#pursue righteousness

[yeslordmyking]

Ecclesiastes 7:12 — Today's Verse for Saturday, June 3, 2023

[winwardship]

Somewhere, there is a beautiful sunset which means, someone's day is ending beautifully - and each day, that someone could be me

[wiirocku]

Proverbs 21:21 (ESV) - Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.

[gingermintpepper]

Fate-Master I

I did say I would post more wips of my Zeus and Apollo writing so here's a bit from a series I've been writing concerning a young Apollo grappling with being the up and coming Moiragetes - Master of the Fates.

Do let me know if there's any interest for this sort of thing; I didn't originally intend to post this stuff anywhere, but I've just been so frustrated that I feel like it's necessary now 😂

Apollo marks time by etching notches into a clay tablet. He watches from the edge of the mountain’s summit, six of his crows perched three-by-three atop his shoulders and the seventh casting her gaze down onto the maidens all gathered to pick their flowers. He watches them laugh and joke and throw their petals all about, free and fragrant with an easy camaraderie spread thick between them all. He carves his first notch when Persephone lays eyes on the innocent narcissus; in his visions he could never make sense of time’s passing - he did not know how long she would remain swallowed, merely that it would be long enough for her to be missed, searched for, grieved and avenged.

 It will be worth it all in the end.  

Soon, all the world will delight in the birth of new Seasons, a new system of time to mark the stabilisation of this new era.  

He averts his eyes when the earth crumbles beneath Persephone’s feet. There is no way for him to deny it if he truly does bear witness to the act. Apollo cannot see the pitch-black rider on his earth-dark horses as he grabs the maiden. He cannot see those immortal steeds galloping down, down, infinitely down beneath the earth so their rider may delight in his prize. He does not know the sound of her screams as the ground eats her alive. Only the narcissus remains when he once more casts his gaze down, white and untouched. Innocent. Like Apollo. Neither of them have seen a single thing. 

(But oh, her screams are loud in his ear. Big, reedy yells, wet with phlegm. A fawn crying for her mother, the tittering of a sparrowling swallowed foot-first by the viper. They never seemed this loud in his dreams, like footnotes easily overlooked at the very bottom of the page. Apollo does not see her go, but he hears her. He hopes he is the only one who hears.) 

He calls for his darling crow to return to him, stepping light into the halls of Olympus. His day will continue on as normal but to visit his mother so he can request a particularly thick himation for the coming days. Lemnos clicks next to his ear and Apollo huffs, dismissing his crows in a scatter of bright white feathers and glittering metal. They will watch what he cannot. They will make sure the maiden remains buried deep beneath the earth. 

The subtle cold emanating from his father’s quarters curls about his calves - he did not realise he had already travelled the length of the halls. He does not knock before he enters; the women are all busy this time of day and shrewd Athena is still out dancing with his sister, it will just be Father in his room, bent over his table or pouring over one of his maps. 

“It is done.” 

And Father looks up from his writing, a knowing glint shining in wine-dark eyes. His face remains frightfully still, marble stiff and focused on Apollo with the full weight of his eagle sharp intent. “You did not see it?” 

Her scream is the same as the highest note on the aeolian scale. A wonderfully piercing ‘A’. It is similar to the sound that resonates in the sky’s centre, Apollo cannot stop hearing it in his ear. “I did not.” 

Father smiles then, like sunlight peeking through the rough edges of the storm, “Good. That’s good.” He puts his hand to his face, scratches his chin as he hums contemplative. “How much time do we have before… well, before.” 

Demeter’s wailing will be a much darker sound, phrygian and guttural, discordant. Apollo’s had the score written for months now. He thinks he will hang Persephone’s cry next to it. Maybe he will incorporate their melodies into the song he will play at her return. Maybe it is cruel of him to already be thinking such things. “I know not. Time has never been the clearest to me, even in my most vivid of visions.” 

“It is no matter,” Father leans forward, digs a bolt of bright red fabric out of his drawer. “Here,” When he catches it, Apollo feels a denseness in the fibres he has never known. They’re slick yet springy, far coarser than sheep’s wool but unlike any goatskin or leather he has ever handled. “For the cloak you will ask of your mother.”   

