#we die like hagar's son

[rugwurm]

i cant believe they put ishmael in the bible

[scribeforchrist-blog]

Seeing Through the Opening

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK

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+ 1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from every form of evil.

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VERSE OF THE DAY

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+ Genesis 21:19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

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SUBJECT: Seeing Through the Opening

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** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN TRUTHS **

I AM LOOKING

I AM WAITING

I AM ALLOWING GOD IN

I AM RIGHTEOUS

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THOUGHTS:

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   Sometimes, we don’t see through the opening. We ignore every opening, every sign, even a hint. We ignore it because we are so overwhelmed. We are looking at what's happening and not what we need to. Sometimes, he will take us far away from everything we know so we can see it. Even on our own, we still can't see it. It's not until he shows us that this is what he is trying to show us.

  We wonder sometimes why he couldn’t show us this at the beginning, why he had to take us through this for us to see, and sometimes it's not God taking us all the way around; sometimes it's us that don’t see, it's us that are confused ,it's us that refuse to see it through his lens. Maybe he’s trying to show us we are in the wrong relationship, wrong job, not the hobbies, or maybe bad tendencies; whatever it is, we must see past what we think is right and ask him to open our eyes.

 The woman in this story was so upset with how everything went in her life that she was asked to leave, and when she did, she only had a small amount of food and water in her wineskin. Her name was Hagar.

   Verse 14 Early the next morning, Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.

   As we go through the seasons in our lives, sometimes it feels that in that particular season, we are going into EVERYTHING alone and that we have so little. Still, sometimes God will have us to have so little so when he do bless us and allow us to have we can be content in his way of doing things , and we are more keen to leaning on him because if God places us in a season with everything, some of us will never look to him, some of us will never see what he's trying to show us, and we will never thank him nor be appreciative or content.

    As Hagar was in the desert of Beersheba, she ran out of water and placed her baby under some bushes because she couldn’t watch him die. She began to cry, and as she cried, the angel of the lord told her to stop crying, that she didn’t have to worry about anything, and that God would bless the boy; he would make him a great nation.

  God wants to bless us with so much, but sometimes, we can't see what He is doing because we are looking at where we are. Look at Hagar. Look at her child. She was so overwhelmed by fear that she didn’t see anything but death, and some of us now only see where we are and can't see pass that, but God is saying, I'm going to bless you. Don’t fear, I'm going to see you through, don’t fear, but because we are so focused on the voice of the enemy and the words of others, we get lost and lose sight of what he is trying to show us but not Hagar She heard Gods voice, and she listened to him carefully.

    Verse 19: Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So, she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

    God showed her, do not fear for your son; wherever you are, I will take care of him; all God needed her to do was see what was ahead, and it was well. Jesus is the living water for us. All we have to do is partake in him, all we have to do is drink from him, but some of us won't do it; we refuse to do it because we want our blessing in another way; we want our blessing to be more enormous, just like Naaman he didn’t want to wash in the waters of  Jordan he was upset, and he denied his blessing he was so angry because he felt he could’ve gone to the rivers of Damascus. After all, it was better.

   2 Kings 5:12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

 Naaman’s servant went to him and said, please do this wash in the Jordan; some of us, God is trying to stop us from storming off. He is trying to teach us to be content and show us his blessings that are over our lives; some of us he is speaking to and he’s saying you must start small; you can have your blessing one day, but I need you to do this first, and sometimes of us he’s saying I’m not saying no but I’m saying not RIGHT NOW I NEED YOU TO SEE THROUGH THE OPENING.

  No matter how much we are in need, we don’t see because it’s not what we wanted, so we don’t see what God is trying to do; he's trying to build character; for the last two weeks, we have been talking about character but look at what God is trying to do, look at what doors he's trying to get you to walk through, if we can walk through this tiny door we can open up the big doors ,God is saying look at this, and you will see. Sometimes, God is trying to show us our character and what we need to change before we get what we need.

Verse 14: So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

   Just like that, he was healed. Sometimes, we must go through the back door instead of the front one. God didn’t say this road is going to be easy. He didn’t say every blessing would come this way, but he said it would come when we open our eyes and see his plans, not yours. Our plans are just ours, but when we are obedient and allow him to mold us and show us, we will learn what he has for our lives; we must take our eyes off the situation to see where he’s trying to take us.

  *** Today, God is trying to take us somewhere; he’s trying to show us another way, but some of us are so focused on what we want and what we want to do ,that we aren’t focused on the opening he’s trying to get us to see, we must learn to allow God plans to work, we must start hearing him speak from the beginning and a lot of us won’t, we will try to get our plans to work instead of seeking him for his plans.

  The seasons we are brought to are supposed to teach us a lesson; sometimes, those lessons are hard to get. Sometimes, they aren’t, but how whatever God is trying to show you do it, and stop looking at this person, and saying they didn’t have to do this or that; no, each of our paths in life is different; what we go through is supposed to help us see him, not ourselves. Allow him to be what you need, let Him order your steps, and follow him. ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee

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PRAYER

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Heavenly Father, thank you for today, lord; thank you for your mercy and grace; thank you for loving and caring for us. Lord, we ask you today for guidance through our situations. We ask you to help us see the opening and what you’re trying to show us. Lord, we ask you to change our character and heart, mold us, and shape us into your image. Lord, we are so grateful for what you do and what you have for us, and we thank you for the new beginnings in our life; in Jesus Name, Amen

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REFERENCES

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+ Proverbs 14:16 One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless.

 

+ Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

 

+ Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

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FURTHER READINGS

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Proverbs 22

Esther 4

Deuteronomy 11

Matthew 20

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[aeide-thea]

beautiful & also terrible to have the sort of brain where you find yrself at 4:30 AM looking up intersections between jewishness & arthuriana. like. fucking amazing rabbit hole but. why am i not asleep. my head hurts and my eyes are sandy.

however. some cool things (that probably some of you knew abt already, but i did not!):

King Artus – "a 'Hebrew Arthurian Romance of 1279… Judaized and transformed.' […] Although the story in 'King Artus' is fairly straightforwardly Arthur’s as we know it today, there are little touches that tie it to Jewish literature. When, for example, Arthur’s mother, the Duchess, learns that her husband is dead and she has been deceived by the shape-shifting Uther Pendragon, she tries to figure out how that could be possible. 'No sooner had he gone more than a bow-shot’s distance away from the castle than the messenger came straight to my chamber.' That bow-shot’s distance comes not from Arthurian legend but from the story of Hagar, who sits a bow-shot’s distance away from her son Ishmael when Abraham casts them out and she does not want to see her son die."

Bovo-Bukh – "a chivalric romance adapted in 1507 by Elye Bokher (Elijah Baḥur *Levita) into 650 ottava rima stanzas in Yiddish from a Tuscan version (Buovo d'Antona) of the early 14th-century Anglo-Norman original, Boeuve de Haumton. This tale of the heroic adventures of the noble Bovo, exiled from his homeland by the machinations of his murderous mother, his wanderings through the world (as far as Babylon), and the love story of Bovo and Druzyana, their separation, his triumphant return home, and the final reunion with Druzyana and their two sons, proved to be one of the most beloved tales in the Yiddish literary tradition over the course of more than two centuries."

Vidvilt – "anonymous 15th–16th-century Yiddish epic. This Arthurian romance of the chivalric adventures of Sir Vidvilt (and his father Gawain), based on Wirnt von Gravenberg's 13th-century Middle High German Wigalois, proved to be one of the most enduringly popular secular narratives in Yiddish literary history, with numerous manuscript recensions, printings (the first in an extensively expanded version by Joseph b. Alexander Witzenhausen, Amsterdam 1671), and reprintings, in rhymed couplets, ottava rima (Prague 1671–79), and prose, over the course of three and a half centuries. The anonymous poet of the earliest Yiddish version composed more than 2,100 rhymed couplets (probably in northern Italy), following Wirnt's plot rather closely through the first three-quarters of the narrative (abbreviating much and generally eliminating specific Christian reference), before offering quite a different conclusion."

Sir Gabein – "from 1788-89, a tale in which the Arthurian knight Gabein does not return to Camelot but – via Russia and Sardinia – reaches China and ultimately ascends to the Chinese imperial throne as the new emperor." slow blink.

also this is getting beyond arthuriana into just epic poetry generally but. literally all of this sounds fascinating.

anyway. literary scholar manqué.e hrs as always here at k dot tumblr dot edu obviously! however. my ear is open like a greedy shark, &c.

[awideplace]

Recently we have seen in the Middle East what is the purest form of Islam. The leader of Hamas is not some guy in a cave, he is a man wearing a grey suit and he hops on a video and says that it is Allah's wish that what happened in Israel will happen to all of the infidels all over the world.

The stage and the theater of attention in our world is not Finland, it's not Norway, it's not Thailand, it's always been and always will be what's happening in the Middle East because that is the land of Genesis, Genesis meaning "beginning" and that is where everything began, that is where everything is focused right now, and that is where everything will end in the battle of Armageddon which is modern day northern Israel. The world's events around us consistently propel us and catapult us into the land of the Bible. What you are witnessing in our culture is the testimony of the fact that man is not basically good, man is basically and fundamentally evil. In Genesis chapter 3 sin enters the world and in Genesis chapter 4 you have the first murder; Cain kills his own brother, Abel. Men have been murderers from the beginning and they have been restrained by law and by standards of morality that have been imposed on them.

In the beginning God places his people in this rich land between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers and that is the land called Mesopotamia which is modern day The Middle East. God promised this land to Abraham and his descendants and Abraham messed up this promise in a way when instead of trusting that God would give him a son through his wife Sarah, he slept with Hagar and now the battle that takes place in our modern world is a battle between two former sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael. The sons of Ishmael represent the Arabic world; the sons of Isaac, consequently the sons of Jacob, are the sons of Israel. The sons of Ishmael were unified by a common religion in the 7th century BC under the leadership of Mohammad, the greatest Muslim prophet. And now the hundreds of millions of people that live in the Arab states all hate with a passion and are intent on killing the people of Israel. It's a land mass of Israel that is the size of New Jersey with a Jewish population roughly the size of the greater Phoenix area, but it dominates the media.

