#verse: native

[idylls-of-the-divine-romance]

I love the Christ Child. The Divine Babe. Just like, as an image. This is a baby, barely even 2 years old. Angelic warriors attend his birth. Pagan astrologers, the advisors to kings and emperors, journey miles and miles at great expense to worship this child. The King of the Babe's hometown, is so threatened by the birth of this infant, that he commits an infanticide. The divine babe must become an immigrant - a stranger in a strange land.

In the city of Rome, the capital of the World, there is a man, Caesar Augustus, who claims to be the son of a god. But he is about to be challenged. By a baby in a manger.

[hiwaaranit]

I saw your spidersona, and the "they have boy spider girls?" line completely took me out. I love her.

Thank you! Allow me to repost all my spider Sona work now

I love my spider Sona au thing so much like legit one of my favorite spider man story arcs all combined into one because I said so and everyone’s native

[thewordfortheday]

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem. saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." Matthew 2:1-2

Why do we call them"wise men"? Perhaps because they searched the scriptures and found about the star? Yes and they were looking for the signs of the birth of the Messiah. They deciphered the time of His visitation. In other words,  they sought to find and worship the newborn King. Even today, wise men seek the Messiah, Jesus, the One true God and worship Him. How did these wise men respond at the end of their journey, when they found who they were looking for? 

“They rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him.”

There's true joy, peace and happiness when we find the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are empty on the inside and you have no peace or joy in your life, like the wise men, look for the One who is the source of all joy, peace, happiness and everlasting life.

[scriobh-an-iontas]

Christmas in Occupied Palestine

I have rewritten the Christmas story so that it will better fit modern times.

This is will make no one but me truly happy and will probably anger a great many more people than it will satisfy.

Enjoy!

The Birth of Yeshua Foretold

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Northern Israel, to a virgin, Miriam, who was pledged to be married to a man named Yosef, a descendant of David. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Miriam was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Miriam; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Yeshua. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Miriam asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elisheba, your relative, is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Miriam answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Yosef Accepts Yeshua as His Son

This is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah came about: His mother Miriam was pledged to be married to Yosef, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Yosef, her husband, was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Yosef son of David, do not be afraid to take Miriam home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Yeshua, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Yosef woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Miriam home as his wife.

The Birth of Yeshua

In those days America issued a request that a census should be taken of the population of Israel. (This was the first census that took place while Mohammed al-Bashir was the transitional prime minister of Syria.) And everyone went to their hometown to register.

So Yosef also went down from the town of Nazareth in Northern Israel to the West Bank, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he was from that area of occupied Palestine. He went there to register with Miriam, who was also Palestinian, pledged to be married to him, and expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in swaddling cloths and placed him in a manger, because the nearby hospitals in the region had been bombed.

And there were UN aid workers, living out in tents nearby, keeping watch by night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,     and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the UN aid workers said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Miriam and Yosef, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told to them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the UN aid workers said to them. But Miriam treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The UN aid workers returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

The Magi Visit the Messiah

After Yeshua was born in Bethlehem in the West Bank, during the time of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, several scholars from around the world came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born the Messiah? We saw the signs marking his birth when they appeared and have come to pay our respects to him.”

When Netanyahu heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in the West Bank,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,     are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler     who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Netanyahu called the scholars secretly and found out from them the exact time the signs had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and pay my respects to him.”

After they had heard Netanyahu, they went on their way, and the signs they had seen led them to the place where the child was, and they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Miriam, and they paid their respects to him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him gifts befitting both his needs and his status. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Netanyahu, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Yosef in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Netanyahu is going to search for the child to kill him.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Netanyahu. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

When Netanyahu realized that he had been outwitted by the scholars, he was furious, and he gave orders for Bethlehem and everything in its vicinity to be bombed, in accordance with what he had learned from the scholars. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,     weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children     and refusing to be comforted,     because they are no more.”

The Return to Nazareth

After Netanyahu was removed from office, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Yosef in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and return to your homeland, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are no longer in office.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that someone no different politically than Netanyahu was prime minister in his place, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to Northern Israel, and he returned to Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

[mintybagels]

eheheh finally finished this dude

Connor Campbell your friendly neighborhood canadian spidey 🤘

[walkswithmyfather]

Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV). [18] “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. [19] Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. [20] But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. [21] She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” [22] All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: [23] “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). [24] When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. [25] But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

“Good News of Great Joy” By In Touch Ministries:

“Through Jesus, we receive eternal life—and divine joy.”

