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The Winged Lion of Saint Mark

Inscription:  PAX TIBI MARCE EVANGELISTA MEVS
” peace be upon you, Mark, my evangelist “
By :  Vittore Carpaccio
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The Great Day of His Wrath

By:  John Martin

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The United States of America

“In God We Trust“

The Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.

One Nation, Under God. Indivisible, With Liberty & Justice for All.

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” It Is Written“
For a More Perfect Union.
Shadow’s Mirror.  East and West Geo-Political Relations.  For the Best Between Both Worlds.  Inner Sanctuaries Behind the Curtain.
“Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Test and prove what pleases the Lord… Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.“
–  Ephesians 5 (BSB)  (“overseer“)

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P.O.D. – Youth of the Nation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDKwCvD56kw
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“It is Written.“
The Way Our Story Goes.
Somebody’s Gotta know.  Will it Ever Make Sense?  This Day Will Not Like the Rest.
There’s Gotta be More to Life Than This. There’s Gotta be More to Everything I Thought Exist.

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The Declaration of Independence &

The Constitution of the United States of America

The Declaration of Independence officially broke all political ties between the American colonies and Great Britain.
The Declaration set forth the ideas and principles behind a just and fair government.
While the Constitution Outlined How this Government would function.

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“If Men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.
In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this:
you must first enable the government to control the governed; and the next place,
oblige it to control itself.”
–   James Madison (The Father of the Constitution)

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July 4th 1776

Reading of the Declaration of Independence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p04LtmGeXrU
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The Supreme Court of the United States

The Final Arbiter of the Law.
It is Charged with Ensuring the American People
the Promise of Equal Justice Under Law and, Thereby, Also Functions as Guardian and Interpreter of the Constitution.
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” Equal Justice Under the Law. “

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The Supreme Court Justices

An Appeal to Achieve Consensus Across The Court for the Norm of Collegiality Between the Nation’s Citizenry.
For Companionship and Cooperation Between Colleagues Who Share a Common Responsibility.

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As Composed June 30, 2022 – Present
Front row, left to right: Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and Associate Justice Elena Kagan.
Back row, left to right: Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Credit: Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

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Captain Picard’s Best Inspirational Speeches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jph2qWXJ-Tk

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“In God, We Trust It is Written.“
For International Adjudication and Alternative Dispute Resolution.
To Prevent The Loss of Civic Virtue.  All The Prevarication.  Equivocation.
The People Ask For Governments Which Embody the Results of Their Sacrifices.
This is The Right Course or Mode of Action For the People.  Our Apotheosis of Restoration.
As The Failure to Seek Godly Leadership Causes The Moral Decay & Injustice of Society.  “In God We Trust.“

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Prepared With Guidance From The Supreme Court

“In God, We Trust it is Written“

 To Enrich the Nation  –  The Underlying Values   –  Absorption/Hybrid Theory 

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Τ Ε Λ Ο Σ
This Stubborn Nobility
The People’s Entirely New Institution.
Built From the Holy Author of Our Religion.
Dedicated To Those Holders of Power & Responsibility.
A Special Civil Operation  :  “On Earth as it is in Heaven.“
For the Bankruptcies of Our Nation.  Time To Start All Over Again.
The Stone That The Builders Rejected Has Now Become the Cornerstone.
For a Movement Built Not on Legalism.  Not on Philosophy.  But On Christ.
So That You May be Proved Right When you Speak and Prevail When you Judge.
Words and Wisdom that None of Your Adversaries Will be Able to Resist or Contradict.
As You Accept This Coming Pattern of Teaching Which has Now Claimed your Allegiance.
With Considerations of : Text,  History, Tradition, Culture, Precedent, Purpose, Value, Consequences.
Helping Americans Live Better Lives Together as a Community.  For More Persevering & Enduring Cities.
Redefining the Nature of Our Association.  The Culture & State of Education.  Full of Wisdom & Perfect in Beauty.

Every Day is Exactly the Same.  Change is Possible.  The People Address the Lack of Hope of the Possibility for Improvement.
“The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true,“
–   Julius Robert Oppenheimer

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Magic Man – Voices Unite feat. Nes Mburu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnQF5Ie2Wh8
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Clay and Kelsy (feat. Elder Sister) – Three Little Birds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-utZDbX5g3s

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To Undergo An Experience.
To Be Acted Upon by Something External.  To Be in The State of Being Affected.   That Which Must be Endured.
For the sake of Your servant and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished this great thing and made known all these great promises.

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” The Last Judgement “

By : Michaelangelo (1536-1541)
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James 2
“one that takes by the heel; a supplanter“
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(New International Version)

Favoritism Forbidden

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.  Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in.  If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,”  have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?  But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?  Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.  But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.  For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.  For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.”  If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Deeds

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?  Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.  You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?  Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.  And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.  You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?  As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.


(Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs)
(Controlling Emotion : Greif, Sorrow, Rage, Anger Hope, Zeal, Joy.)

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I Have Attempted to Produce An Emotional Response

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4oke8GPbx2Y
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” International Resource Management. “

Addressing the Lack of Surplus in Global Economy.

Regarding the Concerns of the Governance of a Country or People.

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Of Citizens,

Pertaining to the State and its Administration; Pertaining to Public Life,
The Damaging Lack of Material Benefits Considered to be Basic Necessities in a Society.
Our People Must Learn to Devote Themselves to Doing What is Good, In Order to Provide for Urgent Needs and Not Live Unproductive Lives

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The Allocation of Benefits in Various Policy Fields in Such a Way as to Provide Groups,
Persons, and Places with at Least a Minimum Level of Benefits so as to Satisfy Basic Needs.
The Resources of the State and Society Working for Results in Achieving National Development Goals.
Supplying Provisions.  Each Country Is to Provide Supplies for One Month of the Year.  Bringing Tribute.

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Virtue & Justice

Statutes and Ordinances.

To Be At Ease and Without Fear of Harm.

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“It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the peace.”

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The end [or goal] of politics is the best of ends; and the main concern of politics
is to engender a certain character in the citizens and to make them good and disposed to perform noble actions…..”
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“It is clear that all partnerships aim at some good, and that the partnership that is most authoritative of all
and embraces all the others does so particularly and aims at the most authoritative good of all.  This is what is called the city or the political partnership….”

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“Political partnership must be regarded, therefore, as being for the sake of noble actions, not for the sake of living together…”
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“.. ““[O]ne who is genuinely of the popular sort (i.e. a supporter of democracy)
should see to it that the multitude is not overly poor, for this is the reason for democracy being depraved…
Instead the surplus should be allowed to accumulate until enough is available to give the poor enough money to acquire land or start a trade.
And even if there is no external surplus, notables who are refined and sensible will divide the poor among themselves and provide them with a start in pursuing some work”
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“Those who are going to rule in the authoritative offices ought to have three things:
first, affection for the established regime; next, a very great capacity for the work involved in rule; third, virtue and justice –
in each regime the sort that is relative to the regime…It is difficult to find all three of these in many men, but it is important for the regime
to make use of the men with these qualities to the greatest degree possible, or else the regime will be harmed, either by sedition, incompetence, or corruption…
While the virtuous also have a claim to rule, the very fact that they are virtuous leads them to avoid factional conflict. They are also too small a group to be politically consequential.“ 

                                                                                                                  –     Aristotle

Plato & Aristotle in the School of Athens
Painting by Rafael 1509-1511

” BEYOND / THROUGH “

Plato’s right hand points upwards and he holds ‘Timaeus’, his book on the formation of the universe and an explanation of its order and beauty.
Aristotle’s right hand is reaching forward, also with a book; ‘Ethics’, his treatise on ethical theory and living a good life.

Aristotle’s  Virtues

“Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know Thee and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.

Build me a son whose heart will be clean, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain.”

–  Douglas MacArthur
American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War.
achieving the rank of General of the Army.

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Jacob’s Ladder

“The Bridge Between Man and God”

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A Drawing By William Blake
A staircase representing the Gulf between man and God.
Jacob’s Ladder, or Jacob’s Dream, illustration to the Bible painted for Thomas Butts, Genesis, xxviii, 12;
Jacob lies in Foreground left dreaming, behind him rises spiral staircase amid stars and golden rays above,
three women stand at foot of staircase carrying trays and urns, other figures ascend or descend stairs. c.1799-1807

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Loreena Mckennitt – The Mystic’s Dream 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t267aQJcwjs

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To Undergo An Experience.
To Be Acted Upon by Something External.  To Be in The State of Being Affected.   That Which Must be Endured.

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Psalm 26
“sacred poem or song“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Vindicate Me, O LORD

Of David.

 Vindicate me, O LORD!

For I have walked with integrity;

I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.

Test me, O LORD, and try me;

examine my heart and mind.

For Your loving devotion is before my eyes,

and I have walked in Your truth.

I do not sit with deceitful men,

nor keep company with hypocrites.

I hate the mob of evildoers,

and refuse to sit with the wicked.

I wash my hands in innocence

that I may go about Your altar, O LORD,

to raise my voice in thanksgiving

and declare all Your wonderful works.

O LORD, I love the house where You dwell,

the place where Your glory resides.

Do not take my soul away with sinners,

or my life with men of bloodshed,

in whose hands are wicked schemes,

whose right hands are full of bribes.

But I will walk with integrity;

redeem me and be merciful to me.

My feet stand on level ground;

in the congregations I will bless the LORD.

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Proverbs 1
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“
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(New International Version)

Purpose and Theme

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

for gaining wisdom and instruction;

for understanding words of insight;

for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,

doing what is right and just and fair;

for giving prudence to those who are simple, 

knowledge and discretion to the young—

let the wise listen and add to their learning,

and let the discerning get guidance—

for understanding proverbs and parables,

the sayings and riddles of the wise. 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,

but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Prologue: Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom

Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction

and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

They are a garland to grace your head

and a chain to adorn your neck.

My son, if sinful men entice you,

do not give in to them.

If they say, “Come along with us;

let’s lie in wait for innocent blood,

let’s ambush some harmless soul;

let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,

and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

we will get all sorts of valuable things

and fill our houses with plunder;

cast lots with us;

we will all share the loot”—

my son, do not go along with them,

do not set foot on their paths;

for their feet rush into evil,

they are swift to shed blood.

How useless to spread a net

where every bird can see it!

These men lie in wait for their own blood;

they ambush only themselves!

Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;

it takes away the life of those who get it.

Wisdom’s Rebuke

Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,

she raises her voice in the public square;

on top of the wall she cries out,

at the city gate she makes her speech:

“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?

How long will mockers delight in mockery

and fools hate knowledge?

Repent at my rebuke!

Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,

I will make known to you my teachings.

But since you refuse to listen when I call

and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,

since you disregard all my advice

and do not accept my rebuke,

I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you;

I will mock when calamity overtakes you—

when calamity overtakes you like a storm,

when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,

when distress and trouble overwhelm you.

“Then they will call to me but I will not answer;

they will look for me but will not find me,

since they hated knowledge

and did not choose to fear the Lord.

Since they would not accept my advice

and spurned my rebuke,

they will eat the fruit of their ways

and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.

For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,

and the complacency of fools will destroy them;

but whoever listens to me will live in safety

and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

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For a Good Name.
Not To Be Over-Righteous.
Neither To Be Overwise.  Why Destroy Yourself?
Do Not be Overwicked, and do Not be a Fool Why Die Before Your Time?
It is Good to Grasp the One and Not Let Go of the Other. Whoever Fears God will Avoid All Extremes.
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–  Ecclessiates 7  “one who calls for an assembly”  (New International Version)

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AETHYRIEN – Óðr (Full album)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBSmiqrkmYE

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On-Point.
Tip of the Spear.
Let this Day Be Legend.
The Past Marches With You.
Call it a Win.  We Stand Our Ground Here.
Now.  Let The Golden Age of Human Civilization Begin.
 To Fight the Good Fight and Take Hold of the Life That is Truly Life.  Godliness & Contentment.
So That The People’s Name & Our Teaching Will Not be Discredited.   These Are Sound Words With Godly Teaching Worthy of Full Acceptance.
These are the Marks of Your Final Charge.  To Guard the Faith Against False Teachers & The Love of Money.  We Are Entrusted to Your Care.  Reject The False Doctrines.

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Halo Reach – Tip of the Spear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iieEf6fjt0

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Spiritual music Lokas. Lands of Spirits.
Локи. Краї духів. Volodymyr & Aquamriya meditation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS8gLK3cmHE

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Lamentations 3
(“a wailing, moaning, a weeping”  “to bark, scold” )
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The Prophet’s Afflictions

I am the man who has seen affliction

under the rod of God’s wrath.

He has driven me away and made me walk

in darkness instead of light.

Indeed, He keeps turning His hand

against me all day long.

He has worn away my flesh and skin;

He has shattered my bones.

He has besieged me and surrounded me

with bitterness and hardship.

He has made me dwell in darkness

like those dead for ages.

He has walled me in so I cannot escape;

He has weighed me down with chains.

Even when I cry out and plead for help,

He shuts out my prayer.

He has barred my ways with cut stones;

He has made my paths crooked.

He is a bear lying in wait,

a lion hiding in ambush.

He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces;

He left me without help.

He bent His bow

and set me as the target for His arrow.

He pierced my kidneys

with His arrows.

I am a laughingstock to all my people;

they mock me in song all day long.

He has filled me with bitterness;

He has intoxicated me with wormwood.

He has ground my teeth with gravel

and trampled me in the dust.

My soul has been deprived of peace;

I have forgotten what prosperity is.

So I say, “My strength has perished,

along with my hope from the LORD.”

The Prophet’s Hope

Remember my affliction and wandering,

the wormwood and the gall.

Surely my soul remembers

and is humbled within me.

Yet I call this to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed,

for His mercies never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness!

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in Him.”

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,

to the soul who seeks Him.

It is good to wait quietly

for the salvation of the LORD.

It is good for a man to bear the yoke

while he is still young.

Let him sit alone in silence,

for God has disciplined him.

Let him bury his face in the dust—

perhaps there is still hope.

Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him;

let him be filled with reproach.

For the Lord will not

cast us off forever.

Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion

according to His abundant loving devotion.

For He does not willingly afflict

or grieve the sons of men.

To crush underfoot

all the prisoners of the land,

to deny a man justice

before the Most High,

to subvert a man in his lawsuit—

of these the Lord does not approve.

God’s Justice

Who has spoken and it came to pass,

unless the Lord has ordained it?

Do not both adversity and good

come from the mouth of the Most High?

Why should any mortal man complain,

in view of his sins?

Let us examine and test our ways,

and turn back to the LORD.

Let us lift up our hearts and hands

to God in heaven:

“We have sinned and rebelled;

You have not forgiven.”

You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us;

You have killed without pity.

You have covered Yourself with a cloud

that no prayer can pass through.

You have made us scum and refuse

among the nations.

All our enemies

open their mouths against us.

Panic and pitfall have come upon us—

devastation and destruction.

Streams of tears flow from my eyes

over the destruction of the daughter of my people.

My eyes overflow unceasingly,

without relief,

until the LORD

looks down from heaven and sees.

My eyes bring grief to my soul

because of all the daughters of my city.

Without cause my enemies

hunted me like a bird.

They dropped me alive into a pit

and cast stones upon me.

The waters flowed over my head,

and I thought I was going to die.

I called on Your name, O LORD,

out of the depths of the Pit.

You heard my plea:

“Do not ignore my cry for relief.”

You drew near when I called on You;

You said, “Do not be afraid.”

You defend my cause, O Lord;

You redeem my life.

You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me;

vindicate my cause!

You have seen all their malice,

all their plots against me.

O LORD, You have heard their insults,

all their plots against me—

the slander and murmuring of my assailants

against me all day long.

When they sit and when they rise,

see how they mock me in song.

You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD,

according to the work of their hands.

Put a veil of anguish over their hearts;

may Your curse be upon them!

You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them

from under Your heavens, O LORD.

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Habakkuk 1
(“embrace” “garden herb“)
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(New International Version)

The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.

Habakkuk’s Complaint

How long, Lord, must I call for help,

but you do not listen?

Or cry out to you, “Violence!”

but you do not save?

Why do you make me look at injustice?

Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?

Destruction and violence are before me;

there is strife, and conflict abounds.

Therefore the law is paralyzed,

and justice never prevails.

The wicked hem in the righteous,

so that justice is perverted.

The Lord’s Answer

“Look at the nations and watch—

and be utterly amazed.

For I am going to do something in your days

that you would not believe,

even if you were told.

I am raising up the Babylonians, 

that ruthless and impetuous people,

who sweep across the whole earth

to seize dwellings not their own.

They are a feared and dreaded people;

they are a law to themselves

and promote their own honor.

Their horses are swifter than leopards,

fiercer than wolves at dusk.

Their cavalry gallops headlong;

their horsemen come from afar.

They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;

they all come intent on violence.

Their hordes advance like a desert wind

and gather prisoners like sand.

They mock kings

and scoff at rulers.

They laugh at all fortified cities;

by building earthen ramps they capture them.

Then they sweep past like the wind and go on—

guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”

Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

Lord, are you not from everlasting?

My God, my Holy One, you c will never die.

You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment;

you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.

Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;

you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.

Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?

Why are you silent while the wicked

swallow up those more righteous than themselves?

You have made people like the fish in the sea,

like the sea creatures that have no ruler.

The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks,

he catches them in his net,

he gathers them up in his dragnet;

and so he rejoices and is glad.

Therefore he sacrifices to his net

and burns incense to his dragnet,

for by his net he lives in luxury

and enjoys the choicest food.

Is he to keep on emptying his net,

destroying nations without mercy?

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CLASSIFIED NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION

REGARDING EXECUTIVE ORDER :  13526
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Τ Ε Λ Ο Σ
“IT IS WRITTEN.“
“VISION OF NEW POLITICS”
“LET’S TRY GOING THIS WAY.“
“THE PEOPLE’S INTERCESSION.“
“TO HOLD A FORM OF AUTHORITY..“
THEORY ACT OF GOOD GOVERNMENT.
“THE PEOPLE’S SPECIAL CIVIL OPERATION.“
REGARDING “CIVILIAN CONTROL OF THE MILITARY.”  
A PRAYER & PETITION FOR TEMPORARY LEADERSHIP.
STRUCTURED WITH ADVICE & CONSENT OF THE ELECT.
TO CONTROL A CERTAIN MILITARY OR GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY.
HELPING RESOLVING THE LARGEST SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS OF HUMANITY’S  FUTURE. 
THE REGIME OF THE NON-PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS  :  THE “VERIFICATION REGIME.“
THE STRUCTURING OF A SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION COMBINED WITH GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE.
DOING WHAT IS RIGHT IN THE EYES OF THE PEOPLE.  “ACTS” WHICH DELIVER “THE PEOPLE” FROM OPPRESSION.
THE UNIFORM RELATIONS OF ONE THING IN RELATION TO OTHER THINGS, AN EQUALITY , CONFORMITY.  OF SYMETRY.
MATTERS OF GREAT NATIONAL CONCERN.  ISSUES OF TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY.  COMPLIANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT.
WE THE PEOPLE OFFER THIS EXTENSIVE “TREATISE OF WAR & PEACE ”  TO SERVE AS THE MILLENIAL “INTERPRETATION OF THE TIMES“
THE SYSTEM OF OF GOOD BEHAVIOUR.  AS TO WHAT IS FAIR AND WHAT IS NOT.  JUSTICE BASED ON SUCH PRINCIPLES.  JURISPRUDENCE.
MAY THIS SERVE AS THE LOGICAL OR CONCEPTUAL STRUCTURE SERVING AS A FORM OF THOUGHT WITHIN A GIVEN AREA OF EXPERIENCE.
FAIRNESS IN THE ADJUSTMENT OF CONFLICTING INTERESTS.  THE SETTLMENT OF CONTROVERSIES BY THE DICTATES OF GOOD CONSCIENCE.
A NUCLEAR POSTURE REVIEW : OPTIONS FOR A “WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT APPROACH”  THAT WHICH IS EQUALLY RIGHT OR JUST TO ALL CONCERNED.
REGARDING THE INSTRUMENTS OF JUSTICE.  THE MACHINERY OF JUSTICE.  CLAIMS OF CORRUPTION & DECEIT.  MORAL DILEMMAS & ETHICAL PRINCIPLES.
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Schubert – Ave Maria

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5rusicEnc

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Wisdom from God.
It is Required that Those Who Have Been Given a Trust Must Prove Faithful.  Whether or Not People are Still So Cruel.
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  
He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast in His presence.“
                                                                                                                     –  1 Corinthians 1   “point” “peak”  (BSB)

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To The United States Congress.

“Pascal’s Wager.“
Thank You For Your Consideration. 
It Appears “We The People” Must Redefine the Nature of Our Association.
Please Uphold this Right and Just Cause to Fight the Prevailing “Brain-Rot” :  Freedom. “Free”  “The Absence of Restraint.“
On Behalf of “The People,” We “The People” Ask You, The United States Congress To Please Pass this Law/Bill that Gives Freedom.
As a Government Of the People, By The People, For The People. 
For The Central Government Authority of the United States of America.
A System of Government in Which The States Unite Under a Central Authority.
“to control a military or governmental entity”  “To Hold a Form of Authority, Hand in Hand.“
The Two Houses Composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives.  The Bicameral Legislature of the Federal Government System. 
A Deliberative Assembly with the Legal Authority to Make Laws for a Political Entity Such as a Country, Nation or City on Behalf of the People Therein.
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“Nations are not ruined by one act of violence, but gradually and in an almost imperceptible manner
by the depreciation of their circulating currency, through its excessive quantity.“
                                                                               –   Nicolaus Copernicus

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For I Have Sworn Upon the Altar of God

Eternal Hostility Against Every Form of Tyranny Over the Mind of Man.

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“I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and Constitutions. 
But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind.
As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered
and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.
We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.”

–  Thomas Jefferson

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Τ Ε Λ Ο Σ

“In God, We Trust it is Written.“

A “Whole of Government ”  Approach.

The People’s “Testimony of Conscience” for the Churches.

As Destruction and Violence are Before Us.  Conflict Abounds.  There is Strife & Ruin.

We Need To Bring to Light What is Hidden in Darkness & Expose the Motives of the Heart.

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“Almighty God hath created the mind free.
All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens…are a departure from the plan of the holy Author of our religion…
No man shall be compelled to frequent or support religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief,
but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion. I know but one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively.“

                                                                                                                                    –    Thomas Jefferson

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Massive Attack – Paradise Circus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPl96nBYKho&t=6986s

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The Message of the Cross
For it is Written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.
Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? “
                                                                                                                     –  1 Corinthians 1   “point” “peak”  (BSB)

‘Excelsior‘
“higher”  “high”  “elevated”  “great”  “lofty”  “to rise,”  “ever upward”  “surpass, be superior, be eminent”  “out from”   “right high, tower”  “to be prominent; hill“

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The Governor of New York

The Honorable

Kathleen Hochul

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“I want people to believe in their government again“

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Jess Glynne – What Do You Do?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eiw-Cyiozak
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“Above all, while defending our own vital interests, nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war.
To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy–or of a collective death-wish for the world.“
                                                                                                                                                                                –          35th President of USA :  John F. Kennedy (JFK)

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ODESZA – Loyal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz_YPczxzZc

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” The Peoples Intercession. “
A Ministry of Healing & Reconciliation.
A Paradigm of Knowledge with Understanding.
A Form of Authority Held by a Citizen to Control a Military or Governmental Entity.
A Logical or Conceptual Structure Serving as a Form of Thought Within a Given Area of Experience.

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Marizza Delgado

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https://missamerica.org/

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Abbie Stockard

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Miss America (All States)

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Bring Em Out :  The People’s Special Civil Operation  :

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Leadley – All of You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuuTx3l2gBk

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Alex Gaudino feat. Crystal Waters – Destination Calabria [Explicit Version] 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq4OtRsdXls

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Every Community Has a Direction Towards Which it Turns.  May we Hold Fast To the Guiding Word of Life.  “The Creator.” 
God is Capable of Everything.  Wherever We May Be,  He Will Bring Us All Together.  It is Written.  Therefore, May we Race Towards Goodness.

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AETHYRIEN – Varðlokkur, Caller of Spirits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBSmiqrkmYE

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Τ Ε Λ Ο Σ

“the reason for which all our actions aim.”  “the end, limit, goal, fulfillment, completion”
“end” “purpose” “goal” “revolve, move round; sojourn, dwell”   “turning point”   “ultimate object or aim”

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Special Envoys  :  Expeditions of Discovery :  Shuttle Diplomacy  :  Into the Unknown

A View of the Constitutionoff Boston by Isiah Whyte

( public domain image from Art Institute of Chicago )

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Gwen Stefani ft. Eve – Rich Girl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rlNpWYQunY

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Green Lands – Meditative Nordic Celtic Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bobNGIXqOBA&t=6108s

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▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Peaceful Campfire & Forest Sounds – Relaxation & Deep Sleep Ambience

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I-wPa8nOFY

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Elven Sanctuary: Relaxing Music With Atmospheric Female Vocals & Enchanted Elvish Views

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbmDO2XBMgg

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AETHYRIEN – Óðr (Full album)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBSmiqrkmYE

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On-Point.
Tip of the Spear.
Let this Day Be Legend.
The Past Marches With You.
Call it a Win.  We Stand Our Ground Here
The Golden Age of Human Civilization Begin Now.
To Fight the Good Fight and Take Hold of the Life That is Truly Life.  Godliness & Contentment.
“The People’s” Name & Teaching Will Not be Discredited.   These Are Sound Words of Godly Teaching Worthy of Full Acceptance.
Guard the Faith Against False Teachers & The Love of Money.  Reject The False Doctrines.  We Are Entrusted to Your Care.  Marks of Your Final Charge.

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Spiritual music Lokas. Lands of Spirits.
Локи. Краї духів. Volodymyr & Aquamriya meditation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS8gLK3cmHE

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1 Timothy 6
(“honor, respect”  “Honoring God“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Serving with Honor

All who are under the yoke of slavery should regard their masters as fully worthy of honor, so that God’s name and our teaching will not be discredited.  Those who have believing masters should not show disrespect because they are brothers, but should serve them all the more, since those receiving their good service are beloved believers. Teach and encourage these principles.

Reject False Doctrines

If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and disputes about words, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.

Godliness with Contentment

Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.

Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Fight the Good Fight

But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.  Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses.

I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who made the good confession in His testimony before Pontius Pilate:  Keep this commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, which the blessed and only Sovereign One—the King of kings and Lord of lords—will bring about in His own time.  He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

A Charge to the Rich

Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.  Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share, treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Guard the Faith

O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid irreverent, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of so-called “knowledge,” which some have professed and thus swerved away from the faith.

Grace be with you all.

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Third Eye Of Gaia

Awaken Spirituality, Healing Energy & Inner Peace – Deep Meditation Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFxBenm8kjA

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Emerald Spirit

Connect to Magic & Cleanse Energy – Fantasy Ambient Meditation Music for Calm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc5vz8pvDrg

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Gaia’S Echo – A Guiding Whisper From The Healing Forest For Your Soul – Inner Balance Meditation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIndy6LmnZM

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Rochester, New York

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” If there is no struggle, there is no progress.
Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground.
They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one;
or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
                                                                                       –     Frederick Douglas

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

The Mayor of Rochester, New York

The Honorable 

Malik D. Evans

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“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”  
                                                                                                  –   Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Secrets of the Cosmos – Relaxing Meditation Music to Unlock Inner Focus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hA1HQbF-rI

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Queen of Atlantis – Beautiful Ocean Meditation Music (with Nature Sounds)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQGZkI9CBL8&t=5839s

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Faouzia – Fur Elise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt-zb3a85bQ

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Of the United States of America, of the State of New York.
Formally Request Third Party Arbitration of Our Disputes Through Ancient Earth Custom.
In A Movement We Call Our Own.  As a Government of the People By the People and For the People. 
We Formulate the Following Mandate of Intercession.  A Biblical Covenant for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. 
A System of Measures and Line of Conduct Which a Ruler, Minister, Government, or Party Adopts as Best for the Interests of a Country
in Domestic and Foreign Affairs.  An Irrevocable Living Trust, a Crucible & Requiem of New Politics.  Here-in After Referred to As  Τ έ λ ο ς  “TELOS” 

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IT IS FINISHED.
GET THROUGH IT AND GO HOME WITH A STORY TO TELL.
A NEW ORDER OF THE AGES HAS RISEN.  IN GOD, WE TRUST IT IS WRITTEN.
ON THE CRUCIBLE OF WAR, THE PEOPLE, FORGE THIS NEW EUROPE.  “A COMING TOGETHER.“
A VAST ASSEMBLY OF PEOPLE.  FESTIVALS OF DEDICATION.  THE FLOURISHING OF THE RIGHTEOUS.  7 DAYS TO HEAL THE LAND.
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The Chainsmokers – Hope ft. Winona Oak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJOgTMP8cs4

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“The whole world is divided for me into two parts: one is she,
and there is all happiness, hope, light; the other is where she is not, and there is dejection and darkness…”
                                                                                                                    –  Leo Tolstoy (War and Peace)

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Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghb6eDopW8I

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“Let the watchwords of all our people be
the old familiar watchwords of honesty, decency, fair-dealing, and commonsense.”…
“We must treat each man on his worth and merits as a man. We must see that each is given a square deal,
because he is entitled to no more and should receive no less.”  “The welfare of each of us is dependent fundamentally upon the welfare of all of us.”
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“We demand that big business give the people a square deal;
in return we must insist that when anyone engaged in big business honestly endeavors to do right he shall himself be given a square deal.”
                                                                                                   – Theodore Roosevelt

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Trance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeVodp6Iev4&t=6260s

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Dream Slayer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX-0-bxgyjY&t=7599s

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(Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs)

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I Have Attempted to Produce An Emotional Response

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4oke8GPbx2Y
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(Controlling Emotion : Greif, Sorrow, Rage, Anger Hope, Zeal, Joy.)

“In God,

We Trust it is Written.“

A Profusion” a “Pouring Fourth“

The Power To Preserve the Nations.

Such That We Accomplish This Great Thing

A Vision of the Word of God “Here” Called to Mind.

Because The Kingdom of God is Not a Matter of Talk But of Power.

Of One’s “Faith & Deeds”  : A “Study.”  For a “Supposed Resemblance“

So that the Person Becomes Seemingly its Subject or its Passive Instrument.

Acts of Good Governance.  Built on the Foundation of the Apostles & Prophets.

Faith and Deeds:  REGARDING EXECUTIVE ORDER :  13526  (Seek, Request, Desire)

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The Corrs – Borrowed Heaven

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvVcfYZ5xsU
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(Object of Strong Liking.  Of Great Admiration.  Enthusiasm.  Predilection. Eagerness.  Rivalry.  Lavish.  Extravagant.  Spread Out.)

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I Tell You the Future

Before it Happens Just Like Magic. 

The Word Ordained for a Thousand Generations Proved Right

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I Have Brought a Miracle.  There is Nothing Else Like It.