All false religions are bad, but Islam may be amongst the worst and most powerful because it perverts the nature and person of Jesus Christ. Islam believes Jesus was a mighty prophet, subject and submissive to Mohammad and he did not die on the cross, he did not die at all, he was taken up to Heaven like Elijah. In the Muslim faith there is no assurance of salvation, but there is a single way you can know for sure you are going to Heaven and do you know what it is? To die in jihad. The only way you can know for sure you are going to heaven if you are a Muslim if you are killed in action, is slaying the infidels. When men die in jihad, as you can imagine there are no shortage of volunteers in a religious worldview like this, when men die in jihad they go immediately to paradise and it says in the Quran that when they are there in paradise they are greeted by 72 beautiful virgins of whom they have eternal sex with. That is the promise to 11-year-old's growing up in the Gaza strip; if you grow up and you blow up Jews and Christians you will enter heaven and be greeted by your own harem of virgins. All non-believers in Mohammad are infidels, but in the Muslim faith, the little Satan they call is Israel. And do you know who the great Satan is? America, because we protect and stand behind Israel. One Muslim on the voice of Palestine radio says, "The Muslim loves death and martyrdom just as you Jews love life."

There is a great difference between he who loves the afterlife and he who loves the world, and the Muslim loves death and seeks martyrdom. One boy after 9/11 is recorded, his name was Ahmad, and he was going to a school on the Gaza Strip and he says this to reporters, "I will make my body a bomb that will blast the flesh of Zionists, the sons of pigs and monkeys, I will tear their bodies into little pieces and cause them more pain than they will ever know." He is 11-years-old and his classmates respond and say, "Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar," god is great. And the teacher says, "May the virgins give you pleasure."

The Quran has 123 verses that call for fighting and killing anyone who does not agree with this statement, "There is no god but Allah and Mohammad is his prophet." Quran Surah 5:33 says about infidels, "They shall be slain or crucified or have their hands and feet cut off"; Surah 9:5 says "Slay the infidels wherever you find them and lie in wait for them and establish every stratagem of war against them"; Surah 47:4-9 promises paradise to whoever cuts off the head of an infidel. Sometimes we call this radical Islam, I want you to understand this is just Islam. That's just what they believe. It's not a peaceful religion. It's a religion at its very core, the first thing Mohammad does, is slaughter all the infidels. It's those who walk in the ways of Mohammad that subscribe to this thinking. You don't just have a different belief system than them if you're a Christian, you're their enemy. And they are commanded by god to fill the rivers red with the blood of infidels. Hamas, or I would say obedient Muslims, could be described as merciless, heartless, violent, wicked, evil, lovers of pleasure.

Jonny Arvadanis

[nerdygaymormon]

My Mother’s Day Sermon

I'm David and my mom is right back there, she's the organist. Happy Mother's Day to her. I wasn't assigned a topic to speak on, so I've chosen to focus my remarks on repentance.

Pshhh. Can you imagine? It's Mother's Day, of course the topic will be motherhood. I recognize that like a lot of holidays, Mother's Day can be difficult for some. Some of you have mothers who've passed away. Some moms have a child who has passed. Many people deal with infertility issues or have miscarried. Some had a parent who was abusive. Some moms here today have children who've distanced themselves. Some don't want to become moms and others have longed for it but it hasn't happened for them. There's many reasons this could be a hard day. We acknowledge that, and we grieve and mourn with you and respect your feelings. I hope my remarks don't add to the burdens you carry. I've heard a lot of men speak on Mother's Day about angel mothers and how perfect their mom is. Only sometimes have I heard about real women who had real struggles and how she gained insight as she read the scriptures, she held family prayer and did her best in those circumstances. I like the latter example because none of us are perfect and could use some practical examples and encouragement. Nine years ago I spoke on Mother's Day and gave examples of my mom being an imperfect mom, but whose overall efforts showed she measured up. I want to put her at ease, this is not going to be a repeat. I'm going to talk about women from the scriptures. Mothering is not for the faint of heart. For those of you in the trenches with little children, it can be hard. They're busy, they require a lot of care and attention. Moms of young ones often need a break and some adult time.

Moms of teenagers encounter a different set of challenges as their child tests boundaries and tries a lot of new things, including things their parents wouldn't approve of. 

Then they're out of the home. You organized your life around them and now what? It can feel empty. You know this, but it's worth saying, you don't have to be perfect to be a good mom. Life doesn't wait until we're perfectly prepared and feeling up for whatever is coming. We learn by doing. We work to improve and strive to be better. Just because we aren't perfect or have everything figured out doesn't mean we don't have a lot to contribute, that we don't make an important difference in the lives around us. Mary left 12-year-old Jesus in Jerusalem and it wasn't until after a day's journey that she noticed. It took another three days before Mary found Him in the temple. No one calls Mary a "bad" mom. She did her best, made mistakes, corrected them, and remained committed. That's a good model. Hagar was a servant who was taken away from her homeland and impregnated by her master. She tried running away, but without food & water in that harsh climate, her baby was dying. She went back and stayed a servant for many years. She made difficult choices in order provide food, shelter, and education for her son. Many moms make great sacrifices. People have to compromise, make the best from the options that are available to them. Sariah packed up her house, lived in the wilderness, and moved across the world. Her children fought the whole way. It was tough. Emma Smith had 6 children die in infancy. Did they complain? Yes. Did they weep? Of course. Did they yell? Guaranteed. Was their best sometimes just barely hanging on? Indubitably. Were they imperfect? Absolutely. Did God work with their imperfections? Very much so. Elder Stanfill came to our stake conference last September. He grew up a rancher and farmer. He tells the story of harvesting grain in Montana. The machinery they used would harvest the grain, throwing it into the holding tank and the chaff would be left behind on the ground. They adjusted the combine several times to maximize the amount of grain being gathered, and yet some of the kernels of grain still wound up on the ground with the chaff. The imperfect harvest was as good as the machine could do. 

God works in that imperfection. "Migrating swans, geese, and ducks descend onto the fields to nourish themselves on their long journey south. They ate the leftover grain from [the] imperfect harvest. God had perfected it." Some of life's most important lessons come in the imperfections and are to be found in the mess. You are involved in an amazing work, to train and prepare people for the world, to be their best selves, to be a person of good character and curiosity, to become people who make positive contributions. That's truly noble. I know it's easy to see our shortfalls, to have regrets, to wish we could have do-overs. I hope you also take time to appreciate all the good you do. Look at your successes. You're good enough. Whether you are a married or single mom, a young or more seasoned mom, a working or stay-at-home mom, the Atonement makes us all enough. Alma 7:11-12, describes the Atonement as Jesus suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind so that He feels mercy for us in what we are dealing with, and so that He knows how to aid and comfort and sustain us. I think it's comforting to think Jesus knows what I'm feeling because He's felt it, He understands. I can ask Him for strength, I can ask Him for help. Today I'm also thinking about Esther from the Bible. Reading her story reminds me there are times when God will ask us to do things that are difficult. Esther found herself in a position to rescue her people from death, but it was a big risk and might not be successful and could cost Esther her life. She was reluctant. It was difficult for her. She put her trust in God. She wasn't perfect, but when it counted, she measured up. 

That sounds like a lot of moms I know. Sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it's changing poopy diapers when you're not feeling well. Sometimes it's getting a phone call from school about some trouble. Sometimes it's a visit to the police station. You never know what will come your way, but when it counts, most people find a way to measure up. Mother's Day is a reminder that all of us should respect mothers, and mothering figures, and thank them for their impact on the lives around them.

[aikoiya]

LoZ - Ganon's Parents

You know what I just realized?

We never learn about Ganon's mother.

Like, yeah, we learn about Kōme & Kotake, but they are his surrogate mothers, not his biological ones. Which, in this situation, means that he was adopted.

Like, I know that a surrogate mother today means a woman who's been payed to have someone else's baby, but the thing is, in such situations wouldn't that baby have been given to the person who bought it? Which, holy shit, that's really gross.

But, Ganondorf wasn't. He was raised by Kōme & Kotake, so why specify them as his surrogate mothers? Which, btw, if that were the definition being used, they would just be his mothers. In fact, provided that definition was true, only 1 of the pair would be his mother while the other would be his aunt.

And no, I don't think that they're supposed to be a lesbian couple. They look identical & when they fuse, they're referred to as the Twinrova.

Suggesting that they're twin sisters.

Unless people are suggesting that they're incestuous, which gross. And, now that I think about it, could explain why Ganon ends up a tyrant. If they're incestuous, there's no telling what else they support. What they taught him to be okay with. No telling what they did to him growing up. Which, again, could explain why he ends up a tyrant as it suggests that he could've been groomed & abused in one way or another, which would actually make me sympathetic to him to a degree. They're called witches too.

And I've also seen someone say that they believed that Gerudo were hermaphroditic, which would be the only way that both could actually be his biological mothers. But then, again, even if this was true, why specify them as his surrogate mothers & not just his mothers period? In fact, if it were true, then why would "male" Gerudo be considered so significant? I mean, it'd be irrelevant.

But, if my thoughts are true & neither one is his biological mother, then this suggests that his biological mother isn't in the picture for one reason or another. Whether because she's dead or something else.

And the fact that Kōme & Kotake were hinted at again in TotK suggests that this happened again.

So, does this mean that Gerudo who birth males tend to abandon them?

Is that what happens to the 100 year voe? Are they just left out in the desert to die like Hagar tried to do to Ishmael?? That's messed up!

Or did something more sinister happen? What if Kōme & Kotake killed his parents & took him in order to make him the Ganondorf that we know?

What if they are worshipers of Demise & are the true villains of the story?

For that matter, who were his fathers in both instances?

Was he human or Hylian or Sheikah?

Personally, I think for TotK Ganon, I might make him the son of a Tabanthan native. Someone who'd grown up in Tabantha Village, which I tend to portray the humans that live in Hebra as being very Norse-adjacent. So, yes, his dad has some serious Viking-coding.

In fact, I think I'll make him have inherited a lot of his features.

His mother? I see having been a Highland Gerudo, which I tend to portray as being much less... discriminatory against the male populous & doesn't bar them entry to their town which I call Ealiyah.

