#unfortunately the spirit is ambivalent so they refuse to help me

[dashcon-two]

y’all, how do I clear a life debt?? urgent, one of the co-founders saved me from getting hit by a bus this morning and I need to not be indebted to them for life please and thank you

[altblock-tm]

Hi. This is a serious question. Give me a coffee shop AU of any of your characters right now (read: whenever you feel like it)

Wh. What is a coffee shop au. Like I understand what it is but I literally have no idea how to make one or what tropes go into it. This is territory I have never even thunk to tread into.

Well, I’ll try my hand at it, I suppose.

…first of all, I would need to decide which characters to use.

Masked characters are out of the question- I would just default to the AHiT coffee shop au and wouldn’t be able to come up with ideas of my own. (Although Mak has made that au into an OC story! Good for them.)

Maybe my OCs? I have a lot of groups of OCs, but not many that I can even imagine transitioning into a coffee shop au. Almost all of my ideas are fantasy, so stripping away the magical elements feels boring. Ambivalent Souls is fantasy, And Then It Dawned On Him is fantasy, Demigod Dumbasses is fantasy I think, and Show Time…

Show Time is sci-fi.

…

So imagine a coffee shop in a post-apocalyptic world.

Humans are long dead, but the spirit of capitalism has survived.

Enter our main character, Vexx. She works in one particular yet unimportant coffee shop that is just one in the chain of many. As a Vixen (a bipedal wild dog species) in a TV-Head-run world, she’s unfortunately not paid enough to enjoy her job.

Well, it’s not the job she has a large problem with. It’s the environment. In an ideal world, this coffee shop would be a refuge from stress and the crumbling buildings outside. It would be a place for her fellow Vixens to relax and enjoy themselves.

Unfortunately, the coffee shop’s manager is a TV-Head, Dislan, and he immediately rejects any ideas that Vexx proposes. Her frustration with him increases steadily, but she puts a smile on her face and says nothing.

Until she works the closing shift and she sees a strange figure outside. Vexx squints out the windows and cracks the door open- they stumble over, but their face is hidden by a hood, so they are still indiscernible. Still, there’s something not right about them…

The hooded person asks Vexx for help, but before Vexx can even deny or refuse, they collapse. The hood falls away and Vexx realizes what was so wrong.

This person is human.

Vexx, realizing this is her opportunity to turn the coffee shop into a safe, comforting place, drags her in. She waits until early the next morning until the human wakes up, then provides her with food and water (thank goodness there’s plenty in a coffee shop!) before questioning the human.

The human’s mere existence reveals that not all of humanity has died out, but this individual is very tight-lipped on where she came from, how many are left alive, or even what her name is. But she does reveal that the ruined town that Vixens have inhabited used to belong to humans- the surviving humans have been tentatively testing whether or not they could inhabit their old homes again and were surprised to find them taken over by Vixens and TV-Heads alike.

The human assures Vexx that humanity doesn’t want to drive Vixens or TV-Heads out- they just want to live in their old homes again and hopefully to return to some sense of normalcy. And the human asks Vexx for help.

Vexx thinks for a moment, unsure of what the price of this might be. What if-

Dislan walks in the room, and spots the other two. All three of them freeze up.

The first to move is the human- she leaps from her spot on the floor, bodies him, and almost breaks his screen clean in two.

Vexx’s heart sinks as she realizes that she no longer has a choice- the human just committed a crime. And Vexx still wants to shelter her. She has no choice but to help her now.

And so, Vexx and the human go into hiding. Oh, and they bring Dislan with them and fix him as an apology-kidnapping. I imagine the plot progresses the same way that the original does- they face down the CEO of the (coffee shop) company and bring him to (coffee shop) justice, and whatnot.

Fascinating. This coffee shop au is somehow both the same and opposite of the original story.

[dfroza]

He refused to do what the lying dragon told Him to do.

and He offended others to the point of them seeking to kill Him by throwing Him off the side of a cliff.

and He fulfilled the ancient Scriptures, being known as the very Word of God.

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 4th chapter of the book of Luke:

From the moment of his baptism, Jesus overflowed with the Holy Spirit. He was taken by the Spirit from the Jordan into the wilderness of Judea to experience for forty days the ordeal of testing by the accuser. He ate no food during this time and ended his forty-day fast very hungry. It was then the devil said to him, “If you are really the Son of God, command this stone to turn into a loaf of bread for you.”

Jesus replied, “I will not! For it is written in the Scriptures, ‘Life does not come only from eating bread but from God. Life flows from every revelation from his mouth.’ ”

The devil lifted Jesus high into the sky, and in a flash showed him all the kingdoms and regions of the world. The devil then said to Jesus, “All of this, with all its power, authority, and splendor, is mine to give to whomever I wish. Just do one thing, and you will have it all. Simply bow down to worship me, and it will be yours! You will possess everything!”