“The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own.
Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works.
Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because
I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.   If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it.“
                                                                                  –   John 14 (New International Version) “gift of Jehova“

   Mark  David  Rich

      “To Denote”     “Beloved”     “Wealth“
“To Remove”    “Abhorrent”     “Poor“

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Pia Mia – Mr. President

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrV_U-cAQKo
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Nero – Two Minds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFWFJGfEaNo
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Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghb6eDopW8I

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Travis Tritt – It’s a Great Day to Be Alive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4tSE2w53ts

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“Citizenship in a Republic,”

Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

 

Man in the Arena

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.“

These quotes taken from a cdrom – The Works of Theodore Roosevelt – National Edition, A PRODUCT OF H-BAR ENTERPRISES COPYRIGHT 1997

“…the man who really counts in the world is the doer, not the mere critic-the man who actually does the work, even if roughly and imperfectly, not the man who only talks or writes about how it ought to be done.” (1891)

“Criticism is necessary and useful; it is often indispensable; but it can never take the place of action, or be even a poor substitute for it. The function of the mere critic is of very subordinate usefulness. It is the doer of deeds who actually counts in the battle for life, and not the man who looks on and says how the fight ought to be fought, without himself sharing the stress and the danger.” (1894)

Square Deal

“Let the watchwords of all our people be the old familiar watchwords of honesty, decency, fair-dealing, and commonsense.”… “We must treat each man on his worth and merits as a man. We must see that each is given a square deal, because he is entitled to no more and should receive no less.””The welfare of each of us is dependent fundamentally upon the welfare of all of us.”
–  New York State Fair, Syracuse, September 7, 1903

“A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled, and less than that no man shall have.”
–  Speech to veterans, Springfield, IL, July 4, 1903

“We demand that big business give the people a square deal; in return we must insist that when anyone engaged in big business honestly endeavors to do right he shall himself be given a square deal.”
Letter to Sir Edward Gray, November 15, 1913

Presidential Criticism

“The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.”

“Roosevelt in the Kansas City Star”, 149
May 7, 1918

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Proverbs 1
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“
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(New International Version)

Purpose and Theme

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

for gaining wisdom and instruction;

for understanding words of insight;

for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,

doing what is right and just and fair;

for giving prudence to those who are simple, 

knowledge and discretion to the young—

let the wise listen and add to their learning,

and let the discerning get guidance—

for understanding proverbs and parables,

the sayings and riddles of the wise. 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,

but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Prologue: Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom

Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction

and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

They are a garland to grace your head

and a chain to adorn your neck.

My son, if sinful men entice you,

do not give in to them.

If they say, “Come along with us;

let’s lie in wait for innocent blood,

let’s ambush some harmless soul;

let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,

and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

we will get all sorts of valuable things

and fill our houses with plunder;

cast lots with us;

we will all share the loot”—

my son, do not go along with them,

do not set foot on their paths;

for their feet rush into evil,

they are swift to shed blood.

How useless to spread a net

where every bird can see it!

These men lie in wait for their own blood;

they ambush only themselves!

Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;

it takes away the life of those who get it.

Wisdom’s Rebuke

Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,

she raises her voice in the public square;

on top of the wall she cries out,

at the city gate she makes her speech:

“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?

How long will mockers delight in mockery

and fools hate knowledge?

Repent at my rebuke!

Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,

I will make known to you my teachings.

But since you refuse to listen when I call

and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,

since you disregard all my advice

and do not accept my rebuke,

I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you;

I will mock when calamity overtakes you—

when calamity overtakes you like a storm,

when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,

when distress and trouble overwhelm you.

“Then they will call to me but I will not answer;

they will look for me but will not find me,

since they hated knowledge

and did not choose to fear the Lord.

Since they would not accept my advice

and spurned my rebuke,

they will eat the fruit of their ways

and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.

For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,

and the complacency of fools will destroy them;

but whoever listens to me will live in safety

and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

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James 2
“one that takes by the heel; a supplanter“
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(New International Version)

Favoritism Forbidden

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.  Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in.  If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,”  have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?  But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?  Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.  But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.  For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.  For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.”  If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Deeds

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?  Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.  You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?  Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.  And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.  You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?  As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

 

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SACRAL CHAKRA HEALING | EMOTIONAL DETOX | REMOVE GUILT | BALANCE AURA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD36zaUGkpI&t=1812s

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Τ Ε Λ Ο Σ

“the reason for which all our actions aim.”  “the end, limit, goal, fulfillment, completion”
“end” “purpose” “goal” “revolve, move round; sojourn, dwell”   “turning point”   “ultimate object or aim”

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Special Envoys  :  Expeditions of Discovery :  Shuttle Diplomacy  :  Into the Unknown

A View of the Constitutionoff Boston by Isiah Whyte

( public domain image from Art Institute of Chicago )

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Marina Kaye – Miracle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3zBJ0cwZoY

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To Undergo An Experience.
To Be Acted Upon by Something External.  To Be in The State of Being Affected.   That Which Must be Endured.
For the sake of Your servant and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished this great thing and made known all these great promises.

I Have Heard the Report of You.
I’ve Done Cooked this Pig.

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AETHYRIEN – Óðr (Full album)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBSmiqrkmYE

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On-Point.
Call it a Win.
Tip of the Spear.
Let this Day Be Legend.
A New Life Has Appeared. 
To Make The People’s Joy Complete.
May The People Stand Their Ground Here.
Marks of a Final Charge to Live Out The Truth.  
A Foundation Stone of Light and Darkness.  Sin and Forgiveness.
From the Beginning.  The Past Marches With You.   As We Reach to the Future.
May We Fight the Good Fight & Take Hold of the Life That is Truly Life.  Godliness & Contentment.
As it is Written, The Incarnation of the Word of Life.  To Mark The Revelation for the Golden Age of Human Civilization.  
These Words are Sound and Worthy of Full Acceptance.  Such That “The People’s” Name & Godly Teaching Will Not be Discredited.   
We Are Now Entrusted to Your Care.  To Guard the Faith Against False Teachers & The Love of Money.  Reject The False Doctrines So We Have Not Lived in Vain.

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Spiritual music Lokas. Lands of Spirits.
Локи. Краї духів. Volodymyr & Aquamriya meditation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS8gLK3cmHE

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Jacob’s Ladder

“The Bridge Between Man and God”

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A Drawing By William Blake
A staircase representing the Gulf between man and God.
Jacob’s Ladder, or Jacob’s Dream, illustration to the Bible painted for Thomas Butts, Genesis, xxviii, 12;
Jacob lies in Foreground left dreaming, behind him rises spiral staircase amid stars and golden rays above,
three women stand at foot of staircase carrying trays and urns, other figures ascend or descend stairs. c.1799-1807

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Loreena Mckennitt – The Mystic’s Dream 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t267aQJcwjs

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To Undergo An Experience.
To Be Acted Upon by Something External.  To Be in The State of Being Affected.   That Which Must be Endured.

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A Ministry of Reconciliation, Healing & Creation.

“The world hangs on a thin thread and that is the psyche of man.“
“No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.” 
–           Carl Jung

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          “Healing may be called a religious problem. In the sphere of social or national relations the state of suffering may be civil war and this state is to be cured by the Christian virtue of forgiveness and love of one’s enemies. That which we recommend with the conviction of good Christians as applicable to external situations we must also apply inwardly in the treatment of neurosis. This is why modern man has heard enough about guilt and sin. He is sorely beset by his own bad conscience. And wants rather to know how he is to reconcile himself with his own nature how he is to love the enemy in his own heart, and call the Wolf his brother. The modern man does not want to know in what way he can imitate Christ, but in what way he can live his own individual life, however meager and uninteresting it may be. It is because every form of imitation, seems to him deadening and sterile — that he rebels against the force of tradition that would hold him to well trodden ways. All such roads for him lead in the wrong direction. He may not know it, but he behaves as if his own individual life were God’s special will which must be fulfilled at all costs. This is the source of his egoism, which is one of the most tangible evils of the neurotic state. But the person who tells him he is too egoistic has already lost his confidence and rightly so, for that person has driven him still into his neurosis (“functional derangement arising from disorders of the nervous system (not caused by a lesion or injury” “The change in the nerve cells of the brain resulting in symptoms of stress,” but not radical loss of touch with reality”) If I wish to effect a cure for my patients, I am forced to acknowledge the deep significance of that egoism. I should be blind indeed if I did not recognize it as a true will of God. I must even help the patient to prevail in his egoism if he succeeds in this he estranges himself from other people. He drives them away and they come to themselves as they should for they were seeking to rob him of his sacred egoism. This must be left of him. For it is his strongest and healthiest power. It is as I have said a true will of God, but sometimes drives him into complete isolation. However wretched this state may be it also stands him in good stead. For in this way alone can he get to know himself and learn what an invaluable treasure is the love of his fellow beings. It is moreover only in the state of complete abandonment and loneliness that we experience the helpful powers of our own natures.”

Interview with Carl Jung
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqfL94VtSJ8 

“Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory. Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know Thee and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.  Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.  Build me a son whose heart will be clean, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.  And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.  Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain.”

 

–  General Douglas MacArthur
American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War.
achieving the rank of General of the Army.

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Ephesians 6
(“overseer.“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Children and Parents

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  “Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.”

Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Serving with Honor

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.  And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.  Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

And masters, do the same for your slaves. Give up your use of threats, because you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.

The Full Armor of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.  Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel,  for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.

Final Greetings

Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know about me and what I am doing.  I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that he may encourage your hearts.

Peace to the brothers and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

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CLASSIFIED NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION

REGARDING EXECUTIVE ORDER :  13526
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Τ Ε Λ Ο Σ
“IT IS WRITTEN.“
“VISION OF NEW POLITICS”
“LET’S TRY GOING THIS WAY.“
“THE PEOPLE’S INTERCESSION.“
“TO HOLD A FORM OF AUTHORITY..“
THEORY ACT OF GOOD GOVERNMENT.
“THE PEOPLE’S SPECIAL CIVIL OPERATION.“
REGARDING “CIVILIAN CONTROL OF THE MILITARY.”  
A PRAYER & PETITION FOR TEMPORARY LEADERSHIP.
STRUCTURED WITH ADVICE & CONSENT OF THE ELECT.
TO CONTROL A CERTAIN MILITARY OR GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY.
HELPING RESOLVING THE LARGEST SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS OF HUMANITY’S  FUTURE. 
THE REGIME OF THE NON-PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS  :  THE “VERIFICATION REGIME.“
THE STRUCTURING OF A SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION COMBINED WITH GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE.
DOING WHAT IS RIGHT IN THE EYES OF THE PEOPLE.  “ACTS” WHICH DELIVER “THE PEOPLE” FROM OPPRESSION.
THE UNIFORM RELATIONS OF ONE THING IN RELATION TO OTHER THINGS, AN EQUALITY , CONFORMITY.  OF SYMETRY.
MATTERS OF GREAT NATIONAL CONCERN.  ISSUES OF TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY.  COMPLIANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT.
WE THE PEOPLE OFFER THIS EXTENSIVE “TREATISE OF WAR & PEACE ”  TO SERVE AS THE MILLENIAL “INTERPRETATION OF THE TIMES“
THE SYSTEM OF OF GOOD BEHAVIOUR.  AS TO WHAT IS FAIR AND WHAT IS NOT.  JUSTICE BASED ON SUCH PRINCIPLES.  JURISPRUDENCE.
MAY THIS SERVE AS THE LOGICAL OR CONCEPTUAL STRUCTURE SERVING AS A FORM OF THOUGHT WITHIN A GIVEN AREA OF EXPERIENCE.
FAIRNESS IN THE ADJUSTMENT OF CONFLICTING INTERESTS.  THE SETTLMENT OF CONTROVERSIES BY THE DICTATES OF GOOD CONSCIENCE.
A NUCLEAR POSTURE REVIEW : OPTIONS FOR A “WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT APPROACH”  THAT WHICH IS EQUALLY RIGHT OR JUST TO ALL CONCERNED.
REGARDING THE INSTRUMENTS OF JUSTICE.  THE MACHINERY OF JUSTICE.  CLAIMS OF CORRUPTION & DECEIT.  MORAL DILEMMAS & ETHICAL PRINCIPLES.
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” International Resource Management. “

Addressing the Lack of Surplus in Global Economy.

Regarding the Concerns of the Governance of a Country or People.

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Of Citizens,

Pertaining to the State and its Administration; Pertaining to Public Life,
The Damaging Lack of Material Benefits Considered to be Basic Necessities in a Society.
Our People Must Learn to Devote Themselves to Doing What is Good, In Order to Provide for Urgent Needs and Not Live Unproductive Lives

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The Allocation of Benefits in Various Policy Fields in Such a Way as to Provide Groups,
Persons, and Places with at Least a Minimum Level of Benefits so as to Satisfy Basic Needs.
The Resources of the State and Society Working for Results in Achieving National Development Goals.
Supplying Provisions.  Each Country Is to Provide Supplies for One Month of the Year.  Bringing Tribute.

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Virtue & Justice

Statutes and Ordinances.

To Be At Ease and Without Fear of Harm.

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“It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the peace.”

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The end [or goal] of politics is the best of ends; and the main concern of politics
is to engender a certain character in the citizens and to make them good and disposed to perform noble actions…..”
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“It is clear that all partnerships aim at some good, and that the partnership that is most authoritative of all
and embraces all the others does so particularly and aims at the most authoritative good of all.  This is what is called the city or the political partnership….”

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“Political partnership must be regarded, therefore, as being for the sake of noble actions, not for the sake of living together…”
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“.. ““[O]ne who is genuinely of the popular sort (i.e. a supporter of democracy)
should see to it that the multitude is not overly poor, for this is the reason for democracy being depraved…
Instead the surplus should be allowed to accumulate until enough is available to give the poor enough money to acquire land or start a trade.
And even if there is no external surplus, notables who are refined and sensible will divide the poor among themselves and provide them with a start in pursuing some work”
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“Those who are going to rule in the authoritative offices ought to have three things:
first, affection for the established regime; next, a very great capacity for the work involved in rule; third, virtue and justice –
in each regime the sort that is relative to the regime…It is difficult to find all three of these in many men, but it is important for the regime
to make use of the men with these qualities to the greatest degree possible, or else the regime will be harmed, either by sedition, incompetence, or corruption…
While the virtuous also have a claim to rule, the very fact that they are virtuous leads them to avoid factional conflict. They are also too small a group to be politically consequential.“ 

                                                                                                                  –     Aristotle

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For a Good Name.
Not To Be Over-Righteous.
Neither To Be Overwise.  Why Destroy Yourself?
Do Not be Overwicked, and do Not be a Fool Why Die Before Your Time?
It is Good to Grasp the One and Not Let Go of the Other. Whoever Fears God will Avoid All Extremes.
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–  Ecclessiates 7  “one who calls for an assembly”  (New International Version)

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” The Last Judgement “

By : Michaelangelo (1536-1541)
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Plato & Aristotle in the School of Athens
Painting by Rafael 1509-1511

” BEYOND / THROUGH “

Plato’s right hand points upwards and he holds ‘Timaeus’, his book on the formation of the universe and an explanation of its order and beauty.
Aristotle’s right hand is reaching forward, also with a book; ‘Ethics’, his treatise on ethical theory and living a good life.

Aristotle’s  Virtues

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Psalm 26
“sacred poem or song“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Vindicate Me, O LORD

Of David.

 Vindicate me, O LORD!

For I have walked with integrity;

I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.

Test me, O LORD, and try me;

examine my heart and mind.

For Your loving devotion is before my eyes,

and I have walked in Your truth.

I do not sit with deceitful men,

nor keep company with hypocrites.

I hate the mob of evildoers,

and refuse to sit with the wicked.

I wash my hands in innocence

that I may go about Your altar, O LORD,

to raise my voice in thanksgiving

and declare all Your wonderful works.

O LORD, I love the house where You dwell,

the place where Your glory resides.

Do not take my soul away with sinners,

or my life with men of bloodshed,

in whose hands are wicked schemes,

whose right hands are full of bribes.

But I will walk with integrity;

redeem me and be merciful to me.

My feet stand on level ground;

in the congregations I will bless the LORD.

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Proverbs 1
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“
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(New International Version)

Purpose and Theme

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

for gaining wisdom and instruction;

for understanding words of insight;

for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,

doing what is right and just and fair;

for giving prudence to those who are simple, 

knowledge and discretion to the young—

let the wise listen and add to their learning,

and let the discerning get guidance—

for understanding proverbs and parables,

the sayings and riddles of the wise. 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,

but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Prologue: Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom

Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction

and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

They are a garland to grace your head

and a chain to adorn your neck.

My son, if sinful men entice you,

do not give in to them.

If they say, “Come along with us;

let’s lie in wait for innocent blood,

let’s ambush some harmless soul;

let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,

and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

we will get all sorts of valuable things

and fill our houses with plunder;

cast lots with us;

we will all share the loot”—

my son, do not go along with them,

do not set foot on their paths;

for their feet rush into evil,

they are swift to shed blood.

How useless to spread a net

where every bird can see it!

These men lie in wait for their own blood;

they ambush only themselves!

Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;

it takes away the life of those who get it.

Wisdom’s Rebuke

Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,

she raises her voice in the public square;

on top of the wall she cries out,

at the city gate she makes her speech:

“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?

How long will mockers delight in mockery

and fools hate knowledge?

Repent at my rebuke!

Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,

I will make known to you my teachings.

But since you refuse to listen when I call

and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,

since you disregard all my advice

and do not accept my rebuke,

I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you;

I will mock when calamity overtakes you—

when calamity overtakes you like a storm,

when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,

when distress and trouble overwhelm you.

“Then they will call to me but I will not answer;

they will look for me but will not find me,

since they hated knowledge

and did not choose to fear the Lord.

Since they would not accept my advice

and spurned my rebuke,

they will eat the fruit of their ways

and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.

For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,

and the complacency of fools will destroy them;

but whoever listens to me will live in safety

and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

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AETHYRIEN – Óðr (Full album)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBSmiqrkmYE

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On-Point.
Tip of the Spear.
Let this Day Be Legend.
The Past Marches With You.
Call it a Win.  We Stand Our Ground Here.
Now.  Let The Golden Age of Human Civilization Begin.
 To Fight the Good Fight and Take Hold of the Life That is Truly Life.  Godliness & Contentment.
So That The People’s Name & Our Teaching Will Not be Discredited.   These Are Sound Words With Godly Teaching Worthy of Full Acceptance.
These are the Marks of Your Final Charge.  To Guard the Faith Against False Teachers & The Love of Money.  We Are Entrusted to Your Care.  Reject The False Doctrines.

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Halo Reach – Tip of the Spear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iieEf6fjt0

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Spiritual music Lokas. Lands of Spirits.
Локи. Краї духів. Volodymyr & Aquamriya meditation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS8gLK3cmHE

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Habakkuk 1
(“embrace” “garden herb“)
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(New International Version)

The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.

Habakkuk’s Complaint

How long, Lord, must I call for help,

but you do not listen?

Or cry out to you, “Violence!”

but you do not save?

Why do you make me look at injustice?

Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?

Destruction and violence are before me;

there is strife, and conflict abounds.

Therefore the law is paralyzed,

and justice never prevails.

The wicked hem in the righteous,

so that justice is perverted.

The Lord’s Answer

“Look at the nations and watch—

and be utterly amazed.

For I am going to do something in your days

that you would not believe,

even if you were told.

I am raising up the Babylonians, 

that ruthless and impetuous people,

who sweep across the whole earth

to seize dwellings not their own.

They are a feared and dreaded people;

they are a law to themselves

and promote their own honor.

Their horses are swifter than leopards,

fiercer than wolves at dusk.

Their cavalry gallops headlong;

their horsemen come from afar.

They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;

they all come intent on violence.

Their hordes advance like a desert wind

and gather prisoners like sand.

They mock kings

and scoff at rulers.

They laugh at all fortified cities;

by building earthen ramps they capture them.

Then they sweep past like the wind and go on—

guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”

Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

Lord, are you not from everlasting?

My God, my Holy One, you c will never die.

You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment;

you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.

Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;

you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.

Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?

Why are you silent while the wicked

swallow up those more righteous than themselves?

You have made people like the fish in the sea,

like the sea creatures that have no ruler.

The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks,

he catches them in his net,

he gathers them up in his dragnet;

and so he rejoices and is glad.

Therefore he sacrifices to his net

and burns incense to his dragnet,

for by his net he lives in luxury

and enjoys the choicest food.

Is he to keep on emptying his net,

destroying nations without mercy?

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Lamentations 3
(“a wailing, moaning, a weeping”  “to bark, scold” )
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The Prophet’s Afflictions

I am the man who has seen affliction

under the rod of God’s wrath.

He has driven me away and made me walk

in darkness instead of light.

Indeed, He keeps turning His hand

against me all day long.

He has worn away my flesh and skin;

He has shattered my bones.

He has besieged me and surrounded me

with bitterness and hardship.

He has made me dwell in darkness

like those dead for ages.

He has walled me in so I cannot escape;

He has weighed me down with chains.

Even when I cry out and plead for help,

He shuts out my prayer.

He has barred my ways with cut stones;

He has made my paths crooked.

He is a bear lying in wait,

a lion hiding in ambush.

He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces;

He left me without help.

He bent His bow

and set me as the target for His arrow.

He pierced my kidneys

with His arrows.

I am a laughingstock to all my people;

they mock me in song all day long.

He has filled me with bitterness;

He has intoxicated me with wormwood.

He has ground my teeth with gravel

and trampled me in the dust.

My soul has been deprived of peace;

I have forgotten what prosperity is.

So I say, “My strength has perished,

along with my hope from the LORD.”

The Prophet’s Hope

Remember my affliction and wandering,

the wormwood and the gall.

Surely my soul remembers

and is humbled within me.

Yet I call this to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed,

for His mercies never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness!

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in Him.”

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,

to the soul who seeks Him.

It is good to wait quietly

for the salvation of the LORD.

It is good for a man to bear the yoke

while he is still young.

Let him sit alone in silence,

for God has disciplined him.

Let him bury his face in the dust—

perhaps there is still hope.

Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him;

let him be filled with reproach.

For the Lord will not

cast us off forever.

Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion

according to His abundant loving devotion.

For He does not willingly afflict

or grieve the sons of men.

To crush underfoot

all the prisoners of the land,

to deny a man justice

before the Most High,

to subvert a man in his lawsuit—

of these the Lord does not approve.

God’s Justice

Who has spoken and it came to pass,

unless the Lord has ordained it?

Do not both adversity and good

come from the mouth of the Most High?

Why should any mortal man complain,

in view of his sins?

Let us examine and test our ways,

and turn back to the LORD.

Let us lift up our hearts and hands

to God in heaven:

“We have sinned and rebelled;

You have not forgiven.”

You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us;

You have killed without pity.

You have covered Yourself with a cloud

that no prayer can pass through.

You have made us scum and refuse

among the nations.

All our enemies

open their mouths against us.

Panic and pitfall have come upon us—

devastation and destruction.

Streams of tears flow from my eyes

over the destruction of the daughter of my people.

My eyes overflow unceasingly,

without relief,

until the LORD

looks down from heaven and sees.

My eyes bring grief to my soul

because of all the daughters of my city.

Without cause my enemies

hunted me like a bird.

They dropped me alive into a pit

and cast stones upon me.

The waters flowed over my head,

and I thought I was going to die.

I called on Your name, O LORD,

out of the depths of the Pit.

You heard my plea:

“Do not ignore my cry for relief.”

You drew near when I called on You;

You said, “Do not be afraid.”

You defend my cause, O Lord;

You redeem my life.

You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me;

vindicate my cause!

You have seen all their malice,

all their plots against me.

O LORD, You have heard their insults,

all their plots against me—

the slander and murmuring of my assailants

against me all day long.

When they sit and when they rise,

see how they mock me in song.

You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD,

according to the work of their hands.

Put a veil of anguish over their hearts;

may Your curse be upon them!

You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them

from under Your heavens, O LORD.

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Loreena McKennitt – The Mystic’s Dream

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t267aQJcwjs

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A Life Defining Gamble.
“The People” Wish to Be Pleased With Integrity. 
We Need To Be Able to Test The Matters of the Heart.
For this Sacred Privlage, “The People” Bring this Guilt Offering to The Elect.  Willingly and With Honest Intent.

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Brian Stokes Mitchell – Through Heaven’s Eyes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36tQPwA1RZo

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The Great Seal of the United States of America.

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“The Vice President of the United States shall Be President of the Senate,
but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.“
Article 1, Section III, U.S. Constitution

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Justice to the Nations.

From The King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

God’s Righteous Judgement for the Salvation of Souls

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Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
– Mark 8
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth.
I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn  ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law —a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household  Anyone who loves their father or mother
more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
–    Matthew 10 – “Gift of Jehova“

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The Earliest Known Surviving Depiction of Jesus Christ
as ‘Pantocrator‘ (literally “Ruler of All“)

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(From Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai.)

I Appeal to You Brothers.
To Everyone Who Harbors Bitter Envy and Selfish Ambition in Their Hearts.  Not to Deny the Truth.
But Let’s Cleanse These Hidden Faults.  That We Will All Be Taught By God.  As it is Written in the Prophets.  
So We Can All Agree Together.  And Be United in Mind and Conviction.  Not Through Philosophy, Not Though Legalism. But Through Christ.

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1 John 2
(“Jehovah has favored”  “Jah is gracious”  “he was gracious“)
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(King James Version)

Jesus is Our Advocate

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.  He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

A New Command

Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.  Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.  He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.  He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.  But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.  I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

Do Not Love the World

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Beware of Antichrists

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.  But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.  I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.  Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.  Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.  Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.  But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Continue in Him

And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.  If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

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James 4
“one that takes by the heel; a supplanter“
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(New International Version)

Submit Yourselves to God

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?  You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.  Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?  But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud

but shows favor to the humble.” 

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.  There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

Boasting About Tomorrow

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”  As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.  If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

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Isaiah 32
“salvation of the Lord” “salvation, deliverance“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

A Righteous King

Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,

and princes will rule with justice.

Each will be like a shelter from the wind,

a refuge from the storm,

like streams of water in a dry land,

like the shadow of a great rock in an arid land.

Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,

and the ears of those who hear will listen.

The mind of the rash will know and understand,

and the stammering tongue will speak clearly and fluently.

No longer will a fool be called noble,

nor a scoundrel be respected.

For a fool speaks foolishness;

his mind plots iniquity.

He practices ungodliness

and speaks falsely about the LORD;

he leaves the hungry empty

and deprives the thirsty of drink.

The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive;

he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies,

even when the plea of the needy is just.

But a noble man makes honorable plans;

he stands up for worthy causes.

The Women of Jerusalem

Stand up, you complacent women;

listen to me.

Give ear to my word,

you overconfident daughters.

In a little more than a year you will tremble,

O secure ones.

For the grape harvest will fail

and the fruit harvest will not arrive.

Shudder, you ladies of leisure;

tremble, you daughters of complacency.

Strip yourselves bare

and put sackcloth around your waists.

Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields,

for the fruitful vines,

and for the land of my people,

overgrown with thorns and briers—

even for every house of merriment

in this city of revelry.

For the palace will be forsaken,

the busy city abandoned.

The hill and the watchtower will become caves forever—

the delight of wild donkeys

and a pasture for flocks—

until the Spirit is poured out

upon us from on high.

Then the desert will be an orchard,

and the orchard will seem like a forest.

Then justice will inhabit the wilderness,

and righteousness will dwell in the fertile field.

The work of righteousness will be peace;

the service of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.

Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place,

in safe and secure places of rest.

But hail will level the forest,

and the city will sink to the depths.

Blessed are those who sow beside abundant waters,

who let the ox and donkey range freely.

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Proverbs 31
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“
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(New International Version)

Sayings of King Lemuel

The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.

Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!

Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!

Do not spend your strength on women,

your vigor on those who ruin kings.

It is not for kings, Lemuel—

it is not for kings to drink wine,

not for rulers to crave beer,

lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,

and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.

Let beer be for those who are perishing,

wine for those who are in anguish!

Let them drink and forget their poverty

and remember their misery no more.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,

for the rights of all who are destitute.

Speak up and judge fairly;

defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her

and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm,

all the days of her life.

She selects wool and flax

and works with eager hands.

She is like the merchant ships,

bringing her food from afar.

She gets up while it is still night;

she provides food for her family

and portions for her female servants.

She considers a field and buys it;

out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She sets about her work vigorously;

her arms are strong for her tasks.

She sees that her trading is profitable,

and her lamp does not go out at night.

In her hand she holds the distaff

and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

She opens her arms to the poor

and extends her hands to the needy.

When it snows, she has no fear for her household;

for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

She makes coverings for her bed;

she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

Her husband is respected at the city gate,

where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

She makes linen garments and sells them,

and supplies the merchants with sashes.

She is clothed with strength and dignity;

she can laugh at the days to come.

She speaks with wisdom,

and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

“Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all.”

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Honor her for all that her hands have done,

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

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James 3
“one that takes by the heel; a supplanter“
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(New International Version)

Taming the Tongue

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.  We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.  Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.  Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.  The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.  Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?  My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Two Kinds of Wisdom

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.  But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.  Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.  For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.  Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

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 Revelation 22
“Disclosure of information or knowledge to man by a divine or supernatural agency.”
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” I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
—
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.
Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”
—
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.
I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

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Ancient Wisdom & Guidance from Late Antiquity

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An Archaic Definition of God.
That There Exists A Single, True Theology Which is Present in All Religions. Given by God to humankind in the distant, primeval past.

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Hermes Trismegistus

Attributed to Stefano di Giovanni (1488)
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The Latin inscription on the stone table that Hermes is resting his hand on reads as follows:

DEUS OMNIUM CREATOR

SE CUM DEUM FECIT

VISIBILEM ET HUNC FECIT

PRIMUM ET SOLUMQUO OBLECTATUS EST

VALDE AMAVIT PROPRIUM

(Wiki Translation)
“God, the creator of all things, with God himself created the visible and created the first and only person who was glad, and very loved his own son, who is called the Holy Word“

        “God, as The maker of the world and all it contains.  The Essential Nature Underlying All Phenomena in the Universe.  The entire combination of cosmic influence, renewed by nature.  The continuous influence that carries through all the world, through all souls and all forms throughout nature.  The fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence.  God governs all things along with mankind.  And mankind is what then governs what is composite.  Those who would miss the point of this proclamation are people of reason because they do not know the purpose or the agents of their coming to be.  Sensation much like those of unreasoning animals since their temperament is willful and angry, they feel no awe of things that deserve to be admired; they divert their attention to the pleasures and appetites of their bodies; and they believe that mankind came to be for such purposes.

And after this: “…, o my mind. I love the word also.” Poimandres (“Knowledge of Re / Shepard of Men”) said: “This is the mystery that has been kept hidden until this very day. When nature made love with the man, she bore a wonder most wondrous. In him he had the nature of the cosmic framework of the seven, who are made of fire and spirit, as I told you, and without delay nature at once gave birth to seven men, androgyne and exalted, whose natures were like those of the seven governors.”

                                                                                                           –               Hermes Trismegistus  (A contemporary of Moses)  (Source:  Corpus Hermeticum)

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1 Corinthians 1
(“point” “peak“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Greetings from Paul and Sosthenes

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

I always thank my God for you because of the grace He has given you in Christ Jesus.  For in Him you have been enriched in every way, in all speech and all knowledge, because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.

Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Unity in the Church

I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction.  My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.  What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?  I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,  so no one can say that you were baptized into my name.  Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that I do not remember if I baptized anyone else.  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

The Message of the Cross

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;

the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom,  but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

Wisdom from God

Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast in His presence.

It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

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A Prophetic Oracle

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A Message From a God Expressed by Divine inspiration Through a Priest or Priestess

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Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus

by: Theodor de Bry

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“Such will be the old age of the world: irreverence, disorder, disregard for everything good. When all this comes to pass, Asclepius, then the master and father, the god whose power is primary, governor of the first god, will look on this conduct and these willful crimes, and in an act of will – which is god’s benevolence – he will take his stand against the vices and the perversion in everything, righting wrongs, washing away malice in a flood or consuming it in fire or ending it by spreading pestilential disease everywhere. Then he will restore the world to its beauty of old so that the world itself will again seem deserving of worship and wonder, and with constant benedictions and proclamations of praise the people of that time will honor the god who makes and restores so great a work.”

–    Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus

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Ephesians 4
(“overseer.“)
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(New International Version)

Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.  This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high,

he took many captives

and gave gifts to his people.” 