LoZ Cultural Masterlist

[nijjhar]

A Tree is known for its Fruit and so is Christianity. So, Donald Trump i... A Tree is known for its Fruit and so is Christianity. So, Donald Trump is representing the Fruit of hatred instead of Agape. https://youtu.be/ts-QuR8OE5I Donald Trump will divide the countries Pro-USA and Pro-Russia leading to the Atomic War on 14 May 2030 when Israel is 70 +/5/2030. 12 = 82 years old. https://youtu.be/-Tu_rD-P0fg Full description on my website:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/PredTrump.htm Predictions according to Christ = Satguru Brother Rajinder Dass:- Donald Trump will divide countries Pro-USA and Pro-Russia for Atomic War on 14 May 2030. I am from Punjab where the Second Coming of Jesus Nanak took place in 1469 among the people of the Khatri tribe most greedy and opportunist people like their counterpart of the Judah tribe among whom the very First Christ = Satguru Jesus appeared. The Chosen People are special people through whom we learn all moral and spiritual Principles through practical demonstrations. For example, the 12 sons of Jacob of whom ONLY JOSEPH was faithful “Salt” of Abraham and the other 11 were jealous of him – John 8v44. So, they sold Joseph to the Egyptians and as soon as Joseph left the Promised Land, none was the “Salt” of Abraham, the Father of the Faithful, that made Yahweh who planted Saint Abram of the Semitic race from the Iraq area to settle as Adam and Sarah as Eve was very ANGRY and he stopped rain making the Promised Land a hell to live that they had to leave for Egypt, the land of ever faithful sons of Ishmael, the “Salt” of Abraham. But the old habits of lying and cheating die hard and the honest to Yahweh, Brahma, Khudah, etc., the Lord of the Nature at large punished them by making them from rulers to slaves – Prodigal Son Isaac. The Egyptians made them suffer so hard that they wanted to remove their generation of crooks by killing their boys whilst the girls are the “COUNTERPART” of Elohim, Allah, Parbrahm, etc. for supplying blood = Life to the babies. This is well reflected in Kosher and Hallal in which the blood of the animal is drained off leaving the flesh of Yahweh to be eaten to declare their innocence to Elohim that we have not eaten your Life, which is Blood but the flesh of Yahweh. The present Wild Fire in the California area is the punishment to the Americans for killing the innocent poor people of Yahweh for the sake of power and Mammon. The American Jews rule the Mammon and the Mammon makes the mare go. So, whatsoever the American Jews tell, the Americans will do. The USA is the colony of Israel and Israel are Jews of appearance outwardly and not spiritual “inwardly” unfaithful to Abraham and Yahweh, the sons of the highest most powerful Satan Al-Djmar Al-Aksa. These people are far worse than  those who killed Jesus, the First Anointed Christ = Satguru of this Dark Age called “Kalyug” in Punjabi and His Second Coming was Satguru Nanak Dev Ji among the greediest of all people of the Khatri tribe who killed Lala Arjan Dev Ji, the Fifth Satguru = Christ in the line of Christ Nanak Dev Ji. In the Sikhism, we have six Christs = Satgurus according to the Jewish Seven Candled Menorah in which the Middle Candle is of Elohim, Allah, Parbrahm, etc. our Supernatural Father of our supernatural “soul” Who is represented by His Sons, the Bhagats = Saints = Christs = Satgurus. What happened in the previous Ages, just the opposite happens in this Dark Age. Thus, under Moses the faithful sons of Abraham of the Semitic Race took over their Promised Land on the Seventh Day peacefully from the Egyptians called Palestinians whilst today, the so-called Jews are not of the Semitic Race but a mix of Aryan and Negro races nothing to do with the Semitic race generation of Abraham that have no right to occupy the Promised Land. Remember that Abraham took Hagar and her son Ishmael and made them settle outside the boundary of the Promised Land. So, the people of non-Semitic races who are not the blood or sons of Isaac have no right to live in Israel. Such people were made Jews of the flesh by the greedy Rabbis and they gave them “circumcision” as the tribal mark. Angel Stephen, one of the 70 outer circle Labourers of Christ Jesus, who was baptising the sons of Isaac of age in the water in the name of Abraham distinguishing them from the fake sons of Isaac, the Jews outwardly of appearances through “circumcisions” unfaithful to Abraham and Yahweh, it exposed their dirty crook business and no wonder, they were grinding their teeth to kill him as they were happy when Herod ................ Now, under Christ Jesus, Israel became the country of “outwardly” Jews, the Tares and it was  Circle Angels of John - 4. https://youtu.be/gNr3RT5QvfI www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/JAntisem.htm YouTube Channel:- Jatt Unity Ch. Chhotu Ram Ohylan:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogc8-g5e_Og My Books:- ONE GOD ONE FAITH:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/bookfin.pdf EXPOSES the CROOK KHATRIS:- Punjab Siyan. John's baptism:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/johnsig.pdf Trinity:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/trinity.pdf

[thejesusmaninred]

"The Anchors." From Mark 6: 53-56.

Earlier in the chapter we mentioned the Director and the Directions. Now we touch upon the Destination, what is called crossing over, called Gennesaret. The Gospel describes it as healing in the marketplaces. To achieve Shabbos in particular one has to not only have enough money to spend but to know where to shop. The desires we entertain must be the right ones or there is no point in pretending to exert the effort. This knowledge and its habits are not easy to come by but once the age of reason finally dawns, what is called Shabbat or self-realization takes place and all wickedness shopping efforts die on the vine.

People think this means you can't put on leather chaps on go pee on strangers in the shower house, but that is only if one does not have anyone, even a dog or a goldfish waiting at home.

Crossing over does not mean the bodily functions come to an end, only their ability to interfere with sound judgement.

Notice the flick of the tongue of venom in the mind: We are willing to be troubled over thoughts of a bathhouse, but not at all over war, terrorism, school shootings or climate change. The ability to become troubled over the correct things is a sign of what is called Gennesaret.

53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there.

54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus.

55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.

56 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

The Values in Gematria are organized into Four Directions, which we are familiar with:

v. 53: They landed and anchored. Upon achieving Shabbat, which comes after Shabbos, negative tendencies are completely exhausted. Anyone who has overcome a deleterious relationship to a person or a substance can explain once happiness is achieved, there is no going back.

Except not all of our problems from smoking or eating too much crack, it is the society at large. This is why spirited persons always charge straight at tyrants and tyranny swords and teeth bared and kill them without a care in the world. We are expected by God to be tyranny free our entire lives and as happy as possible until the final minute. We are not permitted to take pause for a Mormon, a freak in the Republican Party or the Russians and wonder when our happiness will one day return.

The Number is 10084, ק‎ףד, "take care, be careful."

v. 54: The people recognized Jesus. They knew how shitty everyone else was acting. The Number is 3642, גודב‎‎, gudev, "Be good, or...!"

v. 55: They ran throughout the region. A region is 191, א‎טא‎‎, ata, "you, together" a region is a man who "has it together." Run towards a man like this, away from the others. Especially if he is you:

The Number is 1741, אזדא‎‎, azda, "pass by trouble fast, advance time."

"The verb עדה ('ada I) means to pass on or by, or to advance."

v. 56: All who touched were healed. The Number is 12682, יב‎ו‎חב‎, 12 and 12."

This refers to the offspring of Ishmael and Jacob, from Chayeh Sarah:

Ishmael’s Sons

12 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.

“This is the account of how the Father of Compassion, who made the idolaters hear, obey, and respond and  become servants of the Nation...”

13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth [the high place] firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar [turbid] , Adbeel [to cause to grieve], Mibsam, [perfumery] 14 Mishma [to draw out support], Dumah [silence of waiting], Massa [to test the range of abilities], 15 Hadad [thunder], Tema [the south country], Jetur [one who transits], Naphish [refreshing desire] and Kedemah [eastward]. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. 17 Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. 18 His descendants settled in the area from Havilah  [to make a fort out of a languishing village] to Shur [to excite], near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur [to straighten or make level]. And they lived in hostility toward[m] all the tribes related to them.

=

There are 12 Skills associated with Ishmael as there are with his nephew Jacob/Israel. 

“To hear obey and respond, you must be born in the High Place, where the anticipation and causes of the turbid, grieving future ends. Draw out the support [from the well [reflection], the thunder [the law], from the sun [intelligence], from the instruction and practices] and entertain new desires as one transits to the east.  [= the morning, the new day, also implies meditation and reverence of God]. 

This will activate languishing cultures, excite them, and make them level. Maintain hostility towards men who worship each other and make gods out of themselves.” 

God= the future; one that is immersed in knowledge of the past, but drives towards a vision that is unsurpassed. This is the nature of life as prescribed the One who calls Himself the Living God.

From Vayishlach:

Jacob had twelve sons:

23 The sons of Leah:

Reuben [the leader] the firstborn of Jacob [the follower],

Simeon [who listens], Levi [is loyal], Judah [who praises], Issachar [who is rewarded] and Zebulun [the glorious dwelling] .

= Leaders are born from servants and followers. Those who are loyal are rewarded and live in glory. 

24 The sons of Rachel [the ewe, youth beauty] :

Joseph [fruitful] and Benjamin [Seated Right].

25 The sons of Rachel’s servant Bilhah:

Dan [to govern] and Naphtali [challenges].

26 The sons of Leah’s servant Zilpah [the trickle] :

Gad [treasure] and Asher [happiness]

These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram [the ultimate substitution].

27 Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre [seeing, from adversity], near Kiriath Arba [four cities= Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed and Tiberias, which mean “teaches peace”, “friendship”, “cornerstone”, “piercing, seeing”. where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 28 Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. 29 Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

= “Abandon the past and trade up to a virgin future that is governed by righteous men who overcome calamity and reward the people with fortune and happiness. They rise from adversity, leaving a record of how one overcomes and lives many many years: through  peace, friendship, compassion and laughter. From these tenets, competent leaders and followers are made.”

To walk on water is to unharden the heart and soul search wherever the sooth can be found. Who searches for happiness where happiness resides is verily one who is reborn within the Holy Spirit and fulfills the Directions within the Gospel.

