even an angel to pull you in front and another to push you from behind. You have been promised none other than the One who is the highest, with the full measure of all grace, more than sufficient for you, My dear one, to not merely receive you and then turn you over to handlers to clean you up, but to perfect that which concerns you, seeing it through to the completion of what My plans for you include. Are you confident that will suffice for what you need? Then ask in that confidence, given by My Spirit from My Word, and receive the grace, forgiveness, acceptance, and mercy in full measure, not doubting. Come to Me for every need, My loved one, come to Me bearing the promises of My Word, your daily bread, the strength for today, with thanksgiving springing from faith, and find liberty and freedom from want and need.

May you be grateful for the promise of the Lord to have a King reign in righteousness and nobles who serve with justice, each one like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, as the Spirit of God moves through them flowing like refreshing streams of water in the desert and blowing like a cooling wind from the shade of a great rock in an exhausted land. Isaiah 32

May the Spirit pour out upon you from on high when you rise from complacency and listen to what the Lord has to say, for just as you have mourned for the desolation and abandonment that is to come, so you will be blessed when justice dwells in the desert and righteousness lives in the field, for the fruit of righteousness will be peace and the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. Isaiah 32

May you long for the Lord to be gracious to you, that He will be your strength every morning and your salvation in time of distress, that at the sound of His voice the multitudes flee and when He rises up, the nations scatter. Isaiah 33

May you find that the fear of God is the key to the treasure of His presence, for as you exalt the Lord, Who dwells on high, He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness and form the sure foundation for your times, providing a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge. Isaiah 33

May you stand firm and do not let yourself be burdened by a yoke of slavery again, for Christ has set you free. Galatians 5

May you not be alienated from Christ through trying to be justified by the law, causing you to fall away from grace, but rather, by faith, eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which you hope, as your faith expresses itself through love. Galatians 5

May you praise the Lord as long as you live and lift up your hands in His name, glorifying Him with your lips because His love is better than life. Psalm 63

May you remember the Lord on your bed, thinking of Him through the watches of the night, singing in the shadow of His wings because He is your help, clinging to Him because His right hand upholds you. Psalm 63

[lesfeldickbiblestudy]

  Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 3 * PART 2 * BOOK 58 THE NATION OF ISRAEL MUST BE - PART 2 JUDE Again we always like to emphasize, we’re not associated with any one denomination, we don’t attack anybody, and all we try to do is get everybody, whatever your background, into the Book and see what the Word of God says. Not what some denomination says, not what Les Feldick says, but what does the Book say! In fact, some folks up in Minnesota coined a little tune, and they’ll get a kick out of every time I say this, and that was the title of they’re little song, "What Does the Book Say!" And it went on from there, but anyway, we always like to thank our TV audience for your support, your prayers, oh how we enjoy the knowledge that you’re praying for us and for your letters, as well as financial help. Now again, Iris is going to let me take the chance of – we’ve always sort of avoided doing anything that dates our program, because we never know when they’ll be viewed again, but most of you are aware now that we’re on a – what shall I call it, - a timed production, we keep making new programs once a month, but the daily programs are reruns. But anyway we’re making plans to once again take a tour back to the Holy Land. Since this is March of 2004, we’re tentatively making plans for March or April 2005. So if any of you are aware of that, or interested, why contact us and we’ll get the information to you- providing the Lord doesn’t come. We still hope constantly that the Lord will intervene with that trumpet call – I’m still a firm believer of the Pre-Trib Rapture and as the world seemingly is getting so right for the Tribulation, it just tells us we’re getting close. Ok so much for that. Back to the little Book of Jude where we left off in our last program, and I was in verse 5, and I ran out of time, so we’ll go back to it. Where Jude says: Jude 1:5a "I will therefore (because of the constant fear of false teachers coming in amongst the believers) put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this,��(in other words this is nothing new) how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt,…" So we go all the way back to the Exodus. The same Lord that was evident all the way up through Israel’s history is the One who had come in the flesh at Bethlehem, and had walked the three years of ministry, had been crucified, resurrected, gone back to glory, and the promise was that in a short order He’d be coming back, and yet fulfill all those Old Testament promises. Listen, this Book would fall apart if God did not fulfill every prophecy. They have to be fulfilled or it’s not the Word of God! And so we know that all these Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel’s glory and the kingdom on earth are still coming. God has interrupted it in His sovereignty, but it’s still coming. And so even though they were looking forward in their lifetime as these little letters are written. Now as I said in our last program, we are right back in the same thing nineteen hundred and some years later we’ve got Israel back in the land, we’ve got the appearance of the Revived Roman Empire there in Western Europe. The world is getting in perplexity, everything is getting ripe for the fulfillment of the prophetic Scriptures. Alright, so Jude now then, is taking his Jewish believers back to Egypt. Well, we can do the same thing. We all study the Exodus and how God miraculously brought the people out of slavery and took them through the Red Sea, so it’s just as appropriate for us to remember these things as it was for the Jewish believers to whom Jude is writing. Alright, so he says, remember that when the Lord saved the people out of the land of Egypt miraculously after the plagues had pummeled Egypt. And then you remember on the night of the Passover when death went through Egypt and that really triggered the release of the Jewish nation out of Egypt and they went all the way to the Red Sea and then there was the obstacle. You know I still like to use that as a beautiful picture of our own salvation today.

There, Israel, coming out of abject slavery, no freedom, no liberty, brow beaten from sunup to sundown, and now all of a sudden they’re sprung loose, but they’re still on the wrong side of the Red Sea, and no place to go. Mountains on both sides, the Egyptian army and the chariots behind them and the Red Sea in front. And I always like to remind, like Jude is saying, remember, did God say well, hurry up and do something? Don’t just stand there, get to work? No, what did He say. "Stand still! Don’t try to do anything. You’re helpless. Let the power of God exert itself." And that’s what happened. God opened the Red Sea. No listen, have you ever stopped to think how much faith it took, knowing that that water was backed up, I don’t think it was within sight. I think that was such a long span that they couldn’t see that wall of water to the left, nor could they see that wall of water to the right. So when they stepped into the dry bed of the Red Sea, what did it take? FAITH! My, it took faith. How did they know it wouldn’t come rushing back in the next five minutes? Well, they didn’t, except by faith. And so they walked through on dry ground, by faith, coming up on the other side now, a redeemed people. Well, that’s where we are. We were in the slave market of sin, hopelessly lost. But because of Christ’s redemptive work, and by faith we’ve appropriated it, we too now have come through the death, burial and resurrection and we’re on the other side and we now experience God’s saving grace. My what a beautiful picture. Alright, but the pity of it is after they’d gone through by faith, went all the way down the Sinai under Moses’ leadership, and we’re going to see that a little bit more, a little later in the Book here, and now God takes them up to Kadesh Barnea to go in and have the Promised Land, to take it by faith. They didn’t have to worry about those oversized Canaanites. They didn’t have to worry about the fact that they were larger and more fit for war, because God said He would drive them out with hornets. And yet, how did they respond? In unbelief, abject unbelief, and said, "No we can’t. We can’t do it. The people are too big. The cities are too walled." Well what did God tell them? "Take it." So then what was the result? They went back into the wilderness and they died like flies until that whole generation of unbelieving Israelites are gone. What a sad commentary. Now, I can’t answer the question, I’ve asked it for years as long as I’ve been teaching, I’ve had this question. If they came out of the slavery of Egypt, they came through the Red Sea by faith, were they all what we call "saved?" Well, if that’s the case, then why just a few months later they get up to Kadesh Barnea and their faith is totally absent and they go back into the wilderness and die, which he says here, "they believed not". I can’t answer it. That’s in God’s hands. Now that’s why I’ve always made the comment, "It’s hard to put your thumb on Old Testament salvation." Were they saved once for all, or were they saved and lost? That’s what it would indicate here. They were saved out of Egypt, but when they returned back on Kadesh Barnea it says He destroyed them that what? "Believed not!" Tough question. I don’t have the answer, that’s where God is sovereign, thank goodness. And the same way today, people will say, "Well so and so did this and they did that. Do you think they’re saved?" I don’t know, only God looks on the heart. Now we can be fruit inspectors, absolutely, if their life completely is in total disobedience and in total opposition to the Scriptures, then as I inspect their fruit, I think I can come to conclusions, but I can’t look at the heart. Neither can you. Neither can anybody else. No human being can tell another human being, "Well you’re safe", but we can’t look on the heart. But it’s a good lesson here, how that we just cannot determine the salvation experience of these Old Testament Jews. So we’re to remember it, what all took place,

how that God miraculously brought them out, brought them through the Red Sea, took them to Sinai, gave them the Law, the tabernacle, the priesthood, ready to take them into the Promised Land and then in unbelief they turned away, all except Moses and Aaron and Joshua and Caleb. Might have been a few others, not that I’m aware of, but whatever, Jude says "they were not believers." Now in verse 6, we jump into a different category – angels. Now I don’t deal a lot with angels because there again, there is too much you can’t put your handle on it and so I’m always a little cautious when we start teaching things concerning angels. Jude 1:6a And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left (in other words, by choice, they turned away from their sovereign God as angels) their own habitation,…" Now as a result of their own free will choice, turning their back upon the righteous God who was over them, where are they? Jude 1:6b "…he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." And God is going to judge those fallen angels. Now I always like to think of the time that Lucifer fell, and that would take us all the way back to Ezekiel 28 first, and then Isaiah 14. Let’s go back and look at Ezekiel 28, now it’s been a long time since we covered this, but in Ezekiel 28 we have some interesting language. God is speaking through the prophet, and he says: Ezekiel 28:13 "Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, the topaz, the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created." In other words, he was a functioning angelic being. Verse 14, here’s who he is. Ezekiel 28:14a "Thou art the anointed cherub (or angel) that covereth;…" Or ruleth. In other words this individual we’re dealing with was the ruling angel over some sort of angelic kingdom. Ezekiel 28:14b-15 "…and I have set thee so: (in His Sovereignty, He placed this angel in this particular place of beautiful gemstones, as well as control over an angelic host) thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15. Thou wast perfect (he was a sinless angel) from the day that thou wast created, (here we know he was a created being) until (at some point in time) iniquity was found in thee." Now we drop back a few pages to Isaiah chapter 14, and that’s where we find the iniquity. And it’s so plain. Watch this carefully, this is interesting. Isaiah 14:12-14 "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! (now remember what he is. He is a ruling angel over a kingdom of angelic inhabitants) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (that is later in his activity. Now here was his fall) 13. For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: (in other words, he would assume God’s position) 14. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." Doesn’t that sound like old Satan today? He still thinks he’s going to do it. A group of us were talking just the other night, you sometimes wonder about this creature. He’s got tremendous knowledge and intellect. Is he so stubborn and still is so determined that he’s going to be victorious over God, or can’t he read? Because we know what his end is. But he must not. He doesn’t quit. Of course, I’ve always said that’s the same way with liberals in politics and in religion they never quit. And Satan’s the same way. He will not quit. Even though he knows he’s defeated. Alright, so he says "I will be like the most High." I’m going to usurp God’s throne. But God answers: Isaiah 12:15 "Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." And of course, we know that is his coming doom.