(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions?  He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)  So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Instructions for Christian Living

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.  They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.  “In your anger do not sin”  : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.  Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

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Mark 12
“consecrated to the god Mars”  “God of war”  “to be warlike“ “boundary, limit; sign, landmark”  “to denote” “sign, omen, aim”  “margin”
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(New International Version)

The Parable of the Tenants

Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.  At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully.  He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’  So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.  Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“ ‘The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

the Lord has done this,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’  ?”

Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar

Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words.  They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?  Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”  They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

And they were amazed at him.

Marriage at the Resurrection

Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question.  “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children.  The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third.  In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too.  At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?  When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.  Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ ?  He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

The Greatest Commandment

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’   The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’   There is no commandment greater than these.”

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.  To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David?  David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:

“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand

until I put your enemies

under your feet.” ’ 

David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

The large crowd listened to him with delight.

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces,  and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.  They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

The Widow’s Offering

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.  But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

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Isaiah 40
( “salvation of the Lord”  “salvation, deliverance” )
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Prepare the Way for the LORD

“Comfort, comfort My people,”

says your God.

“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and proclaim to her

that her forced labor has been completed;

her iniquity has been pardoned.

For she has received from the hand of the LORD

double for all her sins.”

A voice of one calling:

“Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness;

make a straight highway for our God in the desert.

Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill made low;

the uneven ground will become smooth,

and the rugged land a plain.

And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,

and all humanity together will see it.

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

The Enduring Word

A voice says, “Cry out!”

And I asked, “What should I cry out?”

“All flesh is like grass,

and all its glory like the flowers of the field.

The grass withers and the flowers fall

when the breath of the LORD blows on them;

indeed, the people are grass.

The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God stands forever.”

Here Is Your God!

Go up on a high mountain,

O Zion, herald of good news.

Raise your voice loudly,

O Jerusalem, herald of good news.

Lift it up,

do not be afraid!

Say to the cities of Judah,

“Here is your God!”

Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,

and His arm establishes His rule.

His reward is with Him,

and His recompense accompanies Him.

He tends His flock like a shepherd;

He gathers the lambs in His arms

and carries them close to His heart.

He gently leads the nursing ewes.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,

or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand?

Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,

or weighed the mountains on a scale

and the hills with a balance?

Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD,

or informed Him as His counselor?

Whom did He consult to enlighten Him,

and who taught Him the paths of justice?

Who imparted knowledge to Him

and showed Him the way of understanding?

Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;

they are considered a speck of dust on the scales;

He lifts up the islands like fine dust.

Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel,

nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.

All the nations are as nothing before Him;

He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.

To whom will you liken God?

To what image will you compare Him?

To an idol that a craftsman casts

and a metalworker overlays with gold

and fits with silver chains?

To one bereft of an offering

who chooses wood that will not rot,

who seeks a skilled craftsman

to set up an idol that will not topple?

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?

Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth?

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth;

its dwellers are like grasshoppers.

He stretches out the heavens like a curtain,

and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

He brings the princes to nothing

and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.

No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown,

no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground,

than He blows on them and they wither,

and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble.

“To whom will you liken Me,

or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high:

Who created all these?

He leads forth the starry host by number;

He calls each one by name.

Because of His great power and mighty strength,

not one of them is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob,

and why do you assert, O Israel,

“My way is hidden from the LORD,

and my claim is ignored by my God”?

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary;

His understanding is beyond searching out.

He gives power to the faint

and increases the strength of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall.

But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength;

they will mount up with wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not faint.

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Psalm 139
“sacred poem or song“
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(New King James Version)

God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.
Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

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Judging “God.“

Taking God’s “Measure“.  A “Coincidence of Opposites.“

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Engraving of the “thrice-great Hermes” by Michael Maier in Symbola aureae mensae (1617):
In Maier’s rendering, Hermes Trismegistus holds an armillary sphere and points to images of the
Sun and Moon(Sol and Luna; Sulphur and Mercury) being joined by fire–the process that creates the Philosopher’s Stone.

“For none of the heavenly gods will go down to earth, leaving behind the bounds of heaven, yet the human rises up to heaven and takes its measure and knows what is in its
heights and its depths, and he understands all else exactly and – greater than all of this – he comes to be on high without leaving earth behind,  so enormous
is his range. Therefore, we must dare to say that the human on earth is a mortal god but that god in heaven is an immortal human.
Through these two, then, cosmos and human, all things exist, but they all exist by action of the one.“

                                                                                                                          –               Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus  (From Stolcius ,Viridarium Chymicun 1624)

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Psalm 32
“sacred poem or song“
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(King James Version)

The Providence of God

{A Psalm of David, Maschil.} Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.

For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.

Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.

Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.

Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

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Psalm 82
“sacred poem or song“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

God Presides in the Divine Assembly

A Psalm of Asaph.

 God presides in the divine assembly;

He renders judgment among the gods:

“How long will you judge unjustly

and show partiality to the wicked?

Selah

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;

uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed.

Rescue the weak and needy;

save them from the hand of the wicked.

They do not know or understand;

they wander in the darkness;

all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

I have said, ‘You are gods;

you are all sons of the Most High.’

But like mortals you will die,

and like rulers you will fall.”

Arise, O God, judge the earth,

for all the nations are Your inheritance.

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Psalm 50
“sacred poem or song“
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(New King James Version)

God the Righteous Judge

A Psalm of Asaph.

The Mighty One, God the Lord,
Has spoken and called the earth
From the rising of the sun to its going down.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God will shine forth.
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.

He shall call to the heavens from above,
And to the earth, that He may judge His people:
“Gather My saints together to Me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
Let the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is Judge. Selah

“Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you;
I am God, your God!
I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices
Or your burnt offerings,
Which are continually before Me.
I will not take a bull from your house,
Nor goats out of your folds.
For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?
Offer to God thanksgiving,
And pay your vows to the Most High.
Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”

But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
When you saw a thief, you consented with him,
And have been a partaker with adulterers.
You give your mouth to evil,
And your tongue frames deceit.
You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
These things you have done, and I kept silent;
You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And set them in order before your eyes.

“Now consider this, you who forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God.”

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Joel 3
“the Lord is God“
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(New International Version)

The Nations Judged

“In those days and at that time,

when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

I will gather all nations

and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. 

There I will put them on trial

for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,

because they scattered my people among the nations

and divided up my land.

They cast lots for my people

and traded boys for prostitutes;

they sold girls for wine to drink.

“Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon and all you regions of Philistia? Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done.  For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.  You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, that you might send them far from their homeland.

“See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them, and I will return on your own heads what you have done.  I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.

Proclaim this among the nations:

Prepare for war!

Rouse the warriors!

Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.

Beat your plowshares into swords

and your pruning hooks into spears.

Let the weakling say,

“I am strong!”

Come quickly, all you nations from every side,

and assemble there.

Bring down your warriors, Lord!

“Let the nations be roused;

let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,

for there I will sit

to judge all the nations on every side.

Swing the sickle,

for the harvest is ripe.

Come, trample the grapes,

for the winepress is full

and the vats overflow—

so great is their wickedness!”

Multitudes, multitudes

in the valley of decision!

For the day of the Lord is near

in the valley of decision.

The sun and moon will be darkened,

and the stars no longer shine.

The Lord will roar from Zion

and thunder from Jerusalem;

the earth and the heavens will tremble.

But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,

a stronghold for the people of Israel.

Blessings for God’s People

“Then you will know that I, the Lord your God,

dwell in Zion, my holy hill.

Jerusalem will be holy;

never again will foreigners invade her.

“In that day the mountains will drip new wine,

and the hills will flow with milk;

all the ravines of Judah will run with water.

A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house

and will water the valley of acacias. 

But Egypt will be desolate,

Edom a desert waste,

because of violence done to the people of Judah,

in whose land they shed innocent blood.

Judah will be inhabited forever

and Jerusalem through all generations.

Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged?

No, I will not.”

The Lord dwells in Zion!

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Isaiah 34
“salvation of the Lord” “salvation, deliverance“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Judgment on the Nations

Come near, O nations, to listen;

pay attention, O peoples.

Let the earth hear, and all that fills it,

the world and all that springs from it.

The LORD is angry with all the nations

and furious with all their armies.

He will devote them to destruction;

He will give them over to slaughter.

Their slain will be left unburied,

and the stench of their corpses will rise;

the mountains will flow with their blood.

All the stars of heaven will be dissolved.

The skies will be rolled up like a scroll,

and all their stars will fall

like withered leaves from the vine,

like foliage from the fig tree.

Judgment on Edom

When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens,

then it will come down upon Edom,

upon the people I have devoted to destruction.

The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood.

It drips with fat—

with the blood of lambs and goats,

with the fat of the kidneys of rams.

For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah,

a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

And the wild oxen will fall with them,

the young bulls with the strong ones.

Their land will be drenched with blood,

and their soil will be soaked with fat.

For the LORD has a day of vengeance,

a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

Edom’s streams will be turned to tar,

and her soil to sulfur;

her land will become a blazing pitch.

It will not be quenched—day or night.

Its smoke will ascend forever.

From generation to generation it will lie desolate;

no one will ever again pass through it.

The desert owl and screech owl will possess it,

and the great owl and raven will dwell in it.

The LORD will stretch out over Edom

a measuring line of chaos

and a plumb line of destruction.

No nobles will be left to proclaim a king,

and all her princes will come to nothing.

Her towers will be overgrown with thorns,

her fortresses with thistles and briers.

She will become a haunt for jackals,

an abode for ostriches.

The desert creatures will meet with hyenas,

and one wild goat will call to another.

There the night creature will settle

and find her place of repose.

There the owl will make her nest;

she will lay and hatch her eggs

and gather her brood under her shadow.

Even there the birds of prey will gather,

each with its mate.

Search and read the scroll of the LORD:

Not one of these will go missing,

not one will lack her mate,

because He has ordered it by His mouth,

and He will gather them by His Spirit.

He has allotted their portion;

His hand has distributed it by measure.

They will possess it forever;

they will dwell in it from generation to generation.

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Psalm 33
“sacred poem or song“
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(New King James Version)

The Sovereignty of the Lord in Creation and History

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
Praise the Lord with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

For the word of the Lord is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He lays up the deep in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
From the place of His dwelling He looks
On all the inhabitants of the earth;
He fashions their hearts individually;
He considers all their works.

No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine.

Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.
Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.

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Psalm 50
“sacred poem or song“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The Mighty One Calls

A Psalm of Asaph.

 The Mighty One, God the LORD,

speaks and summons the earth

from where the sun rises to where it sets.

From Zion, perfect in beauty,

God shines forth.

Our God approaches and will not be silent!

Consuming fire precedes Him,

and a tempest rages around Him.

He summons the heavens above,

and the earth, that He may judge His people:

“Gather to Me My saints,

who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”

And the heavens proclaim His righteousness,

for God Himself is Judge.

Selah

“Hear, O My people, and I will speak,

O Israel, and I will testify against you:

I am God, your God.

I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices,

and your burnt offerings are ever before Me.

I have no need for a bull from your stall

or goats from your pens,

for every beast of the forest is Mine—

the cattle on a thousand hills.

I know every bird in the mountains,

and the creatures of the field are Mine.

If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof.

Do I eat the flesh of bulls,

or drink the blood of goats?

Sacrifice a thank offering to God,

and fulfill your vows to the Most High.

Call upon Me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”

To the wicked, however, God says,

“What right have you to recite My statutes

and to bear My covenant on your lips?

For you hate My instruction

and cast My words behind you.

When you see a thief, you befriend him,

and throw in your lot with adulterers.

You unleash your mouth for evil

and harness your tongue to deceit.

You sit and malign your brother;

you slander your own mother’s son.

You have done these things, and I kept silent;

you thought I was just like you.

But now I rebuke you

and accuse you to your face.

Now consider this, you who forget God,

lest I tear you to pieces,

with no one to rescue you:

He who sacrifices a thank offering honors Me,

and to him who rightly orders his way,

I will show the salvation of God.”

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Haggai 1
“festival”  “festival sacrifice”  “festive“
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(New International Version)

A Call to Build the House of the Lord

In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jozadak,  the high priest:

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’ ”

Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai:  “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”

Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.  You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.  Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord.  “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.  Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops.  I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”

Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord.

Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord.  So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God,  on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.

The Promised Glory of the New House

In the second year of King Darius,

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Deuteronomy 30
“second law”  “after-law”  “assign, allot; take”  
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(New International Version)

Prosperity After Turning to the Lord

When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you.  Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back.  He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors.  The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.  The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you.  You will again obey the Lord and follow all his commands I am giving you today.  Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

The Offer of Life or Death

Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.  It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”  Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”  No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.  For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,  I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

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Proverbs 18
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“
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(New King James Version)

The Name of the Lord Is a Strong Tower

A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire;
He rages against all wise judgment.

A fool has no delight in understanding,
But in expressing his own heart.

When the wicked comes, contempt comes also;
And with dishonor comes reproach.

The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;
The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.

It is not good to show partiality to the wicked,
Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

A fool’s lips enter into contention,
And his mouth calls for blows.
A fool’s mouth is his destruction,
And his lips are the snare of his soul.
The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles,
And they go down into the inmost body.

He who is slothful in his work
Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
The righteous run to it and are safe.
The rich man’s wealth is his strong city,
And like a high wall in his own esteem.

Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty,
And before honor is humility.

He who answers a matter before he hears it,
It is folly and shame to him.

The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness,
But who can bear a broken spirit?

The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge,
And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

A man’s gift makes room for him,
And brings him before great men.

The first one to plead his cause seems right,
Until his neighbor comes and examines him.

Casting lots causes contentions to cease,
And keeps the mighty apart.

A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city,
And contentions are like the bars of a castle.

A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth;
From the produce of his lips he shall be filled.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.

He who finds a wife finds a good thing,
And obtains favor from the Lord.

The poor man uses entreaties,
But the rich answers roughly.

A man who has friends must himself be friendly,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

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Psalms 104
(“performance on stringed instrument; a plucking of the harp”)
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Christian Standard Bible

God the Creator

How Many Are Your Works, O LORD!

Bless the LORD, O my soul!

O LORD my God, You are very great;

You are clothed with splendor and majesty.

He wraps Himself in light as with a garment;

He stretches out the heavens like a tent,

laying the beams of His chambers

in the waters above,

making the clouds His chariot,

walking on the wings of the wind.

He makes the winds His messengers,

flames of fire His servants.a

He set the earth on its foundations,

never to be moved.

You covered it with the deep like a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

At Your rebuke the waters fled;

at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away—

the mountains rose and the valleys sank

to the place You assigned for them—

You set a boundary they cannot cross,

that they may never again cover the earth.

He sends forth springs in the valleys;

they flow between the mountains.

They give drink to every beast of the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

The birds of the air nest beside the springs;

they sing among the branches.

He waters the mountains from His chambers;

the earth is satisfied by the fruit of His works.

He makes the grass grow for the livestock

and provides crops for man to cultivate,

bringing forth food from the earth:

wine that gladdens the heart of man,

oil that makes his face to shine,

and bread that sustains his heart.

The trees of the LORD have their fill,

the cedars of Lebanon that He planted,

where the birds build their nests;

the stork makes her home in the cypresses.b

The high mountains are for the wild goats,

the cliffs a refuge for the rock badgers.c

He made the moon to mark the seasons;

the sun knows when to set.

You bring darkness, and it becomes night,

when all the beasts of the forest prowl.

The young lions roar for their prey

and seek their food from God.

The sun rises, and they withdraw;

they lie down in their dens.

Man goes forth to his work

and to his labor until evening.

How many are Your works, O LORD!

In wisdom You have made them all;

the earth is full of Your creatures.

Here is the sea, vast and wide,

teeming with creatures beyond number,

living things both great and small.

There the ships pass,

and Leviathan, which You formed to frolic there.

All creatures look to You

to give them their food in due season.

When You give it to them,

they gather it up;

when You open Your hand,

they are satisfied with good things.

When You hide Your face,

they are terrified;

when You take away their breath,

they die and return to dust.

When You send Your Spirit

they are created,

and You renew

the face of the earth.

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;

may the LORD rejoice in His works.

He looks on the earth,

and it trembles;

He touches the mountains,

and they smolder.

I will sing to the LORD all my life;

I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

May my meditation be pleasing to Him,

for I rejoice in the LORD.

May sinners vanish from the earth

and the wicked be no more.

Bless the LORD, O my soul.

Hallelujah!

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Romans 5
(“of Rome”)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The Triumph of Faith

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

Christ’s Sacrifice for the Ungodly

For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!  For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!  Not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Death in Adam, Life in Christ

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.  For sin was in the world before the law was given; but sin is not taken into account when there is no law.  Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who did not sin in the way that Adam transgressed. He is a pattern of the One to come.

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many!  Again, the gift is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment that followed one sin brought condemnation, but the gift that followed many trespasses brought justification.  For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

So then, just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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Jude 1
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(New King James Version)

Greeting to the Called

Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,

To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:

Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Contend for the Faith

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.  For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Old and New Apostates

But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.  And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.  Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”  But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.  Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Apostates Depraved and Doomed

These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Apostates Predicted

These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.  But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.  These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

Maintain Your Life with God

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

Glory to God

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

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Hebrews 6
(“a biblical Jew Israelite” “one from the other side“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

A Call to Maturity

Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.  And this we will do, if God permits.

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age— and then have fallen away—to be restored to repentance, because they themselves are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to open shame.

For land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended receives the blessing of God.  But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be burned.

Even though we speak like this, beloved, we are convinced of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation.  For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.

We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.  Then you will not be sluggish, but will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

God’s Unchangeable Promise

When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants.”  And so Abraham, after waiting patiently, obtained the promise.

Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and their oath serves as a confirmation to end all argument.  So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath.  Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.

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Micah 4
“who is like the Lord“
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(New International Version)

The Mountain of the Lord

In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established

as the highest of the mountains;

it will be exalted above the hills,

and peoples will stream to it.

Many nations will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the temple of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us his ways,

so that we may walk in his paths.”

The law will go out from Zion,

the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He will judge between many peoples

and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.

They will beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not take up sword against nation,

nor will they train for war anymore.

Everyone will sit under their own vine

and under their own fig tree,

and no one will make them afraid,

for the Lord Almighty has spoken.

All the nations may walk

in the name of their gods,

but we will walk in the name of the Lord

our God for ever and ever.

The Lord’s Plan

“In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will gather the lame;

I will assemble the exiles

and those I have brought to grief.

I will make the lame my remnant,

those driven away a strong nation.

The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion

from that day and forever.

As for you, watchtower of the flock,

stronghold of Daughter Zion,

the former dominion will be restored to you;

kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.”

Why do you now cry aloud—

have you no king ?

Has your ruler perished,

that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?

Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,

like a woman in labor,

for now you must leave the city

to camp in the open field.

You will go to Babylon;

there you will be rescued.

There the Lord will redeem you

out of the hand of your enemies.

But now many nations

are gathered against you.

They say, “Let her be defiled,

let our eyes gloat over Zion!”

But they do not know

the thoughts of the Lord;

they do not understand his plan,

that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

“Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion,

for I will give you horns of iron;

I will give you hooves of bronze,

and you will break to pieces many nations.”

You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,

their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

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1 Peter 4
“stone, rock“
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(New International Version)

Living for God

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin.  As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.  For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.  They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you.  But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.  For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.  Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.  Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.  Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.  If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Suffering for Being a Christian

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.  If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.  If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.  However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.  For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?  And,

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

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Acts 2
“a thing done”  “a doing; a driving, impulse, a setting in motion; a part in a play”
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(New International Version)

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.  When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.  Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?  Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?  Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”  Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

Peter Addresses the Crowd

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.  These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!  No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

“ ‘In the last days, God says,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.

Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy.

I will show wonders in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below,

blood and fire and billows of smoke.

The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

And everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ 

“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.  This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.  But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.  David said about him:

“ ‘I saw the Lord always before me.

Because he is at my right hand,

I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest in hope,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

you will not let your holy one see decay.

You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence.’ 

“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.  But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.  Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.  God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.  Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.  For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies

a footstool for your feet.” ’ 

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”  Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

The Fellowship of the Believers

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

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Matthew 5
(“gift of Jehovah”)
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(New International Version)

Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

The Fulfillment of the Law

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.  Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Murder

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.  Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Adultery

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Divorce

“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’  But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.  And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.  All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. 

Eye for Eye

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’  But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.  And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.  If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.  Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Love for Enemies

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

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Ecclesiastes 12
(“one who addresses an assembly”  “speaker in an assembly or church, preacher”  “to call out“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Remember Your Creator

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,

before the days of adversity come

and the years approach of which you will say,

“I find no pleasure in them,”

before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened,

and the clouds return after the rain,

on the day the keepers of the house tremble

and the strong men stoop,

when those grinding cease because they are few

and those watching through windows see dimly,

when the doors to the street are shut

and the sound of the mill fades away,

when one rises at the sound of a bird

and all the daughters of song grow faint,

when men fear the heights and dangers of the road,

when the almond tree blossoms,

the grasshopper loses its spring,

and the caper berry shrivels—

for then man goes to his eternal home

and mourners walk the streets.

Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped

and the golden bowl is crushed,

before the pitcher is shattered at the spring

and the wheel is broken at the well,

before the dust returns to the ground from which it came

and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher.

“Everything is futile!”

The Whole Duty of Man

Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs. The Teacher searched to find delightful sayings and to record accurate words of truth.

The words of the wise are like goads, and the anthologies of the masters are like firmly embedded nails driven by a single Shepherd.  And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.

When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

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Deuteronomy 8
“second law”  “after-law”  “assign, allot; take”  
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(New King James Version)

Remember the Lord Your God

“Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers.  And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.  So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.  Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.  You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.

“Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.  For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper.  When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.

“Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’

“And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.  Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.  As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.

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Titus 3
“honorable, Strong”  “of the giants“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Saved in Order to Do Good

Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.  But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.  This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.  Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them.  You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.

Final Remarks

As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.  Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need.  Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives.

Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith.

Grace be with you all.

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Ecclesiastes 12
(“one who addresses an assembly”  “speaker in an assembly or church, preacher”  “to call out“)
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(New International Version)

Fulfill Your Vow to God

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

Do not be quick with your mouth,

do not be hasty in your heart

to utter anything before God.

God is in heaven

and you are on earth,

so let your words be few.

A dream comes when there are many cares,

and many words mark the speech of a fool.

When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.  It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.  Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?  Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.

Riches Are Meaningless

If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.  The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.

Whoever loves money never has enough;

whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.

This too is meaningless.

As goods increase,

so do those who consume them.

And what benefit are they to the owners

except to feast their eyes on them?

The sleep of a laborer is sweet,

whether they eat little or much,

but as for the rich, their abundance

permits them no sleep.

I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:

wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,

or wealth lost through some misfortune,

so that when they have children

there is nothing left for them to inherit.

Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,

and as everyone comes, so they depart.

They take nothing from their toil

that they can carry in their hands.

This too is a grievous evil:

As everyone comes, so they depart,

and what do they gain,

since they toil for the wind?

All their days they eat in darkness,

with great frustration, affliction and anger.

This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot.  Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.  They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.

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Psalm 9
“sacred poem or song“
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(New International Version)

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;

I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

I will be glad and rejoice in you;

I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

My enemies turn back;

they stumble and perish before you.

For you have upheld my right and my cause,

sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.

You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;

you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.

Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,

you have uprooted their cities;

even the memory of them has perished.

The Lord reigns forever;

he has established his throne for judgment.

He rules the world in righteousness

and judges the peoples with equity.

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.

Those who know your name trust in you,

for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;

proclaim among the nations what he has done.

For he who avenges blood remembers;

he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.

Lord, see how my enemies persecute me!

Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,

that I may declare your praises

in the gates of Daughter Zion,

and there rejoice in your salvation.

The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;

their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

The Lord is known by his acts of justice;

the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. 

The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,

all the nations that forget God.

But God will never forget the needy;

the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph;

let the nations be judged in your presence.

Strike them with terror, Lord;

let the nations know they are only mortal.

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1 Corinthians 1
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

Paul Greets the Corinthians

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

The God of All Comfort

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;  Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.  And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.  And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:  But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;  Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.

Paul’s Change of Plans

For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.  For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;  As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.

And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit; And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.  When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?  But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.  For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.  For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.  Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.  Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.

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Romans 12
(“of Rome”)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Living Sacrifices

Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.  Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function,  so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another.

We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If one’s gift is prophecy, let him use it in proportion to his faith; if it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Love, Zeal, Hope, Hospitality

Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.

Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.

Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Forgiveness

Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but enjoy the company of the lowly. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.  If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.

Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”

On the contrary,

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him a drink.

For in so doing,

you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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John Perkins – Economic Hitman & Predatory Capitalism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77jVMsOWKIo

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“It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.  Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new.  This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side,  and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them.”

                                                                                                ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

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Saint Mark the Evangelist.

Direct, Intellectual, Testimonial, Relational, Invitational, Service.
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As it is Written in the Prophets, They Will All Be Taught By God.
This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You,  who will prepare Your way.”   “A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,  make straight paths for Him.’…..  “Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while.”
                                                                                                                 –   Mark 1  & Mark 6 (BSB)
“When the Perfect Comes, the Partial Passes Away.“
“When he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion authority and power.“
                                                                                                                           –  1 Corinthians 13&15 “point, peak“

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Angels & Airwaves – The Gift

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGoImjb6AuI

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The “Winged Lion ” With the Scroll of Isaiah.

Symbol of Saint Mark the Evangelist

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“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.  Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong;
let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

                                                                                                  –  Revelation 22  (New International Version)

“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
–  Mark 10  (NIV)
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1 Corinthians 14
(“point” “peak“)
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(Christian Standard Bible) 

Prophecy: A Superior Gift

Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. For the person who speaks in a tongue is not speaking to people but to God, since no one understands him; he speaks mysteries in the Spirit.  On the other hand, the person who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening,  encouragement, and consolation. The person who speaks in a tongue builds himself up, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.  I wish all of you spoke in tongues, but even more that you prophesied. The person who prophesies is greater than the person who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be built up.

So now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you with a revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?  Even lifeless instruments that produce sounds — whether flute or harp — if they don’t make a distinction in the notes, how will what is played on the flute or harp be recognized?  In fact, if the bugle makes an unclear sound, who will prepare for battle?  In the same way, unless you use your tongue for intelligible speech, how will what is spoken be known? For you will be speaking into the air.  There are doubtless many different kinds of languages in the world, none is without meaning.  Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker will be a foreigner to me.  So also you — since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek to excel in building up the church.

Therefore the person who speaks in a tongue should pray that he can interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with my understanding. I will sing praise with the spirit, and I will also sing praise with my understanding.  Otherwise, if you praise with the spirit,  how will the outsider say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?  For you may very well be giving thanks, but the other person is not being built up.  I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you; yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, in order to teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your thinking, but be infants in regard to evil and adult in your thinking.  It is written in the law,

I will speak to this people

by people of other tongues

and by the lips of foreigners,

and even then, they will not listen to me,

says the Lord. Speaking in tongues, then, is intended as a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers.  If, therefore, the whole church assembles together and all are speaking in tongues and people who are outsiders or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds?  But if all are prophesying and some unbeliever or outsider comes in, he is convicted by all and is called to account by all.  The secrets Of his heart will be revealed, and as a result he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is really among you.”

Order in Church Meetings

What then, brothers and sisters? Whenever you come together, each one has a hymn, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.  Everything is to be done for building up.  If anyone speaks in a tongue, there are to be only two, or at the most three, each in turn, and let someone interpret.  But if there is no interpreter, that person is to keep silent in the church and speak to himself and God.   Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate, But if something has been revealed to another person sitting there, the first prophet should be silent.   For you can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone may learn and everyone may be encouraged.  And the prophets’ spirits are subject to the prophets,  since God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

As in all the churches of the saints, the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but are to submit themselves, as the law also says.  If they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home, since it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.  Or did the word of God originate from you, or did it come to you only?

If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, he should recognize that what I write to you is the Lord’s command.  If anyone ignores this, he will be ignored.  So then, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.  But everything is to be done decently and in order.

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Isaiah 53
“salvation of the Lord”  “deliverence“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The Suffering Servant

Who has believed our message?

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,

no beauty that we should desire Him.

He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.

Like one from whom men hide their faces,

He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

Surely He took on our infirmities

and carried our sorrows;

yet we considered Him stricken by God,

struck down and afflicted.

But He was pierced for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,

and by His stripes we are healed.

We all like sheep have gone astray,

each one has turned to his own way;

and the LORD has laid upon Him

the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet He did not open His mouth.

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,

so He did not open His mouth.

By oppression and judgment He was taken away,

and who can recount His descendants?

For He was cut off from the land of the living;

He was stricken for the transgression of My people.


A Grave Assigned

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with a rich man in His death,

although He had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him

and to cause Him to suffer;

and when His soul is made a guilt offering,

He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days,

and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

After the anguish of His soul,

He will see the light of life and be satisfied.

By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many,

and He will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great,

and He will divide the spoils with the strong,

because He has poured out His life unto death,

and He was numbered with the transgressors.

Yet He bore the sin of many

and made intercession for the transgressors.

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Isaiah 46
“salvation of the Lord” “salvation, deliverance“
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(New International Version)

Gods of Babylon

Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;

their idols are borne by beasts of burden. 

The images that are carried about are burdensome,

a burden for the weary.

They stoop and bow down together;

unable to rescue the burden,

they themselves go off into captivity.

“Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,

all the remnant of the people of Israel,

you whom I have upheld since your birth,

and have carried since you were born.

Even to your old age and gray hairs

I am he, I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

“With whom will you compare me or count me equal?

To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?

Some pour out gold from their bags

and weigh out silver on the scales;

they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god,

and they bow down and worship it.

They lift it to their shoulders and carry it;

they set it up in its place, and there it stands.

From that spot it cannot move.

Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;

it cannot save them from their troubles.

“Remember this, keep it in mind,

take it to heart, you rebels.

Remember the former things, those of long ago;

I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me.

I make known the end from the beginning,

from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say, ‘My purpose will stand,

and I will do all that I please.’

From the east I summon a bird of prey;

from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.

What I have said, that I will bring about;

what I have planned, that I will do.

Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted,

you who are now far from my righteousness.

I am bringing my righteousness near,

it is not far away;

and my salvation will not be delayed.

I will grant salvation to Zion,

my splendor to Israel.

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Micah 4
“who is like the Lord“
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(New International Version)

The Mountain of the Lord

In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established

as the highest of the mountains;

it will be exalted above the hills,

and peoples will stream to it.

Many nations will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the temple of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us his ways,

so that we may walk in his paths.”

The law will go out from Zion,

the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He will judge between many peoples

and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.

They will beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not take up sword against nation,

nor will they train for war anymore.

Everyone will sit under their own vine

and under their own fig tree,

and no one will make them afraid,

for the Lord Almighty has spoken.

All the nations may walk

in the name of their gods,

but we will walk in the name of the Lord

our God for ever and ever.

The Lord’s Plan

“In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will gather the lame;

I will assemble the exiles

and those I have brought to grief.

I will make the lame my remnant,

those driven away a strong nation.

The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion

from that day and forever.

As for you, watchtower of the flock,

stronghold of Daughter Zion,

the former dominion will be restored to you;

kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.”

Why do you now cry aloud—

have you no king ?

Has your ruler perished,

that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?

Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,

like a woman in labor,

for now you must leave the city

to camp in the open field.

You will go to Babylon;

there you will be rescued.

There the Lord will redeem you

out of the hand of your enemies.

But now many nations

are gathered against you.

They say, “Let her be defiled,

let our eyes gloat over Zion!”

But they do not know

the thoughts of the Lord;

they do not understand his plan,

that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

“Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion,

for I will give you horns of iron;

I will give you hooves of bronze,

and you will break to pieces many nations.”