He is slowly becoming accustomed to his thoughts not being his own, to his father living so closely in his head. The woven string connecting them still bleeds dye if either of them pull too hard on the connection, but in these quiet moments, it is a comfort. A lifeline. 

“Chimera skin, so it will not burn when you wear it for your work.” Would Father be this calm if it was Artemis swallowed by the earth? Would Apollo? That watery scream is a persistent ringing, she is still screaming far beneath where none but the rider can hear her. (Apollo hears her. Even now, he can hear the heavy breath of the dark stallions, the ripping winds that sting at her ears. Persephone is a friend, can he really leave her to this fate -?) “Phoebus.” 

Father’s broad palm is warm on his shoulder. It pulls him gently from his spiralling thoughts. The heat is unexpected; even now, Apollo can feel his toes going stiff from the room’s chill. 

“I am well,” he hears himself say, distant like the clanging stallion hooves which carry the rider’s prize deeper beneath the earth. Father does not let him go when he tries to escape. He does not tighten his hold either. His hand merely remains on Apollo’s slim shoulder, a point to anchor him here and not there. Apollo focuses on the faint hum of his father’s power, the gentle whistle of his cloud-hairs as they flow about his head, the muffled shuffling of his crows’ feathers as they settle in the gables to await his return. He no longer hears her. Not her, not the dread chariot. He cannot hear a single thing. “I am well.” 

[rawliverandgoronspice]

behold: my second least favorite string of words in the entirety of Tears of the Kingdom.

(it's a little less transparent why this time so I'll explain my thoughts under the cut)

So why do I not like this?

In so many words: because if you remove it, the scene still works, but you lose the moral certainty of what is going on.

This single sentence does so much legwork for the entire game (the kind I dislike), to the point where I'm about 60% sure it's the product of a rework that realized how ambiguous Rauru's position was as the Good Rightful King and needed to nervously reassure the players that Ganondorf Is and Always Was the Invader, Actually.

(no matter that it leaves the gerudos in this awkward in-between state of both invaders and victims, while never dwelling in the specifics of their history and their own agency in the entire thing; brushed off as a sin they have to expiate through loyalty to the winners of that particular strife, but without explicitely blaming them either to avoid the implications of what that would have looked like)

If you remove it, not only do you lose a pretty clunky line that detracts from Ganondorf's intimidating presence (who is he even speaking to? who needs to hear this right now?) that honestly speaks for itself when it comes to his experience with warfare, but also you lose any tension and any mystery regarding why he is attacking in the first place.

You also... kind of rob Ganondorf's motivations of their meaning. "Hyrule will bow down before me" leads to asking... why? What does he want? What does he see in those lands? And what little we get with Rauru and then Link during the final fight begs more questions; why do you prefer hardship to peace? Why do you value strength? What leads you to want to rule a land devoid of survivors, become a king without a kingdom? I don't think we ever get satisfactory answers. If you remove this sentence, on the other hand... Subtextually, it becomes pretty clear that his motivations is that he felt threatened by Rauru's power, which is ripe with subtext and questions about whether this is a legitimate reaction, whether his "no survivor" stance is due to a feeling of betrayal when his own people turned against him post the Demon King shenanigans... I'm not saying it would fix the entire game's writing, far from it, but it would already do *so much more*.

(genuinely, I think he could have stayed completely silent during the Molduga Assault, speaking only in the Show of Fealty before going completely nuts after Sonia's murder, and it would have worked MUCH better in terms of characterization but anyway anyway

EDIT: ALSO!!! that way he wouldn't speak hylian to fellow gerudos, which is weird inherently)

Without this line, the core of the tension between the gerudos and Hyrule comes front in his conversation with Rauru; it allows the cause of his hostility to be Rauru's invitations, that he would have taken as a threat, and would have still made him warlike and domineering without making him cartoonishly flat, because, once again, Rauru is not acting in a particularly more legitimate way when Zelda arrives in Ancient Hyrule; and it would have been... fair to point that out. And make for better characterization for Rauru, and Sonia, and Mineru, and everybody. But the priority was for Hyrule to be pictured as unquestionably holy; always legitimate, always truthful, always beautiful, always just.