Jesus rebuked him and said, “Satan, get behind me! For it is written in the Scriptures, ‘Only One is worthy of adoration; therefore, worship only the Lord your God and love him supremely.’ ”

Next, the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, set him on the highest point of the temple, and tempted him, saying, “If you really are the Son of God, jump down in front of all the people. For it is written in the Scriptures, ‘God has given his angels instructions to protect you from harm. For angels’ hands will hold you up and keep you from hurting even one foot on a stone.’ ”

Jesus replied, “It is also written in the Scriptures, ‘How dare you provoke the Lord your God!’ ”

That silenced the devil’s harassment for the time being. So he retreated until an opportune time.

Then Jesus, armed with the Holy Spirit’s power, returned to Galilee, and his fame spread throughout the region. He taught in the synagogues and they glorified him.

When he came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, he went into the synagogue, as he always did on the Sabbath. When Jesus came to the front to read the Scriptures, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found where it is written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and he has anointed me to be hope for the poor, healing for the brokenhearted, and new eyes for the blind, and to preach to prisoners, ‘You are set free!’ I have come to share the message of Jubilee, for the time of God’s great acceptance has begun.”

After he read this he rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. Everyone stared at Jesus, wondering what he was about to say. Then he added, “Today, these Scriptures came true in front of you.”

Everyone was impressed by how well Jesus spoke, in awe of the beautiful words of grace that came from his lips. But they said among themselves, “Who does he think he is? Isn’t he Joseph’s son, who grew up here in Nazareth?”

Jesus said to them, “I suppose you’ll quote me the proverb, ‘Doctor, go and heal yourself before you try to heal others.’ And you’ll say, ‘Work the miracles here in your hometown that we heard you did in Capernaum.’ But let me tell you, no prophet is welcomed or honored in his own hometown.

“Isn’t it true that many widows lived in the land of Israel during the days of the prophet Elijah when he locked up the heavens for three and a half years and brought a devastating famine over all the land? But he wasn’t sent to any of the widows living in that region. Instead, he was sent to a foreign place, to a widow in Zarephath of Sidon. Or have you not considered that the prophet Elisha healed only Naaman, the Syrian, rather than one of the many Jewish lepers living in the land?”

When everyone present heard Jesus’ words, they erupted with furious rage. They mobbed Jesus and threw him out of the city, dragging him to the edge of the cliff on the hill on which the city had been built, ready to hurl him off. But he walked right through the crowd, leaving them all stunned.

Jesus went to Capernaum in Galilee and taught the people on the Sabbath day. His teaching stunned and dazed them, for he spoke with penetrating words and great authority.

In the congregation, there was a demonized man, who screamed out with a loud voice, “Go away and leave us alone. We know who you are. You’re Jesus of Nazareth, God’s Holy One. What do you want with us? Have you come to destroy us already?”

Immediately the demon hurled the man down on the floor in front of them. But Jesus rebuked the demon, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And without causing him any harm, the demon came out of him.

Great astonishment swept over the people, and they said among themselves, “What kind of man is this who has such power and authority? With a mere word, he commands demons to come out, and they obey him!” Reports about Jesus spread like wildfire throughout every community in the surrounding region.

After leaving the synagogue, Jesus went into Simon’s house, where Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a high fever. The disciples begged Jesus to help her. Jesus stood over her and rebuked the fever, and she was healed instantly. Then she got up and began to serve them.

At sunset, the people brought all those who were sick to Jesus to be healed. Jesus laid his hands on them one by one, and he healed them all of different illnesses.

Demons also came out of many of them. Knowing that Jesus was the Anointed One, the demons shouted while coming out, “You are the Messiah, the Son of El Shaddai!” But Jesus rebuked them and commanded them to be silent.

At daybreak the next morning, the crowds came and searched everywhere for him, but Jesus had already left to go to a secluded place. When they finally found him, they held him tightly, begging him to stay with them in Capernaum. But Jesus said, “Don’t you know there are other places I must go and offer the hope of God’s kingdom? This is what I have been sent to do.”

Jesus continued to travel and preach in the synagogues throughout the land.

The Book of Luke, Chapter 4 (The Passion Translation)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 12th chapter of the book of Job with Job’s response to his friends:

In responding to his friends’ collective accusation of his guilt, Job finally spoke.

Job (sarcastically to his friends): Surely, surely, my discerning friends, you are the ones!

And when you pass away, the sum total of all wisdom will perish from the earth.

I have a mind as good as yours.

Don’t think I am so far beneath you!

After all, who doesn’t know all about these things?

Who isn’t acquainted with the pedestrian platitudes you’ve trotted out?

As for me—the one who called upon God and whom God answered—

now, I am pitiful, laughable, a just and upright joke.

Those who have it easy may easily scorn the unfortunate;

they have their contempt already prepared for those whose feet slip.