[wolint]

THIRSTY SOUL!

THIRSTY SOUL

Psalm 42:1-2

 

Physical thirst is as natural as air and can only be satisfied by water. Just as water is essential to the body, spiritual thirst is even more necessary. We should long for God in the same way we long for water, but on a much higher scale. This thirst should encompass the totality of our being.

It may sound strange to say, “my soul thirsts for God,” but we should all thirst and hunger for righteousness, as instructed in Matthew 5:6. That’s the only way we can be satisfied.

This generation is so preoccupied with tasks, places to go, and goals to achieve that they miss out on truly living, including acknowledging God, thereby making God seem irrelevant.

Isaiah 55:2 is an interesting, encouraging, and promising verse. Water is necessary for survival. Some nations are blessed with good water, but those that are not must find good water sources for their people. This may sadly mean having to pay for clean drinking water. In such cases, these people would need to budget for water when they go shopping. However, in the verse mentioned above, the Lord invites anyone who is thirsty to come and drink without spending money, freely.

When your soul is fainting within you, and you’re desperately searching for water like the Israelites in Psalm 107:4-9, that’s when we should long for the words in John 4:13-14. Jesus says, “Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” Are you desperate for this water?

Thirst refers to the sensation of dryness in the mouth and throat caused by a lack of fluids, resulting in a desire to drink. The word ‘thirst’ can also be a synonym for a strong desire or craving for something, like a thirst for knowledge or wealth.

What are you thirsting for? Most desires can likely be satisfied with something reachable, but the deep longing, the thirst of the soul, can only be met by God.

Have you ever been truly thirsty for God? A genuine thirst or craving for water like Hagar and her son in the wilderness of Beersheba in Genesis 21:14? A thirst that makes you so desperate that you’re willing to do anything for satisfaction.

Then come to the river of God that is full of water, as invited by Psalm 65:9. Cool, clean, refreshing, life-giving, and sustaining water is only found in God when we thirst after righteousness.

The psalmist here used the metaphor of thirst to express his deep longing for God, for spiritual things, the appetite and desire to know God more intimately.

We can imagine how painful and desperate it would be to be dehydrated, knowing that we could die without water, especially in a desert area or somewhere where there’s no clean, drinkable water. Only in such a state would we appreciate the water we have and God, who is our thirst-quencher.

This is exactly what happens to our souls when we distance ourselves from God. If our bodies require water, our inner being, the soul, requires God.

In a dry and thirsty spell, nothing would excite or motivate one, but that’s when we must humbly surrender to the Lord to water our soul for renewal, revival, and refreshing.

As the Good Shepherd illustrated in Psalm 23:2, the Lord will lead us to streams of refreshing water where we’ll be hydrated and revived.

Why do you spend money, your wages, on what is not good and will not satisfy you? Echoes Isaiah 55:2. Some things may quench our thirst better than others, yet water can never quench the thirst of some things, such as salt, regardless of how much we drink. Just as nothing can quench our thirst for God, except God, as stated in Revelation 7:16.

Come to the Lord. He’s waiting to turn those issues into pools of water for you, as seen in Psalm 114:8.

PRAYER: Father may my thirst always push me to the fountain of the living spring, as I continue to draw water from the well of salvation in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Shalom

WOMEN OF LIGHT INT PRAYER MIN.

[barbaramoorersm]

February 25, 2024

February 25, 2024

Second Sunday of Lent

Genesis 22: 1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18

This story of Abraham willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, is one of the most difficult passages in the Old Testament.

Psalm 116

The psalmist speaks of the obedient servant of God.

Romans 8: 31b-34

“If God is for us,” Paul writes, “who can be against us.”

Mark 9: 2-10

Today we have Mark’s account of the Transfiguration.

The first reading this second Sunday of Lent is one that most preachers would like to avoid.  In every sense of the term, is it a “difficult text.”  It recounts the test facing Abraham.  Would he, as God asks, sacrifice his son Isaac?  Right there we must wonder why God is asking this of Abraham?  Thank goodness we know the end of the story.

The book of Genesis is a combination of at least three oral traditions some of which date back to the 13th century before Christ.  One author calls Genesis “A narrative of ancient Israel’s traditions and concepts of the past. It is a mixture of myths, legends and cultural memories….”  The 21st century student and preacher should keep these realities in mind when one hears or reads this passage.

As we explore the text there are several items that catch our eye.  God says to Abraham, “Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love…(and) offer him up as a holocaust…”  The Hebrew commentators call this the “tenth and climatic test of Abraham, the first Jew.”   But Isaac is not his only or first son.  We forget that Ishmael is his first son whose mother was Hagar, Abraham’s wife’s servant.  This reality enables us to place a cultural umbrella over the story.  The second thing we notice is that Sarah is out of the picture here.  Sarah had encouraged Abraham to take Hagar and hope for a child which she did give Abraham.

As you listen to the text, ask yourself is Abraham really thinking that God will help him?  He says to his servants in a verse which is left out today, “The boy and I will go up there (the mountain) and return to you.”  This is an interesting comment. One final point, God promised Abraham and his descendants a future, but Isaac had not produced a grandson to carry on the line.  Yet he might die.  What about the future?   Many questions surround the story.

But the message of the passage is the faith of Abraham during great pain and suffering.  But it is a difficult one with a happy ending.  It is critical to remember the culture and time in which this oral story originated and was finally transcribed.  Father John McKenzie S.J. shares with us that the inclusion of this story may have been an ancient way of discouraging human sacrifice or an expression of truth through “an imaginary narrative or parable.”   

Perhaps one of the most important lessons that flows from this story is the harm that can be done by literally taking or preaching about stories such as this one without understanding the time or the culture from which it originated.

One can easily make a connection between the first reading and Paul’s letter to the Romans.  “God did not spare his own son but handed him over for all of us.”  But there are differences.  Rome executed Jesus.  And note, Paul shares with us that Jesus’ execution was for all of us.  And Paul adds words of consolation. “If God is for us, who can be against us.”

This Old Testament story emphasizes the importance of the faith that ancients believed Abraham possessed and passed on to his children.  And it offers us an opportunity to reflect on this passage with an understanding of an ancient culture and its impact on the faith of a community.

What about us in our day, our time, and culture?  What is our faith asking of us in our world which is so bitterly divided?  How will we be remembered in centuries to come?

[2q5b]

VAYERA

By Ezra

November 1st, 2023

I speak with my heart in my mouth, with my heart fallen into the pit of my stomach. Understand that, while you listen to my voice. Understand that the IDF is mercilessly destroying the city of Gaza and the beautiful human beings, all those irreplaceable human shields, who live there. And around the world, so many people blame, not Israel, but the Jews.

Things happen. You fuck around, and sometimes you find out. God doesn’t make exceptions. A city full of people is full of sin, and it is utterly destroyed. No one is spared. But wait! What if there should be fifty righteous people there? Abraham asks God, with far worse than mere tears in his voice. God relents. Okay. Fifty. But what about 45? 30? Okay, thirty.

What about 20 people? 10? Okay, says God. Ten. And an agreement is made.

There aren’t ten righteous people. There’s only your nephew and his family, who - wait! - you didn’t realize were there. Tough luck. And so they’re doomed to die with the rest of the sinners.

Oh, what’s that, Abraham? You wanted to go lower than ten? You want Me to make an exception? 

Time stops. Good miracles happen, too, everywhere, at the exact same time as the bad ones. Abraham and Sarah have a child, Yitzchak, Isaac, named for the laughter of bewildered joy of two people in their nineties, suddenly, miraculously, expectant parents.

And things happen to the children. They find out. The slave-girl, Hagar, and her teenage son Ishmael get sent away from the family home, Abraham tearfully handing them inadequate supplies for their journey. They go, they get lost in the wilderness, they run out of water, they know they’re going to die in the wilderness. Then they meet God. Maybe this reminds you of a story that happens to the Jews, later.

Let me stop time again, before Ishmael can die of thirst. Flash forward. Abraham has been commanded by God: Lech lecha. Bring Isaac up as a burnt offering on one of the mountains. Which one? I’ll tell you later. No exceptions. 

A burnt offering. A burned child.

Is this what it means to obey God? To kill a child? To watch Ishmael die, to cut Isaac’s throat?

No. No.

There is a well of water we have not yet seen. There is a ram just over there, caught in the thicket. A messenger of God is there to redirect us, if only we can pay attention.

The war - within, without - is so terrifying. The terms seem so stark. Some part of us wants justice to necessitate brutality. We want to give up listening, grab the knife and just act. We want to just sit down and cry, while our child dies of thirst.

So many of us come to ask: If it is in the name of safety, how can we not bomb Gaza? If it is in the name of freedom, how can we not terrorize Israel? How can we not destroy these sinful cities full of evil, dangerous people?

We are so traumatized, we stop looking for another solution.

וַיִּפְקַ֤ח אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־עֵינֶ֔יהָ וַתֵּ֖רֶא בְּאֵ֣ר מָ֑יִם

God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water.

וַיִּשָּׂ֨א אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶת־עֵינָ֗יו וַיַּרְא֙ וְהִנֵּה־אַ֔יִל אַחַ֕ר נֶאֱחַ֥ז בַּסְּבַ֖ךְ בְּקַרְנָ֑יו

Abraham lifted his eyes and saw, a ram, off in the distance, caught in the underbrush by his horns.

Some people, at some terrible times, come to believe there is no choice but to allow the deaths of children, to justify them, even to cause them. Our Torah wants us to listen differently. These trials teach a different way of looking. An openness in every moment to the possibility that there will be, in fact, some way to protect the helpless from harm.

I don’t know what the path away from death, and toward life, is. Neither did Hagar or Avraham, not at first. But they were not hardened against seeing that path when it did open. And it always opens. 

Like them, I am ready for my eyes to be opened.

[jrhughes]

The Sign of the Covenant 

Sunday, September 24th 2023 A.D. 

Genesis 17:1-14 

Golden Text:       10 This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.  11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt Me and you.  12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.  - Genesis 17:10-12 

God wanted His people to be a special people. As you know a covenant was cut. The meat offering of the covenant, offered to the Lord had to be cut.  Here there is a cutting on every male child of Abram and all that are in his household, born or otherwise acquired.  This was a covenant sign that all of the people belonged to God under the covenant of God. 