You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,

their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

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Ephesians 3
(“overseer.“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

God’s Marvelous Plan for the Gentiles

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.  In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.  This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.  Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.  His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.  In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.  I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

A Prayer for the Ephesians

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

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 Revelation 22
“Disclosure of information or knowledge to man by a divine or supernatural agency.”
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(New International Version)

Eden Restored

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

John and the Angel

The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”

“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me.  But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”

Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.  Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

Epilogue: Invitation and Warning

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.  Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.  And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

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Isaiah 65
“salvation of the Lord” “salvation, deliverance“
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(New International Version)

Judgment and Salvation

“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;

I was found by those who did not seek me.

To a nation that did not call on my name,

I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’

All day long I have held out my hands

to an obstinate people,

who walk in ways not good,

pursuing their own imaginations—

a people who continually provoke me

to my very face,

offering sacrifices in gardens

and burning incense on altars of brick;

who sit among the graves

and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;

who eat the flesh of pigs,

and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;

who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,

for I am too sacred for you!’

Such people are smoke in my nostrils,

a fire that keeps burning all day.

“See, it stands written before me:

I will not keep silent but will pay back in full;

I will pay it back into their laps—

both your sins and the sins of your ancestors,”

says the Lord.

“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains

and defied me on the hills,

I will measure into their laps

the full payment for their former deeds.”

This is what the Lord says:

“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes

and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,

there is still a blessing in it,’

so will I do in behalf of my servants;

I will not destroy them all.

I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

and from Judah those who will possess my mountains;

my chosen people will inherit them,

and there will my servants live.

Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,

and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,

for my people who seek me.

“But as for you who forsake the Lord

and forget my holy mountain,

who spread a table for Fortune

and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,

I will destine you for the sword,

and all of you will fall in the slaughter;

for I called but you did not answer,

I spoke but you did not listen.

You did evil in my sight

and chose what displeases me.”

Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“My servants will eat,

but you will go hungry;

my servants will drink,

but you will go thirsty;

my servants will rejoice,

but you will be put to shame.

My servants will sing

out of the joy of their hearts,

but you will cry out

from anguish of heart

and wail in brokenness of spirit.

You will leave your name

for my chosen ones to use in their curses;

the Sovereign Lord will put you to death,

but to his servants he will give another name.

Whoever invokes a blessing in the land

will do so by the one true God;

whoever takes an oath in the land

will swear by the one true God.

For the past troubles will be forgotten

and hidden from my eyes.


New Heavens and a New Earth

“See, I will create

new heavens and a new earth.

The former things will not be remembered,

nor will they come to mind.

But be glad and rejoice forever

in what I will create,

for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight

and its people a joy.

I will rejoice over Jerusalem

and take delight in my people;

the sound of weeping and of crying

will be heard in it no more.

“Never again will there be in it

an infant who lives but a few days,

or an old man who does not live out his years;

the one who dies at a hundred

will be thought a mere child;

the one who fails to reach a hundred

will be considered accursed.

They will build houses and dwell in them;

they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

No longer will they build houses and others live in them,

or plant and others eat.

For as the days of a tree,

so will be the days of my people;

my chosen ones will long enjoy

the work of their hands.

They will not labor in vain,

nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;

for they will be a people blessed by the Lord,

they and their descendants with them.

Before they call I will answer;

while they are still speaking I will hear.

The wolf and the lamb will feed together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox,

and dust will be the serpent’s food.

They will neither harm nor destroy

on all my holy mountain,”

says the Lord.

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Psalm 16
“sacred poem or song“
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(New King James Version)

The Hope of the Faithful, and the Messiah’s Victory

A Michtam of David.

Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.

O my soul, you have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord,
My goodness is nothing apart from You.”
As for the saints who are on the earth,
“They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”

Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;
Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,
Nor take up their names on my lips.

O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You maintain my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.

I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope.
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;

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Hebrews 12
(“a biblical Jew Israelite” “one from the other side“)
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(New International Version)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

God Disciplines His Children

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.  And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,

and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,

because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” 

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?  If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.  Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!  They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.  No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.  “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

Warning and Encouragement

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.  See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.  See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.  Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”  The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” 

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?  At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”  The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” 

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Lamentations 3
 “expression of sorrow or grief”  ” wailing, moaning, weeping”  “to shout, cry“
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The Prophet’s Afflictions

I am the man who has seen affliction

under the rod of God’s wrath.

He has driven me away and made me walk

in darkness instead of light.

Indeed, He keeps turning His hand

against me all day long.

He has worn away my flesh and skin;

He has shattered my bones.

He has besieged me and surrounded me

with bitterness and hardship.

He has made me dwell in darkness

like those dead for ages.

He has walled me in so I cannot escape;

He has weighed me down with chains.

Even when I cry out and plead for help,

He shuts out my prayer.

He has barred my ways with cut stones;

He has made my paths crooked.

He is a bear lying in wait,

a lion hiding in ambush.

He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces;

He left me without help.

He bent His bow

and set me as the target for His arrow.

He pierced my kidneys

with His arrows.

I am a laughingstock to all my people;

they mock me in song all day long.

He has filled me with bitterness;

He has intoxicated me with wormwood.

He has ground my teeth with gravel

and trampled me in the dust.

My soul has been deprived of peace;

I have forgotten what prosperity is.

So I say, “My strength has perished,

along with my hope from the LORD.”

The Prophet’s Hope

Remember my affliction and wandering,

the wormwood and the gall.

Surely my soul remembers

and is humbled within me.

Yet I call this to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed,

for His mercies never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness!

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in Him.”

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,

to the soul who seeks Him.

It is good to wait quietly

for the salvation of the LORD.

It is good for a man to bear the yoke

while he is still young.

Let him sit alone in silence,

for the LORD has laid it upon him.

Let him bury his face in the dust—

perhaps there is still hope.

Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him;

let him be filled with reproach.

For the Lord will not

cast us off forever.

Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion

according to His abundant loving devotion.

For He does not willingly afflict

or grieve the sons of men.

To crush underfoot

all the prisoners of the land,

to deny a man justice

before the Most High,

to subvert a man in his lawsuit—

of these the Lord does not approve.

God’s Justice

Who has spoken and it came to pass,

unless the Lord has ordained it?

Do not both adversity and good

come from the mouth of the Most High?

Why should any mortal man complain,

in view of his sins?

Let us examine and test our ways,

and turn back to the LORD.

Let us lift up our hearts and hands

to God in heaven:

“We have sinned and rebelled;

You have not forgiven.”

You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us;

You have killed without pity.

You have covered Yourself with a cloud

that no prayer can pass through.

You have made us scum and refuse

among the nations.

All our enemies

open their mouths against us.

Panic and pitfall have come upon us—

devastation and destruction.

Streams of tears flow from my eyes

over the destruction of the daughter of my people.

My eyes overflow unceasingly,

without relief,

until the LORD

looks down from heaven and sees.

My eyes bring grief to my soul

because of all the daughters of my city.

Without cause my enemies

hunted me like a bird.

They dropped me alive into a pit

and cast stones upon me.

The waters flowed over my head,

and I thought I was going to die.

I called on Your name, O LORD,

out of the depths of the Pit.

You heard my plea:

“Do not ignore my cry for relief.”

You drew near when I called on You;

You said, “Do not be afraid.”

You defend my cause, O Lord;

You redeem my life.

You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me;

vindicate my cause!

You have seen all their malice,

all their plots against me.

O LORD, You have heard their insults,

all their plots against me—

the slander and murmuring of my assailants

against me all day long.

When they sit and when they rise,

see how they mock me in song.

You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD,

according to the work of their hands.

Put a veil of anguish over their hearts;

may Your curse be upon them!

You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them

from under Your heavens, O LORD.

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2 Samuel 7
(“the name of God”)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

God’s Covenant with David

After the king had settled into his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,  he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

And Nathan replied to the king, “Go and do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.”

But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,  “Go and tell My servant David that this is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build for Me a house to dwell in?  For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt until this day, but I have moved about with a tent as My dwelling.  In all My journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever asked any of the leaders I appointed to shepherd My people Israel, ‘Why haven’t you built Me a house of cedar?’

Now then, you are to tell My servant David that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be the ruler over My people Israel.  I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make for you a name like that of the greatest in the land.

And I will provide a place for My people Israel and will plant them so that they may dwell in a place of their own and be disturbed no more. No longer will the sons of wickedness oppress them as they did at the beginning and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies.

The LORD declares to you that He Himself will establish a house for you.  And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.  He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  I will be his Father, and he will be My son.  When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.

But My loving devotion will never be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.  Your house and kingdom will endure forever before Me, and your throne will be established forever.”

So Nathan relayed to David all the words of this entire revelation.

David’s Prayer of Thanksgiving

Then King David went in, sat before the LORD, and said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?  And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O Lord GOD, You have also spoken about the future of the house of Your servant. Is this Your custom with man, O Lord GOD?  What more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord GOD. For the sake of Your word and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished this great thing and revealed it to Your servant.

How great You are, O Lord GOD! For there is none like You, and there is no God but You, according to everything we have heard with our own ears.  And who is like Your people Israel—the one nation on earth whom God went out to redeem as a people for Himself and to make a name for Himself? You performed great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before Your people, whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt.  For You have established Your people Israel as Your very own forever, and You, O LORD, have become their God.

And now, O LORD God, confirm forever the word You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house. Do as You have promised, so that Your name will be magnified forever when it is said, ‘The LORD of Hosts is God over Israel.’ And the house of Your servant David will be established before You.  For You, O LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant when You said, ‘I will build a house for you.’ Therefore Your servant has found the courage to offer this prayer to You.

And now, O Lord GOD, You are God! Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant.  Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with Your blessing the house of Your servant will be blessed forever.”

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1 Chronicles 29
(““historical account of facts or events in the order of time“
“of time, concerning time,”  “make a simple record of occurrences in their order of time“)
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(New International Version)

Gifts for Building the Temple

Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God.  With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities.  Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple:  three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”

Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly.  They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron.  Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.  The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Prayer

David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

“Praise be to you, Lord,

the God of our father Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,

for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;

you are exalted as head over all.

Wealth and honor come from you;

you are the ruler of all things.

In your hands are strength and power

to exalt and give strength to all.

Now, our God, we give you thanks,

and praise your glorious name.

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.  We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.  Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.  I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.  Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.  And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”

Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.” So they all praised the Lord, the God of their fathers; they bowed down, prostrating themselves before the Lord and the king.

Solomon Acknowledged as King

The next day they made sacrifices to the Lord and presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.  They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the Lord that day.

Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the Lord to be ruler and Zadok to be priest.  So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him.  All the officers and warriors, as well as all of King David’s sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon.

The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before.

The Death of David

David son of Jesse was king over all Israel.  He ruled over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem.  He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.

As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer,  together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.

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Hebrews 1
(“a biblical Jew Israelite” “one from the other side“)
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(New International Version)

God’s Final Word: His Son

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.  The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.  So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

The Son Superior to Angels

For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son;

today I have become your Father” ?

Or again,

“I will be his Father,

and he will be my Son” ?

And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.” 

In speaking of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels spirits,

and his servants flames of fire.” 

But about the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;

a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;

therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions

by anointing you with the oil of joy.” 

He also says,

“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

They will perish, but you remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

You will roll them up like a robe;

like a garment they will be changed.

But you remain the same,

and your years will never end.” 

To which of the angels did God ever say,

“Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies

a footstool for your feet” ?

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

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Hebrews 4
(“a biblical Jew Israelite” “one from the other side“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The Perfect High Priest

Every high priest is appointed from among men to represent them in matters relating to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.  He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and misguided, since he himself is subject to weakness.  That is why he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.

No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was.  So also Christ did not take upon Himself the glory of becoming a high priest, but He was called by the One who said to Him:

“You are My Son;

today I have become Your Father.”

And in another passage God says:

“You are a priest forever

in the order of Melchizedek.”

During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.  Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered.  And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him and was designated by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Milk and Solid Food

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because you are dull of hearing.  Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word.  You need milk, not solid food!

For everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.

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Hebrews 7
(“a biblical Jew Israelite” “one from the other side“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Melchizedek and Abraham

This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High.  He met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham apportioned to him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness.” Then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”  Without father or mother or genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God, he remains a priest for all time.

Consider how great Melchizedek was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder.  Now the law commands the sons of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their brothers—though they too are descended from Abraham.  But Melchizedek, who did not trace his descent from Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.  And indisputably, the lesser is blessed by the greater.

In the case of the Levites, mortal men collect the tenth; but in the case of Melchizedek, it is affirmed that he lives on. And so to speak, Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham.   For when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the loin of his ancestor.

A Superior Priesthood

Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on this basis the people received the law), why was there still need for another priest to appear—one in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron?
For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed as well.

He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar.  For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, a tribe as to which Moses said nothing about priests.

And this point is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears,  one who has become a priest not by a law of succession, but by the power of an indestructible life.  For it is testified:

“You are a priest forever

in the order of Melchizedek.”

So the former commandment is set aside because it was weak and useless  (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

And none of this happened without an oath. For others became priests without an oath,  but Jesus became a priest with an oath by the One who said to Him:

“The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind:

‘You are a priest forever.’ ”

Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

Now there have been many other priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office.  But because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood.  Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.

Such a high priest truly befits us—One who is holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.  Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people; He sacrificed for sin once for all when He offered up Himself.  For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

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Hebrews 8
(“a biblical Jew Israelite” “one from the other side“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The High Priest of a New Covenant

Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer.  If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law.  They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”  But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.  But God found fault with the people and said :

“The days are coming, declares the Lord,

when I will make a new covenant

with the people of Israel

and with the people of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant

I made with their ancestors

when I took them by the hand

to lead them out of Egypt,

because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,

and I turned away from them,

declares the Lord.

This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel

after that time, declares the Lord.

I will put my laws in their minds

and write them on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.

No longer will they teach their neighbor,

or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’

because they will all know me,

from the least of them to the greatest.

For I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more.” 

By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

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Jude 1
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(New King James Version)

Greeting to the Called

Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,

To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:

Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Contend for the Faith

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.  For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Old and New Apostates

But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.  And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.  Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”  But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.  Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Apostates Depraved and Doomed

These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Apostates Predicted

These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.  But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.  These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

Maintain Your Life with God

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

Glory to God

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

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1 Corinthians 1
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

Paul Greets the Corinthians

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

The God of All Comfort

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;  Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.  And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.  And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:  But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;  Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.

Paul’s Change of Plans

For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.  For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;  As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.

And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit; And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.  When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?  But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.  For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.  For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.  Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.  Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.

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Acts 2
“a thing done”  “a doing; a driving, impulse, a setting in motion; a part in a play”
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(New International Version)

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.  When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.  Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?  Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?  Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”  Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

Peter Addresses the Crowd

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.  These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!  No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

“ ‘In the last days, God says,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.

Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy.

I will show wonders in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below,

blood and fire and billows of smoke.

The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

And everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ 

“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.  This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.  But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.  David said about him:

“ ‘I saw the Lord always before me.

Because he is at my right hand,

I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest in hope,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

you will not let your holy one see decay.

You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence.’ 

“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.  But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.  Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.  God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.  Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.  For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies

a footstool for your feet.” ’ 

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”  Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

The Fellowship of the Believers

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

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Psalm 32
“sacred poem or song“
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(King James Version)

The Providence of God

{A Psalm of David, Maschil.} Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.

For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.

Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.

Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.

Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

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Matthew 5
(“gift of Jehovah”)
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(New International Version)

Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

The Fulfillment of the Law

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.  Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Murder

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.  Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Adultery

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Divorce

“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’  But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.  And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.  All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. 

Eye for Eye

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’  But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.  And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.  If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.  Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Love for Enemies

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

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2 Peter 2
“stone, rock“
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(New International Version)

False Teachers and Their Destruction

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.  This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord.  But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.

They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.  With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!  They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.  But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.  For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.  They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”  If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.  It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.  Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” g and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”

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2 Corinthians 4
(“point” “peak“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The Light of the Gospel

Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart.  Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”  made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Jars of Clay

Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.  For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.  So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

And in keeping with what is written, “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak, knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence.  All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow, to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

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Enoch

Lithograph by William Blake  (1803 – 1807)

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Enoch is a person in the Book of Genesis.   He is described as a son of Cain, and father of Irad and Methuselah

Enoch is the subject of many Jewish and Christian traditions. He was considered the author of the Book of Enoch and also called the scribe of judgment.  In the New Testament, Enoch is referenced in the Gospel of Luke, the Epistle to the Hebrews, and in the Epistle of Jude, the last of which also quotes from it.  In the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Oriental Orthodoxy, he is venerated as a saint. In Islam, Enoch is identified with Idris (Arabic: إدريس, romanized: ʾIdrīs) and is considered a prophet.

There are few details about Enoch. We learn that he lived 365 years, and then Enoch “walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” (Genesis 5:24)    Source:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enoch_(son_of_Cain)

After the birth of Enoch, the Hebrew text of Genesis 4:17 is unclear. Either Cain built a city and named it after the mighty Enoch, or else Enoch built a city.[1] In the King James Bible, the text makes it clear that Cain built the city and named it after his son.

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Marina Kaye – Miracle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3zBJ0cwZoY

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Mark The Evangelist

By :  Il Pordenone
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“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
                                                    –  Mark 10  (NIV)

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As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
–   Galatians 5 (New International Version)
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For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
                                                       – Galatians 5 (NIV)
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For those who live by faith, not by sight.
“Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll.”
This is the Covenant I Will Make With Them After That Time
I Will put my Laws in Their Hearts, and I Will Write Them on Their Minds.
I Only Ask you to Look at What is Obvious. I am Only a Poor Man & Little Known.
Although I am Less Than the Least of all the Lord’s People, this Grace Was Given Me
In Reading This, Then, You will be Able to Understand my Insight Into the Mystery of Christ.
The Word has Become Flesh.  A Transfiguration.  Riches in Hidden Places.  The Boundless Manifold Wisdom of Christ.
Salvation is found in No One Else, for There is No Other Name Under Heaven Given to Mankind by Which we Must be Saved.  (That’s Right, I Went There.)

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The Winged Lion.

With the Scroll of Isaiah

The Symbol of Saint Mark.  “The Messiah’s Herald.“

Evangelist

An Evangelist is one of a class of spiritual beings.  Attendants and messengers of God.  A way of life and a practice of announcing or proclaiming good news.  Evangelists are Christian preachers who proclaims good news and tries to persuade people to become Christians.  “Bringer of good news”  “the reward of good tidings“

The feast of St. Mark, who was a cousin of barnabas (“son of exhortation”  “son of prophecy”  “son of consolation“
“son of the right hand”  and who accompanied the apostle Paul (“small” “little“)  on his first missionary journey ;
later he followed him to Rome.

The lion is one of Mark’s symbols because his Gospel begins with the voice of one crying in the desert,
and the lion was seen as an image of such a creature

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Isaiah 53
“salvation of the Lord” “salvation, deliverance“
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(New International Version)

Who has believed our message

and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by mankind,

a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain

and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

Yet who of his generation protested?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

for the transgression of my people he was punished. 

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

After he has suffered,

he will see the light of life and be satisfied ;

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,

and he will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, 

and he will divide the spoils with the strong, 

because he poured out his life unto death,

and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors.

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Mark 12
“consecrated to the god Mars”  “God of war”  “to be warlike“
“boundary, limit; sign, landmark”  “to denote” “sign, omen, aim”  “margin”
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(New International Version)

The Parable of the Tenants

Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’  So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.  Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“ ‘The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

the Lord has done this,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’  ?”

Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar

Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words.  They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?  Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”   They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

And they were amazed at him.

Marriage at the Resurrection

Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question.  “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children.  The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third.  In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too.  At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?  When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.  Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ ?   He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

The Greatest Commandment

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’   There is no commandment greater than these.”

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.   To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David?   David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:

“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand

until I put your enemies

under your feet.” ’

David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

The large crowd listened to him with delight.

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces,  and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.   They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

The Widow’s Offering

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.  But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

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Matthew 16
(“gift of Jehovah”)
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(New international Version)

The Demand for a Sign

The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.

He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’  and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.   A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread.  “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?  Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?  How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”  Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter,  and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Jesus Predicts His Death

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?  For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

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1 Peter 5
“stone, rock“
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(New International Version)

To the Elders and the Flock

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed:  Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud

but shows favor to the humble.” 

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.  To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.  Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

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John 1
(“Jehovah has favored” “Jah is gracious,” “he was gracious“)
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(New International Version)

The Word Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome  it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.  He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.   He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”)  Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah

Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.  He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”

They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ”

Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

John Testifies About Jesus

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’  I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’  I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

John’s Disciples Follow Jesus

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter  ).

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”

Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”

Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”  He then added, “Very truly I tell you,  you  will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’  the Son of Man.”

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Hebrews 4
(“a biblical Jew Israelite” “one from the other side“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The Sabbath Rest

Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it.   For we also received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it.

Now we who have believed enter that rest. As for the others, it is just as God has said:

“So I swore on oath in My anger,

‘They shall never enter My rest.’ ”

And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world.  For somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in this manner: “And on the seventh day God rested from all His works.”  And again, as He says in the passage above: “They shall never enter My rest.”

Since, then, it remains for some to enter His rest, and since those who formerly heard the good news did not enter because of their disobedience,  God again designated a certain day as “Today,” when a long time later He spoke through David as was just stated: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.  There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God.  For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His.  Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience.

The Living Word

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.   Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

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1 John 1
(“Jehovah has favored”  “Jah is gracious”  “he was gracious“)
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(New International Version)

The Incarnation of the Word of Life

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.  The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.  We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.  We write this to make our joy complete.

Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

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Matthew 24
(“gift of Jehovah”)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Temple Destruction and Other Signs

As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, His disciples came up to Him to point out its buildings.

“Do you see all these things?” He replied. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.  You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Witnessing to All Nations

Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.  At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another, and many false prophets will arise and deceive many.

Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.  But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand),  then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house.  And let no one in the field return for his cloak.

How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers!  Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter or on the Sabbath.  For at that time there will be great tribulation, unseen from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again.  If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.

At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it.  For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.  See, I have told you in advance.

The Return of the Son of Man

So if they tell you, ‘There He is, in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Here He is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.  For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.  Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days:

‘The sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not give its light;

the stars will fall from the sky,

and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’

At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,  and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near.  So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near, right at the door.  Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

Readiness at Any Hour

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.  And they were oblivious until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.  Two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.  But understand this: If the homeowner had known in which watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.  For this reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the others their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.  Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

But suppose that servant is wicked and says in his heart, ‘My master will be away a long time.’  And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.  The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate.  Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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Matthew 12
(“gift of Jehovah”)
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(New International Version)

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them.  When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?  He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.  Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent?  I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.  If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.  For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?  How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.  But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

God’s Chosen Servant

Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.  He warned them not to tell others about him.  This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen,

the one I love, in whom I delight;

I will put my Spirit on him,

and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

He will not quarrel or cry out;

no one will hear his voice in the streets.

A bruised reed he will not break,

and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,

till he has brought justice through to victory.

In his name the nations will put their hope.” 

Jesus and Beelzebul

Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see.  All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?  And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.  But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

“Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.  And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.  You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.  A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.  But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.  For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.  The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.

“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.  Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order.  Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.  Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”  Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

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Isaiah 42
“salvation of the Lord” “salvation, deliverance“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Here Is My Servant

“Here is My Servant, whom I uphold,

My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights.

I will put My Spirit on Him,

and He will bring justice to the nations.

He will not cry out or raise His voice,

nor make His voice heard in the streets.

A bruised reed He will not break

and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish;

He will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow weak or discouraged

before He has established justice on the earth.

In His law the islands will put their hope.”

This is what God the LORD says—

He who created the heavens

and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and its offspring,

who gives breath to the people on it

and life to those who walk in it:

“I, the LORD, have called you

for a righteous purpose,

and I will take hold of your hand.

I will keep you and appoint you

to be a covenant for the people

and a light to the nations,

to open the eyes of the blind,

to bring prisoners out of the dungeon

and those sitting in darkness

out from the prison house.

I am the LORD;

that is My name!

I will not yield My glory to another

or My praise to idols.

Behold, the former things have happened,

and now I declare new things.

Before they spring forth

I proclaim them to you.”

A New Song of Praise

Sing to the LORD a new song—

His praise from the ends of the earth—

you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,

you islands, and all who dwell in them.

Let the desert and its cities raise their voices;

let the villages of Kedar cry aloud.

Let the people of Sela sing for joy;

let them cry out from the mountaintops.

Let them give glory to the LORD

and declare His praise in the islands.

The LORD goes forth like a mighty one;

He stirs up His zeal like a warrior.

He shouts; yes, He roars

in triumph over His enemies:

“I have kept silent from ages past;

I have remained quiet and restrained.

But now I will groan like a woman in labor;

I will at once gasp and pant.

I will lay waste the mountains and hills

and dry up all their vegetation.

I will turn the rivers into dry land

and drain the marshes.

I will lead the blind by a way they did not know;

I will guide them on unfamiliar paths.

I will turn darkness into light before them

and rough places into level ground.

These things I will do for them,

and I will not forsake them.

But those who trust in idols

and say to molten images, ‘You are our gods!’

will be turned back in utter shame.

Israel Is Deaf and Blind

Listen, you deaf ones;

look, you blind ones, that you may see!

Who is blind but My servant,

or deaf like the messenger I am sending?

Who is blind like My covenant partner,

or blind like the servant of the LORD?

Though seeing many things, you do not keep watch.

Though your ears are open, you do not hear.”

The LORD was pleased, for the sake of His righteousness,

to magnify His law and make it glorious.

But this is a people plundered and looted,

all trapped in caves or imprisoned in dungeons.

They have become plunder with no one to rescue them,

and loot with no one to say, “Send them back!”

Who among you will pay attention to this?

Who will listen and obey hereafter?

Who gave Jacob up for spoil,

and Israel to the plunderers?

Was it not the LORD,

against whom we have sinned?

They were unwilling to walk in His ways,

and they would not obey His law.

So He poured out on them His furious anger

and the fierceness of battle.

It enveloped them in flames,

but they did not understand;

it consumed them,

but they did not take it to heart.

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Isaiah 45
“salvation of the Lord” “salvation, deliverance“
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(New King James Version)

Cyrus, God’s Instrument

“Thus says the Lord to His anointed,
To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—
To subdue nations before him
And loose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:
‘I will go before you
And make the crooked places straight;
I will break in pieces the gates of bronze
And cut the bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the Lord,
Who call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
For Jacob My servant’s sake,
And Israel My elect,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you, though you have not known Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the Lord, do all these things.’

“Rain down, you heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation,
And let righteousness spring up together.
I, the Lord, have created it.

“Woe to him who strives with his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?
Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’ ”

Thus says the Lord,
The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
“Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons;
And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.
I have made the earth,
And created man on it.
I—My hands—stretched out the heavens,
And all their host I have commanded.
I have raised him up in righteousness,
And I will direct all his ways;
He shall build My city
And let My exiles go free,
Not for price nor reward,”
Says the Lord of hosts.

The Lord, the Only Savior

Thus says the Lord:

“The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush
And of the Sabeans, men of stature,
Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours;
They shall walk behind you,
They shall come over in chains;
And they shall bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying, ‘Surely God is in you,
And there is no other;
There is no other God.’ ”

Truly You are God, who hide Yourself,
O God of Israel, the Savior!
They shall be ashamed
And also disgraced, all of them;
They shall go in confusion together,
Who are makers of idols.
But Israel shall be saved by the Lord
With an everlasting salvation;
You shall not be ashamed or disgraced
Forever and ever.

For thus says the Lord,
Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it in vain,
Who formed it to be inhabited:
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I have not spoken in secret,
In a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the seed of Jacob,
‘Seek Me in vain’;
I, the Lord, speak righteousness,
I declare things that are right.

“Assemble yourselves and come;
Draw near together,
You who have escaped from the nations.
They have no knowledge,
Who carry the wood of their carved image,
And pray to a god that cannot save.
Tell and bring forth your case;
Yes, let them take counsel together.
Who has declared this from ancient time?
Who has told it from that time?
Have not I, the Lord?
And there is no other God besides Me,
A just God and a Savior;
There is none besides Me.

“Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
I have sworn by Myself;
The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every knee shall bow,
Every tongue shall take an oath.
He shall say,
‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength.
To Him men shall come,
And all shall be ashamed
Who are incensed against Him.
In the Lord all the descendants of Israel
Shall be justified, and shall glory.’ ”

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Matthew 13
(“gift of jehova“)
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(New International Version)

The Parable of the Sower

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.  Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.  Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.   Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.   This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;

though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

For this people’s heart has become calloused;

they hardly hear with their ears,

and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’ 

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.  For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:  When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.  The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.  The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.  But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

The Parable of the Weeds

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.  But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.  When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

“ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.  Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.  So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables,

I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.” 

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.  The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.  They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.   Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.  When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.  This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

“Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

A Prophet Without Honor

When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there.  Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”  And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”

And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

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Romans 8
(“of Rome.“)
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(New Internatioanl Version)

Life Through the Spirit

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.  For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.  And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.  The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.  The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.  Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.  But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.  And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.  For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.  The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.  Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Present Suffering and Future Glory

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.  And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

More Than Conquerors

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.  Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Psalm 19
“sacred poem or song“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they reveal knowledge.

Without speech or language,

without a sound to be heard,

their voice has gone out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens He has pitched

a tent for the sun.

Like a bridegroom emerging from his chamber,

like a champion rejoicing to run his course,

it rises at one end of the heavens

and runs its circuit to the other;

nothing is deprived of its warmth.

The Law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

The precepts of the LORD are right,

bringing joy to the heart;

the commandments of the LORD are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever;

the judgments of the LORD are true,

being altogether righteous.

They are more precious than gold,

than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than honey,

than honey from the comb.

By them indeed Your servant is warned;

in keeping them is great reward.

Who can discern his own errors?

Cleanse me from my hidden faults.

Keep Your servant also from willful sins;

may they not rule over me.

Then I will be blameless

and cleansed of great transgression.

May the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart

be pleasing in Your sight,

O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

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Pslams 123
(“sacred poem or song”)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

I Lift Up My Eyes to You

                                            A song of ascents.

I lift up my eyes to You,

the One enthroned in heaven.

As the eyes of servants

look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maidservant

look to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes are on the LORD our God

until He shows us mercy.

Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy,

for we have endured much contempt.

We have endured much scorn from the arrogant,

much contempt from the proud.

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2 Corinthians 12
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

Paul’s Vision and His Thorn

I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.  I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.  And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.  I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.  Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul’s Concern for the Corinthians

I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the “super-apostles,”  even though I am nothing.  I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles.  How were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!

Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.  So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less?  Be that as it may, I have not been a burden to you. Yet, crafty fellow that I am, I caught you by trickery!  Did I exploit you through any of the men I sent to you?  I urged Titus to go to you and I sent our brother with him. Titus did not exploit you, did he? Did we not walk in the same footsteps by the same Spirit?

Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ; and everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening.  For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.  I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.

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2 Corinthians 6
(“point” “peak“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Paul’s Hardships and God’s Grace

As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.  For He says:

“In the time of favor I heard you,

and in the day of salvation I helped you.”

Behold, now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!

We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no one can discredit our ministry.

Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships, and calamities; in beatings, imprisonments, and riots; in labor, sleepless nights, and hunger; in purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, slander and praise; viewed as imposters, yet genuine; unknown, yet well-known; dying, and yet we live on; punished, yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians. Our hearts are open wide.  It is not our affection, but yours, that is restrained.  As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also.

Do Not Be Unequally Yoked

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?  What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?  Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?  What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will dwell with them

and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

and they will be My people.”

“Therefore come out from among them

and be separate, says the Lord.

Touch no unclean thing,

and I will receive you.”

And:

“I will be a Father to you,

and you will be My sons and daughters,

says the Lord Almighty.”

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Isaiah 50
(“salvation of the Lord,“)
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Christian Standard Bible

This is what the Lord says:

Where is your mother’s divorce certificate

that I used to send her away?