Also, and this is more of a nitpick but: why would Ganondorf want Hyrule, specifically, to bow down before him also? Was he at war with the rest of the disparate tribes before, and just carried on his ambitions to the very very newly-founded kingdom as they allied under a new banner? (though it seems to be implies the lands were crawling under monsters in a generic sense, and not Ganondorf's attacks in particular) Why would he even consider Hyrule a legitimate entity worth taking over then, if it is so new, born from the will of a powerful rival, founded by what is basically a stranger to these lands? Why would he covet something so young instead of destroying it and just calling the lands Gerudo Lands II or Grooseland or something?

I don't think any of that was even accounted for, because, beyond everything else: to me, this sentence is so clearly and painfully crammed in here to shield Hyrule from any potential blame and immediately characterize Ganondorf as Bad without having to remove any of the causes that could lead one to side-eye Rauru's little pet project as equally questionable.

Beyond the clumsiness, it is cowardly --and, I think, a little damning.

[blanott]

(sarcastic, affectionate) If davy is evil then why would he be so sexy, charismatic, rich, strong, aligned with institutional power, and have an army of thralls it just doesn’t add up idk ! People will take any excuse to tear down a hard-working single father/entrepreneur/medical provider/real estate investor 🤷

#TheWiseHaveWealthandLuxury #Proverbs21:20

[justana0kguy]

2023 SEPTEMBER 22 Friday

"Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.

But you, man of God, avoid all this. Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called."

~ 1 Timothy 6:9-12a

[s-o-a-p-ing]

2 TIMOTHY S.O.A.P. ~ CHAPTER 2

Monday, 9/9/24

SCRIPTURE:

Run away from adolescent cravings. Instead, pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace together with those who confess the Lord with a clean heart. ~ 2 Timothy 2:22

OBSERVATION:

Adolescent/adolescence:

transitioning between childhood and adulthood...

rebellious, distracted, thoughtless...

pursuing irresponsible activities...

self-focused...

In other words - Grow up...

Pursue:

following in order to overtake

strive to gain or accomplish something

try to achieve a goal or objective

Running away from - fleeing - the one thing doesn't mean I can't pursue the others... 

But failure to run away from it means I'm probably not pursing the others...

...since the one remains immature, and the others lead to maturity - 

in faith,

in grace,

in Christ...

APPLICATION:

Run away from adolescent cravings...

Pursue:

righteousness

faith

love

peace

Confess the Lord with a clean heart...

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father - I admit there are too many times when I fall back into an adolescent faith - to failing to do what I know is what You would have me do - I am thankful for Your strength providing grace through Jesus that allows me to stop and grow up by surrendering my willfulness to Your perfect will... In Jesus's Name, and for Your glory and praise...

Joyfully yours - in Him...

𝖌

<))><

[a-godman]

Pursue Christ as Righteousness and Faith by Exercising our Believing Ability Today

 As believers in Christ, we need to flee youthful lusts and pursue Christ as righteousness, faith, love, and peace; Christ is our righteousness and Christ is our faith, and we pursue Him with all those who call on Him out of a pure heart. In order for us to be a vessel unto honor, we need to open our vessel to the Lord on one hand, and pursue Christ as righteousness, faith, love, and peace…

[bethf1300]

Pursue Jesus

“To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too-easily-satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart.” –A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God If we love Jesus and long to be in His presence, then we will pursue Him. The scripture admonishes us to seek or pursue the kingdom of God and His righteousness.…

[tom4jc]

November 17, 2023 Memory Verse

[yeslordmyking]

Proverbs 17:16 — Today's Verse for Thursday, May 25, 2023

[winwardship]