This was now thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael and the first time in Scripture that we are told God had personally visited Abram since Abram was 86.  Abram was 86 years old when his son Ishmael was born of Hagar. Now Abram is 99 years old and we have God speaking to him about another child. WHAT?  Abram is 99 years old. 

My wife has a tea for the ladies. They always have a Bible quiz. One of the questions often asked was: How old was Sarai (Sarah) when she conceived a child?  There was a lady named Sister Gladys Kennedy who always attended who was in her nineties. The correct answer was Sarah was two or three years younger than Sister Kennedy, when Sarah conceived Isaac. Our point being that this was indeed a miracle birth of Abraham and Sarah, with a child coming from a 90 year old womb and the seed of a 99 year old man.  IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR GOD? 

Draw near with faith and realize that with God, all things are possible.  If you doubt that you can ask Lazarus who was raised from the dead after being dead for four (4) days. NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR GOD. 

Message Text:  -  Genesis:   Chapter 17:1-14 

1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I Am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be thou perfect. 

Abram was ninety years old and nine. Did you read that carefully? Abram was ninety-nine (99) years of age. We all KNOW that would make Abram too old to do any good for God, he should have done things when he was much younger.  God cannot use an old man like that.  Oh, sure God should be nice to Abram, but after all Abram is 99 years old. He considered past his prime by the world. Well Abram was, in the eyes of the world, too old when he left Haran. 

Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran (Genesis 12:4). He was 86 years old when the son Ishmael was born of Hagar, the servant girl (Genesis 16:15-16). He had waited some 25 years for the fulfilment of God’s promise to give a son through Sarai. It had been some 13 years since his last recorded word from God. 

BUT WAIT. GOD APPEARED.  God actually appeared to this older man. WOW! He must want him to go to tell those in the nursing homes, that is all that he can do at 99. RIGHT? NO! Life has passed him. He can only prepare to die. God has nothing for a 99 year old man OR perhaps God is not bound by the ideas of man.  

The LORD appeared to Abram: Undoubtedly, this was another appearance of God in the person of Jesus, who took on a temporary human appearance before His incarnation on earth (as with Hagar in Genesis 16:7-9). 

I Am Almighty God: God’s first words to Abram made an introduction and a declaration of His being. By this name El Shaddai (God Almighty), God revealed His Person and character to Abram.  

The last time God appeared to Abram was 13 years before. 

I Am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be thou perfect. But God speaks.  We believe that this is an appearance of God. And whenever we have an appearance of God before the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the One Who declares or shows Himself in Bodily form is the LORD Jesus Christ. 

No man hath seen God at any time; the only Begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.- John 1:18 

Since there is only one form in which God appears bodily, we believe God the Son, then this must have been an appearance of God the Son centuries before He was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. And this Person spoke (say, speak, utter) and directed this old man to walk (go, walk, depart) before God AND to be perfect (be upright, sincere).  Why would God ask a 99 year old man to begin a ministry to walk in it, to be upright and sincere? Perhaps the ways of God are different from the ways of man. Perhaps with GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. 

But is Jesus Almighty God?   YES! 

8 I Am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.  - Revelation 1:8 

2 And I will make My covenant between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 

I (GOD) will make My covenant (agreement, promise that cannot be broken) between Me (God) and thee (Abram). Did you read that?  GOD ALMIGHTY is going to make a covenant, (a promise that cannot be broken) between Me (GOD) and you, mortal man. God knows the future and God here declares that Abram and his seed will keep the covenant. This was a promise of God Who is all knowing. This was the same covenant that God had been telling Abram of since his days in Ur, then Haran and finally here in Canaan. It had now been 25 years since God first made His promise to Abram.  Have you ever had to wait that long? 

GOD IN PRESENT TIMES. There is a story that I have been told, that I believe to be true. There was a fine Christian lady who had been praying for the conversion of her husband for two decades. Then one day her husband was on the way home from a business trip and had been killed in a car crash. She was hurt and now very upset with God, Who had not saved her husband. One day, about a month later, a young seminary aged young man came to the office of that man and asked for him by name.  They told his wife. She came out to see him and told him the sad news.  And when she found out that he was a seminary student she asked him why did he think God had not saved her husband? The young man said I need to tell you this.   

About a month ago I was hitchhiking back to my school.  It was cold and raining and so I was trying to get a ride. A man in a late modeled car stopped to pick me up. He said he usually did not pick up hitch hikers but it was cold and raining.  He asked me where I was going. I told him. He said well, I can take you up the road about an hour. But may I ask you a question? Then he asked me about the Bible and some passages. After about 15 minutes I asked him, Sir, if you were to die today do you have the assurance you would go to heaven? He said, quite frankly I do not and my wife has been bugging me for years. She became a Christian very early in our marriage. Then I asked him if he would like to know for certain. He asked can one KNOW? I said Yes.  First we have to know that God loves you and has a plan for your life and it ends with the paradise of heaven. But when we sin, the plan of God is frustrated. I explained how all sin earns us the death penalty for the wages of sin is death. A person who sins has earned eternal death and torment. But that love of God had sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay that death penalty for us. So, we do not have to go to hell, but can go to heaven and He makes it so very easy.  

Then I went over Romans 10, verses 9 through 13. And by now I could see a tear in his eyes. Then I asked him if he wanted to pray to receive Jesus and know that he would be in heaven when he died. He said he really would like that. So we pulled off to the side of the road and he prayed that prayer confessing his sins and asking God to save him. It was wonderful. We were both in tears. Crying tears of joy. And we continued our talk until I was to get out and go up a road to my school and he let me out.  He gave me his card.  He said he could not wait to get home to tell his wife. So your husband is in heaven, as we speak.  

The two of them rejoice together and she prayed and asked God to forgive her for doubting Him. 

NOTE: MY GOD IS REAL FOR I CAN FEEL HIM DEEP IN MY SOUL. 

3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,  

Abram knew he was in the presence of God. What did he do?   

Abram fell on his face. You and I can only imagine what might happen.  Suppose that the resurrected Jesus appeared before you in all His glory. Do you suppose you would react as Abram or later John? 

12 And I turned to see the Voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;  13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks One like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.  14 His Head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire;  15 And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His Voice as the sound of many waters.  16 And He had in His right Hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.  17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. ...  Revelation 1:12-17  

Then God spoke in an audible Voice: 

4 As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 

My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. God once again assures Abram that Abram is to be the one through whom will come the seed of the new covenant with God. The covenant agreement is with Abram and He tells Abram that he is to be the father of many nations.  This promise is being made to a man who has had no children with his wife Sarai and only one child with the Egyptian maid Hagar. God knows the future and God is sharing that information with Abram. 

5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 

Abram means, “father of many.” What a name for a man who was fatherless for the first 86 years of his life. The culture looked upon children as a reward. Thus many thought no children may have been a punishment.  

Now, God went a step further and made his name “father of many nations.” 

Thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. God changes the name Abram, father of many to a new name that means father of many nations (Abraham). God is now revealing His plan. God is planning on a people that are peculiar to God (Jewish nation) which will be joined by whosoever will and those people will make up the covenant people. All who are in Christ Jesus are also heirs to this promise. 

Galatians 3:26-29: - 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. - Galatians 

6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 

I will make thee exceeding fruitful.  God here makes a promise to Abram about him being exceeding, (surpassing, going beyond) fruitful, (profitable, beneficial). The covenant first announced in Genesis 12:1-3 is to be passed on to the children of Abram-Abraham. His children, which children? 

And I will make nations of thee. From you, Abram will come nations of people. 

Kings shall come out of thee. Not just numbers, but also important people, leaders of those nations. 

And I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee. And I do not limit this to you, Abram, but My covenant is with you and your children and grandchildren and great .... Never before had God mentioned this part of the covenant. God Who knows the future, could assure Abram that this covenant was going to last. His line, his offspring would keep the covenant.  

8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. 

By now Abram would have realized that in the natural man, Abram most likely would not produce children. But God had made a promise. 

I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. Those who come after Abram: his seed, (descendants, those not yet born) children, grandchildren, great ... will God give to those children of Abram this land of Canaan.  And it shall be an everlasting (continues forever) possession. (They will own it) 

I will be their God. They will receive the land, but more importantly God has agreed to be the God of Abram (Abraham) and the line of Abram. They will not worship gods made with the hands of man that cannot speak, cannot hear, cannot perform miracles. NO! As for you and your house (lineage) is concerned you will worship and call upon the Only True, Living, Creator God. The land was and is God’s covenant promise to the Jewish people. Are the promises still valid?  YES. (See Romans 3 and Romans 11) 

9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep My covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.  10 This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.  

Keep My covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee.  

Covenant:  Easton's Bible Dictionary 

A contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word berith is always thus translated. Berith is derived from a root which means "to cut," and hence a covenant is a "cutting," with reference to the cutting or dividing of animals into two parts, and the contracting parties passing between them, in making a covenant (Genesis 15; Jeremiah 34:18, 19). 

. . . 

2. The word is used with reference to God's revelation of Himself in the way of promise or of favor to men. ... We have an account of God's covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17, comp. Leviticus 26:42), ...   

This covenant had a sign or token. Every man child among you shall be circumcised.  There was to be a cutting away of the foreskin on every male child who was a part of the family of Abraham and those bought in his household, the ones Abram owned. Circumcision was/is required of every male at the age of eight days old. 

CIRCUMCISION: 

A religious rite performed on male children of Jews on the eighth day after birth; also on their slaves, whether born in the house or not. It was enjoined upon Abraham and his descendants as "a token of the covenant" concluded with him by God for all generations, the penalty of non-observance being "karet," excision from the people (Gen. xvii. 10-14,xxi. 4; Lev. xii. 3). Aliens had to undergo circumcision before they could be allowed to partake of the covenant-feast of Passover (Ex. xii. 48), or marry into a Jewish family (Gen. xxxiv. 14-16). It was "a reproach" for the Israelite to be uncircumcised (Josh. v. 9; on "the reproach of Egypt"... 