Or to which of my creditors did I sell you?

Look, you were sold for your iniquities,

and your mother was sent away

because of your transgressions.

Why was no one there when I came?

Why was there no one to answer when I called?

Is my arm too weak to redeem?

Or do I have no power to rescue?

Look, I dry up the sea by my rebuke;

I turn the rivers into a wilderness;

their fish rot because of lack of water

and die of thirst.

I dress the heavens in black

and make sackcloth their covering.

The Obedient Servant

The Lord God has given me

the tongue of those who are instructed

to know how to sustain the weary with a word.

He awakens me each morning;

he awakens my ear to listen like those being instructed.

The Lord God has opened my ear,

and I was not rebellious;

I did not turn back.

I gave my back to those who beat me,

and my cheeks to those who tore out my beard.

I did not hide my face from scorn and spitting.

The Lord God will help me;

therefore I have not been humiliated;

therefore I have set my face like flint,

and I know I will not be put to shame.

The one who vindicates me is near;

who will contend with me?

Let us confront each other.

Who has a case against me?

Let him come near me!

In truth, the Lord God will help me;

who will condemn me?

Indeed, all of them will wear out like a garment;

a moth will devour them.

Who among you fears the Lord

and listens to his servant?

Who among you walks in darkness,

and has no light?

Let him trust in the name of the Lord;

let him lean on his God.

Look, all you who kindle a fire,

who encircle yourselves with torches;

walk in the light of your fire

and of the torches you have lit!

This is what you’ll get from my hand:

you will lie down in a place of torment.

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Hebrews 11
(“a biblical Jew Israelite” “one from the other side“)
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(New International Version)

Faith in Action

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.  This is what the ancients were commended for.

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”  For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.  By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.  And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.  And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.  People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.  If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.  Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”  Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.  He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.  He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.  By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.  By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. 

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.  Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.  Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.  They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

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1 John 5
(“Jehovah has favored”  “Jah is gracious”  “he was gracious“)
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(New International Version)

Faith in the Incarnate Son of God

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.  This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.  In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.  For there are three that testify:  the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.  We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.  Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.  And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Concluding Affirmations

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.  This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that.  All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.  We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.  We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

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1 John 4
(“Jehovah has favored”  “Jah is gracious”  “he was gracious“)
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(New International Version)

On Denying the Incarnation

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.  They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.  We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

God’s Love and Ours

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.  This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.  There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

We love because he first loved us.  Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.  And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

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Jude 1
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(New International Version)

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,

To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

The Sin and Doom of Ungodly People

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.  For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.  And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.  In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings.  But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”  Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.

Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.

These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.  They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”  These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

A Call to Persevere

But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.  They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”  These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. 

Doxology

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

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Romans 12
(“of Rome”)
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(New International Version)

A Living Sacrifice

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Humble Service in the Body of Christ

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.  For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,  so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Love in Action

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.  Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.  On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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Psalm 25
“sacred poem or song“
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(King James Version)

To You, O Lord, I Lift Up My Soul

{A Psalm of David.}

א

Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.

ב

O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

ג

Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.

ד

Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.

הו

Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

ז

Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

ח

Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.

ט

Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

י

The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.

כ

All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

ל

For thy name’s sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.

מ

What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.

נ

His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.

ס

The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

ע

Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.

פ

Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.

צ

The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.

ר

Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.

Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.

ש

O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.

ת

Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.

Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

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Colossians 4
“gigantic statue”   “any thing of awesome greatness or vastness”   “the idea of setting up a sacred space or shrine.“
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(New King James Version)

Christian Graces; Final Greetings

Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Christian Graces

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.  Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Final Greetings

Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me.  I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here.

Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me.

Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.  For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis.  Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you.  Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house.

Closing Exhortations and Blessing

Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.  And say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”

This salutation by my own hand—Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.

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Proverbs 25
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“
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(New International Version)

More Proverbs of Solomon

These are more proverbs of Solomon, compiled by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;

to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,

so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

Remove the dross from the silver,

and a silversmith can produce a vessel;

remove wicked officials from the king’s presence,

and his throne will be established through righteousness.

Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,

and do not claim a place among his great men;

it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”

than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.

What you have seen with your eyes

do not bring hastily to court,

for what will you do in the end

if your neighbor puts you to shame?

If you take your neighbor to court,

do not betray another’s confidence,

or the one who hears it may shame you

and the charge against you will stand.

Like apples of gold in settings of silver

is a ruling rightly given.

Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold

is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.

Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time

is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him;

he refreshes the spirit of his master.

Like clouds and wind without rain

is one who boasts of gifts never given.

Through patience a ruler can be persuaded,

and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

If you find honey, eat just enough—

too much of it, and you will vomit.

Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house—

too much of you, and they will hate you.

Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow

is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor.

Like a broken tooth or a lame foot

is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble.

Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,

or like vinegar poured on a wound,

is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;

if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,

and the Lord will reward you.

Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain

is a sly tongue—which provokes a horrified look.

Better to live on a corner of the roof

than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

Like cold water to a weary soul

is good news from a distant land.

Like a muddied spring or a polluted well

are the righteous who give way to the wicked.

It is not good to eat too much honey,

nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep.

Like a city whose walls are broken through

is a person who lacks self-control.

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“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.  He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.”
                                                                                                             –               Isaiah 42  The Bible (New International Version)

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The Prophet Isaiah (by Michelangelo)
“God is Salvation”  “salvation of the Lord”  “salvation, deliverance.”)

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Isaiah, son of ‘Amoz’ or ‘Amos’ literally (“borne (by God)” was a prophet during one of the most turbulent periods in Judah’s (“praised“) history. As a prophet, Isaiah interpreted and delivered messages from Yahweh about events to political leaders and social elites in Jerusalem.  He foretold the Messiah’s coming and brought hope to His people during a challenging time.   Isaiah is one of the most well-known prophets in the Bible for his prediction of the coming of the Messiah, who would redeem His people from their sins.  A warning from God to a godless people.  Written approximately 700BC.  Judgement and Hope. 
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Prophet:
“one who speaks for a god”
“inspired preacher or teacher,”
“prophetic writer of the Old Testament“
“person who speaks for God; one who foretells”   “inspired preacher“
“soothsayer”        “an interpreter, spokesman, proclaimer; a harbinger“
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Saint Paul the Apostle

“small“

Paul, (a c. 1611) portrait by Peter Paul Rubens

Apostle Paul is Writer of 14 of the 27 books in the New Testament

   Apostle Peter

“rock“

Saint Peter (c. 1610–1612) by Peter Paul Rubens,

One of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ
And One of the First Leaders of the Early Christian Church.
Depicted Here Vested in the Pallium and Holding the Keys of Heaven.

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Purgatorio

By:  Joseph Anton Koch, (1825-1828)
The Boat of the Penitent and the Mountain of Purgatory
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George Washington Crossing of the Delaware River

Portrait by Emanuel Leutze (1851)
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Occurring on the Nigh of December 25-26, 1776 During the American Revolutionary War.  The Frist Move in a Complex, Surprise Military Maneuver.

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The Apotheosis of George Washington

Fresco by Constantino Brumidi (1865)
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“Our democratic principles require that the American people be informed of the activities of their Government.
Also, our Nation’s progress depends on the free flow of information both within the Government and to the American people. “
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-classified-national-security-information

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“War“

In The Apotheosis of George Washington

Fresco by Constantino Brumidi (1865)
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“Freedom“, also known as “Columbia“, is directly below George Washington in the personification of War.
The scene depicts a woman fighting for liberty with a raised sword, a cape, and a helmet and shield trampling figures representing Tyranny and Kingly Power.

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“The Fall of the Roman Empire” (1964) — Senate Scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecMfU3910WY
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Holding Elections
The People’s Imperium.
The People’s Garden of Eden. 
Power that Preserves Us as a Nation.
A Sign, Like Those Sent to the Ancients.
The People’s Declaration of War Against Atrophy.
For a Mythical Period and Some Mercy For Mankind.
Changing the Social Interactions Between the Rulers and the Public.
The People Have Sent Down to You a Book Containing Your Message. 
In A Movement We Call Our Own, And To Fulfilled Our Promise to The Elect.
Regarding World Governments With Prolonged Disputes Over Fundamental Issues.
We “The People” Propose the Introduction of an “Earthier” Element Among Your Ranks. ” Dionysius’ Opinion. ”  Of Roman Antiquities.
The People’s Request of a Form of Authority To Be Held by a Citizen In Order to Control a Military or Governmental Entity.  A Specific Military Unit.
To Make Our Democracy More Responsive to “The Will of The People.”  For a Calming Effect.  To Make More Proper Decisions, A Call For a Vote: Motion / Request.

“It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions
than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.”
–  Thomas Sowell

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” The Last Judgement “

By : Michaelangelo (1536-1541)
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“Shadow’s Mirror  / “Mirror’s Edge“

A Special Civil Operation :  Pragmatic Idealism

On Earth as it is In Heaven.  The Biblical Renewal of All Things.

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“Blessed is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord“
–  Matthew 23 (New International Version)  “The Gift of Jehova.“

 

Hello Mr.  President,

The times have reached their fulfillment.  (“Psalm 19“)

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Hello, My name is Mark Rich and I am a true son of David.  Not just another soul for sale.  I have been sent to give you this weighty testimony for the churches.  The object of which is to usher forth the creation of a political move so sweeping as to immortalize the reign and legacy of all involved.  I am the archivist of These Collections of Books, These “Anthologies of the Masters”  This is a vision of the gospel of the kingdom as “It is Written.”  Shall we finish the remaining bit together?  Your servant is listening.  It is Time to lay it all on the line.  The Super bowl of politicking.  A cosmic tidal wave.  A grand reset. Shall we call it “The Rose Bowl?“

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I have pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs. I have searched to find delightful sayings and to record accurate words of truth.  If you were to follow what is revealed to you.  These are Words and Wisdom that None of Your Adversaries Will be Able to Resist or Contradict.  Please Accept This Coming Pattern of Teaching Which has Now Claimed your Allegiance.  These words are trustworthy and genuine teachings about all things of man’s nature worthy of full acceptance.  An “anointing.” for man’s ascension.  A narration of knowledge.  A reminder for the believers to make ready a people who are strong and without excuses when these words come true at their appointed time.  

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Though it cost me all I had to achieve this understanding. I have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us in Bible.  (“The Books“).  I have studied the Scriptures diligently.  Adding one thing to another in order to discover the general scheme of things. Of what was promised by our ancestors long ago.  Calling the past to account.  The word which was ordained for a thousand generations has been proved right.  In the spirit of prophecy, I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, and have created this orderly account for you. So that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. About what God said through his holy prophets of long ago.  In this same way am not allowed to take credit for these words.  It is as if “He” is working through me (as “He” works through all of us.)

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I only ask you to look at what is obvious.  I  hope that once my time of service is completed, that this hard working farmer, will be able to take part in the harvest. As I have sown much and harvested little. I have remained in seclusion for obvious reasons. As you are no doubt mindful of the humble state of this servant. I hope that your favor will be enough to take away my disgrace among the people.

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May those who seek You not be dishonored through me. For I have endured scorn for your sake and for the sake of the elect.  This is sound learning, worthy of full acceptance.

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In hopes that the word of God does not come back void.  May we (step-by-step) turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—

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Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

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Star Trek Dimensions

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R2WdLJeBwpc

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The Key to Effective Leadership

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rSwVC-OK9AM

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Enantiodromia

The Coincidence of Opposites.

Setting The Earth on Its Foundations.

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“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous“
–  Albert Einstein

“Everything Arises in this way, opposites from their opposites“
–  Plato

“There are More sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any Profane History“
–  Sir Isaac Newton

“There may be babblers, wholly ignorant of mathematics, who dare to condemn my hypothesis,
upon the authority of some part of the Bible twisted to suit their purpose. I value them not, and scorn their unfounded judgment.”
–    Nicolaus Copernicus

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Dedicated to Those Holders of Power and Responsibility,

Gentlemen, 

          Men of Noble Birth.  We “The People” Bring You this Presentation Offering as the Proper Interpretation of Our Times.  The “Big Picture” of the International Political, Military and Economic Situation.  A Time that is Not of Peace but of Division.  A Time of Political, Social, and Environmental Upheaval.  Because the Times Have Reached There Fulfillment, We Need Some Air.  With Jesus Christ as Our Advocate,  for the Dream of Good Government, We “The People“, Ask you to Please Leave the City and Camp in the Open Fields for a Rendezvous with History.  Shuttle Diplomacy to Change the Game.  A Skillful Maneuver to Rescue Ourselves From the Present Evil Age.  A Cooperative Effort to Change the World for the Better.  We are Advocating to Bring Together Governments, Banks, Corporations, Academia, Civil Society & Prominent Men of The Cities for a Summit of the Future. A Divine Intervention for “The Culmination of the Ages.”  A Movement so sweeping as to immortalize the reign and legacy of all involved.  A Place for The Ascended Kings of the Earth, The Princes, The Generals, The Rich & The Mighty.  

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“This Version of You.“
For The Cases of The Breach of Friendly Relations.
The Regime of the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
During Volatile Times & Mutually Assured Destruction.  A Season of Discovery Between Civilian/Military Affairs.

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We “The People,” Appeal to Military Commanders, “The Powers That Be.”  Specifically, Those Who Have Been Given Power to Take Peace From the Earth and to Make People Kill Each Other.  We Ask for a Leap of Faith to Have Some Benefit From you to Avoid a Pyrrhic Victory.  To Take One Step Closer to “The People” for a “Requiem and Crucible.”  To Finally Address Once and For All the Regime of the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.  To Confront These Monumental Issues of Our Time.  We Hope to Make it Clear to Your Conscience that There are Special Cases and Special Situations and Special Circumstances During the Course of Human History, that (At Certain Times) Situations are Not Conducive to a Military Solution. We Request a Gathering of People to Meet at a Specified Time and Place.  “They Were All Together in One Place.“
If You Indulge Us, We Would Like to Change the World.

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International Resource Management.  Addressing The Perpetual Lack of Surplus.

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With Your Permission,  We “The People” Request an Audience with High-Ranking Military Officers and their Counterparts With Capability.  A Meeting of the High Ranking Military Officers and Chiefs of Staff of the Nations.  Ministers of Foreign Affairs.  Chiefs of Municipal Offices.  We ask you Please Prepare your Plans and Maps for Big Work Projects for the Future.  The Organization of the Lives of Citizens & The Preparation of Public Opinion.  Where Important Political, Diplomatic and Military Moves are to Take Shape.  Regarding the Main Drama of Recognizing and Authorizing a Selected Power to Administer and Develop a Territory for a Specified Purpose. The Renunciation and the Rendering Over an Estate, Land Grant, Conveyance or Interest in a Property or Trust Which Serves the Interest of One or More Political Orientations.  The Allocation of Benefits in Various Policy Fields in Such a Way as to Provide Groups, Persons, and Places with at Least a Minimum Level of Benefits so as to Satisfy Basic Needs.  Creating Fundamentally Self-Sufficient Cities.  Whole Cities Delivered.  Composite Material Plentitudes.  The Specific Ways and Means & the Governance Thereof.  Admission of Neutral Ships Into Ports of Entry.  Equalities of Commercial Privileges.  Lines of Demarcation. The Notion of Each Thing in its Proper Sphere and Serving its Proper Purpose.  To Hone, Refine or Perfect “Chains of Events” Over a Period of Time.  Seeking to be Exact, Precise; and Marked or Characterized by Precision.  Harmonically Pure.  Having Correct Dimensions Without Interval, Deviation, or Variation.
“Exactly that, in that Very Way.”  A Great Human Continuum.

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“Back to Source” 
To Keep Ourselves “On Our Mettle.“

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Regarding The Culture of Leadership and the Behavior and Conduct of Interactions of Leaders with Foreign Nations.   Where Currently, Leaders Who Demand from Others, Sacrifices Which they Would Never Be Called Upon to Make Themselves.  In Order to Drive Out an Unclean Spirit, Sometimes the Old Ways are Best.  Fighting the Good Fight.  To Test and Prove Matters of the Heart.  A Call to Maturity.  A Call of Endurance. A Test of Sincerity.  To Know the “Why” of Things.  For Moments of Shared Understandings. Civilian Mechanisms of Enforcement to Refine the Character, Disposition and the Identity of Our Appointed World Leaders. To Expose Fruitless Deeds of Darkness. “To Deal With as is Right & Fitting.”  To be More Equitable, Fair and Impartial in Our Dealings.

 

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“ In God, We Trust it is Written.“

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The People’s “Manifest Destiny 2.0” in Hopes for Better Days.   A Fresh Perspective and New Approach to that of “Secessio Plebis”  (“withdrawal of the commoners“).  A “Universal Interface Override System” and an “Irrevocable Living Trust Agreement.”  For the Purposes of Healing and Restoration of the Conscience.   “The People” Bestow Unto You “The People” This Gift of Education Which is In Accordance with the Holy Author of Our Religion.  For a Renewed State of Mental Resolution and Peace of Mind.  We Provide this Vision and Concept of the Future to Restore Ourselves to a Healthy Faith which Corresponds with the Fulfillment of Scriptures.  Strange Coincidences by Way of Theophoric Name In Hopes That we have the Courage to Turn from Evil and Do Good.

 

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1stp Klosr – Linkin Park (Reanimation)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqAlFm6LDjs

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Bob Moses – Enough to Believe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqcbMlyPK48

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Jacob’s Ladder

“The Bridge Between Man and God”

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A Drawing By William Blake
A staircase representing the Gulf between man and God.
Jacob’s Ladder, or Jacob’s Dream, illustration to the Bible painted for Thomas Butts, Genesis, xxviii, 12;
Jacob lies in Foreground left dreaming, behind him rises spiral staircase amid stars and golden rays above,
three women stand at foot of staircase carrying trays and urns, other figures ascend or descend stairs. c.1799-1807

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 Revelation 22
“Disclosure of information or knowledge to man by a divine or supernatural agency.”
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(New International Version)

Eden Restored

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

John and the Angel

The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”

“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me.  But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”

Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.  Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

Epilogue: Invitation and Warning

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.  Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.  And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

Freedom  “Free“
“The Absence of Restraint“
Unrestrained in Movement.
The Civil Right to Expression.
The Power of Self-Determination.
Possession of Particular Privileges.
Not Holding Strictly to Rule or From.
Civil Liberty.  Province. State. Condition, Quality.
Deliverance & Exemption from Arbitrary or Despotic Control.
Loose, at Liberty, Wild, Noble : Joyful, Beloved.  Not In Bondage.
Presupposing the Mental and Moral Qualities of a High Orderto be Generally Diffused in the Society Where it Exists.

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Leadley – Sinner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg5nyElCDX4
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The People’s “Leap of Faith“
A Prayer and Petition To Host a Gathering of People at a Certain Place.
A Vision of Something New.   For the Creation of a New & Everlasting Covenant. 

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          Thank You, for your attention.  Because the days are evil.  We the People, formally request third party intercession for our disputes.  In these unusual Circumstances, We bring you this blessing of an entirely new creation.  A  presentation offering and sacrifice as a gesture of “The People’s” commitment to peace.  We wish to renew the American Dream by Marshaling a Pilgrimage for Others.  The Great Commissioning for expeditions of discovery.  The object of which is to Create persevering men of truth.  leaders who are strong and courageous.  Men and Women who do not demand from others, sacrifices which they would never be called upon to make themselves.  In God, we trust the way is written.  Not of the letter but of the spirit.

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“Liberty“
The Power or Scope to Act as One Pleases.
The State of Being Free Within Society from Oppressive Restrictions
Imposed by Authority On One’s Way of Life, Behavior, or Political Views.
Free Choice, Freedom to do as One Chooses, Freedom from the Bondage of Sin.  Privileges by Grant.
Civil or Political freedom, Condition of a Free Man; Absence of Restraint; Permission. Unrestrained Action, Conduct, or Expression.
A District Within a County but Having its Own Justice of the Peace. A District Adjacent to a City and in Some Degree Under its Municipal Jurisdiction
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۞

Τ έ λ ο ς

” end, ‘purpose’, or ‘goal’ ”  “ultimate object or aim”  “the end, limit, goal, fulfillment, completion”
“revolve, move round; sojourn, dwell”  “turning point”

۞

 

Dear God, Please Be with Me.  Please Be with Us.  Come Into Our Minds and Our Understandings.  The Marrows of Our Psyche.  For “The People’s Divine Majesty.”  Accomplish for Us All the Desires of Our Souls.  Give To Your Servants An Understanding Heart to Judge “The People.”  That We May Discern Between Good and Evil and Grant Us the Courage to Brave Jealous Rages.  Let The Virtue of Disdain Fortify Our Goodness.  To Drive Out Evil Spirits.  We Wish to Learn About the Things That Are, And Comprehend Their Nature, And Know God.  This Is What We Desire.

We The People Wish to Join You in The Work of Sanctification Since You Have Provided Us All Authority.  Through Your Foresight, By Right Of Name, By Right of Divine Inscription, By Right of Sacrificial Offering as “It is Written.”  This One of Many,  May God Almighty Grant Me My Request Not to Fail in Sharing the Knowledge That Befits Your Essence.  You Who Laid the Foundations of the Earth.  God Give Me Power; And with This Gift I Shall Enlighten Those Who Are in Ignorance.  The Brothers and Sister of My Race.  Specifically Those Holders of Power and Authority.  Those with the Power to Take Peace from the Earth and Get Men to Kill Each Other.  With This Work, I Rise from the Depths of My Bitter Resentments and Come Forward with Loyalty Unbroken.  This I Believe and Bear Witness to Advance to Life and Light.  May “The People” Stand on The Words of Christ Jesus.  The Holy Author and Perfecter of Our Religion.  Let us “Return to the Source” to Counteract the Perversions of Our Day.  May We Trust in His Perfect Original Words to Bring People into Accordance with a Higher Overall Standard.  To Put Straight That Which Has Been Made Crooked and Useless.  To Set Right Incorrect Conceptualizations.  To Gently, “Step-by-Step”, Correct the Flaws of the Ego.  May We Share in Ways of Deeper Comprehension and How We Interact with the World.  May We Set in Place a Higher Intelligence Which Operates on Multiple Levels and In Multiple Dimensions.  That  We Integrate With the Primal Oneness of the World.  To Repoint and Re-Question Our Fundamental Assumptions.  Of Our Fear Based Thinking Because People Don’t Understand that they Need to Learn New Things.  Pascal’s Wager.

This “The People” Bring Forward for “The People.” “God’s Grand Design.”  “Justice to the Nations.”  The Way We Must Operate.  Compliance and Risk Management.  A System of Measures or Line of  Conduct Which a Ruler,  Minister, Government, or Party Adopts as Best for the Interests of the Country in Domestic or Foreign Affairs.  Will We Continue to Fear the Anger of Enemies?  Where is Their Fury and Anger Now?  A Huge Victory for the Good Guys.  A Cultural Revolution.  We Set this Higher Standard for Greatness of Grandeur.  Of Exalted Rank and Stately Character.  To Impose Loftiness and Qualities Appropriate to Rulership.  Stateliness.  Of Having Dignity of Nature or Appearance.  Greatness.  Elevation.  Honor Excellence. The Proper Range for The People’s Psychological Health and Mental Well Being. “It is Written.”

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Do you believe in “Perspective”?
Your Purpose, Your Destiny, is It Yours To Make?
Or Will You Be Called to it. <See: Hubris/Pride >
Are You Only Being “Sequestered, Sojourned.  For the Time Being.
Do you Love your Fate?  Amor Fati!  That Your Life is God’s Special Will, Which Must be Achieved at all Costs?
            What is your name?  What Does it Mean?  The Etymology Behind It.
            What is its Nature?  To Which ‘God’ is Your Name Related?
            What is the Opposite of That Nature?
            Which ‘God’ is Calling you Now?
            Which ‘God’ Calls to Your Future?
            They are Called “Gods” for a Reason.
                                    Shall We Start Digging?   Go 100 steps at least.  It’s Not “THAT” Far.
                                    You Will Find That Some Words will “CALL”
                                    To you More Than Others.
                                    Look for the “Coincidence of Opposites.”  A Pattern of Opposites. 
                                                             Curiosities, Irregularities, Patterns,
                                                            ‘Start’ ‘Here’ Brother & Sisters .… Let me have this ‘Moment.
                                                            You ‘Will’ “Find” What You are ‘Looking’ For.
                                                            It Will Call Out to You.                          
                                                            ‘Let’ Me ‘Take’ It for A While.
                                                                                                   ‘ I ’ see ‘You’ on The Other ‘Side.’
                                                                                                   But if You “Want” “It”,
                                                                                                   You Know  “Where”
                                                                                                                                                                  To ‘Find’

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Me.

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For a Good Name.
Not To Be Over-Righteous.
Neither To Be Overwise.  Why Destroy Yourself?
Do Not be Overwicked, and do Not be a Fool Why Die Before Your Time?
It is Good to Grasp the One and Not Let Go of the Other. Whoever Fears God will Avoid All Extremes.
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–  Ecclessiates 7  “one who calls for an assembly”  (New International Version)

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CLASSIFIED NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION

REGARDING EXECUTIVE ORDER :  13526
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Τ Ε Λ Ο Σ
“IT IS WRITTEN.“
“VISION OF NEW POLITICS”
“LET’S TRY GOING THIS WAY.“
“THE PEOPLE’S INTERCESSION.“
“TO HOLD A FORM OF AUTHORITY..“
THEORY ACT OF GOOD GOVERNMENT.
“THE PEOPLE’S SPECIAL CIVIL OPERATION.“
REGARDING “CIVILIAN CONTROL OF THE MILITARY.”  
A PRAYER & PETITION FOR TEMPORARY LEADERSHIP.
STRUCTURED WITH ADVICE & CONSENT OF THE ELECT.
TO CONTROL A CERTAIN MILITARY OR GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY.
HELPING RESOLVING THE LARGEST SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS OF HUMANITY’S  FUTURE. 
THE REGIME OF THE NON-PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS  :  THE “VERIFICATION REGIME.“
THE STRUCTURING OF A SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION COMBINED WITH GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE.
DOING WHAT IS RIGHT IN THE EYES OF THE PEOPLE.  “ACTS” WHICH DELIVER “THE PEOPLE” FROM OPPRESSION.
THE UNIFORM RELATIONS OF ONE THING IN RELATION TO OTHER THINGS, AN EQUALITY , CONFORMITY.  OF SYMETRY.
MATTERS OF GREAT NATIONAL CONCERN.  ISSUES OF TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY.  COMPLIANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT.
WE THE PEOPLE OFFER THIS EXTENSIVE “TREATISE OF WAR & PEACE ”  TO SERVE AS THE MILLENIAL “INTERPRETATION OF THE TIMES“
THE SYSTEM OF OF GOOD BEHAVIOUR.  AS TO WHAT IS FAIR AND WHAT IS NOT.  JUSTICE BASED ON SUCH PRINCIPLES.  JURISPRUDENCE.
MAY THIS SERVE AS THE LOGICAL OR CONCEPTUAL STRUCTURE SERVING AS A FORM OF THOUGHT WITHIN A GIVEN AREA OF EXPERIENCE.
FAIRNESS IN THE ADJUSTMENT OF CONFLICTING INTERESTS.  THE SETTLMENT OF CONTROVERSIES BY THE DICTATES OF GOOD CONSCIENCE.
A NUCLEAR POSTURE REVIEW : OPTIONS FOR A “WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT APPROACH”  THAT WHICH IS EQUALLY RIGHT OR JUST TO ALL CONCERNED.
REGARDING THE INSTRUMENTS OF JUSTICE.  THE MACHINERY OF JUSTICE.  CLAIMS OF CORRUPTION & DECEIT.  MORAL DILEMMAS & ETHICAL PRINCIPLES.
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Proverbs 1
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“
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(New International Version)

Purpose and Theme

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

for gaining wisdom and instruction;

for understanding words of insight;

for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,

doing what is right and just and fair;

for giving prudence to those who are simple, 

knowledge and discretion to the young—

let the wise listen and add to their learning,

and let the discerning get guidance—

for understanding proverbs and parables,

the sayings and riddles of the wise. 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,

but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Prologue: Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom

Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction

and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

They are a garland to grace your head

and a chain to adorn your neck.

My son, if sinful men entice you,

do not give in to them.

If they say, “Come along with us;

let’s lie in wait for innocent blood,

let’s ambush some harmless soul;

let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,

and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

we will get all sorts of valuable things

and fill our houses with plunder;

cast lots with us;

we will all share the loot”—

my son, do not go along with them,

do not set foot on their paths;

for their feet rush into evil,

they are swift to shed blood.

How useless to spread a net

where every bird can see it!

These men lie in wait for their own blood;

they ambush only themselves!

Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;

it takes away the life of those who get it.

Wisdom’s Rebuke

Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,

she raises her voice in the public square;

on top of the wall she cries out,

at the city gate she makes her speech:

“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?

How long will mockers delight in mockery

and fools hate knowledge?

Repent at my rebuke!

Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,

I will make known to you my teachings.

But since you refuse to listen when I call

and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,

since you disregard all my advice

and do not accept my rebuke,

I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you;

I will mock when calamity overtakes you—

when calamity overtakes you like a storm,

when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,

when distress and trouble overwhelm you.

“Then they will call to me but I will not answer;

they will look for me but will not find me,

since they hated knowledge

and did not choose to fear the Lord.

Since they would not accept my advice

and spurned my rebuke,

they will eat the fruit of their ways

and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.

For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,

and the complacency of fools will destroy them;

but whoever listens to me will live in safety

and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

“Clockwork“
The Right attitude in a Time of Trouble. 
The Tree of Life.  The Fellowship of Believers.  An Unshakable Kingdom.
Clear Interactions Between State and Public Organizations in all Spheres of Life.

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Romans 12
(“of Rome”)
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(New International Verion)

The Word Brings Salvation

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is for their salvation.  For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.  Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.

For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.”  But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’  (that is, to bring Christ down)  or, ‘Who will descend into the Abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”

But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”  that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:  that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

It is just as the Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”  For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach?  And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

But not all of them welcomed the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”  Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

But I ask, did they not hear? Indeed they did:

“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.”

I ask instead, did Israel not understand? First, Moses says:

“I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation;

I will make you angry by a nation without understanding.”

And Isaiah boldly says:

“I was found by those who did not seek Me;

I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me.”

But as for Israel he says:

“All day long I have held out My hands

to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

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Psalm 95
“sacred poem or song“
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(New International Version)

Do Not Harden Your Hearts

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;

let us shout to the Rock of our salvation!

Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to Him in song.

For the LORD is a great God,

a great King above all gods.

In His hand are the depths of the earth,

and the mountain peaks belong to Him.

The sea is His, for He made it,

and His hands formed the dry land.

O come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

For He is our God,

and we are the people of His pasture,

the sheep under His care.

Today, if you hear His voice,

do not harden your hearts

as you did at Meribah,

in the day at Massah in the wilderness,

where your fathers tested and tried Me,

though they had seen My work.

For forty years I was angry with that generation,

and I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray,

and they have not known My ways.”

So I swore on oath in My anger,

“They shall never enter My rest.”

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FBI Careers: Special Agent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2wN3j_JqC8

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Financially Motivated Sextortion

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/fbi-operation-in-nigeria-targeted-perpetrators-of-online-extortion-schemes-that-prey-on-teens

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The Official Residence Of The President

of the United States of America.

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The White House

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“The Bible is the rock on which this Republic rests”
                                                                                                                         –  Andrew Jackson 7th President of The United States

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Ceremonial Offerings To Simplify Administration.