“When an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds, he gave them good news of great joy for all people: The long-awaited Savior was born! Then the angel was suddenly “joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God” (Luke 2:13 NLT).

The good news they proclaimed that day had to do with more than just Jesus’ birth. It anticipated His sinless life, which qualified Him to be God’s sacrificial lamb. It looked ahead to His crucifixion and resurrection, which signaled the Father’s acceptance of Christ’s payment for our sins. It also encompassed His future ascension into heaven (Mark 16:19). And it envisioned Pentecost, when the Spirit would indwell believers (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17), as well as the time Jesus would return as King. The angels rejoiced because salvation was here (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Jesus spoke about joy because He wanted us to experience the satisfaction that comes from a relationship with Him. Such profound contentment isn’t dependent upon outward circumstances; rather, it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in you.

The angels in heaven rejoiced at the announcement of Jesus’ birth, and the shepherds praised God. Are you experiencing the divine joy that overflows from a Spirit-filled life?”

[dress-this-way]

Via The Consecrated Woman | ENCOURAGING AND INSPIRING THE WORLD WITH DAILY BIBLE VERSES

[gammija]

musing about what a translation of the silt verses would sound like and immediately running headfirst into the problem of whether and how to translate 'Sister Carpenter'

[emichevy]

TALA/SPIDERSONA POWER CONCEPTS!!!

Wanted to include more of her/my culture into her design. I’m not Lakota of course but just more indigenous inspired in general.

These of course are just concepts of what I got inspired by, so if anyone has suggestions of what I can add/change PLEASE let me know!! I love respectful feedback!

And I love my daughter so much, look how cool she is. Sony put her in BTSV please thank you/hj

This has a lot of foreshadowing :)

[kaleb-is-definitely-sane]

this ask is permission to scream at me about anything you want, no judging.

ADVENT!!!! OH THAT EMMANUEL WOULD COME SOON SO THIS LONELY EXILE WOULD BE OVER BUT TIL THEN MAY I REJOICE IN THE LORD MY GOD WHO IS ETERNALLY WITH ME AND OVER ALL AND THRU ALL AND IN ALL AND IS ALL!!!!!!!!

Seriously though. This is my first year doing anything for Advent (and even then i'm not doing much, just reading, contemplating, and writing) but like. ughhhh. I understand why my friend Grace loves this season so much. The darkness and light, the mourning and joy. We await the coming of the Anointed One with such joy!!!! and yet also such sorrow!!!! For we know why he had to come (may the God of peace crush the Satan underneath our feet and may Sin the Cosmic tyrant be dethroned forever) and also that thought he is coming he is not here yet.

And that makes me so sad. Goodness. I know I already said it but. I truly do feel like i am in lonely exile here sometimes, even surrounded by people.

BUT OH THE JOY!!!! REJOICE OF FAMILY OF GOD!!! FOR EMMANUEL - GOD WITH US - IS COMING AND IS IN FACT HERE!!!!!

St. Francis of Assisi was so based for saying Christmas was the most important Christian holy day. He might've been wrong, theologically, but goodness. How I rejoice in the birth of God!!!!!!!!!! How I await the rebirth of the universe!!!!!!!

Also it was St Nicholas' Day a few days ago: may the God of Justice and Loyal love destroy the sex slave industry. (And also gift me, his most beloved child and most humble servant with some chocolate please)

[b-plot-butch]

OKAY so in the comics whenever dream talks to anyone, they hear it in whatever language they speak or are most comfortable with (in dream's words, "you hear what you need to hear"), and now i'm thinking about how when dream comes to calliope at madoc's place...that's the first time calliope has heard greek spoken to her in more than sixty years.

[legobiwan]

Mario and Luigi for the drabble, “When I’m with you, I’m home.”

Thanks!