But in the meantime, you see, he’s doing everything in his power to thwart God’s program. Now let me come back to Jude a minute. Back to Jude, verse 6. Satan of course, Lucifer, did not experience the incarceration that his followers did. And from Revelation, chapter 12 it would seem that one third of the angelic hosts followed Satan in his rebellion. And those are the ones waiting here under the chains of darkness for Judgment Day. And of course, Lucifer, who we know as Satan will not have benefit of judgment, he will go straight to the Lake of Fire when times ends as we know it. I sometimes wonder where I can bring this in. You see, all the way up from the beginning you might say of creation and even right here, these angels were faced with what? Choice! They were evidently a free willed creature and they had choice. But you see, Lucifer and the third that followed him, did like a lot of people do today. They chose how? Wrong! They chose wrong in order to satisfy the self will. And all we have to do is just look across the whole spectrum of humanity. And isn’t that always the problem? To satisfy the self, momentarily, we choose wrong. Now I think you folks know, our television audience knows, and for you fellows that are watching me in prison right now, my, we have just a tremendous ministry among prison inmates, I think almost every state in the union. And invariably they admit they made bad choices, starting maybe when they were teenagers, maybe later. But all their problems compound from making horrible choices. Or people will call with their marital difficulties and the first thing I tell them, Look, I’m not a marriage counselor. I don’t pretend to be. But I can tell you one thing, somewhere along the line you made bad choices. And they are the first to admit that. Alright, so what prompts us as human beings, God’s creation – created being, what prompts us to make these bad choices? Well, I think the Devil does. Satan would like nothing better than to see the whole human race rebel against the Creator as the angels did, because he’s the master of rebellion. So all of these bad choices, now not that Satan rides on the shoulder of every human being, don’t get me wrong, but he has a way of influencing the human race to make these bad choices. Alright but now the point that I’m really wanting to make is concerning the nation of Israel. Now we know that anti-Semitism is coming up much like it did in the thirties, and forties, especially over in Europe, and it prompts me, and I want to remind my listening audience, why since day one, have the Jewish people suffered such hatred and such opposition from the rest of the world? Well, it isn’t because of their unique makeup, it isn’t because of their personality, it isn’t because of their looks, it’s because this adversary of God, this Lucifer, fallen now, and we know he’s Satan - knows that if he can knock Israel out of the earth’s existence, then God’s whole program falls apart. Because, as you see, as I’ve said over and over on this program, Israel is at the heart of everything that God does. And if you take the heart out, that kills the whole. And this is what Satan knows. And so all you have to do is reflect back. Just as soon as the race was called out through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, my, what begins to befall those people? Well, the first glaring act of course, is when the brothers sold Joseph down into slavery. Hatred! Sin! Now you come all the way up through their history. Now there comes all of this what we think is, how could those people who have been blessed so richly, be so blind and practice such unbelief? Because Satan knows and he works on them constantly. If he can get Israel out of the way, he’s the winner. Alright, let’s bring you all the way up to the Book of Esther. What happened in the Book of Esther? Well old Haman convinced the king to set out a decree that would kill every Jew in the empire, because they were the problem. And so the king fell for it. Fortunately

God had His own little Jewish girl in the right place at the right time and thanks to Esther, the whole thing fell apart. But did Satan quit? No! He keeps on and so everything is directed to stop God’s program. When Christ is born, why in the world did Herod put out the decree to kill all the boy babies under the age of 2? To hopefully, get that Christ child that has been born in that two year interval. Well, why kill the Christ child? Oh, that’s what Satan wanted. Now, you take it on up to the work of the cross, as many of you now have seen the movie, "The Passion". Oh, what was behind the whole scenario? Satanic power! And so all the way down now since. Satan working overtime to stop God’s prophetic Scripture. And so why the hatred of Israel tonight? Why the threat to throw them into the sea? Why the threat to get rid of every Jew on the planet again? Oh that’s what Satan wants, because if Israel is gone, then everything falls apart. Never lose sight of that. And so this is the reason that they are so hated and so despised, is because Satan knows that without them God’s promises would fail. Alright, now let’s continue on in Jude in the couple of minutes we’ve got left. Now verse 7, he jumps us up to an Old Testament event that almost every good Jew knew about and hopefully, most people who have anything to do with the Bible and Christianity today would know about. Jude 1:7 "Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them (not just the two but even little suburbs) in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, (in other words, gross immorality) and going after strange flesh, (in other words that which was against normality) are set forth for (a what?) an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Why can’t the world read this? Sodom and Gomorrha came under the judgment of God, not just to punish that group of people, but to tell the rest of the human race what God thinks about that kind of activity. It was an example showing us God’s reaction to the lifestyle of the Sodom and Gomorrhaites. But, oh, the world can’t learn and so they were set as an example and as that example they suffered the vengeance of eternal fire, but they’re not alone. Everyone who lives in that lifestyle is going to that same place. Of course the thing that exercises me is you all know by now that I love history, and all you have to do is go back and look at history. In fact I was telling, I think a TV group the other day, do you know that 15 of the last 16 Roman Emperors were homosexuals? And out of those 15 or 16 Emperors of Rome, only 2 lived to a normal life end. They were either murdered, poisoned, assassinated. . That’s the kind of a society you get when they take over. It’s historical proven that any empire that came under that influence went down the tube. And of course Rome the most graphic, and we’re to learn from it. That’s the whole idea of being an example. Now let me show you what Peter says about it. We looked at it a few weeks ago when we were in Peter’s little epistle, but you see the Bible is just saturated with all of this. And it’s to tell us, that this is not an alternative lifestyle. Now it isn’t that God doesn’t love them – God loves sinners of any stripe, and He’ll save them to the uttermost, but He’s going to bring down judgment wherever it becomes a complete practice of society. It’s coming! And the whole world will come under the judgment sooner or later.

[graciousheaven]

The Eternal Dominion of Christ

There is no other eternal kingdom apart from the Kingdom of Christ. Psalms 66:7, “He rules for ever by his might and keeps his eyes on the nations.” The reign of the kings and rulers of this world lasts only for a time, not even for their lifetime, because no son of a man and a woman is born a king. Even if a child is born into a royal family, although he may be the heir to the throne, he is not a king at birth but a prince. And until the day he sits on the throne he can never be called a king. In addition, his kingship will end when he dies or is dethroned. Also Earthly kings receive their authority from God. As Paul says in Romans 13:1, “No authority exists without God’s permission, and the existing authorities have been put there by God.” It is God who makes and unmakes kings. He raises kings and rulers, and at his commands their kingdoms fall into ruins; they are overthrown by his power. God delivers them to destruction. Job 12:18 says, “He dethrones kings and makes them prisoners.” Verse 21, “He disgraces those in power and puts an end to the strength of rulers.” Verse 23-25, “He makes nations strong and great, but then He defeats and destroys them. He makes their leaders foolish and lets them wander confused and lost; they grope in the dark and stagger like drunkards.”

The Lord rules supreme over all earthly kingdoms and powers of the heavenly world. Enthroned above the winged creatures and seated at the right-hand side of the Father in Heaven, “Christ rules there above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, and lords; He has a title superior to all titles of authority in this world and in the next.” (Ephesians 1:21). Daniel 7:14 says, “To Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.” Christ is the long-awaited King, the Promised King, the Messiah, the Redeemer of his people, the only One born a King, whose birth and eternal dominion were announced by the prophets. Isaiah 11:1-5 says, “The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new King will arise from among David’s descendants. The Spirit of the LORD will give Him wisdom, and the knowledge and skill to rule his people. He will know the LORD’s will and honour Him, and find pleasure in obeying Him. He will not judge by appearance or hearsay; He will judge the poor fairly and defend the rights of the helpless. At his command the people will be punished, and evil persons will die. He will rule his people with justice and integrity.”

 Jeremiah 23:5-6, “The LORD says, ‘The time is coming when I will choose as King a righteous descendant of David. That King will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land. When He is King, the people of Judah will be safe, and the people of Israel will live in peace. He will be called ‘The LORD Our Salvation.’” Micah 5:2-5, ‘“The LORD says, ‘Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are one of the smallest towns in Judah, but out of you I will bring a Ruler for Israel, whose family line goes back to ancient times. So the LORD will abandon his people to their enemies until the woman who is to give birth has her Son. Then those Israelites who are in exile will be reunited with their own people. When He comes, He will rule his people with the strength that comes from the LORD and with the majesty of the LORD God Himself. His people will live in safety because people all over the earth will acknowledge his greatness, and He will bring peace.’” Christ is the King of peace, the King of glory, born with a crown. His Kingdom is not of this world. Christ did not receive his crown from the hand of men; He did not become a king. He has always been the King and will be King for ever. That’s why from his birth He is worshiped. Matthew 2:1-2 says, “[…] Soon afterwards, (meaning his birth) some men who studied the stars came from the east to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the baby born to be King of the Jews? We saw his star when it came up in the east, and we have come to worship Him.’”