Special National/Cultural Envoys Created in Unusual Circumstances for Special Societal Advancements 
https://www.dni.gov/index.php/ncbc-home
https://www.defense.gov/Multimedia/Experience/Americas-Nuclear-Triad/

Τ έ λ ο ς : The People's Prayer & Petition to The Nations

The 47th President of the United States of America

His Excellency :  Commander-In-Chief

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Donald John Trump

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” The more that a broken system tells you that you are wrong,
the more certain you should be that you must keep pushing ahead.
Because it’s the outsiders who change the world and who make a real and lasting difference. 
Nothing worth doing ever came easy.  Treat the word impossible as nothing more than motivation. 
The future belongs to the people who follow their heart, no matter what the critics say.  We must always remember that we share one home and one glorious destiny.“ 

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U.S. Presidential Anthem (Instrumental) Hail to the Chief – The United States Coast Guard Band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jMR5MLlEq0

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Mr.  President,

“It is Written“
To Get All Sorts of Valuable Things.
In Proud Fulfillment of a Great and Noble Call.
Because The Kingdom of Heaven has Been Subjected to Violence.
A Vision for the Creation of a Political Move so Sweeping as to Immortalize the Reign and Legacy of All Involved.

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“Out of Many, One.”

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“Out of Many, One.”

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“the reason for which all our actions aim.”  “the end, limit, goal, fulfillment, completion”
“end” “purpose” “goal” “revolve, move round; sojourn, dwell”   “turning point”   “ultimate object or aim”

 

“the reason for which all our actions aim.”  “the end, limit, goal, fulfillment, completion”
“end” “purpose” “goal” “revolve, move round; sojourn, dwell”   “turning point”   “ultimate object or aim”

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The MOST Melancholic Cyberpunk Ambient You Have Never Heard – Like A Lost Memory

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clH_YPCKeiQ

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Proverbs 23
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

True Riches

Saying 7

When you sit down to dine with a ruler,

consider carefully what is set before you,

and put a knife to your throat

if you possess a great appetite.

Do not crave his delicacies,

for that food is deceptive.

Saying 8

Do not wear yourself out to get rich;

be wise enough to restrain yourself.

When you glance at wealth, it disappears,

for it makes wings for itself

and flies like an eagle to the sky.

Saying 9

Do not eat the bread of a stingy man,

and do not crave his delicacies;

for he is keeping track,

inwardly counting the cost.

“Eat and drink,” he says to you,

but his heart is not with you.

You will vomit up what little you have eaten

and waste your pleasant words.

Saying 10

Do not speak to a fool,

for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

Saying 11

Do not move an ancient boundary stone

or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,

for their Redeemer is strong;

He will take up their case against you.

Saying 12

Apply your heart to instruction

and your ears to words of knowledge.

Saying 13

Do not withhold discipline from a child;

although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

Strike him with a rod,

and you will deliver his soul from Sheol.

Saying 14

My son, if your heart is wise,

my own heart will indeed rejoice.

My inmost being will rejoice

when your lips speak what is right.

Saying 15

Do not let your heart envy sinners,

but always continue in the fear of the LORD.

For surely there is a future,

and your hope will not be cut off.

Saying 16

Listen, my son, and be wise,

and guide your heart on the right course.

Do not join those who drink too much wine

or gorge themselves on meat.

For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,

and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.

Saying 17

Listen to your father who gave you life,

and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Invest in truth and never sell it—

in wisdom and instruction and understanding.

The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice,

and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.

May your father and mother be glad,

and may she who gave you birth rejoice!

Saying 18

My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes delight in my ways.

For a prostitute is a deep pit,

and an adulteress is a narrow well.

Like a robber she lies in wait

and multiplies the faithless among men.

Saying 19

Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has contentions? Who has complaints?

Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?

Those who linger over wine,

who go to taste mixed drinks.

Do not gaze at wine while it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup

and goes down smoothly.

In the end it bites like a snake

and stings like a viper.

Your eyes will see strange things,

and your mind will utter perversities.

You will be like one sleeping on the high seas

or lying on the top of a mast:

“They struck me, but I feel no pain!

They beat me, but I did not know it!

When can I wake up

to search for another drink?”

33

6

33

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Τ Ε Λ Ο Σ

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In God,

We Trust It is Written.

A Special Civil Operation.

A Proclamation to the Nations.

The People’s Declaration of Intercession.

A Prayer & Petition for The Culmination of the Ages.

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To  : 
          The Government of the United States of America.  To Our Government of Lawyers.
Galant & Courageous Children of Light.  The Proud and Lofty.   To Please Make Our Dreams Reality.  Free the People.  Not Putting More Constraints on Us.

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From :
          “We the People”   “a group of people or an industry seeking Relevance & advantages for itself.”  Here-in after referred to as “The People”  

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Subject:  Diplomatic Strategy and Negotiating :  “The Big Picture”  Reconciling with an Adversary
          We “The People” Do Herby Formally Request Third-Party Arbitration of Our Disputes.
The Nation’s Fights, Quarrels, Intrigues, Stresses, Anxieties, Confrontations and Controversies of the Day.  The Forcing of Situations.
Regarding The Way a Thing Relates to Itself and the Way a Thing Relates to Other Things.  Behavior.  Conduct.  Manners.  Demeanor.  Bearing.  Character. 
“talk,”  “Speak, Say, Discuss”    “Given or Granted in Unusual or Special Circumstances”   “Used for Special Occasions;”  “Exceptional & Special situations”   

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Special Pleading : “Sins of the Father”  :  The Perversions of Public Service to Private Advantage  :  The Cost of Increasing the Burdens of Future Inheritance. 
          Regarding Special Allegations of Special or New Matters.
As distinguished from a direct denial of matter previously alleged on the other side.
(c) In popular use, the specious but unsound or unfair argumentation of one whose aim is victory rather than truth.

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Conflict Resolution  :  Misery Business  :  Special Dealings  :  The Confusion Which Has Been Prevailing.  Unusually Malignant & Unclean Spirits
          For those troublemakers who spread malicious nonsense & discord.  Fools addicted to vice who do not know that they do wrong.  Dealing with all Devious two-faced bullies.  The jealousy, fits of rage,  selfish ambition, stealing, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. Those who cause divisions and put obstacles in the way of the people which are contrary to the sound teaching which “The People” have learned.  For those using smooth talk and flattery to deceive the minds of naïve people.  The un-ending rudeness and Disrespect.  The false testimonies. Equivocation.  Prevarication.   “The People” cannot tolerate such evil & the deliberately ignorant behavior.  Let us maintain what is upright and true and be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil.  

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Civic Professional Responsibility :   The Succession of Power  :   The Traditions of the Elders  :  A Call to Maturity.  :  A Call to Endurance

          Regarding the Instruments of Justice.  Claims of Corruption and Deceit.  Moral Dilemmas and Ethical Principles.  The Ambiguity of Truth.  Prolonged Disputes Over Fundamental Issues.  Judging Between People Regarding Their Differences.  The Setting of Boundaries of the Peoples.  The Division of the Spoils.  Regarding The Main Drama of the Renunciation and the Rendering Over an Estate, Land Grant, Conveyance or Interest in a Property or Trust Which Serves the Interest of One or More Political Orientations.  The Recognition and Authorization of a Selected Power to Administer and Develop a Territory for a Specified Purpose. 

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To The Commanders of Thousands & Commanders of Hundreds  :  Land Partitions  :  Land Composites  :  The Admission of Neutrals Into Ports of Entry
The Net Value of Land Acquisitions. :  Devaluation of Capital Income.  Finances.  Mergers.  Currency Transactions.  
“the act of parting or dividing, state of being divided”   “Made up of Distinct Parts or Elements.” 
The Division of Shares.  The Distinction Between Parts. “that which is equally right or just to all concerned“
“That Which Separates.”   The Casting of Lots.  Examples.  Models. Voluntary Offerings.
“Equity”

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Picard Confronts Jarok (TNG: The Defector)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yc7WSCGXhM

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Matt Redman – 10,000 Reasons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDGE_lRI0E

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“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person
will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
–  Matthew 10  “Gift of Jehova“

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The United States Military

Civil & Military Relations :  The Commanders.  A Future Vision.

” Limit, Boundary, Threshold, Precipice, Brink, Burden, Load, Weight. “

A Special Civil Operation.  An Expedition of Discovery.  Absorption theory.

A Prayer and Petition of a Different Approach To The Existential Burdens of Our Time.  

“In God, We Trust. It Is Written.“
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“this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.“
–  Romans 12  (New International Version)

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Emblems of the Service Branches

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We The People, Professional Citizens of the United States of America Request Authorization for a “Special Civil Operation.“

ARMY

MARINE CORPS

NAVY

AIR FORCE

SPACE FORCE

COAST GUARD

The 22nd Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Highest Ranking Military Officer in the United States Armed Forces

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General John D. Caine

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“I think it is the human the officer and their professionalism and intellect versus what rank they have.“

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Star Trek – The Biggest Stick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwItNP-w-Bk&t=8s

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General,

The Past Marches With You. 
This Would be be a “Coming” & a “Going.”  A “Growing” & a “Rising.”  A “Being“
Regarding the Means By Which Humanity Survives its Technological Adolescence Without Destroying Itself.
In A Movement We Call Our Own, “The People” Request a Certain “Transposition” for an “Expedition of Discovery.”  Not to Be So Unequally Yoked.

God Speed.
The Sharp Edge of Justice.
Something The World Has Never Seen Before.
Peace Through Strength.  From The Arsenal of The People’s Democracy.  
A Special Civil Operation.  The People’s “Citizen-Ship.”  For a Finer & Nobler American Future.

“The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else. 
We are a nation, not a hodge-podge of foreign nationalities.  We are a people, and not a polyglot boarding house.”

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Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

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26th President of the United States

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QUI PLANTAVIT CURABIT

“He Who Has Planted Will Preserve“

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2 Timothy 4
(“honor, respect”  “Honoring God“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Preach the Word

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom:  Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.

For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.  So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.  For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing.

Personal Concerns

Make every effort to come to me quickly, because Demas, in his love of this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.  Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is useful to me in the ministry.  Tychicus, however, I have sent to Ephesus.  When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.

Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds.  You too should beware of him, for he has vigorously opposed our message.

The Lord Remains Faithful

At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them.  But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion.  And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

Greet Prisca and Aquila, as well as the household of Onesiphorus.

Erastus has remained at Corinth, and Trophimus I left sick in Miletus.

Make every effort to come to me before winter.

Eubulus sends you greetings, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.

The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.

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Daniel 7
(“God is my judge” “He who judges“) 
(Name given to the tribe descended from Jacob’s son of that name in the Old Testament)
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(New International Version)

Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.

Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea.  Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

“The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.

“And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’

“After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

“After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.

“While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.

“As I looked,

“thrones were set in place,

and the Ancient of Days took his seat.

His clothing was as white as snow;

the hair of his head was white like wool.

His throne was flaming with fire,

and its wheels were all ablaze.

A river of fire was flowing,

coming out from before him.

Thousands upon thousands attended him;

ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.

The court was seated,

and the books were opened.

“Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.  (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.  He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

The Interpretation of the Dream

“I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me.  I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.

“So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things:  ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth.  But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’

“Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.  I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully.  As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.

“He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.  The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.  He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time. 

“ ‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever.  Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’

“This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”

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Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Painting by Viktor Vasnetsov. (1887)
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From left to right are Death, Famine, War, and Conquest; the Lamb is at the top.

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The Andrew Jackson Equestrian Statue

Located in Nashville, Tennessee on the Front Lawn of the Tennessee State Capitol Building.
Davidson County  AKA “Music City“
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“The mischief springs from the power which the monied interest derives from a paper currency which they are able to control, from the multitude of corporations with exclusive privileges which they have succeeded in obtaining…and unless you become more watchful in your states and check this spirit of monopoly and thirst for exclusive privileges you will in the end find that the most important powers of government have been given or bartered away….”
                                                                                    –  Andrew Jackson

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Becky G – BANDIDO (Visualizer)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE-1YXMDJ9E
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Psalms 37
“sacred poem or song“
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(New King James Version)

The Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked

A Psalm of David.

Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.

For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

The wicked plots against the just,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.
The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.
Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.

A little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches of many wicked.
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the Lord upholds the righteous.

The Lord knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
But the wicked shall perish;
And the enemies of the Lord,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
Into smoke they shall vanish away.

The wicked borrows and does not repay,
But the righteous shows mercy and gives.
For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

I have been young, and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.
He is ever merciful, and lends;
And his descendants are blessed.

Depart from evil, and do good;
And dwell forevermore.
For the Lord loves justice,
And does not forsake His saints;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
The righteous shall inherit the land,
And dwell in it forever.

The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,
And his tongue talks of justice.
The law of his God is in his heart;
None of his steps shall slide.

The wicked watches the righteous,
And seeks to slay him.
The Lord will not leave him in his hand,
Nor condemn him when he is judged.

Wait on the Lord,
And keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a native green tree.
Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more;
Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright;
For the future of that man is peace.
But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;
The future of the wicked shall be cut off.

But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in the time of trouble.
And the Lord shall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
Because they trust in Him.

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 Revelation 6
“Disclosure of information or knowledge to man by a divine or supernatural agency.”
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The First Seal: The White Horse

Then I watched as the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say in a thunderous voice, “Come!”

So I looked and saw a white horse, and its rider held a bow. And he was given a crown, and he rode out to overcome and conquer.

The Second Seal: War

And when the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”

Then another horse went forth. It was bright red, and its rider was granted permission to take away peace from the earth and to make men slay one another. And he was given a great sword.

The Third Seal: Famine

And when the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!”

Then I looked and saw a black horse, and its rider held in his hand a pair of scales.  And I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine.”

The Fourth Seal: Death

And when the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!”

Then I looked and saw a pale green horse. Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague, and by the beasts of the earth.

The Fifth Seal: The Martyrs

And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld.  And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You avenge our blood and judge those who dwell upon the earth?”

Then each of them was given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers, were killed, just as they had been killed.

The Sixth Seal: Terror

And when I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind. The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.

Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.  And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.  For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”

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Upholding a Just Cause 

The National Nuclear Security Administration

An Arms Control Proposal :  Nuclear Bomb Dismantlement.

A Nuclear Posture Review : Core Mission : Non-Proliferation. 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qId-OqqyDI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVr2mFPxMGA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6W4jntbcY8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTkLE8DlsDU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP658HMOarU&t=10s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UspUEjMLsdA&t=198s

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Numbers 10
( “to count” “sum, aggregate of a collection.” “quantity”  “written symbol or figure of arithmetic value“)
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(New International Version)

The Silver Trumpets

The Lord said to Moses:  “Make two trumpets of hammered silver, and use them for calling the community together and for having the camps set out.  When both are sounded, the whole community is to assemble before you at the entrance to the tent of meeting.  If only one is sounded, the leaders—the heads of the clans of Israel—are to assemble before you.  When a trumpet blast is sounded, the tribes camping on the east are to set out.  At the sounding of a second blast, the camps on the south are to set out. The blast will be the signal for setting out.  To gather the assembly, blow the trumpets, but not with the signal for setting out.

“The sons of Aaron, the priests, are to blow the trumpets. This is to be a lasting ordinance for you and the generations to come.  When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies.  Also at your times of rejoicing—your appointed festivals and New Moon feasts—you are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, and they will be a memorial for you before your God. I am the Lord your God.”

The Israelites Leave Sinai

On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle of the covenant law.  Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran.  They set out, this first time, at the Lord’s command through Moses.

The divisions of the camp of Judah went first, under their standard. Nahshon son of Amminadab was in command.  Nethanel son of Zuar was over the division of the tribe of Issachar, and Eliab son of Helon was over the division of the tribe of Zebulun.   Then the tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonites and Merarites, who carried it, set out.

The divisions of the camp of Reuben went next, under their standard. Elizur son of Shedeur was in command.  Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was over the division of the tribe of Simeon,  and Eliasaph son of Deuel was over the division of the tribe of Gad.  Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things. The tabernacle was to be set up before they arrived.

The divisions of the camp of Ephraim went next, under their standard. Elishama son of Ammihud was in command.  Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was over the division of the tribe of Manasseh, and Abidan son of Gideoni was over the division of the tribe of Benjamin.

Finally, as the rear guard for all the units, the divisions of the camp of Dan set out under their standard. Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai was in command.  Pagiel son of Okran was over the division of the tribe of Asher, and Ahira son of Enan was over the division of the tribe of Naphtali.  This was the order of march for the Israelite divisions as they set out.

Now Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place about which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things to Israel.”

He answered, “No, I will not go; I am going back to my own land and my own people.”

But Moses said, “Please do not leave us. You know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes.  If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things the Lord gives us.”

So they set out from the mountain of the Lord and traveled for three days. The ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them during those three days to find them a place to rest.  The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.

henever the ark set out, Moses said,

“Rise up, Lord!

May your enemies be scattered;

may your foes flee before you.”

Whenever it came to rest, he said,

“Return, Lord,

to the countless thousands of Israel.”

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Dr. Strangelove (1964) | President Turgidson’s Brief | Peter Sellers, George C. Scott

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhS2ZIBdDFo

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Billie Eilish – Ocean Eyes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG4lT4fxj8M

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Big Stick Diplomacy

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“speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far“

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The American quality of manhood is to act justly toward other nations, never to bluff, to strike only when prepared to strike hard, and to be willing to allow the adversary to save face in defeat.
The idea is negotiating peacefully but also having strength in case things go wrong. Simultaneously threatening with the “big stick“, or the military, ties in heavily with the idea of Realpolitik, which implies a pursuit of political power that resembles Machiavellian ideals.  It is comparable to gunboat diplomacy, as used in international politics by the powers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_stick_ideology 

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Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

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Quotes (Military)

I represent the public, not public opinion.

People ask the difference between a leader and a boss … The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives

Aggressive fighting for the right is the noblest sport the world affords.

There is nothing more practical in the end than the preservation of beauty.

The existence of any method, standard, custom or practice is no reason for its continuance when a better is offered.

The problems differ from generation to generation, but the qualities needed to solve them remain unchanged from world’s end to world’s end.

With soul of flame and temper of steel we must act as our coolest judgment bids us.

[We] all need more than anything else to know human nature, to know the needs of the human soul; and they will find this nature and these needs set forth as nowhere else by the great imaginative writers, whether of prose or of poetry.

At times a man must cut loose from his associates and stand alone for a great cause; but the necessity for such action is almost as rare as the necessity for revolution.

If there is not the war, you don’t get the great general; if there is not a great occasion, you don’t get a great statesman; if Lincoln had lived in a time of peace, no one would have known his name

I had always felt that if there were a serious war I wished to be in a position to explain to my children why I did take part in it, and not why I did not take part in it.

Far better is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.

The curse of every ancient civilization was that its men in the end became unable to fight. Materialism, luxury, safety, even sometimes an almost modern sentimentality, weakened the fibre of each civilized race in turn; each became in the end a nation of pacifists, and then each was trodden under foot by some ruder people that had kept that virile fighting power the lack of which makes all other virtues useless and sometimes even harmful.

Love of peace is common among weak, short-sighted, timid, and lazy persons; and on the other hand courage is found among many men of evil temper and bad character. Neither quality shall by itself avail. Justice among the nations of mankind, and the uplifting of humanity, can be brought about only by those strong and daring men who with wisdom love peace, but who love righteousness more than peace

No ability, no strength and force, no power of intellect or power of wealth, shall avail us, if we have not the root of right living in us.

The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem it will avail us little to solve all others.

We must hold to a rigid accountability those public servants who show unfaithfulness to the interests of the nation or inability to rise to the high level of the new demands upon our strength and our resources

Americans learn only from catastrophes and not from experience.

Our duty to the whole, including the unborn generations, bids us to restrain an unprincipled present-day minority from wasting the heritage of these unborn generations. The movement for the conservation of wildlife and the larger movement for the conservation of all our natural resources are essentially democratic in spirit, purpose, and method

If we are to be a really great people, we must strive in good faith to play a great part in the world. We cannot avoid meeting great issues. All that we can determine for ourselves is whether we shall meet them well or ill

In order to succeed we need leaders of inspired idealism, leaders to whom are granted great visions, who dream greatly and strive to make their dreams come true; who can kindle the people with the fire from their own burning souls. The leader for the time being, whoever he may be, is but an instrument, to be used until broken and then to be cast aside; and if he is worth his salt he will care no more when he is broken than a soldier cares when he is sent where his life is forfeit in order that the victory may be won

In foreign affairs we must make up our minds that, whether we wish it or not, we are a great people and must play a great part in the world. It is not open to us to choose whether we will play that great part or not. We have to play it. All we can decide is whether we shall play it well or ill.

Books are the ammunition of life.

the statesman, and the publicist, and the reformer, and the agitator for new things, and the upholder of what is good in old things, all need more than anything else to know human nature, to know the needs of the human soul; and they will find this nature and these needs set forth as nowhere else by the great imaginative writers, whether of prose or of poetry.

We cordially believe in the rights of property. We think that normally and in the long run the rights of humanity, coincide with the rights of property… But we feel that if in exceptional cases there is any conflict between the rights of property and the rights of man, then we must stand for the rights of man.

Courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s the choice that something else is greater than that fear.

Ridicule is one of the favorite weapons of wickedness, and it is sometimes incomprehensible how good and brave boys will be influenced for evil by the jeers of associates who have no one quality that calls for respect, but who affect to laugh at the very traits which ought to be peculiarly the cause for pride.

We Americans have many grave problems to solve, many threatening evils to fight, and many deeds to do, if, as we hope and believe, we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage and the virtue to do them. But we must face facts as they are. We must neither surrender ourselves to a foolish optimism, nor succumb to a timid and ignoble pessimism.

There are two things that I want you to make up your minds to: first, that you are going to have a good time as long as you live – I have no use for the sour-faced man – and next, that you are going to do something worthwhile, that you are going to work hard and do the things you set out to do.

Hamilton, the most brilliant American statesman who ever lived, possessing the loftiest and keenest intellect of his time, was of course easily the foremost champion in the ranks of the New York Federalists; second to him came Jay, pure, strong and healthy in heart, body, and mind. Both of them watched with uneasy alarm the rapid drift toward anarchy; and both put forth all their efforts to stem the tide. They were of course too great men to fall in with the views of those whose antagonism to tyranny made them averse from order. They had little sympathy with the violent prejudices produced by the war. In particular they abhorred the vindictive laws directed against the persons and property of Tories; and they had the manliness to come forward as the defenders of the helpless and excessively unpopular Loyalists. They put a stop to the wrongs which were being inflicted on these men, and finally succeeded in having them restored to legal equality with other citizens, standing up with generous fearlessness against the clamor of the mob.

Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing.

I am for such a League [of Nations] provided we don’t expect too much from it. . . . I am not willing to play the pan which even Aesop held up to derision when he wrote of how the wolves and the sheep agreed to disarm, and how the sheep as a guarantee of good faith sent away the watchdogs, and were then forthwith eaten by the wolves

I have always been fond of Josh Billings’s remark that “it is much easier to be a harmless dove than a wise serpent.” There are plenty of decent legislators, and plenty of able legislators; but the blamelessness and the fighting edge are not always combined. Both qualities are necessary for the man who is to wage active battle against the powers that prey

Peace is normally a great good, and normally it coincides with righteousness, but it is righteousness and not peace which should bind the conscience of a nation as it should bind the conscience of an individual; and neither a nation nor an individual can surrender conscience to another’s keeping.

 

And it is through strife and the readiness for strife that a man or a nation must win greatness. So, let the world know that we are here and willing to pour out our blood, our treasure, our tears. And that America is ready and if need be desirous of battle


Of all the questions which can come before this nation, short of the actual preservation of its existence in a great war, there is none which compares in importance with the great central task of leaving this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us.


A man’s usefulness depends upon his living up to his ideals insofar as he can.

It is hard to fail but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.

All daring and courage, all iron endurance of misfortune make for a finer, nobler type of manhood. Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die and none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of life and the duty of life

Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die; and none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of life and the duty of life. Both life and death are parts of the same Great Adventure.

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Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

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Quotes # (Corporations)

It is better for the Government to help a poor man to make a living for his family than to help a rich man make more profit for his company.

To befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business & corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.

Our fight is a fundamental fight against both of the old corrupt party machines, for both are under the dominion of the plunder league of the professional politicians who are controlled and sustained by the great beneficiaries of privilege and reaction

There had been in our country a riot of individualistic materialism, under which complete freedom for the individual—that ancient license which President Wilson a century after the term was excusable has called the “New” Freedom—turned out in practice to mean perfect freedom for the strong to wrong the weak. The total absence of governmental control had led to a portentous growth in the financial and industrial world both of natural individuals and of artificial individuals—that is, corporations. In no other country in the world had such enormous fortunes been gained. In no other country in the world was such power held by the men who had gained these fortunes; and these men almost always worked through, and by means of, the giant corporations which they controlled. The power of the mighty industrial overlords of the country had increased with giant strides, while the methods of controlling them, or checking abuses by them, on the part of the people, through the Government, remained archaic and therefore practically impotent

Let these innocent people be careful not to invest in corporations where those in control are not men of probity, men who respect the laws; above all let them avoid the men who make it their one effort to evade or defy the laws.

Therefore a simple and poor society can exist as a democracy on a basis of sheer individualism. But a rich and complex industrial society cannot so exist; for some individuals, and especially those artificial individuals called corporations, become so very big that the ordinary individual is utterly dwarfed beside them, and cannot deal with them on terms of equality. It therefore becomes necessary for these ordinary individuals to combine in their turn, first in order to act in their collective capacity through that biggest of all combinations called the Government, and second, to act, also in their own self-defense, through private combinations, such as farmers’ associations and trade unions

 

Any man who has met with success, if he will be frank with himself, must admit that there has been a big element of fortune in the success

More and more it is evident that the State, and if necessary the nation, has got to possess the right of supervision and control as regards the great corporations which are its creatures.

Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of today.

Our government, National and State, must be freed from the sinister influence or control of special interests. Exactly as the special interests of cotton and slavery threatened our political integrity before the Civil War, so now the great special business interests too often control and corrupt the men and methods of government for their own profit. We must drive the special interests out of politics

The death-knell of the republic had rung as soon as the active power became lodged in the hands of those who sought, not to do justice to all citizens, rich and poor alike, but to stand for one special class and for its interests as opposed to the interests of others.

The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first and love of soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life

When those who are responsible for the leadership of State begin to move in villainous ways; when they begin to destroy the fabric of what it is that our nation is held together with; when they violate the Constitution of our nation and begin to do things that are false to our dreams and our hopes–it is incumbent upon every citizen by right, but also by responsibility, to challenge that administration, to raise their voice in vigorous dissent and to challenge the way in which the state is doing business. And those who fail to do that, should be charged with patriotic treason!

We demand that big business give the people a square deal; in return we must insist that when any one engaged in big business honestly endeavors to do right he shall himself be given a square deal.

The great corporations which we have grown to speak of rather loosely as trusts are the creatures of the State, and the State not only has the right to control them, but it is duty bound to control them wherever the need of such control is shown.

Great corporations exist only because they are created and safeguarded by our institutions; and it is therefore our right and duty to see that they work in harmony with these institutions

The absence of effective State, and, especially, national, restraint upon unfair money-getting has tended to create a small class of enormously wealthy and economically powerful men, whose chief object is to hold and increase their power. The prime need to is to change the conditions which enable these men to accumulate power which it is not for the general welfare that they should hold or exercise. We grudge no man a fortune which represents his own power and sagacity, when exercised with entire regard to the welfare of his fellows. Again, comrades over there, take the lesson from your own experience. Not only did you not grudge, but you gloried in the promotion of the great generals who gained their promotion by leading their army to victory. So it is with us. We grudge no man a fortune in civil life if it is honorably obtained and well used. It is not even enough that it should have been gained without doing damage to the community. We should permit it to be gained only so long as the gaining represents benefit to the community

Any man who tries to excite class hatred, sectional hate, hate of creeds, any kind of hatred in our community, though he may affect to do it in the interest of the class he is addressing, is in the long run with absolute certainly that class’s own worst enemy.

When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer ‘Present’ or ‘Not Guilty

To waste, to destroy our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed

We despise and abhor the bully, the brawler, the oppressor, whether in private or public life, but we despise no less the coward and the voluptuary. No man is worth calling a man who will not fight rather than submit to infamy or see those that are dear to him suffer wrong

Our aim is not to do away with corporations; on the contrary, these big aggregations are an inevitable development of modern industrialism, and the effort to destroy them would be futile unless accomplished in ways that would work the utmost mischief to the entire body politic. We can do nothing of good in the way of regulating and supervising these corporations until we fix clearly in our minds that we are not attacking the corporations, but endeavoring to do away with any evil in them. We are not hostile to them; we are merely determined that they shall be so handled as to subserve the public good. We draw the line against misconduct, not against wealth.

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Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

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Quotes # (Character / Statesman / Politics)

There is nothing more practical in the end than the preservation of beauty

This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.

A great democracy has got to be progressive or it will soon cease to be great or a democracy

The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else. We are a nation, not a hodge-podge of foreign nationalities. We are a people, and not a polyglot boarding house.

Wide differences of opinion in matters of religious, political, and social belief must exist if conscience and intellect alike are not to be stunted, if there is to be room for healthy growth.

Order without liberty and liberty without order are equally destructive

There is not one among us in whom a devil does not dwell; at some time, on some point, that devil masters each of us… It is not having been in the Dark House, but having left it, that counts.

If we say of a boy or a man, “He is of good character,” we mean that he does not do a great many things that are wrong, and we also mean that he does do a great many things which imply much effort of will and readiness to face what is disagreeable. He must not steal, he must not be intemperate, he must not be vicious in any way; he must not be mean or brutal; he must not bully the weak. In fact, he must refrain from whatever is evil. But besides refraining from evil, he must do good.

The longer I live the more I think of the quality of fortitude… men who fall, pick themselves up and stumble on, fall again, and are trying to get back up when they die.

It is inexcusable to refuse to work, to work slackly or perversely, or to mar the work of others.

The leaders of thought and of action grope their way forward to a new life, realizing, sometimes dimly, sometimes clear-sightedly,
that the life of material gain, whether for a nation or an individual, is of value only as a foundation, only as there is added to it the uplift that comes from devotion to loftier ideals.

There must be absolute religious liberty, for tyranny and intolerance are as abhorrent in matters intellectual and spiritual as in matters political and material; and more and more we must all realize that conduct is of infinitely greater importance than dogma

If a nation shows that it knows how to act with reasonable efficiency and decency in social and political matters, if it keeps order and pays its obligations, it need fear no interference from the United States.

We must dare to be great; and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage.

Far-seeing patriots should turn scornfully from men who seek power on a platform which with exquisite nicety combines silly inability to understand the national needs and dishonest insintcerity in promising conflicting and impossible remedies.

It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things

Ridicule is one of the favorite weapons of wickedness, and it is sometimes incomprehensible how good and brave boys will be influenced for evil by the jeers of associates who have no one quality that calls for respect, but who affect to laugh at the very traits which ought to be peculiarly the cause for pride.