Ironically, there is peace inside the tents of the raiders,

and those who upset God seem to live safe and secure;

They carry their gods around in their hands.

However, call on the animals to teach you;

the birds that sail through the air are not afraid to tell you the truth.

Engage the earth in conversation; it’s happy to share what it knows.

Even the fish of the sea are wise enough to explain it to you.

In fact, which part of creation isn’t aware,

which doesn’t know the Eternal’s hand has done this?

His hand cradles the life of every creature on the face of the earth;

His breath fills the nostrils of humans everywhere.

Listen! Aren’t we made to be discriminating:

our ears testing wisdom, our mouths tasting food?

But you tell me, “With age comes wisdom,

and a long life grants understanding.”

With God is the sum total of all wisdom and of all power;

His is the greatest of plans and the deepest of comprehensions.

So, then, what God tears down cannot be built back up;

the man He shuts up cannot be released.

If God withholds the rains and stops the streams from flowing, the earth suffers drought;

if He unleashes too much, the lands are ravaged by flood.

He is strong, and sound wisdom belongs to Him:

whether one deceives or is deceived, he is under God’s control.

He leads the counselors off as captives, barefoot and stripped;

He makes a mockery of judges.

He strips off the royal sashes of kings

and ties them at the waist, making them slaves as well.

He leads the priests away barefoot

and defeats the long-incumbent men of power.

He robs trusted advisors of speech;

He steals discretion from elders.

He heaps contempt on rulers,

and loosens the bind of alliances among world powers.

Aspects of His deep wisdom that were hidden away,

He shows in plain sight;

darkness is brought into the light.

He builds the strength of nations, only to crush them—

increases their population across the earth, only to scatter them again.

He divests each nation’s leaders of understanding,

and causes them to wander aimlessly with nowhere to go,

Until finally they grope in the dark, the light having departed,

and He lets them stumble and stagger like drunks.

The Book of Job, Chapter 12 (The Voice)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for monday, April 19 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible, along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

A post by John Parsons about “worship”

We all struggle with sin in our lives, and each of us needs deliverance from various attachments and fears that keep us from the deeper life... The problem is within ourselves, that is, the contradiction of heart we experience in our double-mindedness, our ambivalence, and our unbelief (Jer. 17:9). We may recite the "Shema" every day and say that we love God with all our being, but in the ordinary moments of daily life we are drawn to other concerns, alien affections, other “gods.” Indeed, whatever matters most to us, whatever consumes our attention, time, resources, and our interest, is something we “worship,” that is, something we esteem as worthy and valuable...

People necessarily value things, and therefore every person alive is a “worshiper” (i.e., a person who finds “worth” in something). This applies equally to a devout atheist or pious skeptic as much as it does a deeply religious person... The question that matters, however, is what is your ultimate concern? What do you really want? Only when we begin to understand what draws and attracts us can we begin to discern what we really need. Therefore we must first acknowledge our false worship, our radical selfishness, and our sundry attachments in order to be set free. We must confess the truth that we are slaves.

Pride blinds us to the truth of our sickness of heart, persuading us to deny our problems, to cover them up, and to try harder and harder to “control” ourselves. This is a spiritual dead-end, a vicious circle, the “law of sin and death.” We are set free, however, when we die to ourselves, that is, when we surrender to the love of God and receive the miracle of promised deliverance. Since we are powerless to change ourselves, to reform our lower nature, and to be healed by our own best efforts, we must abandon our “religion” and rely entirely upon the God for the power to heal. This is an ongoing venture: We die daily; we take up the cross daily, we walk with a limp from our inner struggle, and we cling to God alone to show us the way and to guide our steps. Beloved, we have been crucified with Messiah and the old nature has lost its power over us; we are alive by the miracle of God’s power. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25). [Hebrew for Christians]

4.19.21 • Facebook

Today’s message from the Institute for Creation Research

April 19, 2021

God Is Spirit

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)

Mankind has always struggled with this aspect of God. The Second Commandment prohibited any attempt to represent God by any physical shape (Exodus 20:4-5). The triune God cannot be contained by finite attributes.

“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17)

“Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:16)

Were it not for the Second Person of the Godhead, He whom the apostle John identifies as “the Word,” we would have no possibility of knowing God (John 1:1-14). Philip asked to see the Father, and the Lord Jesus replied: “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9).

But how can this be? Paul explained to the Philippian church that Jesus Christ emptied Himself, took on the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7). Our Lord Jesus, our Redeemer and Savior, the same Creator who spoke the worlds into existence, “was made flesh” (John 1:14) in order to provide all that was necessary for the thrice-holy God to “be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).

Jesus insisted “no man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44). Salvation is not possible unless “he that cometh to God [believes] that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Jesus Himself told the Samaritan woman, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” HMM III