 The Lord our God has always been and will always be the King. His kingship does not depend on someone and is not limited by time. Christ is King for ever. His dominion is from everlasting to everlasting. Exodus 15:18 says, “You, LORD, will be King for ever.” Psalms 45:6, “The kingdom that God has given You will last for ever and ever. You will rule over your people with justice.” Psalms 146:10, “The LORD is King for ever. Your God, O Zion, will reign for all time.” Lamentations 5:19, “But You, O LORD, are King for ever, and will rule to the end of time.” Daniel 4:3, “How great are the wonders God shows us! How powerful are the miracles He performs! God is King for ever; He will rule for all time.” Daniel 4:34-35 says, “[…] He will rule for ever, and his Kingdom will last for all time. He looks on the people of the earth as nothing; angels in heaven and people on earth are under his control. No one can oppose his will or question what He does.” Psalms 9:7, “The LORD is King for ever; He has set up his throne for judgement.”

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

by J. R. Miller

Devotional for February 10th

The Fall of Jericho | Joshua 6

The city of Jericho was at the entrance to the promised land. The people had now crossed the river - but Jericho stood as a great iron gate into the promised land, and the gate was shut. They could not safely go round the city and leave the hostile stronghold behind them. It was necessary, therefore, that Jericho should be captured before they could advance.

This is a parable of many situations in life. Each man's own natural heart is a Jericho - which is the key to all his life and to his destiny. Nothing can be done in the conquest of the man - until his heart has surrendered. So long as Satan holds the key - none can reach any part of the man's being. Hence God asks always first for the citadel of our life. "Give Me your heart!" is His call. When He has this, all the life is open to Him.

It was a strange military procession which marched around Jericho one morning. We can imagine the people of the city looking at it from the walls with wonder. They could not understand the movement. Probably they laughed at the unusual procession - a few soldiers, then some priests with rams' horns, then more priests carrying a chest on their shoulders, then a few more soldiers. This marching column made no attack on the city, did not try to batter down the walls, only walked around it - and then returned to their camp. It really was not a military procession at all. Yet there was tremendous power in it.

But what was the use of calling out the men to make this daily march about the walls of Jericho? Since God was to give the city into their hands without any fighting on their part, why should they be called to do anything at all? For one thing, by doing the seemingly useless thing they were commanded to do, they showed that they believed in God. If they had not marched around the city - the walls never would have fallen, and they would not have taken Jericho at all. The Lord's part waited for the people's.

While all blessings come from God, we have something to do before they can be given to us. God gives us harvests - but we must till the soil, and sow the seed. God has given us salvation - but we must have faith in His promise and must show our faith by rising up and beginning to follow Christ. He will give us victory over temptation - but we must put on our armor and go against temptation, as if the victory altogether depended upon ourselves. Every promise of God has its condition, which requires us to exercise faith.

The march about the city was in silence. That was about the hardest part of the command to obey - to keep perfectly quiet all the time as they marched about the walls. There was to be no conversation on the way, no noises or shouting, until the work was finished. There are several suggestions here. We should not do our exulting when we are only halfway through with our battle, still less when we are only beginning it. We would better save our breath for struggle, until the work is finished.

Some people talk so much at their tasks - that they cannot do them well. Some people boast too soon, when the victory is not yet assured. Then there is, in general, much value in training one's self to keep quiet. Words are good in their place, if they are fit words, right words - but there are times when eloquent silence is infinitely better than the most eloquent speech .

The command to march silently also required self-control. The men must have wanted to talk a great many times as they went on - but their lips were sealed and they suppressed the words they were inclined to utter, and controlled their speech. We ought to have our speech so thoroughly under control - that we shall never say anything rashly. Then we shall be able to check the angry word that flies to the door of our lips so quickly, when we are hurt in some way by another. We never can estimate the great value of any self-discipline, which results in perfect self - mastery. It is for lack of self-control that many of our battles are lost and many defeats are suffered. He who can rule his own spirit - is greater than he who captures a city.

There was a meaning also in the trumpets which the priests carried. The blowing of these trumpets may fitly represent the utterance of the gospel message as the Church of Christ goes forth to conquer the citadels of sin. This spiritual army carries no weapons of earthly warfare. "Put up your sword," was the Master's command to those who were fighting with the sword. His marching-order is: "Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation." Not by the thunder of cannon and the rattle of musketry, will He have us subdue the fortresses of sin - but by the trumpet-blasts of the gospel of peace. The means ordained may seem inadequate to the end to be accomplished - but it is not by might nor by power - but by the Spirit of God, that the work is to be done.

There is something else to be noticed here. Close behind the priests blowing the trumpets, came the ark of God. This was the symbol of God's presence, the real power by which the overthrow of the walls of Jericho was accomplished. God's hand did it. We have the same secret of power in all preaching of the gospel. When Jesus commanded His disciples to go out and win the world for Him, His promise was: "Lo, I am with you always." We need not fear to go against the strongest powers of sin. We have only to utter our message, and the power of God will break down the walls.

For six days this procession moved in silence about the city, going round the wall once and then returning to their camp. These daily marches put the faith and patience of the soldiers and priests to the test. There seemed no possible good in such idle circling around the city. There were no indications, either, of any results, as day after day passed. The fortified walls frowned down upon them no less defiantly than at the beginning. There were no suggestions of surrender from within, indications that the courage of the garrison was wavering or weakening. Some of the brave men in the lines must have longed to make an assault on the walls. They wanted to be doing something soldierly. It was hard to restrain their enthusiastic patriotism. This marching around the city seemed like child's play. Yet day after day they had just the same seemingly useless thing to do. At length, however, patience had its reward.

In all our Christian life we need to practice this lesson. There is a great deal of dull monotony in all duty. It is the same routine over and over again, not for days only, or weeks, or years - but for a lifetime. Then there are many good works which it requires a long time to complete. That is the way character is built. It is not the growth of a night. It is not the result of a decision, a choice, a determination. We cannot merely will ourselves into a beautiful manhood - we can only grow into it, slowly, patiently.

A genial author has given us a new beatitude, "Blessed be drudgery," telling us that we get all the finest things in our character and life out of the dull routine of the drudgery we too often despise. At first there is no apparent impression made, no visible result achieved, and it seems vain to try any longer. But perseverance wins at length. Had the people of Israel wearied of the monotonous and unavailing march about Jericho, and at the close of the fifth or the sixth day given up - all would have been lost. The Divine command, was that the city should be compassed about seven days, and anything short of that would not have received the promise, for it would have shown a failure of faith. Success depended upon continuance to the very end.

So it is in all Christian life and work. We must persevere unto the end. We must carry our work through to the close-if we would succeed in it. Many things fail in our hands because we tire and give up too soon. "He who endures to the end - the same shall be saved." Spurts amount to but little; it is the steady stroke and the long pull that at length come in ahead. The strongest wall yields to the pounding that never intermits.

The silence was broken at length - on the seventh day. Of course, it was not the shouting that knocked the walls down. Joshua says plainly: "The Lord has given you the city!" The shouting was part of the obedience of faith on the people's part, just as the marching round the city was. If they had not shouted the wall would not have fallen. They obeyed God, and He did as He had promised to do. Before the walls fell, these Israelites shouted in rejoicing over a victory that God was going to give them.

The story of the saving of Rahab is very interesting. It is a story of faith. The spies had told her of the promise of God to the Israelites - that the country of Canaan would be given to them. Rahab believed what they told her, and showed kindness to the spies; indeed, saved their lives. Then she asked a pledge from them that they would show kindness to her when they came to capture the city. The men promised. She was to fasten in the window of her house on the wall - the scarlet cord by which she had let them down that they might escape. They would know her house by this sign and would spare her and her family. The men kept their promise, and Rahab was spared. We find her name in the first chapter of the Gospel by Matthew in the genealogy of Jesus. Thus faith was highly honored. Its splendor shines down through all these long centuries. Faith is always blessed and always honored.

We may get a lesson from the devotement of the spoils of Jericho. Nothing was to be touched, everything belonged to God. It is a great sin to take what has been devoted to the Lord, and apply it to our own use. An eagle swooped down upon an altar and carried off a piece of flesh, flying with it to her nest. But a coal from the altar had clung to the flesh, and this coal set fire to the nest, consuming it. So was it when one took of the spoil of Jericho, which had been devoted to God. A curse clung to the stolen treasure, and it destroyed him who took it. So it is always when we appropriate to ourselves what should be given to God - we get a curse with it!

[robin-notquiteasbraveaslancelot]

I have decided that Killgarah's motives were, in fact, very justifiable, not only because he is a dragon, but also because of his age. Now, I do not remember if his age is ever directly stated in the series, and I refuse to either rewatch it or do research, so I am going to assume that he is quite old. Like, 1000 or so.

 Now, this is quite a large difference from any of either the characters he encounters during either the series or his lifetime, as the average person he would meet would be between 18-70/80. This would mean that, assuming he is not an outlier to dragon species as a whole, dragons live for anywhere between 800-1500 years on average. I am not an expert, but this seems reasonable? He is old, but he seems to be, for the majority of the series at least, in fairly good health, which would imply that he is not exactly in the last days of his life. 

As this has been established, we shall now move on to the main parts:

1) Dragons in relation to humans in general, with focus on Kilgharrah in particular.                                                  

Now, some of this will be speculation, but I think it probably would check out, taking into account that this is a fictional children's television series. The first part where this is a little bit speculation comes from the question: When is this show set?

 Now, there are many, many discrepancies in this show, such as the often mentioned tomato in the pilot to the fact that knights didn't really exist prior to about 800 or so, and the lack of Christianity means it couldn't have taken place after that. As this point is not key, we shall assume that this takes place in the year 500. Because I need a year.

So, that would mean that Killgarah was born in about 1000 BCE. Quite a lot was going on in this time, such as historical Israel was at its peak, the Assyerians were starting to do their thing, and the world population was about 50,000,000.

 From there to 500 CE, he would have witnessed the rise and fall of Greece, Rome, Persia (fall rather than rise, I think it had already risen), and countless people. He would have witnessed a massive chunk of human history, even if he was born slightly later than 1000BCE, such as if he was closer to 1000 than 1500.