Hamilton, the most brilliant American statesman who ever lived, possessing the loftiest and keenest intellect of his time, was of course easily the foremost champion in the ranks of the New York Federalists; second to him came Jay, pure, strong and healthy in heart, body, and mind. Both of them watched with uneasy alarm the rapid drift toward anarchy; and both put forth all their efforts to stem the tide. They were of course too great men to fall in with the views of those whose antagonism to tyranny made them averse from order. They had little sympathy with the violent prejudices produced by the war. In particular they abhorred the vindictive laws directed against the persons and property of Tories; and they had the manliness to come forward as the defenders of the helpless and excessively unpopular Loyalists. They put a stop to the wrongs which were being inflicted on these men, and finally succeeded in having them restored to legal equality with other citizens, standing up with generous fearlessness against the clamor of the mob

Right here let me make as vigorous a plea as I know how in favor of saying nothing that we do not mean, and of acting without hesitation up to whatever we say. A good many of you are probably acquainted with the old proverb: ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick — you will go far.’ If a man continually blusters, if he lacks civility, a big stick will not save him from trouble; and neither will speaking softly avail, if back of the softness there does not lie strength, power. In private life there are few beings more obnoxious than the man who is always loudly boasting; and if the boaster is not prepared to back up his words his position becomes absolutely contemptible. So it is with the nation. It is both foolish and undignified to indulge in undue self-glorification, and, above all, in loose-tongued denunciation of other peoples

Bodily vigor is good, and vigor of intellect is even better, but far above both is character. It is true, of course, that a genius may, on certain lines, do more than a brave and manly fellow who is not a genius; and so, in sports, vast physical strength may overcome weakness, even though the puny body may have in it the heart of a lion. But, in the long run, in the great battle of life, no brilliancy of intellect, no perfection of bodily development, will count when weighed in the balance against that assemblage of virtues, active and passive, of moral qualities, which we group together under the name of character; and if between any two contestants, even in college sport or in college work, the difference in character on the right side is as great as the difference of intellect or strength the other way, it is the character side that will win

We must beware of any attempt to make hatred in any form the basis of action. Most emphatically each of us needs to stand up for his own rights; all men and all groups of men are bound to retain their self-respect, and, demanding this same respect from others, to see that they are not injured and that they have secured to them the fullest liberty of thought and action. But to feed fat a grudge against others, while it may or may not harm them, is sure in the long run to do infinitely greater harm to the man himself.

Fellow-feeling. . .is the most important factor in producing a healthy political and social life. Neither our national nor our local civic life can be what it should be unless it is marked by the fellow-feeling, the mutual kindness, the mutual respect, the sense of common duties and common interests, which arise when men take the trouble to understand one another, and to associate together for a common object. A very large share of the rancor of political and social strife arises either from sheer misunderstanding by one section, or by one class, of another, or else from the fact that the two sections, or two classes, are so cut off from each other that neither appreciates the other’s passions, prejudices, and, indeed, point of view, while they are both entirely ignorant of their community of feeling as regards the essentials of manhood and humanity.

There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all … The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality, than with the other citizens of the American Republic … There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else

In the long run, success or failure will be conditioned upon the way in which the average man, the average women, does his or her duty, first in the ordinary, every-day affairs of life, and next in those great occasional cries which call for heroic virtues. The average citizen must be a good citizen if our republics are to succeed. The stream will not permanently rise higher than the main source; and the main source of national power and national greatness is found in the average citizenship of the nation.

 

Practical equality of opportunity for all citizens, when we achieve it, will have two great results. First, every man will have a fair chance to make of himself all that in him lies; to reach the highest point to which his capacities, unassisted by special privilege of his own and unhampered by the special privilege of others, can carry him, and to get for himself and his family substantially what he has earned. Second, equality of opportunity means that the commonwealth will get from every citizen the highest service of which he is capable. No man who carries the burden of the special privileges of another can give to the commonwealth that service to which it is fairly entitled

The great body of our citizens shoot less as times goes on. We should encourage rifle practice among schoolboys, and indeed among all classes, as well as in the military services by every means in our power. Thus, and not otherwise, may we be able to assist in preserving peace in the world… The first step – in the direction of preparation to avert war if possible, and to be fit for war if it should come – is to teach men to shoot

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Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

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Quotes #

We do not admire the man of timid peace. We admire the man who embodies victorious effort; the man who never wrongs his neighbor, who is prompt to help a friend, but who has those virile qualities necessary to win in the stern strife of actual life.

the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph.

Let the watchwords of all our people be the old familiar watchwords of honesty, decency, fair-dealing, and commonsense.”… “We must treat each man on his worth and merits as a man. We must see that each is given a square deal, because he is entitled to no more and should receive no less.”  “The welfare of each of us is dependent fundamentally upon the welfare of all of us.

For us is the life of action, of strenuous performance of duty; let us live in the harness, striving mightily; let us rather run the risk of wearing out than rusting out

It was a pleasure to deal with a man of high ideals, who scorned everything mean and base, and who possessed those robust and hardy qualities of body and mind, for the lack of which no merely negative virtue can ever atone.

 

Nothing in this world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty. No kind of life is worth leading if it is always an easy life. I know that your life is hard; I know that your work is hard; and hardest of all for those of you who have the highest trained consciences, and who therefore feel always how much you ought to do. I know your work is hard, and that is why I congratulate you with all my heart. I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life; I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.


Although not a very old man, I have yet lived a great deal in my life, and I have known sorrow too bitter and joy too keen to allow me to become either cast down or elated for more than a very brief period over any success or defeat


For those who fight for it life has a flavor the sheltered will never know

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Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

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Quotes #

The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer. There are many men who feel a kind of twister pride in cynicism; there are many who confine themselves to criticism of the way others do what they themselves dare not even attempt.
There is no more unhealthy being, no man less worthy of respect, than he who either really holds, or feigns to hold, an attitude of sneering disbelief toward all that is great and lofty, whether in achievement or in that noble effort which, even if it fails, comes to second achievement. A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticise work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life’s realities — all these are marks, not as the possessor would fain to think, of superiority but of weakness. They mark the men unfit to bear their part painfully in the stern strife of living, who seek, in the affection of contempt for the achievements of others, to hide from others and from themselves in their own weakness. The role is easy; there is none easier, save only the role of the man who sneers alike at both criticism and performance

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Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

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Quotes # (Marriage)

It may be true that he travels farthest who travels alone, but the goal thus reached is not worth reaching

Women should have free access to every field of labor which they care to enter, and when their work is as valuable as that of a man it should be paid as highly.

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Marriage
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A man must think well before he marries. He must be a tender and considerate husband and realize that there is no other human being to whom he owes so much of love and regard and consideration as he does to the woman who with pain bears and with labor rears the children that are his. No words can paint the scorn and contempt which must be felt by all right-thinking men, not only for the brutal husband, but for the husband who fails to show full loyalty and consideration to his wife. Moreover, he must work, he must do his part in the world. On the other hand, the woman must realize that she has no more right to shirk the business of wifehood and motherhood than the man has to shirk his business as breadwinner for the household. Women should have free access to every field of labor which they care to enter, and when their work is as valuable as that of a man it should be paid as highly. Yet normally for the man and the woman whose welfare is more important than the welfare of any other human beings, the woman must remain the housemother, the homekeeper, and the man must remain the breadwinner, the provider for the wife who bears his children and for the children she brings into the world. No other work is as valuable or as exacting for either man or woman; it must always, in every healthy society, be for both man and woman the prime work, the most important work; normally all other work is of secondary importance, and must come as an addition to, not a substitute for, this primary work. The partnership should be one of equal rights, one of love, of self-respect, and unselfishness, above all a partnership for the performance of the most vitally important of all duties. The performance of duty, and not an indulgence in vapid ease and vapid pleasure, is all that makes life worth while.

To all who have known really happy family lives, that is, to all who have known or who have witnessed the greatest happiness which there can be on this earth, it is hardly necessary to say that the highest idea of the family is attainable only where the father and mother stand to each other as lovers and friends. In these homes the children are bound to father and mother by ties of love, respect, and obedience, which are simply strengthened by the fact that they are treated as reasonable beings with rights of their own, and that the rule of the household is changed to suit the changing years, as childhood passes into manhood and womanhood

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Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

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Quotes # (Misc)

There is a delight in the hardy life of the open.
There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm.
The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased; and not impaired in value.  Conservation means development as much as it does protection


I am a strong individualist by personal habit, inheritance, and conviction; but it is a mere matter of common sense to recognize that the State, the community, the citizens acting together, can do a number of things better than if they were left to individual action.

90% of the work in this country is done
by people who don’t feel good”.


It is better to have it and need it, than to need it and not have it.

The joy in life is his who has the heart to demand it.

I am only an average man, but by George, I work harder at it than the average man

There can be no life without change, and to be afraid of what is different or unfamiliar is to be afraid of life.

Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found, against the wrong

It is true of the Nation, as of the individual, that the greatest doer must also be a great dreamer

The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people

Complaining about a problem without posing a solution is called whining.

The teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally impossible for us to figure to ourselves what that life would be if these teaching were removed.

Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe

If you’ve got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow

Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage

The worst of all fears is the fear of living

The government is us; WE are the government, you and I.”

A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.

Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike

Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.

I am an American; free born and free bred, where I acknowledge no man as my superior, except for his own worth, or as my inferior, except for his own demerit

A man who has never gone to school may steal a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad

Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind

Americanism is a question of principle, of idealism, of character. It is not a matter of birthplace, or creed, or line of descent.

It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things

It is not often that a man can make opportunities for himself. But he can put himself in such shape that when or if the opportunities come he is ready

To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.

The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly as necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else

To educate a person in the mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society

Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else

Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat

No man needs sympathy because he has to work, because he has a burden to carry. Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

Politeness [is] a sign of dignity, not subservience

The reason fat men are good natured is they can neither fight nor run.

In this country we have no place for hyphenated Americans.

If given the choice between Righteousness and Peace, I choose Righteousness.

No man is justified in doing evil on the ground of expediency

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official

No man should receive a dollar unless that dollar has been fairly earned

The unforgivable crime is soft hitting. Do not hit at all if it can be avoided, but NEVER hit softly

It tires me to talk to rich men. You expect a man of millions, the head of a great industry, to be a man worth hearing; but as a rule they don’t know anything outside their own business.

 

 

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U.S. Special Operations – “Run For Your Life” (2018 ᴴᴰ)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHd-yMKJSGI

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The Pentagon

Headquarters building of the Department of Defense of the United States of America

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“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.”
– 1 Thessalonians 5 (NIV) “victory“

The Secretary of Defense

The Honorable

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Peter Brian Hegseth

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“Everything is on the Table“

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STAR TREK : Strange New Worlds | Captain Pike Inspires a Civilization.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYZ4IoyztIw

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By Dawn’s Early Light.
Something They Have Never Seen Before.
The Light Shines In the Darkness and the Darkness Has Not Overcome it.

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Vice President Vance Swears in

Pete Hegseth To Be Secretary of Defense

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRmQwgRzcwQ
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And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of Hades  will not overcome it.   I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;
whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
                                                                                                            –   Matthew 16  (“gift of Jehovah”)

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“Shadow’s Mirror” /  “Mirror’s Edge“

Civil / Military Relations
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” It is Written. “
Post Modern Conflict Resolution.
At a Time of Mutually Assured Destruction.
Persuasive Advocacy Through Effective Writing.
May You Be Proved Right When You Speak and Prevail When you Judge.
Words and Wisdom that None of Your Adversaries Will be Able to Resist or Contradict.
Therefore, Please Accept This Coming Pattern of Teaching Which has Now Claimed your Allegiance.
Education Through Systemic Improvement and Refinement of the Mind.  Cultivation The Essence of Perfect Knowledge.

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Inspirational Speeches of Trek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNu1cdISsvY

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“I have a message for you, commander”
An Organization into Tiers, Quadrants.  Subgroups and Meaningful Pairings.  Cloaks, Scrolls, Parchments. 

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FIMUCITÉ 16 – Mona Lisa Overdrive

(The Matrix Reloaded) – Juno Reactor y Don Davis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLgpZSr6iQ4

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Compliance and Risk Management.
Must the People Remain in Constant Dread of Oppressors?
The People Who Know Right from Wrong Lay the Foundations of The Earth.  To Restore Life Support

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Pete Hegseth SPEAKS OUT at 2025 Central American Security Conference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_99FR3VgdAc

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Matthew 16
(“gift of Jehovah”)
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(New international Version)

The Demand for a Sign

The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.

He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’  and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.   A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread.  “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?  Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?  How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”  Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter,  and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Jesus Predicts His Death

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?  For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

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Saint Peter the Apostle

by Peter Paul Rubens (1610–1612)

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One of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ and One of the First Leaders of the Early Christian Church.
Depicted Here vested in the pallium and holding the Keys of Heaven.

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1 Peter 5
“stone, rock“
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(New International Version)

To the Elders and the Flock

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed:  Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud

but shows favor to the humble.” 

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.  To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.  Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

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1 Chronicles 12
(“record (a related series of events) in a factual and detailed way.”   “historical account of facts or events in the order of time“
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(New International Version)

Warriors Join David

These were the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish (they were among the warriors who helped him in battle; they were armed with bows and were able to shoot arrows or to sling stones right-handed or left-handed; they were relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin):

Ahiezer their chief and Joash the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; Jeziel and Pelet the sons of Azmaveth; Berakah, Jehu the Anathothite, and Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty warrior among the Thirty, who was a leader of the Thirty; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite, Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah and Shephatiah the Haruphite; Elkanah, Ishiah, Azarel, Joezer and Jashobeam the Korahites; and Joelah and Zebadiah the sons of Jeroham from Gedor.

Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the wilderness. They were brave warriors, ready for battle and able to handle the shield and spear. Their faces were the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles in the mountains.

Ezer was the chief,

Obadiah the second in command, Eliab the third,

Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,

Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,

Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,

Jeremiah the tenth and Makbannai the eleventh.

These Gadites were army commanders; the least was a match for a hundred, and the greatest for a thousand.  It was they who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight everyone living in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

Other Benjamites and some men from Judah also came to David in his stronghold.  David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, I am ready for you to join me. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our ancestors see it and judge you.”

Then the Spirit came on Amasai, chief of the Thirty, and he said:

“We are yours, David!

We are with you, son of Jesse!

Success, success to you,

and success to those who help you,

for your God will help you.”

So David received them and made them leaders of his raiding bands.

Some of the tribe of Manasseh defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. (He and his men did not help the Philistines because, after consultation, their rulers sent him away. They said, “It will cost us our heads if he deserts to his master Saul.”)  When David went to Ziklag, these were the men of Manasseh who defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu and Zillethai, leaders of units of a thousand in Manasseh.  They helped David against raiding bands, for all of them were brave warriors, and they were commanders in his army.  Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God. 

Others Join David at Hebron

These are the numbers of the men armed for battle who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him, as the Lord had said:

from Judah, carrying shield and spear—6,800 armed for battle;

from Simeon, warriors ready for battle—7,100;

from Levi—4,600, including Jehoiada, leader of the family of Aaron, with 3,700 men, and Zadok, a brave young warrior, with 22 officers from his family;

from Benjamin, Saul’s tribe—3,000, most of whom had remained loyal to Saul’s house until then;

from Ephraim, brave warriors, famous in their own clans—20,800;

from half the tribe of Manasseh, designated by name to come and make David king—18,000;

from Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do—200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command;

from Zebulun, experienced soldiers prepared for battle with every type of weapon, to help David with undivided loyalty—50,000;

from Naphtali—1,000 officers, together with 37,000 men carrying shields and spears;

from Dan, ready for battle—28,600;

from Asher, experienced soldiers prepared for battle—40,000;

and from east of the Jordan, from Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, armed with every type of weapon—120,000.

All these were fighting men who volunteered to serve in the ranks. They came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of the Israelites were also of one mind to make David king.  The men spent three days there with David, eating and drinking, for their families had supplied provisions for them.  Also, their neighbors from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun and Naphtali came bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules and oxen. There were plentiful supplies of flour, fig cakes, raisin cakes, wine, olive oil, cattle and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation – Your Move

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAGGEw4TcFY&t=93s

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Caravan Palace – Lone Digger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbQgXeY_zi4

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All it Cost was One Senator, One Criminal and Your Self Respect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNCw_avF_Qg&t=63s

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1, 2, 3, 4, ….. 77.
Now Let Us Proceed.
We Are Rapidly Approaching a Moment of Truth.
It is About Time for a New Game.  The Real Performance is About to Begin. 
This is The Fulcrum Is To Play The Central or Essential Role in an Activity, Event, or Situation.

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Russia

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“It is Written.“
East and West Geo-Political Relations.  “Shadow’s Mirror.”  For the Best Between Both Worlds.  Inner Sanctuaries Beyond the Veil.
“Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Test and prove what pleases the Lord… Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.“
–  Ephesians 5 (BSB)  (“overseer“)

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The Kremlin

Headquarters Building of the Department of Defense of Russia

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Civil – Military  Relations

 ” Shadow’s Mirror / Mirror’s Edge “

A Testimony of Conscience Under Global Circumstances.

Geo-Political Alchemy : Distillation of Instruction & Contemplation. 

Understanding the Strengths & Weaknesses & Traditions of Our Country.

A Nuclear Posture Review and New Civil Campaign as a Means of Defense or Security.

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The Head of State & President of Russia

His Excellency : Comrade Supreme Commander

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Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin

Владимир Путин

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“I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘
My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’  From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.“
–  Isaiah 46

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Mozart: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626: I. Introitus. Requiem Aeternam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBGVfwOLU1w

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Vladimir Putin’s Landmark Speech

On February 10th 2007 at 43rd Munich Security Conference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ58Yv6kP44&t=123s

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Your Excellency,

Know That I Got it.
If I May be So Bold.
May This One Approach?
An Assessment of the  Situation.
Requesting Permission to Speak Freely.
Why do We Endanger Ourselves Every Hour?
Regarding the Monumental & Existential Issues of Our Time.
How Does Humanity Survive its Technological Adolescence Without Destroying Itself?
All The Pain is Making People Numb.  But I Can Still Feel.  There are Truths Which Pain Hides.
We Need a Resolution Before We Fight to Our Mutual Extinction.  As We Exist in this Time of Mutually Assured Destruction.  The Perpetual Threat Inflation.

 

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“In God, We Trust it is Written.“

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The Nations Raging and the Peoples Plotting in Vain.
Is That the Light at the End of the Tunnel or Just the Train?

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But at What Cost?
I Know of No Other Way.
Than to Follow Divine Synchronicities.
If You Were Uphold this Right and Just Cause.
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With Christ Jesus as Our Advocate,
We “The People” Formally Request 3rd Party Arbitration of Our Disputes.
Can a Country be Born in a Day or a Nation be Brought Forth in a Moment?

We “The People” of the “Millennial Generation” Present to you this “New Genesis.”  An Educational Work.  A Presentation Offering. 

A World We Think Christ Jesus Would Have Wanted for Us. 

A Vision of “On Earth as it is In Heaven.”  From the Holy Author of Our Religion. 

May this Work Change the Fabric of What is Considered Possible and Serve as the a Truthful and

Sober Interpretation of The Times.

          For Your Consideration,  Some Unique Proposals for Different Arrangements To Fill the Void. 

Perhaps One Might Find Favor Amongst the Elect.
So That Maybe we Can be Restored to Prosperity.   

What is your Assessment of this Situation?

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I Tell You The Future

Before It Happens Just Like Magic

The Word Which Was Ordained For a Thousand Generations Proved Right.

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“The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own.
Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works.
Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because
I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.   If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it.“
– John 14 (New International Version) “gift of jehova“

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EMISSARY- Dark Ethereal 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEE74SFmfxE

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John Williams – Duel of the Fates

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_2bluVPsb0

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Linkin Park – 1stp Klosr (Reanimation)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqAlFm6LDjs

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A Ministry of Reconciliation, Healing & Creation

“The world hangs on a thin thread and that is the psyche of man.“
“No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.” 
–           Carl Jung

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          “Healing may be called a religious problem. In the sphere of social or national relations the state of suffering may be civil war and this state is to be cured by the Christian virtue of forgiveness and love of one’s enemies. That which we recommend with the conviction of good Christians as applicable to external situations we must also apply inwardly in the treatment of neurosis. This is why modern man has heard enough about guilt and sin. He is sorely beset by his own bad conscience. And wants rather to know how he is to reconcile himself with his own nature how he is to love the enemy in his own heart, and call the Wolf his brother. The modern man does not want to know in what way he can imitate Christ, but in what way he can live his own individual life, however meager and uninteresting it may be. It is because every form of imitation, seems to him deadening and sterile — that he rebels against the force of tradition that would hold him to well trodden ways. All such roads for him lead in the wrong direction. He may not know it, but he behaves as if his own individual life were God’s special will which must be fulfilled at all costs. This is the source of his egoism, which is one of the most tangible evils of the neurotic state. But the person who tells him he is too egoistic has already lost his confidence and rightly so, for that person has driven him still into his neurosis (“functional derangement arising from disorders of the nervous system (not caused by a lesion or injury” “The change in the nerve cells of the brain resulting in symptoms of stress,” but not radical loss of touch with reality”) If I wish to effect a cure for my patients, I am forced to acknowledge the deep significance of that egoism. I should be blind indeed if I did not recognize it as a true will of God. I must even help the patient to prevail in his egoism if he succeeds in this he estranges himself from other people. He drives them away and they come to themselves as they should for they were seeking to rob him of his sacred egoism. This must be left of him. For it is his strongest and healthiest power. It is as I have said a true will of God, but sometimes drives him into complete isolation. However wretched this state may be it also stands him in good stead. For in this way alone can he get to know himself and learn what an invaluable treasure is the love of his fellow beings. It is moreover only in the state of complete abandonment and loneliness that we experience the helpful powers of our own natures.”

Interview with Carl Jung
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqfL94VtSJ8 


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Of the United States of America, of the State of New York.
As Do Hereby Formally Request Third Party Arbitration of Our Disputes. 
In A Movement We Call Our Own.  As a Government of the People By the People and For the People. 
We Formulate the Following Mandate of Intercession.  A Biblical Covenant for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. 
A System of Measures and Line of Conduct Which a Ruler, Minister, Government, or Party Adopts as Best for the Interests of a Country
in Domestic and Foreign Affairs.  An Irrevocable Living Trust, a Crucible & Requiem of New Politics.  Here-in After Referred to As  Τ έ λ ο ς  “TELOS” 

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1 Corinthians 2
(“point” “peak“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Paul’s Message by the Spirit’s Power

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.  For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.  My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

Spiritual Wisdom

Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began.  None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  Rather, as it is written:

“No eye has seen,

no ear has heard,

no heart has imagined,

what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.  For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.  And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.

The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.  The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment.  “For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?”  But we have the mind of Christ.

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“Shadow’s Mirror “

A Special Civil Operation :  Pragmatic Idealism

On Earth as it is In Heaven.  The Biblical Renewal of All Things.

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Greetings, Mr. President,

The times have reached their fulfillment.   (“Psalm 19“)  Something fundamental has shifted.  Can you feel it? 

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My name is Mark Rich and I am a true son of David.  You can call me “a man of the cloth, without the cloth”  🙂
Behold!  I am insignificant.  What can I say to you?  I have made myself nothing.
I have been sent to give you this weighty testimony for the churches.  A vision of the gospel of the kingdom as “It is Written.“
I am the archivist of These Collections of Books, These “Anthologies of the Masters“
The object of which is to usher forth the creation of a political move so sweeping as to immortalize the reign and legacy of all involved.
Shall we finish the remaining bit together?  Your servant is listening.

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Time to lay it all on the line.  The Super bowl of politicking.  A cosmic tidal wave.  a grand reset.
Shall we call it the rose bowl?  The hope of salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

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In this meaningless life of mine it seemed good to me to teach the people knowledge.  I have pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs. I have searched to find delightful sayings and to record accurate words of truth.  Words and Wisdom that None of Your Adversaries Will be Able to Resist or Contradict.  Please Accept This Coming Pattern of Teaching Which has Now Claimed your Allegiance.  These words are His true and genuine teachings about all things of man’s nature.  His “anointing.“

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Though it cost me all I had to achieve this understanding. I have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us in Bible.  (“The Books“).  I have studied the Scriptures diligently.  Adding one thing to another in order to discover the general scheme of things. Of what was promised by our ancestors long ago.  In the spirit of prophecy, I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, and have created this orderly account for you. So that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. About what God said through his holy prophets of long ago.  In this same way am not allowed to take credit for these words.  It is as if “He” is working through me (as “He” works through all of us.)

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I only ask you to look at what is obvious.  I hope that once my time of service is completed, that this hard working farmer, will be able to take part in the harvest. As I have sown much and harvested little. I have remained in seclusion for obvious reasons. As you are no doubt mindful of the humble state of this servant. I hope that your favor will be enough to take away my disgrace among the people.

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May those who seek You not be dishonored through me. For I have endured scorn for your sake and for the sake of the elect.
This is sound learning, worthy of full acceptance. Therefore, it might be a good idea not to forsake such a teaching. Such that ultimately, we are enabled to serve each other without fear.

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In hopes that the word of God does not come back void.  May we (step-by-step) turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people who are strong and without excuses when these words come true at their appointed time.

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Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

 

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The Key to Effective Leadership

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rSwVC-OK9AM

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Luke 13
( “tepid”  “warm”  “Bringer of light“)
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(New International Version)

Repent or Perish

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.  Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?  I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.  Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.  So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

“ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.  If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ”

Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman on the Sabbath

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.  When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.”  Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?  Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to?  It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”

Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to?  It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

The Narrow Door

Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.  Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them,  “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.  Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’

“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

“But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’

“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.  People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.  Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”

Jesus’ Sorrow for Jerusalem

At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”

He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’  In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.  Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’  ”

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Green Lands – Meditative Nordic Celtic Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bobNGIXqOBA&t=5532s

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Eclipse – Calming Ancient Egyptian Meditation Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUulrRS-uoY

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Matthew 7
(“gift of Jehovah”)
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(New International Version)

Judging Others

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask, Seek, Knock

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!  So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

True and False Prophets

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

True and False Disciples

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

The Wise and Foolish Builders

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,  because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

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1 Corinthians 4
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

The Nature of True Apostleship

This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.  Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.  I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.  My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.  Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.  For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you!  For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings.  We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!  To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.  We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;  when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.

Paul’s Appeal and Warning

I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children.  Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.  Therefore I urge you to imitate me.  For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.  But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.  For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.  What do you prefer?  Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

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Romans 12
(“of Rome”)
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(New International Version)

A Living Sacrifice

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Humble Service in the Body of Christ

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.  For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Love in Action

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.  Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.  On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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Matthew 25
(“gift of Jehovah”)
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(New International Version)

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

“ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

“But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

The Parable of the Bags of Gold

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.  To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.  The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.  So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more.  But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.  The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?  Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

“ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.  For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.  And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The Sheep and the Goats

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

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James 2
“one that takes by the heel; a supplanter“
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(New International Version)

Favoritism Forbidden

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.  Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in.  If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,”  have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?  But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?  Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.  But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.  For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.  For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.”  If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Deeds

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?  Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.  You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?  Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.  And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.  You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?  As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

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Romans 3
(“of Rome”)
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(New International Version)

God’s Faithfulness

What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision?  Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.

What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?  Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written:

“So that you may be proved right when you speak

and prevail when you judge.” 

But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)  Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?  Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?”  Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!

No One Is Righteous

What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.  As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;

there is no one who understands;

there is no one who seeks God.

All have turned away,

they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.” 

“Their throats are open graves;

their tongues practice deceit.” 

“The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 

“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 

“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

ruin and misery mark their ways,

and the way of peace they do not know.” 

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.  Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

Righteousness Through Faith

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.  This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith.  For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.  Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.  Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

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Matthew 18
(“gift of Jehovah”)
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(New International Version)

The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Causing to Stumble

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.  Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!  If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.  And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

The Parable of the Wandering Sheep

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. 

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?  And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.  In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Dealing With Sin in the Church

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.  But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’  If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him.  Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’  The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.  He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.  When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’  In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

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A Poem by William Blake

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To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
A robin redbreast in a cage
Puts all Heaven in a rage.
A dove house fill’d with doves and pigeons
Shudders Hell thro’ all its regions.
A dog starv’d at his master’s gate
Predicts the ruin of the state.
A horse misus’d upon the road
Calls to Heaven for human blood.
Each outcry of the hunted hare
A fibre from the brain does tear.
A skylark wounded in the wing,
A Cherubim does cease to sing.
The game cock clipp’d and arm’d for fight
Does the rising Sun affright.
Every wolf’s and lion’s howl
Raises from Hell a human soul.
…
He who respects the infant’s faith
Triumphs over Hell and Death.
The child’s toys and the old man’s reasons
Are the fruits of the two seasons.
The questioner, who sits so sly,
Shall never know how to reply.
He who replies to words of doubt
Doth put the light of Knowledge out.
The strongest poison ever known
Came from Caesar’s laurel crown,
Nought can deform the human race
Like to the armour’s iron brace.
When gold and gems adorn the plow
To peaceful arts shall Envy bow.
A riddle or the cricket’s cry
Is to doubt a fit reply.
The emmet’s inch and eagle’s mile
Make lame Philosophy to smile.
He who doubts from what he sees
Will ne’er believe, do what you please.
If the Sun and Moon should doubt,
They’d immediately go out.
To be in a passion you good may do,
But no good if a passion is in you.
The whore and gambler, by the state
Licens’d, build that nation’s fate.
The harlot’s cry from street to street,
Shall weave Old England’s winding sheet.
The winner’s shout, the loser’s curse,
Dance before dead England’s hearse.
Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born.
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.
Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.
We are led to believe a lie
When we see not thro’ the eye
Which was born in a night to perish in a night,
When the Soul slept in beams of light.
God appears and God is light
To those poor souls who dwell in night,
But does a human form display
To those who dwell in realms of day.

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1 Corinthians 9
(“point” “peak“)
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(New King James Version)

A Pattern of Self-Denial

Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?  If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

My defense to those who examine me is this: Do we have no right to eat and drink?  Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?  Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working?  Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock?

Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also?  For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen God is concerned about?  Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope.  If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things?  If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more?

Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ.  Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar?  Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.

But I have used none of these things, nor have I written these things that it should be done so to me; for it would be better for me to die than that anyone should make my boasting void.  For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!  For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.  What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel.

Serving All Men

For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.  Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.

Striving for a Crown

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.  And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.  Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.  But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

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Isaiah 33
“salvation of the Lord” “salvation, deliverance“
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(New International Version)

Distress and Help

Woe to you, destroyer,

you who have not been destroyed!

Woe to you, betrayer,

you who have not been betrayed!

When you stop destroying,

you will be destroyed;

when you stop betraying,

you will be betrayed.

Lord, be gracious to us;

we long for you.

Be our strength every morning,

our salvation in time of distress.

At the uproar of your army, the peoples flee;

when you rise up, the nations scatter.

Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts;

like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.

The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;

he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.

He will be the sure foundation for your times,

a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;

the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure. 

Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets;

the envoys of peace weep bitterly.

The highways are deserted,

no travelers are on the roads.

The treaty is broken,

its witnesses are despised,

no one is respected.

The land dries up and wastes away,

Lebanon is ashamed and withers;

Sharon is like the Arabah,

and Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves.

“Now will I arise,” says the Lord.

“Now will I be exalted;

now will I be lifted up.

You conceive chaff,

you give birth to straw;

your breath is a fire that consumes you.

The peoples will be burned to ashes;

like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze.”

You who are far away, hear what I have done;

you who are near, acknowledge my power!

The sinners in Zion are terrified;

trembling grips the godless:

“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?

Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”

Those who walk righteously

and speak what is right,

who reject gain from extortion

and keep their hands from accepting bribes,

who stop their ears against plots of murder

and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—

they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,

whose refuge will be the mountain fortress.

Their bread will be supplied,

and water will not fail them.

Your eyes will see the king in his beauty

and view a land that stretches afar.

In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:

“Where is that chief officer?

Where is the one who took the revenue?

Where is the officer in charge of the towers?”

You will see those arrogant people no more,

people whose speech is obscure,

whose language is strange and incomprehensible.

Look on Zion, the city of our festivals;

your eyes will see Jerusalem,

a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved;

its stakes will never be pulled up,

nor any of its ropes broken.

There the Lord will be our Mighty One.

It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.

No galley with oars will ride them,

no mighty ship will sail them.

For the Lord is our judge,

the Lord is our lawgiver,

the Lord is our king;

it is he who will save us.

Your rigging hangs loose:

The mast is not held secure,

the sail is not spread.

Then an abundance of spoils will be divided

and even the lame will carry off plunder.

No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”;

and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.