To the lion and the lamb, the one who forgives and the one who shows mercy, have mercy on me now. Forgive me of my sins, undo my lethal ways after cleansing their transgressions. If You do not forgive me, I will surely perish. If You do not show mercy, I will certainly fail. I do not want to be like the ones who shrink and fade away. I am not like the ones who fade away. I am asking for Your forgiveness, for reconciliation, for healing and for wholeness. I give my pleas to the one who can do something about them. Take my burdens; take my worries - take all of my cares. They weigh me down. They restrict me and I hate that I carry them. I hate that I do what I hate to do. See my scars, the ones no one else can see for You are the all seeing God. See my battle scars - some battles I lost but some I have won. I do not give into sin lightly. My unrighteousness is always with turmoil; it accompanies a tornado of depression and guilt. Oh, how I hate it. I know the separation it causes and the future it compromises. But I also know the one who holds the future. So, do I go on breaking because I know the one who repairs? Absolutely not. Why would I pester and agitate God. Yet, that is what I do. I ignore my commitments and prove that temporary is deliberate: I temporarily put down my husbandry and fatherly titles in order to self indulge. Forgive my regret, oh Lord. Forgive my indulgence and disregard. Take these thorns from me, take them back. It is possible that You give too much to bear. Didn't Christ cry for an alternative before carrying His cross - which included carrying my cross - of sin and shame. I often have arrived to this point of prayer, where I feel like I have resolved in my heart that, nevertheless, not my will but Thy will be done. Often I have sung my plea for mercy, sadly, my testimony for grace is a rehearsed melody. Too frequently I recite lyrics of solemn and violent internal contemplation and poetic lament, wondering how does the God who is love still love me. I am a filthy rag, brackish water unfit to drink. But I am grateful that You love me. I am grateful that I don't understand why You love me. Because I don't understand it, it means that there are divine calculations being formulated and integrations that connect my today and my future happening and it's all too lofty for me to understand- so I am convinced that God has not relinquished me to my own accord. I can still access the eternal barometer and measure my ways against God's standards. This means I have access to the throne room and can speak directly to my intercessor, the lamb and the lion, and beseech the one who was beaten and bruised for my iniquities and the one who is the source of my strength and courage to face my temptations with the assurance that I am equipped to overcome all trials, at any time and in anything. I implore you, Lord, the great designer, the master orchestrator, the loving father, illuminate my righteous path, for Your name sake, that I may fulfill the purpose You designated for my life. In Jesus' name, amen.

[yourancestorsarefrowning]

wei wuxian growing up under abuse from madam yu, where punishment was handed out whether or not he was in the right, and then arriving in gusu and seeing so many rules meant to promote righteousness... which are then almost immediately broken by the main sect authority figure who has the power to enforce those rules and metes out punishment... it’s no wonder wei wuxian doesn’t follow the rules and continues to rebel! rules mean nothing!! authority can break the rules whenever they want! punishment is not dependent on good or bad, but on the whims of people who already hate him!

For someone who is very rigid about the rules, Lan Qiren sure does break a lot of them, especially in regards to WWX. He shouts, he shows excessive emotion (mostly anger), he was very quick to judge WWX, and there are probably a lot of other rules he breaks by treating WWX the way he does (I’m sure throwing a book at him broke quite a few rules (is it considered instigating a fight?))

And yet, after all of that, he never punishes himself, but he consistently punishes WWX, who was never really given time to get used to any of the rules they have in the first place.

[khattikeri]

i think it's fascinating how so many people's view of a fix-it for MDZS involves wei wuxian staying loyal to yunmeng jiang and maintaining a position beneath jiang cheng as his right hand man, exactly like wei changze was to jiang fengmian and most likely exactly what the latter intended when he brought wei wuxian into his household to begin with.

it's almost like a majority of fans just utterly missed the point of the story. tell me the class critique and hypocrisy of the wealthy flew completely over your head without telling me.

there's a reason why the book frames it as a good thing for wei wuxian to have left yunmeng jiang and to not be brought back in even after his resurrection.

there's a reason why wei wuxian parallels his father, both eloping with the love of their lives and exiting mainstream cultivation society's sociopolitical affairs to righteously help others and pursue their own happiness.

there's a reason why even if it seems bittersweet, the ending of the novel is still good even for jiang cheng, because jiang cheng finally lets go. he internally accepts wei wuxian separating from him, stops doggedly antagonizing him, and stops thinking of their relationship in terms of debts that wei wuxian hasn't repaid.

[thewordfortheday]

“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22).

The Bible says to run from temptation.  If you have to physically remove yourself, do it! When Potiphar’s wife tempted Joseph, he left his coat and ran...Joseph did not stand around to argue or give himself time to reconsider. He fled.

Yes, just get away from the situation. Run from it. Don't stick around. Don't rationalize it. Don't justify it.

Pray: Father, Your word says, "when you are tempted, You will provide a way out for me. Help me, Lord, as I struggle, strengthen me and help me overcome every temptation I face. Help me find the way of escape. In Jesus' name, Amen.