. . . 

... According to Ex. iv. 24-26, the circumcision of the first-born son was omitted by Moses, and the Lord therefore "sought to kill him"; whereupon "Zipporah took a flint and cut off the foreskin of her son, and made it touch [A. V., "cast it at"] his [Moses'] feet," saying, "A bridegroom of blood art thou to me." Thus Moses was ransomed by the blood of his son's circumcision. 

Strange as was this omission on the part of Moses, the omission of the rite on the part of the Israelites in the wilderness was no less singular. 

. . .  

...As recorded in Josh. v. 2-9, "all the people that came out" of Egypt were circumcised, but those "born in the wilderness" were not; and therefore Joshua, before the celebration of the Passover, had them circumcised with knives of flint (compare Ex. iv. 25) at Gilgal, which name is explained as "the rolling away" of "the reproach of Egypt"... 

There are some commentators that explain God did this because it was safe for the child, others had done it and so forth. NO! God did not follow them. This was a sign or token. It was the idea of God. It was only long afterward that the wisdom of God was seen and verified God knew exactly what He was doing, when to do it, and the purpose of it so the world would know who were his people. Later science caught up. IT WAS NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND as some try to have you believe. This was the idea of God. The world tries to tell you that it was adopted from other cultures. Not true. THIS CIRCUMCISION was the outward sign of the covenant with God. 

But we ask: but I ask you, who are the true seed of Abraham?  

7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.  8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. - Romans 9:7-8 

28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:  29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. - Romans 2:28-29 

11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt Me and you.  12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.  13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 

God makes it very clear to Abram who is to be circumcised. God does not limit it to genetic (DNA) but also every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. All of these males must needs be circumcised: and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. There are to be no exceptions.   

Notice the reaction of Abram-Abraham: no committee meetings, no checking around, just immediate obedience to God and to the everlasting covenant. 

14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken My covenant. 

There is a severe penalty for those who do not come under the covenant authority of God. The uncircumcised will be treated as one who has rejected the Covenant of God. He is a covenant breaker. As such he will not enjoy any of the benefits  of the Covenant of God. In the New Testament era it is not as if you rejected baptism, it is as if you rejected the salvation offered to whosoever will. 

For God so loved the world, that He (Father-God) gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him (Jesus and His death in their place) should not perish, but have everlasting life. - John 3:16 

Notice the verse says should not perish. Why? Because Jesus died for all sins and all sinners, but if you chose not to accept His death in your place, although you should not perish, it does not say you SHALL NOT perish. Failure to repent and rely upon Jesus death on the cross will leave you outside the salvation covenant. 

As Circumcision is necessary to every male in the household of Abram, salvation is only for those who are willing to turn from a life of sin and accept the death of Jesus to pay for your sins.  Jesus paid the death penalty. You must accept the benefit: His bloody, sacrificial death has earned for you.  BECAUSE OF HIM you should not perish, you should have everlasting life. Have you accepted Him and His death in your place?  If not . . .   . 

Final word about Circumcision. The world will tell you that this practice was practiced by others before, but the main purpose of earlier circumcisions was to help in procreation of children. Only here in the Bible does God set it forth as the only way to heaven is through Jesus. The circumcised ones had to also believe in the Messiah of Israel, then yet to come. But now He has come, being born in a stable near or in Bethlehem. HE came to die. HE died to pay the death penalty that your sins earned you.  TURN ALL THE WAY TO JESUS. 

The New Testament Covenant.  Salvation, saving one from being on the way to hell and now making heaven his/her home. 

HOW?  God does not make it difficult. 

Romans Chapter 10:9-13 

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.  12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.  13 For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved. 

If you believe Jesus is Lord, the One Who makes the final decisions in your life; and you believe that after His crucifixion (bloody death on the cross) He died and was buried in a tomb. (But God raised Him from the dead.) YOU can be saved from the penalty and torment of hell and the lake of fire. Call upon Him to forgive you, to cleanse you, to come into your heart and life. You trust Him as Lord and the Only Way to heaven, then you will be saved. You will make your final home the paradise of heaven. HALLELUJAH.  

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I come before You asking You to make sure that I am totally in the faith and am a fit vessel to be used of You. If I am not now fit, Lord, please forgive me of all of my sin and unrighteousness, cleanse me and make me Yours. Then Lord make me fit for Your use and bring to me those that You want me to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and all that HE has done for me. And make me aware that the covenant with You (since Jesus was born, lived and died for me) is only available through my faith in the Lord Jesus and what HE has done for me. I admit my heart is deceitful, the things I do, even for You are like filthy rags. Take me, as I am and change me, so that I may be used by You. Then make me willing and available to be used by You, I pray in the Name of Jesus Christ, the LORD. Amen and amen. 

May God bless you in all that you do for Him, Brother J.R. Soul winner, Bible teacher, Defender of the Faith

[anonymousjos]

Six:

God gives blessings in strange ways: Reading Day 6

Happy Birthday to meeeee! I am 33 today. We bought a new battery for my husbands van and I no longer have to start it every morning before I leave the house haha. It’s just a boring old Wednesday and I’d rather die than take my children into a restraunt so tonight we are going to get burgers at the dairy bar and eat outside on the pic nic tables. It is officially my faviorte time of the year, Summer- Sigh in contentness. I live for summer. 

Also, just a quick health update. Today I am down 18 pounds. I will admint that I’ve been a little bit embarrassed about the fact that this drug has made me drop so much weight so quickly when I have been unsuccucessful on my own and I’ve worked so hard at it. But yesterday I read something in a group I follow and it really resignated with me. Also, it just so happed to come from the girl who first told me about this drug. She said this medicine is life changing, it’s too importiant to gate keep. She’s right. If she hadn’t told me about this drug I would not have done my research and decided to give it a try. I would not be down all of this crazy inflimation from my auto-immune issues and I would not be feeling like myself. So, thank you to her.  My ankles have not been this skinny in FOREVER. On that note, I had a realization yesterday! Since my double steroid shots a week and a half ago I have not taken an antiinflamitory! I think it’s a combanation of the steroid shots (although my knee hurts again lol) and the simaglutide but (fingers crossed) I think the combo may have pushed me out of this crazy four month long flair I was  having! I am so happy and shocked. I thought swolen pain was just my life now. Thank you, God. Amen. I do wish I could have gone to the Rumo during the flair but I hope we can just still move forward with a diagnosis without the flair.  

Anywho, back to business… This morning on my way to work I listened to Genises 19-21 and let’s just say that that esclated quickly! I’m talking Angel murder and insest.

In today’s passages two angels go to Sodom and Gamorrah to see if it is as wicked as believed and Lot convinces the angels to stay at his house instead of the town square,  in an attempt to save the city. The men of the city come to Lots house to find out who the men are. Lot begs the townsmen to not be wicked and even offers them his two virgin daughters- um, thanks dad! The men refuse and try to break into Lots house. The angels tell Lot to take his family and leave. Lot tries to warn the two men who are to be his son in laws but they think he’s joking. When Lot is hesitant to leave the Angels throw him, his wife and two daughters out of the town. In the valley, Lots wife turns back and turns into a pillar of salt. For whatever reason Lot decides to take his daughters into a cave instead of the city he was fleeing to. In despair the daughters decide they will never have husbands so they get Lot drunk and sleep with him so they can both get pregnant. Seriously, like what? 

We then go back to Abraham and Sara. Although the timing is unclear, Abram and Sara go to ANOTHER King and present Sara as Abrams sister (also, she is his half-sister we discover- I guess that was a thing in those days) instead of his wife. The king takes Sara but before he touches her God comes to the king in a dream and tells him he will be destroyed for taking another man’s wife. The king points out that he did not know and was innocent. God tells him to return Sara and be spared. The king does and asks Abram why they would do such a thing. Abram told the king it was because he does not follow God. The king gives blessings to Abram and declares Sara innocent in the whole fiasco.

Then, Sara has her son and catches Hagar’s son laughing at him. She makes Abram (even though he does not want to- but God tells him to do what Sara wants and he will take care of them) throw them out into the wilderness. – This is the servant that she gave to Abram for the sole purpose of having this son. The boy grows up in the wilderness and Hagar gets him an Egyptian wife.

So- everybody following? Stay tuned and we will see what happens tomorrow.

[penguicorns-are-cool]

You're so right especially cause this comes right after Avraham sent away Ishmael. While he did fight a bit with Sarah on that, he went along with it as soon as God said it's ok because Ishmael will survive. and yeah cool he knows Ishmael won't die so he's fine with it now I can accept that, but that means he just left Hagar there to die. No plans of survival for her we don't even know what happened we only know that Ishmael survived.

like, as the main characters get switched out up until Moshe they just get progressively more argumentative with authority and more family-oriented.

Avraham: questioned God a bit at first but is till famously the blind-faith guy who just listened to a random voice tell him to leave his home and kill his son. Also not too protective of his family. Like if God says they have to die that's how it is i guess. Like some hesitation, a bit of fighting for Lot but that was mainly cause God was gonna kill two whole like, probably city-states i think, of people.

Yitzchak: not much happens in his story. doesn't really question authority but also has like zero oppurtunities for that. not super family-oriented either but part of that is also probably a bit of religous trauma when one of his sons turns out exactly like his Dad who tried to kill him.

Yaakov: does question authority definitely. literally tricks his blind Dad, fights an angel, and once he's done doing the work he's promised to Lavan despite the unfair stuff he did he leaves and calls him out on it when Lavan follows him despite Lavan being his father in law. And I would say he is a family man cause not only are his kids protective of each other (except Yoseph ofc), but we also see his reaction to Yoseph and Binyamin disappearing. He's not the best Dad though cause he has such clear favorites. Does eventually bless them all on his death bed though so there's that

Yoseph: definitely challenges authority, like first thing we hear of him is him telling all his older brothers and moms and dad that they're all gonna bow down to him one day and his later interactions with Pharoah are definitely fun to read. Not super family-oriented but can you blame him. Does forgive them all eventually and is living with them and seemingly close with them at the end which is more than he had to do

Moshe: definitely questions authority like all the time. first questioned Pharoah and the slavery, then it took him very long to trust the talking burning bush, then ofc was the biggest advocate against slavery of the Hebrew people, and later questioned God when they were about to kill all the Jews for the golden calf, and got God to at least kind of reveal his form to him, also just generally has quite a few arguments with God. also his whole thing with family is going back to it. He brings along his father-in-law Yitro and ofc his own family the entire time, also got fairly close with his siblings. like family is very very important to his story.

so the family thing is a very good point. Like this could be a thing where, from a textual analysis pov looking at the torah as a story to share morals, the sacrifice shows Avraham's flaws in a nice succint towards the end of his part and shows those flaws sort of fading away in future generations until we get to Moshe.