I realized I'm answering this one out of order. Whoops! Anyway, have some pre-Mushroom Kingdom conversations and lore-building as your author reminisces about the New York of the '90s.

~~~~~~

He wonders, sometimes, what their lives would have looked like if they had never left Brooklyn.

Barring a miracle - pretty bleak, in all honesty. Maybe being here, in the Mushroom Kingdom, was the miracle. He remembers the frenzied few days leading up to their disappearance. The previous few months had been a mess of unpaid bills and awful business decisions governed solely by spite and fear. They were probably a few months of missed rent payments away from eviction. They were definitely two days away from getting their kneecaps bashed in by some loan shark’s goons. 

He and Mario had gone for a walk, all the way down to Coney Island, 75th to Stillwell to Bowery, to the decrepit-looking Wonder Wheel and a depressingly empty Nathan’s Hot Dogs. It looked like the last of the hotels, some once-bright vestige of his mother’s era, had finally been condemned, tall wire fencing curling up towards the grey winter sky, a perfunctory guard which did nothing to keep out the local graffiti artists and homeless population. 

Luigi jammed his hands into his jean pockets, shivering. He couldn’t tell if he was freezing or terrified.

“What are we gonna do, Mario? We can’t stay here. If he doesn’t get us, the landlord will. You see how they’re starting to develop all that stuff around 86th Street. It’s going to travel north and we’re already behind two months in rent. We can’t stay in Bensonhurst.” Luigi sighed, little frozen puffs of air floating from his mouth. “I don’t even know if we can stay in Brooklyn at this rate.”

It was a miracle they weren’t out on the streets already. For once, their landlord’s habit of sitting around with a bottle of Thunderbird watching Honeymooners reruns and screaming at “that bum El Duque” to throw more strikes fell to their advantage. Sure, there was no such thing as maintenance in the dilapidated six-floor walk-up. But they were plumbers, tradesmen - a leaky faucet or misbehaving shower wasn’t going to be an issue.

Unfortunately, they weren’t also exterminators. 

Mario took a large bite of his hotdog, mustard splattering on the gum-stained sidewalk. It looked like something they’d hang in one of those trendy galleries that kept popping up in lower Manhattan, down around Houston Street. 

“We’re gonna be fine, Lou,” Mario said between bites, bits of bun falling from his mouth.

“We’re gonna end up homeless.” Or missing our kneecaps. Or worse.

Mario crammed the last of his dinner in his mouth, finishing off the hot dog with a few loud chews. He gave a contented sigh, licking at his greasy fingers before wiping his hands on his pants. “No, we’re not gonna be homeless. I’ve told you a million times, Lou, we could be in a cardboard box under the Van Wyck. When we’re together - “ Mario slung an arm around Luigi’s shoulder, pulling him in tight. “When I’m with you - I’m home. We’re unbeatable. And that means we’ll make it through this.”

Luigi eyed his brother’s yellow-tinged fingers and stained shirt cuff, hoping the impromptu moment of fraternal affection would pass. He could deal with Mario’s sunny optimism, usually. But living in a studio apartment one step up from a garbage dump had apparently encouraged his brother’s disposition towards a more slovenly existence. They might be home when they were together, but it wouldn’t hurt if Mario took a damn vacuum to himself once in a while. 

“Mario, I think this time - ”

“Oh, I get it.” The warm arm around his shoulder disappeared, his brother’s voice hardening. Luigi snapped his head to the side, his heart rocketing into his throat. What did I say this time?  

“It’s the location, isn’t it?” His brother gave him a searching, serious look. He looks just like Dad. He even seemed as if he were towering over Luigi, just like Dad used to, despite Mario being the shortest of the three of them. “You’d prefer a box under the BQE.”

Luigi gaped. “I - what?”

“Nah, nah, okay,” Mario waved his hands. “Let’s talk location. You wanna be by the Belt? Or maybe - “ A sly smile grew under his brother’s burgeoning mustache. “You want to move to Queens.”

“Oh my God,” Luigi groaned, slapping his forehead with his palm, pulling his hand down over his eyes. I’d move to Jersey if it got us out of this mess. “Mario, be serious.”

“I am serious! Your secret’s safe with me, bro. Even if you would betray Brooklyn like that." Luigi felt two steady hands take him by the biceps. “Besides, we’re gonna be okay.”

“Vinny Razzanti’s uncle said we had forty-eight hours,” Luigi groaned between his fingers.

Mario barked out a laugh. “Vinny Razzanti’s uncle couldn’t tell a pizza from a clock if we arranged the pepperonis the right way. The guy’s a dumbass.”

“Yeah, but he’s - “

“No, I ain’t hearing it.” Mario gently guided Luigi’s hands from his face, keeping his fingers wrapped around either wrist as he brought Luigi’s arms to his sides. “Look at me, Lou.”