Now, this would have probably given him a much different view on human civilization than a human, because it's hard to feel that individual civilizations matter when you've seen them all fall. Not only civilizations, but individual people would have probably started to be insignificant to him, as anyone he met would have died soon after, in comparison to his lifespan. Now, if this age thing is true for all dragons, then that would imply that dragons probably prefer each other much more than humans. Like, most people form closer bonds with other people than they do with say, a goldfish. You might really like watching the goldfish, but it would need 10 lifetimes to be equal to you in age. 

To conclude the Dragon's age section: People as individuals and as vast empires are basically meaningless to dragons, because they all die so fast it's not really worth forming a very strong attachment.

 2) Killgarah in relation to the prophecy

Now, this section relies on two main points.                                                                                                                        

a) Kilgarrah post the purge.  This is really quite tragic, as after this he has no other dragons left. He is the last of his kind, and if we take the previous ideas about the ages of dragons into account, then he is basically bereft of any meaningful companionship, and will spend the rest of his days alone, watching any human he might befriend die, leaving him alone again. Even if we assume that dragons probably don't form the same attachments to people that other people do, this alone would have not done wonders for his mental health and outlook on the world. 

 To top it off, he spends the next 20ish years in a literal pit, so he was probably not fond of people at this point of time. He does seem to get enjoyment out of Merlin's company, especially in the later seasons, so we can assume he probably liked humans a bit, but I don't think he would have liked them in an equal sort of way, as they were always going to be his inferior.  

Conclusion of this Section: Kilgharrah would have been unimaginably lonely, as his whole world (dragons) had just been killed.

 b) Kilgharrah and Merlin, and too many metaphors concerning hamsters.   So, one of the main things I see about Kilgharrah was that his advice was bad and that the goal of the prophecy was never actually achieved. Now, there is some truth to this, especially from a storytelling standpoint, but from the perspective of Kilgharrah, life did improve, and the prophecy was meaningless to him. Now, what Kilgarrah wanted was other dragons, and to get other dragons he needed a dragonlord. So, what he needed to do was to find a dragonlord who he could manipulate (Merlin) and who was not in danger of dying like everyone else in Kilgarrah's life (Merlin).  

This is where we speculate a little bit. Now, seeing as Kilgarrah knew about the prophecies and seemed to be able to predict destinies, he had the ability to act with quite a bit of foresight. We can therefore assume that he wanted the prophecy to go as planned, which meant that he never had any interest in doing what was good for people, only what was good for the prophecy. Why? Because if the prophecy gets completed, then he gets Aithusia, so he will not be alone, Merlin, so he will not be alone, and in a way, revenge on Uther, as bringing about he death of his son would probably be the perfect revenge as it was Arthur's birth that caused the purge that brought about basically the end of the world for Kilgharrah. 

The speculative bit comes from the question of: was Arthur living to build Albion part of the prophecy, or did the prophecy only want Arthur to make it to Camlamn so he could be killed by Mordred?

 If the latter option is true, then technically what Kilgarrah says at the end is true. Destiny was unavoidable, and so it was achieved, and Kilgarrah has benefited immensely. Now, onto the moral part of Killgarah's character, and why his actions were justifed.

1) He is very, very lonely. 

2)To not be lonely, he needs the prophecy to be completed, as he needs Merlin to hatch Aithusia, and also be immortal. He even says that the white dragon bodes well for Albion, and while it pretty much doesn't, it does bode well for both Arthur dying and Kilgharrah, which would imply that the prophecy wanted AArthur to die there, and Killgarrah knew it.

 3)While all this manipulation might seem bad, it makes perfect sense from Kilgarrah's perspective. 

To use a metaphor: Say you have a group of pet hamsters. You might really like some hamsters, but others you are neutral on. Regardless, all of your pet hamsters are only going to live for a few years, so you can't get too attached. 

Now, a person told you that you had to lie to your hamsters, who are slightly more intelligent than real hamsters, in order to save the lives of people.

 Now, you might really really love your hamsters, but you'd still lie to them to save people, right? You might not even know the person, but the life of a person is worth more than being truthful to a hamster. You're not even going to hurt the hamster, it's going to live forever, so what's the problem, really?

Now, say you weren't saving the life of a person. Say, all people you ever knew had just been killed. There's no more people, and you're just sitting in your house alone, knowing that you're going to live over the next forty years by yourself, sitting in one room, with nothing to do but think about the people you have lost.

Now, imagine you are told that there is a way to see another person again, that you won't be alone for the rest of your life, that you can have a friend. All you have to do is lie to your hamster, and get him to let another hamster die. 

Now, maybe you really love these hamsters. Maybe you don't want any of them to die. But you're all alone, and you just have to let one hamster die. The first hamster has a purpose now, and he's not going to die.

 Maybe a couple more hamsters have to die too, but you get to have another person again! Isn't it worth it? The hamster would die soon anyway, they don't live long compared to you.

 It’s not really bad, to let one hamster die, if it means you can have some of your world back, is it?

[pamphletstoinspire]

See Your Neighbor With the Eyes of Jesus

Last Sunday’s Gospel (September 22nd) ended with a warning from Jesus: “You cannot serve both God and mammon.” This Sunday (September 29th), we read about a man who thought he could.

Gospel (Read Lk 16:19-31)

St. Luke told us in last Sunday’s reading that Jesus had some bracing words to say about money to the Pharisees who gathered to hear Him. However, St. Luke tells us “The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, … scoffed at Him” (16:14). Perhaps because of this hardness of heart, Jesus tells them yet another story. He gives them another opportunity to hear the truth.

Jesus begins His story with, “There was a rich man.” There can be no missing that this parable is intended for men who were “lovers of money.” They should be all ears. The rich man lived like a king, with fine clothing and sumptuous feasting “every day.” We should remember that in Jesus’ day, the Jews thought that wealth was a sign of God’s blessing; likewise, poverty and adversity must be a sign of God’s disapproval. There was a poor, sick man, Lazarus, who lay at the rich man’s door. Why was he lying there? Was he too sick and weak to do anything else? Was he hoping that by positioning himself in such an obvious spot—the door—he would stand a much better chance of being seen by the rich man and receiving some help from him?

It is worth noting that this poor, sick man has a name—Lazarus. He is the only person in any of Jesus’ parables to be named. In Hebrew, his name means “God is my help.” What a name! He is poor and sick, but he has the dignity of a name. He is an icon of all the poor of human history who have chosen to put their faith in God. They trust Him to save them even in all their terrible adversity. Perhaps this is why Lazarus is described as one “who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table.” We do not find him bitterly ranting against the rich man. There is no resentful demand for justice and redistribution of wealth. No, Lazarus knew that God was his true help in life, and He could be trusted. His fate did not depend on this indifferent rich man.

“When the poor man died, he was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham.” His faith in God, Who was his help, was well rewarded. The rich man died, too, but he went to the netherworld, a place of torment. How surprised the Pharisees listening to Jesus must have been to hear this reversal in the story. The rich man, seeing Abraham and Lazarus by his side, cried out for the kind of mercy he had never been willing to show the poor man on his doorstep. Abraham reminded him that he had “received what was good” in his lifetime (and had never shared it). Lazarus had received “what was bad” (and had never lost his faith in God). Now, the tables are turned. Of course, this kind of reversal is one of the bedrock truths about human existence that Jesus taught the crowds who followed Him at the very beginning of His ministry. Recall that the Sermon on the Mount begins with the beatitudes (see Mt 5:1-12). In each of them, Jesus makes clear how foolish it is to live for only what we can see and grasp in this life; our time here is really a preparation for eternity (i.e., “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”). The rich man found himself in Hades, not because he was rich, but because he had lost this perspective.

Abraham explains why he can’t grant the rich man’s request for help: “Between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.” What does this mean? A note from the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible(pgs 138-139) will help:

“Hades (the netherworld or realm of the dead) refers to a waiting place where the deceased souls of the wicked are retained until the Last Judgment (Rev 20:13). Here it stands opposite Abraham’s presence, where the righteous souls of the Old Testament era waited patiently for Christ to open the gates of heaven (Eph. 4:8-10). The sinners languish in the grip of torment. It is separated from the abode of the righteous by a permanent, unbridgeable gulf that permits no traffic to pass between them (see CCC 633).”

The rich man then pleads for Lazarus to warn his brothers to avoid “this place of torment.” Because the rich man is in the place of the wicked, we must presume that this request doesn’t come from mercy, because he had none. Most likely it was pride in his family’s name and reputation that made him want his brothers to avoid torment. Notice that his concern was not that his brothers learn to love God and live charitably with their neighbors, as instructed by the Law of Moses. It was only that they avoid torment.

Abraham wisely answered: “They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.” Had the rich man simply lived the law of love of God and neighbor, the heart of the covenant God had made with His people through Moses and preached by all the prophets sent to them when they didn’t, he would have found himself in the bosom of Abraham, too. He had, sadly, been deaf to that law. Now, however, he is convinced that “if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.” Abraham knew better: “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.” These are prophetic words, of course. In the first instance, when Jesus raised another man named Lazarus, from the dead, it only further hardened the hearts of those who had rejected Jesus as Israel’s Messiah. The religious elites sought to put both JesusandLazarus to death as a result (see Jn 11:45-53; 12:9-11). After Jesus’ Resurrection, the apostles preached the Gospel to the Jews in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. Again, the religious elites rejected it. Even the miracle of resurrection cannot change a heart that has fully hardened itself against listening to God.

The message Jesus had for the “lovers of money” was simple: Don’t let money blind you to those in need. Use your gift of wealth to love God will all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. What we choose in this life will be what we receive in the next. If we choose ourselves, we get only ourselves. If we choose to believe that “God is my help,” we get Him!

Possible response: Lord Jesus, help me keep my eyes open to see my neighbor who might need my help today.

First Reading (Read Amos 6:1a, 4-7)

Amos was a prophet who lived in the 8thcentury B.C. He was sent by God to warn the rich and disobedient in Israel, the ten northern tribes that had broken away from the royal throne of David. In vivid language he describes their self-indulgence, yet “they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph.” In other words, they were completely indifferent to the fact that they and their fellow Jews had lost the faith, violated the covenant, and stood on the brink of destruction. Their luxuries had blinded them to the tragic spiritual state of their souls and their nation. They lived only for themselves. Consequently, the Lord vowed that “they shall be the first to go into exile, and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.” They would, in God’s just judgment, lose everything but themselves—the very definition of hell.