I'm pretty sure Avraham failed the test

like if I was given a test and the person giving the test very obviously told me that I was wrong and not to actually do the thing, I would assume I failed the test

also, that's about where the torah switches focus from Avraham to Yitzchak. There were no more tests after that, his story just kind of ends. His next big task is to just marry off his son and that's it he's done.

Like, I really don't think he passed that test I think he failed for refusing to question God for giving him a very unreasonable task.

And it's not like others haven't been rewarded for questioning or even fighting authority

like Yaakov is very definitely rewarding for tricking his Dad cause like right after it says he has a dream where God basically told him good job you will have many descendents. Then later on he literally fights an angel and it's a good thing cause he got renamed Israel as part of a blessing and now we're B'nei Israel

And Moshe definitely questioned authority that was like his whole thing. And even beyond Pharoah, he also had to reason with God to get them to not kill everyone.

Even Avraham that time he convinces God to not kill everyone in Sodom and Gomorrah if there are ten good people. There aren't but Avraham's questioning and reasoning with God is portrayed as a good thing.

Also, Judaism is generally very supportive of questioning authority and child sacrifices are very specifically banned in the torah, so It makes no sense that Avraham passed the test because he would've obeyed God even to kill his child. Like that moral is pretty inconsistent with the rest of the Torah.

so I definitely think Avraham failed that test.

[cardest]

Tennessee playlist

I’m going to Memphis! This is the mighty Tennessee - Memphis & Nashville playlist. You can’t tell the story of rock n roll without mentioning Memphis. Mississippi and Nashville, such a great history of music in this region. Chuck D hits things off with the ultimate introduction. Hit play here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-iHPcxymC1_X9nesbW37-9FNLiJWOQ1f

This playlist has it all. Soul, blues and rock n roll. We take a journey back to the beginning of country as well, with Nashville and finish up at Dollywood. Hope you dig it.