Luigi swallowed down the wet desperation clawing its way up his throat, opening his eyes to his brother’s concerned, but steely gaze.

“If he comes, he comes. I’ve got a baseball bat next to the mattress and you can - “ Mario waved one of his arms in a broad gesture. “I dunno. Make some kind of exploding gadget or something. You used to want to show off your stuff to Cooper Union, right? Well, think of this as practice, you know, for the application.”

Luigi gave a small shake of his head. I don’t think home pyrotechnics meant to fend off low-level mafia muscle are going to impress the admissions committee. Not that they were going to waste their time with a twenty-one-year-old plumber’s application, anyway. That dream was long gone, buried in Cypress Hills along with their parents. 

“Here’s what we’re gonna do,” Mario’s voice broke through his dreary ruminations as he guided Luigi towards Bowery Street. “We’re gonna walk home, maybe pick up a cannoli on the way. Then we’re gonna check the answering machine. If we’re lucky - and I’m feeling pretty lucky right now - there will be a call from some lady in Borough Park.” His brother’s eyes gleamed. “No, even better, some widower in Carroll Gardens. One of those nice brownstones. She’s going to ask for our help. Clogged drains, backed up shower, toilet’s kablooey.” Mario made a slobbering sound meant to resemble a backed up toilet. Luigi thought he sounded like a dog on downers. “The whole shebang. We’ll say, of course, we can fix this, but we’ll have to charge the emergency rate. You know, business and all that. Three hours later - maybe four - boom! Vinny Razzanti’s uncle is out of the picture and we’ll be on our way to the good life.”

“You make it sound so simple, bro.” Luigi couldn’t quite contain the bite of sarcasm that accompanied that statement. 

As always, his brother took his waspishness in stride. Long strides, in fact, as they hurried past the metal skeletons that made up the Coney Island Train Yard, the whirr of traffic from the Belt Parkway rushing and thumping above them. Luigi felt like at any moment some old, rusted buckle would give way, sending a line of cabs and buses crashing into their heads.

He felt like that most of the time these days, to be honest. 

“It is simple, Luigi. You just gotta think positive. You never know what’s around the corner.” Mario tugged at his sleeve. “Now, come on. If we walk fast enough, we can get to Villbate’s before they close.”

“Alright, alright, you win, Mario. Something’s around the corner and for once, maybe it won’t be a guy with a baseball bat.” No. It won’t be a bat. It’ll be something worse. Like a flamethrower. Luigi was too tired to argue with his brother’s indomitable optimism. “Maybe we’ll get to your widower in Carroll Gardens and find the answers in her bathroom.”

Mario slapped his brother on the back. “That’s the spirit, Lou! Could be a whole new world waiting for us. Now let’s go - there’s a pistachio cannoli with my name on it and I am not missing out.”

“Hey, the pistachio cannolis are mine!”

“Not if you don’t run fast enough!” Mario gave his brother a playful push, taking off down Stillwell Avenue. Luigi watched his brother leap over a pile of trash bags, skittering between two cabs, one of which blared its horn in anger.

“Where you go, I guess I follow,” Luigi muttered to himself, adjusting his cap before taking off in his brother’s direction. And who knew? Maybe something was waiting for them around that corner.

[hiwaaranit]

OMG SPIDER SONA! This is a redesign of my older one from into the spiderverse. But pretty much the same just more me put into it and moccasins and a yote? Yoit? Not sure how you spell it but It’s not a poncho, don’t call it a poncho or I’ll find you 👻

[thewordfortheday]

My friends, the people who originally heard this message were greatly encouraged and rejoiced. The announcement that Christmas would one day arrive and with it the “Child” was a great cause for celebration. We may have had a really tough year. But we, too, can celebrate with them, we too can say, “unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given ..” and we too can know Him by the fourfold Name: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

The Christ child, the Son of God was born “unto you”.  He is the God who will counsel you, He is the God who is mighty to save, He is your Father forever and ever and finally He is the one and only one who can give you peace. 

[idylls-of-the-divine-romance]

[W]hat ultimately distinguishes Advent from Lent is this: Advent has no Passion Week. Advent is both somber and festive because we are anticipating not suffering and death but rather the birth of a Child, which is always a joyful occasion. This Child is our long-awaited Messiah, the One who is coming to save us from the sins we are sorrowing over.

-Genevieve Cunningham, Great Advent

[thelordismylightandmysalvation]

Via The Consecrated Woman | ENCOURAGING AND INSPIRING THE WORLD WITH DAILY BIBLE VERSES