Possible response: Heavenly Father, I live in a culture that loves luxury and self-indulgence. Strengthen me against its taint.

Psalm (Read Ps 146:7-10)

This psalm reveals the meaning of the name “Lazarus”—“God is my help.” It describes in detail the confidence of those who trust in the Lord to liberate, heal, lift up those bowed down, protect strangers, and sustain the needy. The one who lives this faith, like Lazarus in our Gospel, is “blessed.” He “secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry.” Those who trust in God’s generosity show generosity to others themselves. The rich man in the parable should have known, from this psalm, as well as from the writings of Amos and all the prophets, that this is the way a faithful Jew lives the covenant God made with His people. He had chosen a different way, the way of the wicked, which God “thwarts.” The way Lazarus chose is the way that sings, “Praise the Lord, my soul!”

Possible response: The psalm is, itself, a response to our other readings. Read it again prayerfully to make it your own.

Second Reading (Read 1 Tim 6:11-16)

We need to know the context of our epistle reading to understand its full force. In verses not included today (see 6:6-10), St. Paul writes to St. Timothy, the young bishop of Ephesus, about how to best serve as a shepherd to the flock entrusted to him. The whole epistle gives a wide variety of instructions about how to be a good pastor. In this, St. Paul touches on the subject of money: “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin.” This is exactly the kind of teaching we would expect from an apostle charged with communicating Jesus’ Gospel to the world. St. Paul goes on with another sober warning: “For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs.”

Now begins our reading: “But you, man of God, pursue righteousness.” Our passage contains the antidote to love of money, which is love of virtue. Here, St. Paul urges St. Timothy to “lay hold of eternal life.” This is the heavenly perspective that will keep love of money in check. This is the life the rich man in the Gospel ignored, the life of “righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.”

Why should we be willing to live this way? Because we know that “God is [our] help,” as the name “Lazarus” says, and that we are awaiting “the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ…To Him be honor and eternal power. Amen.”

Possible response: St. Paul, pray that I can mortify love of money in me whenever it appears; help me protect my heart from its “many pangs.”

BY: GAYLE SOMERS

From: https://www.pamphletstoinspire.com/

[rev-tfsoens-teachings]

You're born to win love. One act of outpouring love from an unknown person can bring someone to Christ. It is our duty and responsibility to be God's love in someone's life.

So the Lord’s anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying,

‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me,

except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord.’

So the Lord’s anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone.

Numbers 32:10-13

We serve a God who fulfills what He promises. The above scripture portion tells us that God swore that, those that came from Egypt who were twenty years and above will not enter into the promised land. The generation that was born in the wilderness who were below twenty years of age would only enter into the promised land.

God's desire for the Israelites was always good, He delivered them by His great hand, performing mighty miracles, but they were always provoking God's anger, because of their words and actions. The reason why God made them wander in the wilderness for forty years was to check their heart and mouth condition, whether it was loyal, faithful, thankful and grateful towards Him. God knows the end from the beginning, the Bible says that even before the foundations of the earth were laid God had prepared for the sacrifice of His Son Jesus. God knew that Adam and Eve would fail and fall, yet He creàted them. God is love, it was love for mankind that He creàted Adam and Eve, it was love that He sent His one and only Son Jesus into this world to redeem mankind from sin, sickness, poverty and death. Many when they go through problems and challenges in their lives, say God doesn't love me, that is why I am going through all these, one lifetime will not be sufficient enough to know and understand the unconditional love of God.

God knew that the Israelites would fail and fall, yet out of His love, and because of the covenant He had made with Abraham, He sent Moses to deliver them, to turn them into a great nation. The Israelites even after wandering in the wilderness for forty years, even after getting what they wanted from God, their hearts and mouths were not loyal, faithful, thankful and grateful to God. Many christians are like the Israelites they question God what have You done for me?, a little problem crops up in their lives, they cooly and conveniently forget all the good that God had done in their lives, and they start calculating what is the benefit that they have received from God from following Him. Many times many of us cooly and conveniently forget all the good that God had done to us from when we were born as infants, we forget how many times God has protected and provided for us, we forget the countless number of blessings that God had bestowed upon us. One lifetime will not be sufficient enough to count the blessings that God had freely bestowed upon us ( we don't deserve it, we were born in sin, it is the grace and goodness of God, and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary, that we are blessed with every good thing ).

The reason why God took all those below twenty years of age into the promised land was not, because of their faith, words or actions. It was the faith of Joshua and Caleb that dragged them into the promised land ( two people's faith turned them into a great nation). It was the faith of one person Noah which saved his family and his faith gave birth to a new mankind ( many christians remember Noah only for one reason, drinking and sleeping naked, they don't recognize and acknowledge his faith) had Noah not walked in faith, we wouldn't have been alive today, the story of the entire mankind would have ended and closed at the time of floods.

Every believer should be problem solver, a solution provider and not a problem talker. Your little faith can draw someone's miracle, your prayers for someone might turn into a miracle. Your words of encouragement might stop someone from ending up their precious life, your giving might be a blessing to the less privileged, so never stop having faith in God, never stop praying, never stop speaking wholesome encouraging words, never stop giving and most of all never stop sharing the Gospel with the lost and perishing souls in the world. Your, faith, prayers and sharing the Gospel will drag people into the kingdom of God.

Even if you lose anything and everything on this earth, never lose the habit of reading the word of God, because if you read the Bible your faith will increase, if your faith increases you will pray and God will restore back all that is lost, gone and forgotten. Job lost everything, but he didn't stop having faith in God, and he didn't stop praying, he prayed for his four friends and all that he had lost came back searching for him in a double measure. Your faith and prayers will not only benefit you, but it will benefit all those connected with you. Like Joshua and Caleb your faith will turn to be a blessing to the kingdom of God and to those connected with you. Tell yourself my little faith will turn me from a problem talker to a problem solver, and I will be a blessing to the kingdom of God and to everyone around me.

Most important scripture portion in the Bible, it is mentioned four times in different books.

But the just shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:4.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written the just shall live by faith. Romans 1:17.

But no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith. Galatians 3:11.

Now the just shall live by faith. Hebrews 10:38.

Father we thank You for the word, we thank You for the gift of faith that You have given to each one of us, give us the grace to increase our faith and be a blessing to the kingdom of God and to everyone around us. Lord we uphold every person who is on the verge of giving up, let faith arise in their hearts, give them the grace to come out of the problems that they are going through and bring others also out of their problems, in Jesus matchless name we ask and pray.

Amen and Amen.

[gael-garcia]

Bethlehem—When the weather permits, Azhar Abu Srour visits the grave of her son Abed. The family’s cemetery is across the street from Al-Ayda refugee camp in Bethlehem, where she lived for many years. She washes the stone of her 19-year-old son, as is the custom in Palestine, especially during Eid and Ramadan. But Abed’s grave is different from those beside it. It’s empty.

“It’s an open grave,” Azhar explains, performing the duties of any grieving mother. “I treat it like he’s inside.”

Abed’s body is actually buried in a plot on an Israeli military site. Somewhere beyond the occupation’s walls, checkpoints, and sniper towers, his remains lie disregarded and unnamed, marked only by the number “141.”

Since 2016, Israeli authorities have held Abed’s corpse in postmortem detention after Abed orchestrated a bus bombing in Jerusalem. He is one of at least 370 dead Palestinians whose bodies Israel’s military are keeping frozen in morgues or buried at undisclosed locations.

The detention of Palestinians after their deaths is a decades-old practice. The contours of the law that defines postmortem detention have changed dramatically since 1964, when the first Palestinian was buried in an unnamed grave in Israel’s infamous “Cemetery of Numbers.”

While Israeli courts have enshrined this practice in the language of maintaining security, bereaved families feel that they are being collectively punished. Human rights organizations cite postmortem detention as just one of many ways that Israel’s military apparatus extends its complete control over Palestinians, from the time they’re born to beyond their deaths.

[israelsjourney]

I pray that today is better than yesterday and tomorrow is better than today. 🙏

It has been a very difficult week for Israel. We attended a routine visit at CHOP where Israel was given Pegaspargase, or Peg, a version of chemo that can cause negative reactions. Israel has not received this chemo since his original diagnosis. Upon arrival Israel’s port was accesssed, which he still struggles with. We were not informed by the nurse that they first gave him Benadryl as a way to offset any adverse effect of the Peg. He immediately starting saying he felt weird and went to lay in my wife’s lap. When we inquired they told us that Benadryl had been given. I told the nurse Israel does not respond favorably to this medication and she should have let us know in advance. The nurse apologized and said she should have informed us but she was under the impression we already knew.

Let’s rewind for just a minute. You may recall several weeks back Israel had an adverse reaction to the anesthesia and I literally had to restrain him for 2 hours. He fought, kicked, screamed, and bit me with his eyes closed. He was in a stupor unaware of his surroundings. Israel was feeling out of control and he kept trying to get off his hospital bed but had no control over his body. If I let him go he would fall and almost cause severe damage to himself. If I held on to him he would try to bite me or scratch me and scream to let him go all while unconscious. Oh did I forget to mention that prior to his procedure the nurse attempting to access his port missed and poked him in the chest. Think about that, no lidocaine, no silicone, just flesh on a 4 yr old who is in total fear of needles.

So fast forward to his last spinal tap. I sit down with the anesthesiologist and informed him that we cannot have Israel respond the way he did the previous procedure. He makes the concoction that he feels will work best with Israel. We partner with nurses to look over previous procedures to see if there are any patterns in the successful attempts. I provide the anesthesiologist with my findings but ultimately concede to take his direction one final time. In the event this is unsuccessful we will no longer adhere to what they tell us without multiple opinions and our own parental intuition.