Tennessee - Mississippi - Arkansas

001 Henry Rollins & Chuck D - Rise Above 002 Clutch -  Devil & Me 003 Paul Simon - Graceland 004 Isaac Hayes - Memphis Trax 005 Scott Walker - Thats How I Got to Memphis 006 AC/DC - let there be rock 007 Johnny Cash -  Country Boy 008 Chuck Berry -  Back To Memphis 009 Jay Reatard - Gree, Money, Useless Children 010 Lukah - Black Dragon 011 King Curtis - Memphis Soul Stew 012 Rosetta Howard & the Harlem Hamfats - Delta Bound 013 Nots - In Glass 014 Pere Ubu - Memphis 015 Loretta Lynn - The Pill 016 Howlin Wolf - Smokestack Lightnin 017 Rory Gallagher - The Mississippi Sheiks 018 Crime and the City Solution - Streets Of West Memphis 019 River City Tanlines - Met You Before 020 Johnny Cash - Going To Memphis 021 Al Green - Get Back Baby 022 Kim Salmon & The Surrealists - The Zipper 023 Booker T & the MG - Melting Pot 024 Pussycat - Mississippi 025 Boswell Sisters - Roll On, Mississippi, Roll On 026 Aretha Franklin   - Muddy Water 027 The Cramps - Garbageman 028 HASH REDACTOR - Good Sense 029 Optic Sink - Personified 030 Angry Angles - Blockhead 031 Big Star - Thirteen 032 Memphis Jug Band -  Going Back to Memphis 033 North Mississippi AllStars - K.C. Jones (On The Road Again) 034 Bass Drum Of Death -  Bad Reputation 035 Today Is the Day -  The Devil's Blood 036 Walk the Line Soundtrack- Get Rhythm 037 Jack White -  Temporary Ground 038 Jerry Lee Lewis - A Damn Good Country Song 039 The Homemade Jamz Blues Band - Rumors 040 Saving Abel - Pine Mountain (The Dance of the Poor Proud Man) 041 The Oxford Circle - Foolish Woman 042 Bobbie Gentry - Greyhound Goin' Somewhere 043 Reigning Sound - A Little More Time 044 NINA SIMONE - MISSISSIPPI GODDAM! 045 Laurie Anderson - Hiawatha 046 Glen Campbell - Burning Bridges 047 Dolly Parton - Hillbilly Willy 048 Elvis Presley - Guitar Man 049 Blue Oyster Cult - Divine Wind 050 Sammy Hagar - Halfway To Memphis 051 Izzy Stradlin   - Memphis                       052 Johnny Cash -  Run Softly, Blue River 053 Iron Horse - Unchained 054 The Cramps - Human Fly 055 Faces - Memphis 056 Jack Oblivian - Rat City 057 The Cooters - Bustin' Loose 058 Mott the Hoople - All The Way From Memphis 059 Dusty Springfield -  Breakfast in Bed 060 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Tupelo 061 Chicago - Blues In The Night             062 Crossin Dixon - Guitar Slinger 063 Strummin' With The Devil - And the Cradle Will Rock 064 Stray Cats -  Can't Go Back to Memphis 065 Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds 066 Suzi Quatro - Can't Trust Love 067 Lost Sounds - There's Nothing   068 Ike & Tina Turner ~ River Deep, Mountain High 069 Neil Diamond - Memphis Flyer 070 Julien Baker - hardline 071 The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Memphis Soul Typecast 072 Isaac Hayes  - Groove-A-Thon 073 Otis Clay - Trying To Live My Life Without You 074 Tim McGraw - Don't Mention Memphis 075 Eric Burdon & War - Blues For Memphis Slim 076 Homemade Jamz Blues Band - Blues Train 077 Sweet Knives - I DON'T WANNA DIE 078 Cream - Four Until Late 079 Grateful Dead - Golden Road 080 Huey Lewis and the  NEWS - Function At The Junction 081 The Cramps - I Was A Teenage Werewolf 082 Jesse Winchester_ The Brand New Tennessee Waltz 083 Dorsey Burnette - Tall Oak Tree 084 Field Music - Time In Joy 085 Jay Reatard -  Blood Visions 086 The Rolling Stones - Honky Tonk Women 087 Quintron & Miss Pussycat  - Block the comet 088 Al Green - Let's Stay Together 089 The Mountain Goats - Getting Into Knives 090 Johnny Cash -  Tennessee Flat Top Box 091 Robert Pete Williams & Robert “Guitar" J. Welch - Mississippi Heavy Water Blues 092 MARY JAMES - MAKE THE DEVIL LEAVE ME ALONE 093 Ministry - Mississippi Queen 094 U.S. Bombs - Rocks in Memphis 095 Nazareth - Jet Lag 096 The Bar-Kays - Holy Ghost 097 Ty Segall - Despoiler Of Cadaver 098 His Hero Is Gone - Like Weeds 099 Jerry Lee Lewis - Memphis Beat 100 Generation X =  King Rocker 101 The Doobie Brothers - Wild Ride 102 Bad Company - Whiskey Bottle 103 Black Stone Cherry - When The Weight Comes Down 104 Buddy Miles - Memphis Train 105 Memphis Slim - Rockin' The House (Beer Drinkin' Woman) 106 David Clayton Thomas  - Wish The World Would Come to Memphis 107 Lost Sounds - Better Than Somethings 108 Alice Cooper - Ubangi Stomp 109 Tom Waits -  Don't Go Into The Barn 110 Hank Snow - Music Makin' Mama From Memphis 111 Phil Ochs - Heres to the State of Misssippi 112 Reigning Sound  - Your Love Is A Fine Thing 113 Pixies -  Letter to Memphis 114 Bob Dylan - Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again 115 The Colorblind James Experience - Considering A Move To Memphis 116 B.B.King - Rock Me Baby 117 Carla Thomas - B-A-B-Y 118 Aquarian Blood - A Love That Leads To War 119 Nights Like These - Scavenger's Daughter 120 Rufus Thomas - Walking the Dog 121 Clutch -  The House That Peterbilt 122 Lyal Strickland - O Arkansas 123 Don Bryant - How Do I Get There 124 The Sensational Barnes Brothers - Trying To Go Home 125 Squirrel Nut Zippers - Memphis Exorcism 126 Faster Pussycat - Tattoo 127 The Rolling Stones - Memphis Tennessee 128 Alcatrazz -  Sons And Lovers 129 Evil Army - Violence And War 130 Deep Purple - Somebody Stole My Guitar (Purpendicular 11) 131 Dwight Yoakam - Guitars, Cadillacs 132 UFO - Natural Thing 133 Thunderbridge Bluegrass Boys - Tennessee 134 Confederate Railroad - Queen of Memphis 135 The Box Tops - The Letter 136 Jerry Lee Lewis - Night Train To Memphis 137 Reverend John Wilkins - Trouble 138 Phil Lynott - Kings Call (feat. Mark Knopfler) 139 Old Crow Medicine Show - Motel in Memphis 140 Candy Lee- Here in Arkansas 141 Pharoah Sanders - You've Got To Have Freedom 142 Molly Hatchet - Mississippi Moon Dog 143 Rwake - Crooked Rivers 144 CARL PERKINS & PAUL SIMON - A Mile Out Of Memphis 145 Eddie Floyd - Knock On Wood 146 Al Green - Talk to me 147 Mush - Eat the Etiquette 148 PJ Harvey - Memphis 149 EX-CULT  - Clinical Study 150 Isaac Hayes  - Mans Temptation 151 Lil’ Jon & Eastside Boyz - Rep Yo City 152 Rufus Wainwright - Memphis Skyline 153 Stray Cats - 18 Miles to Memphis 154 Amasa Hines - Earth and Sky 155 Joe Henderson -  Back Road 156 Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash - Memphis Woman 157 Norma Jean - Memphis Will Be Laid To Waste 158 Fess Parker - Ballad of Davy Crockett 159 Assjack -  Redneck Ride 160 Brother Andy & His Big Damn Mouth - Social Lube 161 The Replacements - Alex Chilton 162 Ann Peebles - The handwriting is on the wall 163 The Highwaymen -  Big River 164 The Cult - Memphis Hip Shake 165 STEVE EARLE -  Hillbilly Highway 166 The BO-KEYS featuring OTIS CLAY -Got To Get Back 167 Rush - Tom Sawyer 168 Class Of '55: Memphis Rock & Roll Homecoming - Birth Of Rock And Roll 169 Hank Williams Jr - Memphis Belle 170 Sam Moore & Dave Prater - Soul Man 171 Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Bloc Bloc Bloc 172 Kenny Rogers & The First Edition  - Just Dropped In 173 Linda Heck - pictures of dead people 174 Carla Thomas - Sugar 175 Three Mafia 6 - Mystic Stylez 176 Osborne Brothers- Rocky Top 177 The Beverly Hillbillies Theme Song 178 Wilson Pickett - Barefootin' 179 Dolly Parton - Jolene 180 Charlie Daniels - long haired country boy 181 The Civil Wars - From This Valley 182 Jill Jack - Gettin' On In Memphis (The Elvis Song) 183 Huckleberry Finn and His Friends - Opening title 184 Dead Cross -  Skin of a Redneck 185 Johnny Cash - I Never Picked Cotton 186 Old Crow Medicine Show -  Wagon Wheel 187 Isaac Hayes  - That love feeling 188 Aretha Franklin - I say a little prayer 189 Little Milton - What Do You Do When You Love Somebody 190 Howlin' Wolf - Spoonful 191 Weird Al" Yankovic - Money For Nothing / Beverly Hillbillies 192 The Oblivians - I'll Be Gone 193 OT Sykes - Stone crush on you 194 The Mad Lads  - Come closer to me 195 The Box Tops - Choo Choo train 196 Bobby Blue Bland - dreamer 197 Wanda Jackson - Rip It Up 198 Junior Parker - Love Ain't Nothin' but a Business Goin' On 199 The Nightingales ft. Tommy Tate - Just a Little Overcome 200  The Louvin Brothers - Satan is real 201 Overture "Big River" - (1985 Original Broadway Cast) 202 Ike & Tina Turner - Shake 203 Playa Fly - fly shit 204 Adia Victoria - Different Kind Of Love 205 Grateful Dead - Tennessee Jed 206 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Backwoods 207 Otis Redding - Tennessee Waltz 208 Nashville Pussy - The Late Great USA 209 The Paperhead - The true poet 210 Tomahawk - South Paw 211 Night Beats - Her Cold Cold Heart 212 Forest of Tygers - human monster 213 LOSS - All Grows on Tears 214 Charlie McCoy - Wayfaring Stranger 215 Dick Stusso - Modern Music 216 Eddie Noack - Aint the Reaping Ever Done 217 Jason & the Scorchers - Greetings From Nashville   218 Jasmin Kaset and Quichenight - A Single Right Word 219  Gospel Keynotes - Give Me My Flowers 220   WEEN - Scrape the Mucus off My Brain 221 Shannon Shaw - Broke My Own 222 The Jesus Lizard - Blue Shot 223 Eddy Arnold    - Tennessee Stud 224 Clutch - Pure Rock Fury 225 Today Is The Day -  Who Is The Black Angel? 226 Hank Williams Jnr - Tennessee River 227 The Dead Weather -  Bone House 228  Every Mother's Nightmare - Long Haired Country Boy 229 Motley Crue - She goes down 230 Waylon Jennings - Tennessee 231 Dolly Parton - Down On Music Row 232 Jello Biafra & Mojo Nixon - Lets Go Burn Ole Nashville Down 233 The Byrds - Nashville West 234 Sharon Van Etten - Every Time the Sun Comes Up 235 Bill Anderson ~ More Than A Bedroom Thing 236 Dottie West - Route 65 To Nashville 237 Intruder - The Martyr 238 Johnny Cash - Smiling Bill McCall 239 Lynard Skynyrd - Workin For MCA 240 The Everly Brothers  - Nashville Blues 241 Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - Elusive Dreams 242 Nashville Bluegrass Band - Im Gonna Love You 243 Ringo Starr - No-No Song 244 Hank Williams - Hey, Good Lookin' 245 The Lovin Spoonful - Nashville Cats 246 They Might Be Giants - James K. Polk 247 Commander Cody  -  Back To Tennessee 248 Wanda Jackson - Shakin' All Over 249 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Grand Ole Opry Song 250 Tomahawk - Flashback 251 Megadeth -  Dystopia 252 Dolly Parton -  Train, Train 253 The Clovers - One Mint Julep 254 Trampled By Turtles - Whiskey 255 Tom T. Hall - Nashville is a Groovy Little Town 256 Muddy Waters - I am the blues 257 Foo Fighters - Congregation 258 Pavement - Strings Of Nashville 259 Joe Ely - Tennessees Not The State Im In 260 Waylon Jennings - Nashville Bum 261 The Charmels - As Long As I Got You 262 Eve Maret - Do my thing 263 SABATON - 82nd All the Way 264 Halfway To Hazard - Welcome To Nashville 265 Nashville Pussy - Go Motherfucker Go 266 Indigo Girls - Nashville 267 Snarls - Walk In The Woods 268 Steeler - Cold Day in Hell 269 Strummin' With The Devil  - Jamies Cryin' 270 spazz gummo love theme 271 The Cramps - Cornfed Dames 272 Saxon -  Solid Ball Of Rock 273 Al Green - Tired of Being Alone 274 Soul Friction - It's Out Of My Hands 275 Today Is the Day - Wheelin' 276 Jackie Lynn - Odessa 277 The Jesus Lizard - Nub 278 Bully - Where To Start 279 Sonny Boy Williamson II - Lonesome Cabin 280 Tomahawk - God hates a coward 281 The Louvin Brothers - Knoxville Girl 282 Tom Waits - Jitterbug Boys 283 The Evil Dead Soundtrack  - Bridge Out 284 Wanda Jackson - Thunder On The Mountain 285 Elvis Presley - Where Do I Go From Here 286 Booker T & the MGs - Back Home 287 Ezra Furman & the Harpoons - American Highway 288 Joe Ely - dream camera 289 Assjack - Tennessee Driver 290 Nashville Pussy  - We Want A War 291 Dwight Yoakam - A Thousand Miles From Nowhere 292 Hank Williams, Jr. - Knoxville Courthouse Blues 293 ZZ Top - My Head's in Mississippi 294 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band -  Honky Tonkin' 295 Dead Weather - Die by the Drop 296 The Black Belles - What can I do 297 Dolly Parton  - Cowgirl And The Dandy 298 The Secret Sisters  - I've Got a Feeling 299 Justin Townes Earle - Aint Got No Money 300 Tomahawk - M.E.A.T 301 Jex Thoth - The Places You Walk 302 Bill Carter - Road To Nowhere 303 Bill Dees (Roy Orbison back vocals) - Tennesse Owns My Soul 304 Karen Elson  - The Ghost Who Walks 305 The Who - Whiskey Man 306 Hank Williams III - Crazed Country Rebel 307 The Lost Sounds - I Get Nervous 308 Big Star - September Gurls 309 ZZ Top - Whiskey n Mama 310 Johnny Cash - God's Gonna Cut You Down 666 Isaac Hayes - Hyperbolicsyllablecsesquedalymistic

Hit play: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-iHPcxymC1_X9nesbW37-9FNLiJWOQ1f

[nerdygaymormon]

Genesis 21:18 - Hagar, Part 2

10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. 16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.

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We already met Hagar in chapter 16 where her master, Abraham, impregnates her, she runs away from Abraham & Sarah, is alone in the wilderness when the Lord comes to her and gives her a blessing similar to Abraham’s, then encourages her to go back to servitude.

Her master Sarah eventually gets pregnant and has a child of her own and then says she doesn’t want Ishmael, who was born to Hagar the servant, to be an heir to her husband’s wealth. She wants her son Isaac to inherit everything

Hagar and her son Ishmael are kicked out into the wilderness with some bread and a bottle of water. Soon, the water is gone, there’s no more food, the sun is hot. Hagar understands this is the end. Her mother’s heart can’t stand to watch her child die, so she puts her child in the shade of a shrub, and then goes away, sits down and cries.

God again finds Hagar in the wilderness. Hagar did well when she gave God the name El Roi, “the God who sees me.” 

God reminds Hagar of the promise made to her, Ishmael is going to father a great nation. 

God takes care of the immediate need by providing Hagar a spring of water. Hagar fills the bottle with water and brings it to her son to revive him. 

Last time God came to Hagar in the wilderness, Hagar was sent back to Abraham and Sarah, a place she didn’t feel like she belonged, but at least she and her child would have their basic needs met. 

God does not send her back again. Not only would she not be welcomed, but it’s likely dangerous for her and her child. This time God says to go forward, make your place of belonging somewhere else.

This makes me think of many queer individuals who grow up in queerphobic homes with parents who dismiss and demean queer people. We remain, and often stay closeted, because staying is a better option than being cut off and left to fend for ourselves with little to no resources.

Some get kicked out and are suddenly left to fend for ourselves. Some struggle in the wilderness, working hard to survive, and some are helped.

Other times, we’re ready to move forward, find our chosen family, make our place and make our mark in the world.

Whether it’s more important we stay safe or it’s time to move ahead, God finds us in the wilderness. God comforts and consoles, God blesses, God encourages, God gives guidance. Queer people experience these things. 

We often say to queer kids, “it will get better,” and it most always does, even if it’s hard to believe in the moment.

Hagar was sobbing in the wilderness, her son dying of heat and dehydration, she sees no way out, but it got better. Ishmael went on to have a multitude of descendants, and he lived as a free man, not enslaved, just as God promised.