Here is the thing, you are the guardian of your children. You are the protectors of your household. We live in volatile times where the art of distraction is at an all time high. Why is that? Simple, a distracted audience isn’t focusing on the changes being made behind the scenes. How can you be? When your child has cancer it takes your every living fiber to stand up and be strong, especially when it’s a young child. Your child who trusts you and loves you but does not understand the process. The last few times Israel got his port accessed he said “Daddy don’t let them hurt me, protect me daddy.” You cannot imagine how deep those words penetrate my soul. I would give my life for my family but that is not the option I have been provided. Naturally I am going to question the process when my son is in pain. It’s not that I don’t trust modern medicine, it’s simply the fact that this is our sons health at stake. So the story ends well, he recovers from the procedure with an additional sleep agent that allows him to stay under until the effects of anesthesia are almost worn off. We prayed all the way up to CHOP and Rachel and I were so relieved when it was over.

This brings me to our most recent visit, on Thursday, for the Pegaspargase. Israel is already reacting strangely because of the Benadryl. They give him the Peg, again unbeknownst to us, and he moves from a sleeping state to standing upright with his hands on his throat, choking uncontrollably. He starts throwing up but his throat is closing up, due to a reaction from the Pegaspargase. It all happened so quickly even the nurses seems nervous. We have a doctor in front of us who is trying to gain control over the situation. As I look at the tears flowing down my wife’s face I hold Israel and sofltly reassure him that everything is ok. The steroids are administered and his Peg is discontinued, shortly after he begins to level out. Had they told us the Peg was being administered and what to potentially expect it would have made the situation slightly more tolerable. Instead, we all had the scare of a lifetime and Israel is the one most scarred in the situation. He wants it all to be over, he wants to stop the suffering, he wants to stop the pain, he just wants to be a normal 4 year old boy.

Many of you may have seen my wife’s post about decorating for Christmas early. When we ask you to put up your holiday decorations it’s not so Israel can have an early Christmas. Our struggle is day to day. We look for ways to move beyond moments of pain and fear to get to next because it’s how Israel best copes with a difficult situation. Your participation in decorating shows Israel he is not alone. Every time he faces struggles he is reassured that his suffering is filled with purpose. Israel is reminded that this too shall pass. The hope and faith that comes with this holiday is what Israel deserves. No child should have to suffer in this way and no parent should have to witness their child go through this pain. Stand up in unison with us this Christmas. Stand up for the innocent! If you decorate early post it to our feed as we share the photos with Israel. If you feel so inclined get your neighborhood to decorate early. If we are in close proximity we will bring Israel to see the decorations. Israel is moving into a blackout period where his ANC and white blood cell count will be to low to fight against potential threats. He will be inside during this time however we can bring him out in the car to drive through your neighborhood.

If your looking for a worthy cause to donate this year you found it. You can go to www.gofundme.com/israelscure

[loveofyhwh]

October 5: Isaiah 23–25; Hebrews 11–12:2; Psalm 89:1–29; Proverbs 24:30–34

New Post has been published on https://loveofyhwh.com/october-5-isaiah-23-25-hebrews-11-122-psalm-891-29-proverbs-2430-34/

October 5: Isaiah 23–25; Hebrews 11–12:2; Psalm 89:1–29; Proverbs 24:30–34

Old Testament:

Isaiah 23–25

Isaiah 23–25 (Listen)

An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon

23 The oracle concerning Tyre.

  Wail, O ships of Tarshish,     for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor!   From the land of CyprusHebrew Kittim; also verse 12‘>1     it is revealed to them. 2   Be still, O inhabitants of the coast;     the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you. 3   And on many waters   your revenue was the grain of Shihor,     the harvest of the Nile;     you were the merchant of the nations. 4   Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken,     the stronghold of the sea, saying:   “I have neither labored nor given birth,     I have neither reared young men     nor brought up young women.” 5   When the report comes to Egypt,     they will be in anguishHebrew they will have labor pains‘>2 over the report about Tyre. 6   Cross over to Tarshish;     wail, O inhabitants of the coast! 7   Is this your exultant city     whose origin is from days of old,   whose feet carried her     to settle far away? 8   Who has purposed this     against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,   whose merchants were princes,     whose traders were the honored of the earth? 9   The LORD of hosts has purposed it,     to defile the pompous pride of all glory,The Hebrew words for glory and hosts sound alike‘>3     to dishonor all the honored of the earth. 10   Cross over your land like the Nile,     O daughter of Tarshish;     there is no restraint anymore. 11   He has stretched out his hand over the sea;     he has shaken the kingdoms;   the LORD has given command concerning Canaan     to destroy its strongholds. 12   And he said:   “You will no more exult,     O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon;   arise, cross over to Cyprus,     even there you will have no rest.”

13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not;Or that has become nothing‘>4 Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin.

14   Wail, O ships of Tarshish,     for your stronghold is laid waste.

15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the daysOr lifetime‘>5 of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:

16   “Take a harp;     go about the city,     O forgotten prostitute!   Make sweet melody;     sing many songs,     that you may be remembered.”

17 At the end of seventy years, the LORD will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the LORD. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the LORD.

Judgment on the Whole Earth

24   Behold, the LORD will empty the earthOr land; also throughout this chapter‘>6 and make it desolate,     and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants. 2   And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;     as with the slave, so with his master;     as with the maid, so with her mistress;   as with the buyer, so with the seller;     as with the lender, so with the borrower;     as with the creditor, so with the debtor. 3   The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;     for the LORD has spoken this word. 4   The earth mourns and withers;     the world languishes and withers;     the highest people of the earth languish. 5   The earth lies defiled     under its inhabitants;   for they have transgressed the laws,     violated the statutes,     broken the everlasting covenant. 6   Therefore a curse devours the earth,     and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;   therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,     and few men are left. 7   The wine mourns,     the vine languishes,     all the merry-hearted sigh. 8   The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,     the noise of the jubilant has ceased,     the mirth of the lyre is stilled. 9   No more do they drink wine with singing;     strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. 10   The wasted city is broken down;     every house is shut up so that none can enter. 11   There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;     all joy has grown dark;     the gladness of the earth is banished. 12   Desolation is left in the city;     the gates are battered into ruins. 13   For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth     among the nations,   as when an olive tree is beaten,     as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done. 14   They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;     over the majesty of the LORD they shout from the west.Hebrew from the sea‘>7 15   Therefore in the eastHebrew in the realm of light, or with the fires‘>8 give glory to the LORD;     in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 16   From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,     of glory to the Righteous One.   But I say, “I waste away,     I waste away. Woe is me!   For the traitors have betrayed,     with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.” 17   Terror and the pit and the snareThe Hebrew words for terror, pit, and snare sound alike‘>9     are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth! 18   He who flees at the sound of the terror     shall fall into the pit,   and he who climbs out of the pit     shall be caught in the snare.   For the windows of heaven are opened,     and the foundations of the earth tremble. 19   The earth is utterly broken,     the earth is split apart,     the earth is violently shaken. 20   The earth staggers like a drunken man;     it sways like a hut;   its transgression lies heavy upon it,     and it falls, and will not rise again. 21   On that day the LORD will punish     the host of heaven, in heaven,     and the kings of the earth, on the earth. 22   They will be gathered together     as prisoners in a pit;   they will be shut up in a prison,     and after many days they will be punished. 23   Then the moon will be confounded     and the sun ashamed,   for the LORD of hosts reigns     on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,   and his glory will be before his elders.

God Will Swallow Up Death Forever

25   O LORD, you are my God;     I will exalt you; I will praise your name,   for you have done wonderful things,     plans formed of old, faithful and sure. 2   For you have made the city a heap,     the fortified city a ruin;   the foreigners’ palace is a city no more;     it will never be rebuilt. 3   Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;     cities of ruthless nations will fear you. 4   For you have been a stronghold to the poor,     a stronghold to the needy in his distress,     a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;   for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall, 5     like heat in a dry place.   You subdue the noise of the foreigners;     as heat by the shade of a cloud,     so the song of the ruthless is put down. 6   On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples     a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,     of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. 7   And he will swallow up on this mountain     the covering that is cast over all peoples,     the veil that is spread over all nations. 8     He will swallow up death forever;   and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,     and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,     for the LORD has spoken. 9   It will be said on that day,     “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.     This is the LORD; we have waited for him;     let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” 10   For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain,     and Moab shall be trampled down in his place,     as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.The Hebrew words for dunghill and for the Moabite town Madmen (Jeremiah 48:2) sound alike‘>10 11   And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it     as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim,     but the LORD will lay low his pompous pride together with the skillOr in spite of the skill‘>11 of his hands. 12   And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,     lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.

Footnotes

[1] 23:1 Hebrew Kittim; also verse 12 [2] 23:5 Hebrew they will have labor pains [3] 23:9 The Hebrew words for glory and hosts sound alike [4] 23:13 Or that has become nothing [5] 23:15 Or lifetime [6] 24:1 Or land; also throughout this chapter [7] 24:14 Hebrew from the sea [8] 24:15 Hebrew in the realm of light, or with the fires [9] 24:17 The Hebrew words for terror, pit, and snare sound alike [10] 25:10 The Hebrew words for dunghill and for the Moabite town Madmen (Jeremiah 48:2) sound alike [11] 25:11 Or in spite of the skill

(ESV)

New Testament:

Hebrews 11–12:2

Hebrews 11–12:2 (Listen)

By Faith

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. 20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two,Some manuscripts add they were tempted‘>1 they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Footnotes

[1] 11:37 Some manuscripts add they were tempted

(ESV)

Psalm:

Psalm 89:1–29

Psalm 89:1–29 (Listen)

I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the Lord

A MaskilProbably a musical or liturgical term‘>1 of Ethan the Ezrahite.

89   I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever;     with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. 2   For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;     in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.” 3   You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;     I have sworn to David my servant: 4   ‘I will establish your offspring forever,     and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah 5   Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,     your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! 6   For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?     Who among the heavenly beingsHebrew the sons of God, or the sons of might‘>2 is like the LORD, 7   a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,     and awesome above all who are around him? 8   O LORD God of hosts,     who is mighty as you are, O LORD,     with your faithfulness all around you? 9   You rule the raging of the sea;     when its waves rise, you still them. 10   You crushed Rahab like a carcass;     you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. 11   The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;     the world and all that is in it, you have founded them. 12   The north and the south, you have created them;     Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name. 13   You have a mighty arm;     strong is your hand, high your right hand. 14   Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;     steadfast love and faithfulness go before you. 15   Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,     who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face, 16   who exult in your name all the day     and in your righteousness are exalted. 17   For you are the glory of their strength;     by your favor our horn is exalted. 18   For our shield belongs to the LORD,     our king to the Holy One of Israel. 19   Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one,Some Hebrew manuscripts godly ones‘>3 and said:     “I have granted help to one who is mighty;     I have exalted one chosen from the people. 20   I have found David, my servant;     with my holy oil I have anointed him, 21   so that my hand shall be established with him;     my arm also shall strengthen him. 22   The enemy shall not outwit him;     the wicked shall not humble him. 23   I will crush his foes before him     and strike down those who hate him. 24   My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,     and in my name shall his horn be exalted. 25   I will set his hand on the sea     and his right hand on the rivers. 26   He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,     my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’ 27   And I will make him the firstborn,     the highest of the kings of the earth. 28   My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,     and my covenant will stand firmOr will remain faithful‘>4 for him. 29   I will establish his offspring forever     and his throne as the days of the heavens.

Footnotes

[1] 89:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 89:6 Hebrew the sons of God, or the sons of might [3] 89:19 Some Hebrew manuscripts godly ones [4] 89:28 Or will remain faithful

(ESV)

Proverb:

Proverbs 24:30–34

Proverbs 24:30–34 (Listen)

30   I passed by the field of a sluggard,     by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, 31   and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;     the ground was covered with nettles,     and its stone wall was broken down. 32   Then I saw and considered it;     I looked and received instruction. 33   A little sleep, a little slumber,     a little folding of the hands to rest, 34   and poverty will come upon you like a robber,     and want like an armed man.

(ESV)

[araitsume]

Prophets and Kings, pp. 379-391: Chapter (32) Manasseh and Josiah

SECTION 4—NATIONAL RETRIBUTION

“I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.” Jeremiah 30:11

The kingdom of Judah, prosperous throughout the times of Hezekiah, was once more brought low during the long years of Manasseh's wicked reign, when paganism was revived, and many of the people were led into idolatry. “Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen.” 2 Chronicles 33:9. The glorious light of former generations was followed by the darkness of superstition and error. Gross evils sprang up and flourished—tyranny, oppression, hatred of all that is good. Justice was perverted; violence prevailed.

Yet those evil times were not without witnesses for God and the right. The trying experiences through which Judah had safely passed during Hezekiah's reign had developed, in the hearts of many, a sturdiness of character that now served as a bulwark against the prevailing iniquity. Their testimony in behalf of truth and righteousness aroused the anger of Manasseh and his associates in authority, who endeavored to establish themselves in evil-doing by silencing every voice of disapproval. “Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another.” 2 Kings 21:16.

One of the first to fall was Isaiah, who for over half a century had stood before Judah as the appointed messenger of Jehovah. “Others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” Hebrews 11:36-38.

Some of those who suffered persecution during Manasseh's reign were commissioned to bear special messages of reproof and of judgment. The king of Judah, the prophets declared, “hath done wickedly above all ... which were before him.” Because of this wickedness, his kingdom was nearing a crisis; soon the inhabitants of the land were to be carried captive to Babylon, there to become “a prey and a spoil to all their enemies.” 2 Kings 21:11, 14. But the Lord would not utterly forsake those who in a strange land should acknowledge Him as their Ruler; they might suffer great tribulation, yet He would bring deliverance to them in His appointed time and way. Those who should put their trust wholly in Him would find a sure refuge.

Faithfully the prophets continued their warnings and their exhortations; fearlessly they spoke to Manasseh and to his people; but the messages were scorned; backsliding Judah would not heed. As an earnest of what would befall the people should they continue impenitent, the Lord permitted their king to be captured by a band of Assyrian soldiers, who “bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon,” their temporary capital. This affliction brought the king to his senses; “he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed unto Him: and He was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord He was God.” 2 Chronicles 33:11-13. But this repentance, remarkable though it was, came too late to save the kingdom from the corrupting influence of years of idolatrous practices. Many had stumbled and fallen, never again to rise.

Among those whose life experience had been shaped beyond recall by the fatal apostasy of Manasseh, was his own son, who came to the throne at the age of twenty-two. Of King Amon it is written: “He walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshiped them: and he forsook the Lord God of his fathers” (2 Kings 21:21, 22); he “humbled not himself before the Lord, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.” The wicked king was not permitted to reign long. In the midst of his daring impiety, only two years from the time he ascended the throne, he was slain in the palace by his own servants; and “the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.” 2 Chronicles 33:23, 25.

With the accession of Josiah to the throne, where he was to rule for thirty-one years, those who had maintained the purity of their faith began to hope that the downward course of the kingdom was checked; for the new king, though only eight years old, feared God, and from the very beginning “he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.” 2 Kings 22:2. Born of a wicked king, beset with temptations to follow in his father's steps, and with few counselors to encourage him in the right way, Josiah nevertheless was true to the God of Israel. Warned by the errors of past generations, he chose to do right, instead of descending to the low level of sin and degradation to which his father and his grandfather had fallen. He “turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.” As one who was to occupy a position of trust, he resolved to obey the instruction that had been given for the guidance of Israel's rulers, and his obedience made it possible for God to use him as a vessel unto honor.

At the time Josiah began to rule, and for many years before, the truehearted in Judah were questioning whether God's promises to ancient Israel could ever be fulfilled. From a human point of view the divine purpose for the chosen nation seemed almost impossible of accomplishment. The apostasy of former centuries had gathered strength with the passing years; ten of the tribes had been scattered among the heathen; only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained, and even these now seemed on the verge of moral and national ruin. The prophets had begun to foretell the utter destruction of their fair city, where stood the temple built by Solomon, and where all their earthly hopes of national greatness had centered. Could it be that God was about to turn aside from His avowed purpose of bringing deliverance to those who should put their trust in Him? In the face of the long-continued persecution of the righteous, and of the apparent prosperity of the wicked, could those who had remained true to God hope for better days?

These anxious questionings were voiced by the prophet Habakkuk. Viewing the situation of the faithful in his day, he expressed the burden of his heart in the inquiry: “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and Thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not save! Why dost Thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.” Habakkuk 1:2-4.

God answered the cry of His loyal children. Through His chosen mouthpiece He revealed His determination to bring chastisement upon the nation that had turned from Him to serve the gods of the heathen. Within the lifetime of some who were even then making inquiry regarding the future, He would miraculously shape the affairs of the ruling nations of earth and bring the Babylonians into the ascendancy. These Chaldeans, “terrible and dreadful,” were to fall suddenly upon the land of Judah as a divinely appointed scourge. Verse 7. The princes of Judah and the fairest of the people were to be carried captive to Babylon; the Judean cities and villages and the cultivated fields were to be laid waste; nothing was to be spared.

Confident that even in this terrible judgment the purpose of God for His people would in some way be fulfilled, Habakkuk bowed in submission to the revealed will of Jehovah. “Art Thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One?” he exclaimed. And then, his faith reaching out beyond the forbidding prospect of the immediate future, and laying fast hold on the precious promises that reveal God's love for His trusting children, the prophet added, “We shall not die.” Verse 12. With this declaration of faith he rested his case, and that of every believing Israelite, in the hands of a compassionate God.

This was not Habakkuk's only experience in the exercise of strong faith. On one occasion, when meditating concerning the future, he said, “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me.” Graciously the Lord answered him: “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:1-4.

The faith that strengthened Habakkuk and all the holy and the just in those days of deep trial was the same faith that sustains God's people today. In the darkest hours, under circumstances the most forbidding, the Christian believer may keep his soul stayed upon the source of all light and power. Day by day, through faith in God, his hope and courage may be renewed. “The just shall live by his faith.” In the service of God there need be no despondency, no wavering, no fear. The Lord will more than fulfill the highest expectations of those who put their trust in Him. He will give them the wisdom their varied necessities demand.

Of the abundant provision made for every tempted soul, the apostle Paul bears eloquent testimony. To him was given the divine assurance, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” In gratitude and confidence the tried servant of God responded: “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10.

We must cherish and cultivate the faith of which prophets and apostles have testified—the faith that lays hold on the promises of God and waits for deliverance in His appointed time and way. The sure word of prophecy will meet its final fulfillment in the glorious advent of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, as King of kings and Lord of lords. The time of waiting may seem long, the soul may be oppressed by discouraging circumstances, many in whom confidence has been placed may fall by the way; but with the prophet who endeavored to encourage Judah in a time of unparalleled apostasy, let us confidently declare, “The Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him.” Habakkuk 2:20. Let us ever hold in remembrance the cheering message, “The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.... The just shall live by his faith.” Verses 3, 4.

“O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make known; In wrath remember mercy.

“God came from Teman, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens, And the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was as the light; He had bright beams out of His side: And there was the hiding of His power. Before Him went the pestilence, And burning coals went forth at His feet. He stood, and measured the earth: He beheld, and drove asunder the nations; And the everlasting mountains were scattered, The perpetual hills did bow: His ways are everlasting.”

“Thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy people, Even for salvation with Thine anointed.”

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labor of the olive shall fail, And the fields shall yield no meat; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength.”

Habakkuk 3:2-6, 13, 17-19, margin.

Habakkuk was not the only one through whom was given a message of bright hope and of future triumph as well as of present judgment. During the reign of Josiah the word of the Lord came to Zephaniah, specifying plainly the results of continued apostasy, and calling the attention of the true church to the glorious prospect beyond. His prophecies of impending judgment upon Judah apply with equal force to the judgments that are to fall upon an impenitent world at the time of the second advent of Christ:

“The great day of the Lord is near, It is near, and hasteth greatly, Even the voice of the day of the Lord: The mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

“That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of wasteness and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess,

“A day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm Against the fenced cities, And against the high towers.”

Zephaniah 1:14-16.

“I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust.... Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath: but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy: for He shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.” Verses 17, 18.

“Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Before the decree bring forth, Before the day pass as the chaff, Before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, Before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you.

“Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, Which have wrought His judgment; Seek righteousness, Seek meekness: It may be ye shall be hid In the day of the Lord's anger.”

Zephaniah 2:1-3.

“Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven away; and I will make them a praise and a name, whose shame hath been in all the earth. At that time will I bring you in, and at that time will I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I bring again your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.” Zephaniah 3:19, 20, R.V.

“Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; Be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, He hath cast out thine enemy: The King of Israel, even the Lord, Is in the midst of thee: Thou shalt not see evil any more.

“In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: And to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee Is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.”

Verses 14-17.

[austinpanda]

Dad Letter 051621

16 May, 2021

Dear Dad--

Morning! I didn’t mean to wake up at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, but it seems like I did! This past week hasn’t been filled to the brim with fascinating occurrences, but I went to my job a few more times, I got paid, and I got something in the mail that’s supposed to take my foot pain away.

About that! What I received were a pair of custom orthotic shoe inserts that were made by a company called UpStep, and mailed to me. The process began a couple of months ago when I got on their website and ordered the orthotics and paid for them. The next thing that happened was when I received a foot impression kit in the mail. That was a thing that unfolded into two halves, with big foot-shaped holes filled with a special kind of foam. With one hand on the back of a chair, you place the opposing foot into the appropriate foot hole in the foam impression kit, let your heel sink to the bottom, let the front of your foot go down as far as it wants, and lift your foot straight up and out. Repeat for the other foot. Oh, and they ask that you take a picture of your shoes (the ones you’re going to put the orthotics in) and send it to them.

Then you fold the kit back up and stick it in the prepaid mail bag and give it to the mailman. It goes back to UpStep central (which I just found out is, no shit, in Israel) where their top science guys use my foot impressions from the kit to fashion custom inserts that correct precisely and specifically for my fucked up feet. I was even able to pick the color! I picked bright orange, in case it’s ever important that they be highly visible. $300 for the custom made left and right shoe inserts, never covered by insurance. Also $130 for the special shoes that have insoles you can remove, leaving space for any custom orthotics you might to insert. Obviously, all this is to counteract the extremely incorrect way in which my flat-ass feet land on the ground whenever I walk. Flat feet means lots and lots of foot pain, and these orthotics are supposed to stop it.

Did they work? Well...kinda! I got them on a day that only permitted me to use them at work for one day, before this weekend began. And the orthotics come with a card saying, “If they feel like shit when you first wear them, it means they’re working!” I spent the day feeling the part of the right orthotic (by far my most fucked up foot) pressing up into the place where I’m supposed to have an arch, but don’t. Feeling your shoe insole press up against your flat feet is weird. But, by the end of the day, my feet didn’t hurt in the odd ways they hurt normally. In short, more testing is needed, but the magical Jewish orthotic shoe inserts might have been worth it! I still can’t believe they came from Israel. Isn’t Israel busy doing other shit just now…?

Thank you most kindly for the recent package! I believe I might have read Black Light back in the day, but I don’t remember anything about it. Well, I remember it was a night vision device for a rifle, I think? And some plot stuff happens? Like with every book ever? I shall set aside a bit of time to begin reading it today. And the doobies are much appreciated too! I have a minor concern that sending them through the mail might be a smidge outside the law, so...continue being a kindly old white guy that the law wouldn’t dream of interfering with, please and thank you.

Now that I’ve been working at my job for about a month, I am getting better at the audits that I do. I have now learned about 43% of all the audits I must learn. And since the government just did away with their recommendations for masks and social distancing for those fully vaccinated, I have a concern that business at the casino is about to boom. If that happens, I’ll probably have more work to do. Now is the time when I focus on the positive aspects of that, like more work = more hours, which = more pay, and also more experience and faster learning. It also means more job, which is something I’ve traditionally been disinclined to welcome into my life, but this is the first job I’ve ever had that I don’t resent being at. Working at a casino and checking their math is not unpleasant! Beats working in a call center.

With the lifting of the plague restrictions, and the coming of nicer weather, Zach and I are considering trying something that other humans seem capable of: camping. It’s still a mini-vacation, and we’d have to plan accordingly, but if that just means putting a sleeping bag in the trunk, fresh batteries in the flashlight and packing a cooler with snacks, I don’t see why I couldn’t do that. It would be more of an adventure (read: potentially unpleasant) for me, as a Person of the Indoors. I really, really don’t like intentionally depriving myself of access to a bathroom. I get that nature’s lovely, but who wants to poop in it? Not this guy, that’s who. And I’m not jazzed about being unable to control the temperature of the space I’m in, but one of the reasons I moved to Maine was so that I could be in a place where the air wasn’t too hot to live in. And I assume we’ll have friends with a tent.

I am such a city boy at heart. What does one do while camping? Watching TV feels forbidden, even though it’s probably technically not. Playing music seems welcome. Eating and drinking seems encouraged. Conversation and fireside things can occur. Various sinful activities can occur, given the enhanced privacy. Is one required to fuck while camping, or is it a case-by-case thing? Also, and this is important, what are the chances of me getting killed dramatically by an animal (bear) or animals (wolves/elephants/great white sharks) while I’m there? Because if Mr. Bear comes by, and all I have to protect myself is a hand with some skin on it, I’m going to be really, really angry at the folks that encouraged me to try camping once in my lifetime. (I don’t particularly want to solve that by bringing a gun, mostly because, how big would the gun have to be to be effective against a bear?) And this isn’t even addressing things like bugs and snakes and sudden thunderstorms, or how far we are from a hospital if someone gets only partially eaten by the bear.

Despite the potential downsides, I can see a lot of potential fun from a camping trip with a couple of friends. People go camping, poop outdoors, have fun, and don’t get killed by anything all the time, so I should be able to as well. I like the idea of spending time with friends this way, so I’m honestly looking forward to a chance to try this with, e.g., plant scientist guy and his husband. I think they’ve done camping trips before; I’ll ask them what they prefer to do while camping. I think there will be lots of opportunities for fun that I hadn’t anticipated, just because my city brain never wondered what that activity would be like in a beautiful natural setting, like a state park. I’ll bet the night sky looks impressive from someplace like that.

I like the way life seems to be going now. I’m working my job, earning money, coming home and relaxing. Now I can add visiting friends and eating out to the mix. Things are beginning to go back to normal. By summertime, I’d like to be able to show movies on the side of the trailer so friends can gather outside and watch them. Having a fire or a grill would be tricky, because our big kerosene tank is right there where the movies would need to happen. I just love the idea of getting an old copy of the original Star Wars from 1977 and showing it on my home for people to watch. Then maybe Apocalypse Now for a double feature, and everyone else--besides me--can fall asleep after the helicopter attack. Here’s a weird thought: What if we all fall asleep during a movie, outside on our wee patch of lawn, and no one wakes up till morning?

Obviously I need to expose myself to a bit more nature, and a lot fewer computer screens, for a weekend, so I’ll let you know how the plans progress. Be well, and all my love to you both!

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Fig Tree Generation

by William Kelly

"Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place." - Luke 21:32

People who apply Matthew 24 in a figurative way to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus are obliged to make out that the coming of the Son of man from heaven is a mere figure, representing the providential acting of God through Titus to put down the Jews. But Luke 21 gives a complete refutation to this idea. For here the Spirit of God shows that Jerusalem has been taken, and the Gentile times run on. When they are about to expire, the Son of man comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory -- hundreds of years after Titus. The closing scene is brought in as finishing up, or consequent on, the times of the Gentiles.

But there is more. "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws nigh." And then, a little further on (verse 32), we find this remarkable expression, "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled." It is a misuse of this term which has led to a good deal of the confusion on the subject. When does the phrase "this generation" come in? After the Son of man has already come in power and glory -- not when they saw Jerusalem compassed with armies. That is an important point to help in determining its true meaning. If "this generation" really meant a man's lifetime, such a place in the prophecy would be incongruous. The vulgar notion might have been reasonable if the phrase occurred just at the compassing of Jerusalem with armies. But it has no sense if put in after the times of the Gentiles are accomplished. So that "this generation," if taken temporally, must plainly embrace a scope of eighteen centuries at the least.

What then, is its true force? It means (what it does very often in Scripture) this Christ-rejecting race of Israel, and not a mere period of time. It is used in a moral sense to describe a race acting after a particular way, good or evil. Moses, reproaching them, says, "They have corrupted themselves . . . they are a perverse and crooked generation. . . . . And He said, I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be; for they are a very froward generation" (Deut. 32). Here, most clearly, their moral condition as a people is meant, and not the time in which this was manifested.

In the Psalms we have a further key to the proper meaning. Thus, in Psalm 12, "Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." If by "generation" were merely meant a term of thirty or forty years, what sense would there be in the words "for ever"? This refers not at all to a course of a few years, but to the moral state of a people, and that of the people of Israel.

In like manner, the force of the words in Luke is quite plain. "This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled." The race of Israel still going on in unbelief and rejection of Christ is what the Lord means. He is saying, as it were, I will prepare you for the terrible truth: that this Christ-rejecting generation is to continue till all these things are fulfilled. Apart from prophecy, how could such an issue have been anticipated? For it might have been supposed that, while Christianity was going over the whole earth and making conquests everywhere, if one nation more than another was to be brought under the power of Christ it must be Israel, loved for the fathers' sake. But no. The Jews are to proceed in the same unbelief. There might be a line of faithful ones among them, but the wicked generation which Christ then denounced shall not pass away till all is fulfilled. And what will follow? Even as the Psalms say, "the generation to come." Israel will be born again, will have a new heart given them. Then are they to be the people that shall praise the Lord.

This, I must add, entirely falls in with the rest of Scripture. For the Lord, under the figure of a fruitless fig tree, had set forth the then Israel. On that tree He consequently pronounced a curse. When it is said in one of the Gospels that the time of figs was not yet, it means the season of their ripeness or of their ingathering was not yet arrived. Hence the figs could not have been taken from the tree. Had it borne any, they must have been there. It was merely when the figs were still unripe that our Lord came to seek fruit. But there was not one. There was plentiful profession -- leaves, but no fruit. Therefore said He: "Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever!" Such, in figure, is "this generation." But how is that to be reconciled with Israel's being to the praise of the Lord by-and-bye? Israel must be born again. "This generation" will never produce fruit for the Lord. It is to be destroyed under the judgment of God, and a new race will be born. The type of the past makes room for a striking figure of the future.