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John 10
(“Jehovah has favored”  “Jah is gracious”  “he was gracious“)
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(New International Version)

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.  The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.  The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.  But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”  Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.  All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.  I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.  They will come in and go out, and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.  The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.  I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.  The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

The Jews who heard these words were again divided.  Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Further Conflict Over Jesus’ Claims

Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.  The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.  My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all ; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”

Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’ ?  If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?  Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father.  But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”  Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.”  And in that place many believed in Jesus.

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Acts 4
“a thing done”  “a doing; a driving, impulse, a setting in motion; a part in a play”
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Peter and John before the Sanhedrin

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,  greatly disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.  They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in custody until the next day. But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

The next day the rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, along with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and many others from the high priest’s family.  They had Peter and John brought in and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people!  If we are being examined today about a kind service to a man who was lame, to determine how he was healed,  then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.  This Jesus is

‘the stone you builders rejected,

which has become the cornerstone.’

Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

The Name Forbidden

When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus.  And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in response.  So they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.

“What shall we do with these men?” they asked. “It is clear to everyone living in Jerusalem that a remarkable miracle has occurred through them, and we cannot deny it.  But to keep this message from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in this name.”

Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.  But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God.  For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

After further threats they let them go. They could not find a way to punish them, because all the people were glorifying God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

The Believers’ Prayer

On their release, Peter and John returned to their own people and reported everything that the chief priests and elders had said to them.  When the believers heard this, they lifted up their voices to God with one accord. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “You made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them.  You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Your servant, our father David:

‘Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth take their stand

and the rulers gather together

against the Lord

and against His Anointed One.’

In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed.  They carried out what Your hand and will had decided beforehand would happen. And now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable Your servants to speak Your word with complete boldness, as You stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”

After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

Sharing among Believers

The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned. With great power the apostles continued to give their testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And abundant grace was upon them all.

There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales, and lay them at the apostles’ feet for distribution to anyone as he had need.

Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (meaning Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

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Titan.DS: Warp Drive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUS5x_JJSt4

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации, МИД РФ

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“Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Test and prove what pleases the Lord… Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.”
                                                                                                         –  Ephesians 5 (BSB)  (“overseer”)

Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs

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Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov

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“War itself requires no particular motivation, but appears to be ingrained in human nature
and is even valued as something noble;  indeed, the desire for glory inspires men to it,
even independently of selfish motives.
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Lavrov says ‘so many p*ssies’ in US presidential campaign

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GemJWAKjrTk

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The Weeknd – In The Night / Can’t Feel My Face

(Victoria Secret Paris Fashion Show) 4K HDR VIDEO 32D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bDSyy7zW24

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Mr.  Lord Minister,

“Russiaphobia.“
” Devious, Sneaky Russians.”
I Have Been Educated to Hate Russia.
How do You Mean to Understand the Order of Things?

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Saint Paul

By Peter Paul Rubens (c. 1611)

Of the 27 books in the New Testament, 13 identify Paul as the author
Epistle to the Romans :  1 Corinthians  ;  2 Corinthians  :  Epistle to the Galatians  :  Ephesians  :  Philippians  : 
Epistle to the Colossians  :  1 Thessalonians  :  1 Timothy  :  2 Timothy  :  Titus  :  Philemon  :  Hebrews

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          The figure of Paul his person and his ministry, the whole of his life and his hard work for the Kingdom of God is entirely dedicated to the service of the Gospel. In these texts one notices a sense of movement where the protagonist is not man, but God, the breath of the Holy Spirit, that impels the Apostle on the highways of the world to bring the Good News to everyone: the promises of the Prophets are fulfilled in Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, who died for our sins and was raised for our justification. Saul is no longer, instead there is Paul, indeed there is Christ who lives in him (cf. Gal 2:20) and wants to reach out to all people. Although the Feast of the Holy Patrons of Rome thus calls to mind the twofold aspiration to unity and to universality that is characteristic of this Church, the context in which we are gathered this evening calls us to give priority to the latter, letting ourselves, so to speak, be “drawn” by St Paul and his extraordinary vocation.”

– Pope Benedict XVI.

“The structure of world peace cannot be the work of one man, or one party,
or one nation…it must be a peace which rests on the cooperative effort of the whole world.“
                                                                   –  Franklin Delano Roosevelt  (March 1, 1945)

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Russia on the Crisis of European Values and the Yalta Legacy | RU-EN interpretation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZS01lgk9R8

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1 Corinthians 1
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.  For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you.  Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.  He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

A Church Divided Over Leaders

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.  My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.  What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas ”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?  I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name.  (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;

the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 

Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.  Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.  It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” 

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2 Corinthians 5
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

Awaiting the New Body

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.  Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.  For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.  Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  For we live by faith, not by sight.  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.  We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.  If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.  For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:  The old has gone, the new is here!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.  God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

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1 Corinthians 4
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

The Nature of True Apostleship

This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.  Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.  I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.  My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.  Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other. 7For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you!  For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings.  We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!  To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.  We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;  when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.

Paul’s Appeal and Warning

I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children.  Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.  Therefore I urge you to imitate me.  For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.  But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.  For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.  What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

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Ephesians 4
“overseer“
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(New International Version)

Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.   There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;  one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.  This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high,

he took many captives

and gave gifts to his people.” 

(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions?  He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)  So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,  to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.   Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Instructions for Christian Living

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.   They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;  to be made new in the attitude of your minds;  and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.  “In your anger do not sin”  : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,  and do not give the devil a foothold.  Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.   Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

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2 Corinthians 10
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

Paul’s Defense of His Ministry

By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away!  I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.  For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

You are judging by appearances.  If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do.  So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it.  I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters.  For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”  Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.

We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.  We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you.  We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ.  Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory.  But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

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2 Corinthians 1
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise to the God of All Comfort

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.  For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.  If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.  And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.  Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.  He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Paul’s Change of Plans

Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.  For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you first so that you might benefit twice.  I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea.  Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?

But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”  For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.”  For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.  Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.  Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.

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Ephesians 2
(“overseer.“)
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(New International Version)

Made Alive in Christ

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.  He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.  For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.  In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

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2 Corinthians 6
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

Paul’s Hardships and God’s Grace

As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.  For He says:

“In the time of favor I heard you,

and in the day of salvation I helped you.”

Behold, now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!

We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no one can discredit our ministry.

Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships, and calamities; in beatings, imprisonments, and riots; in labor, sleepless nights, and hunger;  in purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, slander and praise; viewed as imposters, yet genuine; as unknown, yet well-known; dying, and yet we live on; punished, yet not killed;  sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians. Our hearts are open wide.  It is not our affection, but yours, that is restrained.  As a fair exchange, I ask you as my children: Open wide your hearts also.

Do Not Be Unequally Yoked

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?  What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?c Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?  What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will dwell with them

and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

and they will be My people.”

“Therefore come out from among them

and be separate, says the Lord.

Touch no unclean thing,

and I will receive you.”

And:

“I will be a Father to you,

and you will be My sons and daughters,

says the Lord Almighty.”

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2 Corinthians 4
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

Present Weakness and Resurrection Life

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.  Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”  made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.  We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.  For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.  So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”  Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself.  All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

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Job 40
(“hated, persecuted”   “enmity”  ” the penitent one.”  “he was hostile to“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Job Humbles Himself before the LORD

And the LORD said to Job:

“Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty?

Let him who argues with God give an answer.”

Then Job answered the LORD:

“Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You?

I place my hand over my mouth.

I have spoken once, but I have no answer—

twice, but I have nothing to add.”

The LORD Challenges Job Again

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

“Now brace yourself like a man;

I will question you, and you shall inform Me.

Would you really annul My justice?

Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?

Do you have an arm like God’s?

Can you thunder with a voice like His?

Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,

and clothe yourself with honor and glory.

Unleash the fury of your wrath;

look on every proud man and bring him low.

Look on every proud man and humble him;

trample the wicked where they stand.

Bury them together in the dust;

imprison them in the grave.

Then I will confess to you

that your own right hand can save you.

Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you.

He feeds on grass like an ox.

See the strength of his loins

and the power in the muscles of his belly.

His tail sways like a cedar;

the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.

His bones are tubes of bronze;

his limbs are rods of iron.

He is the foremost of God’s works;

only his Maker can draw the sword against him.

The hills yield him their produce,

while all the beasts of the field play nearby.

He lies under the lotus plants,

hidden among the reeds of the marsh.

The lotus plants conceal him in their shade;

the willows of the brook surround him.

Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid;

he remains secure, though the Jordan surges to his mouth.

Can anyone capture him as he looks on,

or pierce his nose with a snare?

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Romans 5
(“of Rome”)
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Peace and Hope

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!  For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.  Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!  Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.  For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.  For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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 2 Thessalonians 2
(“overseer.“)
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(New International Version)

Paul’s Ministry in Thessalonica

You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results.  We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition.  For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.  On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.  You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness.  We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority.  Instead, we were like young children among you.

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.  Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.  You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.  For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.  For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.

Paul’s Longing to See the Thessalonians

But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.  For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way.  For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?  Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

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Proverbs 25
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“
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(New International Version)

More Proverbs of Solomon

These are more proverbs of Solomon, compiled by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;

to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,

so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

Remove the dross from the silver,

and a silversmith can produce a vessel;

remove wicked officials from the king’s presence,

and his throne will be established through righteousness.

Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,

and do not claim a place among his great men;

it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”

than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.

What you have seen with your eyes

do not bring hastily to court,

for what will you do in the end

if your neighbor puts you to shame?

If you take your neighbor to court,

do not betray another’s confidence,

or the one who hears it may shame you

and the charge against you will stand.

Like apples of gold in settings of silver

is a ruling rightly given.

Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold

is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.

Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time

is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him;

he refreshes the spirit of his master.

Like clouds and wind without rain

is one who boasts of gifts never given.

Through patience a ruler can be persuaded,

and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

If you find honey, eat just enough—

too much of it, and you will vomit.

Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house—

too much of you, and they will hate you.

Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow

is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor.

Like a broken tooth or a lame foot

is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble.

Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,

or like vinegar poured on a wound,

is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;

if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,

and the Lord will reward you.

Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain

is a sly tongue—which provokes a horrified look.

Better to live on a corner of the roof

than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

Like cold water to a weary soul

is good news from a distant land.

Like a muddied spring or a polluted well

are the righteous who give way to the wicked.

It is not good to eat too much honey,

nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep.

Like a city whose walls are broken through

is a person who lacks self-control.

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Proverbs 30
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“
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(New International Version)

Sayings of Agur

The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance.

This man’s utterance to Ithiel:

“I am weary, God,

but I can prevail. 

Surely I am only a brute, not a man;

I do not have human understanding.

I have not learned wisdom,

nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.

Who has gone up to heaven and come down?

Whose hands have gathered up the wind?

Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?

Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is his name, and what is the name of his son?

Surely you know!

“Every word of God is flawless;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Do not add to his words,

or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

“Two things I ask of you, Lord;

do not refuse me before I die:

Keep falsehood and lies far from me;

give me neither poverty nor riches,

but give me only my daily bread.

Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you

and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’

Or I may become poor and steal,

and so dishonor the name of my God.

“Do not slander a servant to their master,

or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.

“There are those who curse their fathers

and do not bless their mothers;

those who are pure in their own eyes

and yet are not cleansed of their filth;

those whose eyes are ever so haughty,

whose glances are so disdainful;

those whose teeth are swords

and whose jaws are set with knives

to devour the poor from the earth

and the needy from among mankind.

“The leech has two daughters.

‘Give! Give!’ they cry.

“There are three things that are never satisfied,

four that never say, ‘Enough!’:

the grave, the barren womb,

land, which is never satisfied with water,

and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’

“The eye that mocks a father,

that scorns an aged mother,

will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,

will be eaten by the vultures.

“There are three things that are too amazing for me,

four that I do not understand:

the way of an eagle in the sky,

the way of a snake on a rock,

the way of a ship on the high seas,

and the way of a man with a young woman.

“This is the way of an adulterous woman:

She eats and wipes her mouth

and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’

“Under three things the earth trembles,

under four it cannot bear up:

a servant who becomes king,

a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,

a contemptible woman who gets married,

and a servant who displaces her mistress.

“Four things on earth are small,

yet they are extremely wise:

Ants are creatures of little strength,

yet they store up their food in the summer;

hyraxes are creatures of little power,

yet they make their home in the crags;

locusts have no king,

yet they advance together in ranks;

a lizard can be caught with the hand,

yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

“There are three things that are stately in their stride,

four that move with stately bearing:

a lion, mighty among beasts,

who retreats before nothing;

a strutting rooster, a he-goat,

and a king secure against revolt. 

“If you play the fool and exalt yourself,

or if you plan evil,

clap your hand over your mouth!

For as churning cream produces butter,

and as twisting the nose produces blood,

so stirring up anger produces strife.”

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Hebrews 12
(“a biblical Jew Israelite” “one from the other side“)
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(New International Version)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

God Disciplines His Children

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.  And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,

and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,

because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” 

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?  If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.  Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!  They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.  No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.  “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

Warning and Encouragement

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.  See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.  See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.  Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”  The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” 

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?  At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”  The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” 

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Ecclesiastes
(“one who addresses an assembly”  “speaker in an assembly or church, preacher”  “to call out“
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(New International Version)

Remember your Creator

in the days of your youth,

before the days of trouble come

and the years approach when you will say,

“I find no pleasure in them”—

before the sun and the light

and the moon and the stars grow dark,

and the clouds return after the rain;

when the keepers of the house tremble,

and the strong men stoop,

when the grinders cease because they are few,

and those looking through the windows grow dim;

when the doors to the street are closed

and the sound of grinding fades;

when people rise up at the sound of birds,

but all their songs grow faint;

when people are afraid of heights

and of dangers in the streets;

when the almond tree blossoms

and the grasshopper drags itself along

and desire no longer is stirred.

Then people go to their eternal home

and mourners go about the streets.

Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,

and the golden bowl is broken;

before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,

and the wheel broken at the well,

and the dust returns to the ground it came from,

and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. 

“Everything is meaningless!”

The Conclusion of the Matter

Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.  The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.

The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd.  Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

Now all has been heard;

here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

for this is the duty of all mankind.

For God will bring every deed into judgment,

including every hidden thing,

whether it is good or evil.

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The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Министерство обороны Российской Федерации

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Letters of Creation that we Serve in the New Way of the 7 Spirits.

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Juno Reactor – Navras

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alcE94QJW90

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Minister of Defense

Министр обороны Российской Федерации

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Andrey Removich Belousov
Андрей Белоусов

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“You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!“
“You nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”
–  Mark 7
“consecrated to the god Mars”  “God of war”  “to be warlike“ “boundary, limit; sign, landmark”  “to denote” “sign, omen, aim”  “margin”

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Halo Reach – Winter Contingency

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_OAjpbXRj4

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Your Excellency,

“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. 
Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile;
let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

 

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The “Winged Lion ” With the Scroll of Isaiah.

Symbol of Saint Mark the Evangelist

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“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
                                                    –  Mark 10  (NIV)
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“The Word“

Ordained for a Thousand Generations Proved Right

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I Have Brought a Miracle.  There is Nothing Else Like It.

“The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own.
Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works.
Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because
I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.   If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it.“
                                                                                  –   John 14 (New International Version) “gift of Jehova“

   Mark  David  Rich

      “To Denote”     “Beloved”     “Wealth“
“To Remove”    “Abhorrent”     “Poor“

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Vivaldi – Violin Concerto in A Minor RV356

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPba-i26YNA
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Isaiah 53
“salvation of the Lord” “salvation, deliverance“
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(New International Version)

Who has believed our message

and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by mankind,

a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain

and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

Yet who of his generation protested?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

for the transgression of my people he was punished. 

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

After he has suffered,

he will see the light of life and be satisfied ;

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,

and he will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, 

and he will divide the spoils with the strong, 

because he poured out his life unto death,

and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors.

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 Revelation 22
“Disclosure of information or knowledge to man by a divine or supernatural agency.”
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(New International Version)

Eden Restored

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb  down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

John and the Angel

The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”

“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me.  But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”

Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.  Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

Epilogue: Invitation and Warning

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.  Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.  And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

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Isaiah 55
“salvation of the Lord” “salvation, deliverance“
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(New International Version)

Invitation to the Thirsty

“Come, all you who are thirsty,

come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without cost.

Why spend money on what is not bread,

and your labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,

and you will delight in the richest of fare.

Give ear and come to me;

listen, that you may live.

I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

my faithful love promised to David.

See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,

a ruler and commander of the peoples.

Surely you will summon nations you know not,

and nations you do not know will come running to you,

because of the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel,

for he has endowed you with splendor.”

Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake their ways

and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,

and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As the rain and the snow

come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

You will go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

will clap their hands.

Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,

and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.

This will be for the Lord’s renown,

for an everlasting sign,

that will endure forever.”

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James 2
“one that takes by the heel; a supplanter“
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(New International Version)

Favoritism Forbidden

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.  Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in.  If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,”  have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?  But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?  Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”  you are doing right.  But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.  For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.  For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”  also said, “You shall not murder.”  If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Deeds

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?  Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.  You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?  Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.  And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.  You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?  As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

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Ephesians 6
(“overseer.“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Children and Parents

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  “Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise),  “that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.”

Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Serving with Honor

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.  And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.  Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

And masters, do the same for your slaves. Give up your use of threats, because you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.

The Full Armor of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed,  and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.  Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.

Final Greetings

Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know about me and what I am doing.  I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that he may encourage your hearts.

Peace to the brothers and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

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2 Corinthians 10
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

Paul’s Defense of His Ministry

By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away!  I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.  For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

You are judging by appearances.   If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do.  So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it.  I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters.  For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”   Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.

We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.  We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you.  We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ.  Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand,  so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory.  But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”   For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

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2 Corinthians 5
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

Awaiting the New Body

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.  Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.  For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.  Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  For we live by faith, not by sight.  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.  We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.  If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.  For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:  The old has gone, the new is here!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.  God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

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2 Peter 1
“stone, rock“
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(New International Version)

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Confirming One’s Calling and Election

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Prophecy of Scripture

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.  I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.  And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.  He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.  Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things.  For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

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Leo Tolstoy

Seeking Truth : War & Peace
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“The goal of the artist is not to solve a question irrefutably,
but to force people to love life in all its countless, inexhaustible manifestations.”

“Love awoke, and so did life.”

“Everything depends on upbringing. ”

“Everything I know, I know because of love.”

“One must be cunning and wicked in this world.”

“How can one be well…when one suffers morally?”

“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.”

“It’s all God’s will: you can die in your sleep, and God can spare you in battle.”

“Nothing is so necessary for a young man as the company of intelligent women.”

“Here I am alive, and it’s not my fault, so I have to try and get by as best I can without hurting anybody until death takes over.”

“everything comes in time to him who knows how to wait . . . there is nothing stronger than these two: patience and time, they will do it all.”

“The whole world is divided for me into two parts: one is she, and there is all happiness, hope, light; the other is where she is not, and there is dejection and darkness…”

“It’s not given to people to judge what’s right or wrong. People have eternally been mistaken and will be mistaken, and in nothing more than in what they consider right and wrong.”

“Pierre was right when he said that one must believe in the possibility of happiness in order to be happy, and I now believe in it. Let the dead bury the dead, but while I’m alive, I must live and be happy.” 

“For me, when our lives are knocked off course, we imagine everything in them is lost. But it is only the start of something new and good. As long as there is life, there is happiness. There is a great deal. A great deal still to come.”

First Lady of the United States of America

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Melania Knauss Trump

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” God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 
He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not,
to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast in His presence.“
                                                                                                            –    1 Corinthians 1  (“peak“)

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In This Moment – “Legacy”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILvJShXIv1c
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“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called
children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.“

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.“
                                                                                                                                    –  Matthew  5 & 12 (BSB) “Gift of Jehova”

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Taylor Swift – Willow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsEZmictANA

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“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.“
                                                                                                                                    –    Matthew  5 & 12 (BSB) “Gift of Jehova”

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Daniel 4
“God is my judge“
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(New International Version)

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of a Tree

King Nebuchadnezzar,

To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth:

May you prosper greatly!

It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.

How great are his signs,

how mighty his wonders!

His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;

his dominion endures from generation to generation.

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous.  I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me.  So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me.  When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me.  Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.)

I said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me.  These are the visions I saw while lying in bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous.  The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth.  Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.

“In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven.  He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches.  But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field.

“ ‘Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth.  Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him.

“ ‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’

“This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

Daniel Interprets the Dream

Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.”

Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries!  The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth,  with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds— Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.

“Your Majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live with the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.’

“This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king:  You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.  The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules.  Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.”

The Dream Is Fulfilled

All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar.  Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon,  he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”

Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you.  You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.”

Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.

His dominion is an eternal dominion;

his kingdom endures from generation to generation.

All the peoples of the earth

are regarded as nothing.

He does as he pleases

with the powers of heaven

and the peoples of the earth.

No one can hold back his hand

or say to him: “What have you done?”

At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before.  Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

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Romans 11
(“of Rome”)
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(New International Version)

The Remnant of Israel

I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.  God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel:  “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me” ?  And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”  So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.  And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened,  as it is written:

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,

eyes that could not see

and ears that could not hear,

to this very day.” 

And David says:

“May their table become a snare and a trap,

a stumbling block and a retribution for them.

May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,

and their backs be bent forever.” 

Ingrafted Branches

Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.  But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!

I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.  For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?  If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.  You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”  Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble.  For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.  And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.  After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

All Israel Will Be Saved

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way e all Israel will be saved. As it is written:

“The deliverer will come from Zion;

he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

And this is my covenant with them

when I take away their sins.” 

As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.  Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you.  For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

Doxology

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments,

and his paths beyond tracing out!

“Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?” 

“Who has ever given to God,

that God should repay them?” 

For from him and through him and for him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen.

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Luke 13
( “tepid”  “warm”  “Bringer of light“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

A Call to Repentance

At that time some of those present told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.  To this He replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this fate? No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.  Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem?  No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.  So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone again this year, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  If it bears fruit next year, fine. But if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

Jesus Heals a Disabled Woman

One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,  and a woman there had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was hunched over and could not stand up straight.  When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your disability.”  Then He placed His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and began to glorify God.

But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”

“You hypocrites!” the Lord replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water? Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?”

When Jesus said this, all His adversaries were humiliated. And the whole crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things He was doing.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man tossed into his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven

Again He asked, “To what can I compare the kingdom of God?  It is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”

The Narrow Door

Then Jesus traveled throughout the towns and villages, teaching as He made His way toward Jerusalem.  “Lord,” someone asked Him, “will only a few people be saved?”

Jesus answered,  “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.  After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’

But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’

Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

And he will answer, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out.  People will come from east and west and north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.  And indeed, some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.”

Lament over Jerusalem

At that very hour, some Pharisees came to Jesus and told Him, “Leave this place and get away, because Herod wants to kill You.”

But Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I will keep driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach My goal.’  Nevertheless, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day, for it is not admissible for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!  Look, your house is left to you desolate. And I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”

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Genesis 37
“generation, nativity,  Origin, Creation, race, birth, descent, give-birth, beget”
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(New International Version)

Joseph’s Dreams

Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.

This is the account of Jacob’s family line.

Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate  robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had:  We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”  His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.”

“Very well,” he replied.

So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

“They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ”

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other.  “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.  “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.

So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.

Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels  of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”

Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.  They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”

Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.

Meanwhile, the Midianites  sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.

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John 15
“Jehovah has favored”   “he was gracious“
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(New International Version)

The Vine and the Branches

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.  This is my command: Love each other.

The World Hates the Disciples

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.  Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’   If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.  They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.  Whoever hates me hates my Father as well.  If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.  But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ 

The Work of the Holy Spirit

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.  And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

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 Jeremiah 23
“may Jehovah exalt.”  “the Lord casts, the Lord founds,“

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(New International Version)

The Righteous Branch

“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.  Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord.  “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number.  I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,

a King who will reign wisely

and do what is just and right in the land.

In his days Judah will be saved

and Israel will live in safety.

This is the name by which he will be called:

The Lord Our Righteous Savior.

“So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’  but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”

Lying Prophets

Concerning the prophets:

My heart is broken within me;

all my bones tremble.

I am like a drunken man,

like a strong man overcome by wine,

because of the Lord

and his holy words.

The land is full of adulterers;

because of the curse the land lies parched

and the pastures in the wilderness are withered.

The prophets follow an evil course

and use their power unjustly.

“Both prophet and priest are godless;

even in my temple I find their wickedness,”

declares the Lord.

“Therefore their path will become slippery;

they will be banished to darkness

and there they will fall.

I will bring disaster on them

in the year they are punished,”

declares the Lord.

“Among the prophets of Samaria

I saw this repulsive thing:

They prophesied by Baal

and led my people Israel astray.

And among the prophets of Jerusalem

I have seen something horrible:

They commit adultery and live a lie.

They strengthen the hands of evildoers,

so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.

They are all like Sodom to me;

the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”

Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:

“I will make them eat bitter food

and drink poisoned water,

because from the prophets of Jerusalem

ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”

This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;

they fill you with false hopes.

They speak visions from their own minds,

not from the mouth of the Lord.

They keep saying to those who despise me,

‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’

And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts

they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’

But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord

to see or to hear his word?

Who has listened and heard his word?

See, the storm of the Lord

will burst out in wrath,

a whirlwind swirling down

on the heads of the wicked.

The anger of the Lord will not turn back

until he fully accomplishes

the purposes of his heart.

In days to come

you will understand it clearly.

I did not send these prophets,

yet they have run with their message;

I did not speak to them,

yet they have prophesied.

But if they had stood in my council,

they would have proclaimed my words to my people

and would have turned them from their evil ways

and from their evil deeds.

“Am I only a God nearby,”

declares the Lord,

“and not a God far away?

Who can hide in secret places

so that I cannot see them?”

declares the Lord.

“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”

declares the Lord.

“I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’  How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds?  They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal worship.  Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord.  “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

“Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me.  Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’  Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord.

False Prophecy

“When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake you, declares the Lord.’  If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ I will punish them and their household.  This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’  But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God.  This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’  Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’  Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors.  I will bring on you everlasting disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”

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Isaiah 33
“salvation of the Lord” “salvation, deliverance“
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(New International Version)

Distress and Help

Woe to you, destroyer,

you who have not been destroyed!

Woe to you, betrayer,

you who have not been betrayed!

When you stop destroying,

you will be destroyed;

when you stop betraying,

you will be betrayed.

Lord, be gracious to us;

we long for you.

Be our strength every morning,

our salvation in time of distress.

At the uproar of your army, the peoples flee;

when you rise up, the nations scatter.

Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts;

like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.

The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;

he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.

He will be the sure foundation for your times,

a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;

the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure. 

Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets;

the envoys of peace weep bitterly.

The highways are deserted,

no travelers are on the roads.

The treaty is broken,

its witnesses are despised,

no one is respected.

The land dries up and wastes away,

Lebanon is ashamed and withers;

Sharon is like the Arabah,

and Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves.

“Now will I arise,” says the Lord.

“Now will I be exalted;

now will I be lifted up.

You conceive chaff,

you give birth to straw;

your breath is a fire that consumes you.

The peoples will be burned to ashes;

like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze.”

You who are far away, hear what I have done;

you who are near, acknowledge my power!

The sinners in Zion are terrified;

trembling grips the godless:

“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?

Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”

Those who walk righteously

and speak what is right,

who reject gain from extortion

and keep their hands from accepting bribes,

who stop their ears against plots of murder

and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—

they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,

whose refuge will be the mountain fortress.

Their bread will be supplied,

and water will not fail them.

Your eyes will see the king in his beauty

and view a land that stretches afar.

In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:

“Where is that chief officer?

Where is the one who took the revenue?

Where is the officer in charge of the towers?”

You will see those arrogant people no more,

people whose speech is obscure,

whose language is strange and incomprehensible.

Look on Zion, the city of our festivals;

your eyes will see Jerusalem,

a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved;

its stakes will never be pulled up,

nor any of its ropes broken.

There the Lord will be our Mighty One.

It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.

No galley with oars will ride them,

no mighty ship will sail them.

For the Lord is our judge,

the Lord is our lawgiver,

the Lord is our king;

it is he who will save us.

Your rigging hangs loose:

The mast is not held secure,

the sail is not spread.

Then an abundance of spoils will be divided

and even the lame will carry off plunder.

No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”;

and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.

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” International Resource Management. “

Addressing the Lack of Surplus in Global Economy.

Regarding the Concerns of the Governance of a Country or People.

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Of Citizens,

Pertaining to the State and its Administration; Pertaining to Public Life,
The Damaging Lack of Material Benefits Considered to be Basic Necessities in a Society. 
Our People Must Learn to Devote Themselves to Doing What is Good, In Order to Provide for Urgent Needs and Not Live Unproductive Lives

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The Allocation of Benefits in Various Policy Fields in Such a Way as to Provide Groups,
Persons, and Places with at Least a Minimum Level of Benefits so as to Satisfy Basic Needs.
The Resources of the State and Society Working for Results in Achieving National Development Goals.
Supplying Provisions.  Each Country Is to Provide Supplies for One Month of the Year.  Bringing Tribute.

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Virtue & Justice

Statutes and Ordinances.

To Be At Ease and Without Fear of Harm. 

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“It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the peace.”

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The end [or goal] of politics is the best of ends; and the main concern of politics
is to engender a certain character in the citizens and to make them good and disposed to perform noble actions…..”
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“It is clear that all partnerships aim at some good, and that the partnership that is most authoritative of all
and embraces all the others does so particularly and aims at the most authoritative good of all.  This is what is called the city or the political partnership….”

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“Political partnership must be regarded, therefore, as being for the sake of noble actions, not for the sake of living together…”
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“.. ““[O]ne who is genuinely of the popular sort (i.e. a supporter of democracy)
should see to it that the multitude is not overly poor, for this is the reason for democracy being depraved…
Instead the surplus should be allowed to accumulate until enough is available to give the poor enough money to acquire land or start a trade.
And even if there is no external surplus, notables who are refined and sensible will divide the poor among themselves and provide them with a start in pursuing some work”
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“Those who are going to rule in the authoritative offices ought to have three things:
first, affection for the established regime; next, a very great capacity for the work involved in rule; third, virtue and justice –
in each regime the sort that is relative to the regime…It is difficult to find all three of these in many men, but it is important for the regime
to make use of the men with these qualities to the greatest degree possible, or else the regime will be harmed, either by sedition, incompetence, or corruption…
While the virtuous also have a claim to rule, the very fact that they are virtuous leads them to avoid factional conflict. They are also too small a group to be politically consequential.“ 

                                                                                                                  –     Aristotle

“Justice to the Nations“
A Plan Determined for the Whole World.
Planned and Purposed For Those Kings over Nations.
Where All the Nations Gather and The Peoples Assemble.
All Those Who are Leaders in the World; Rise from Your Thrones.
“It is Written” for the Generation to Come and A Prepared People Which Shall be Created.
May the People Enjoy a Long Period of Peace Under Your Foresight Which has Brought About Reforms in the Nations.
A Profound from God’s Holy People.  Gratitude for the Great Wisdom, Insight, Breadth of Understanding & For their Righteous Acts.

Director of National Intelligence

The Honorable

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Tulsi Gabbard

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“Finding common ground means reaching out with respect and aloha – despite the issues that divide us, despite the hurt, despite the fear – and recognize what unites us as human beings.“

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Carmen Goett – La Llorona

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3ASIYixqUI

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Your Excellency,

To Live One’s Calling.
To Start a New Kind of Thing.
Regarding The Preparation of Public Opinion.
Such that the People’s Ability to Reason is not Compromised by our Culture Indoctrination.
The Concept of Crafting Information to Fit the Policy Versus Crafting Policy to Fit the Information.

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Overthrowing Western Society  :  Ruination  :  Subversion

The Undermining of the Power and Authority of an Established System or Institution.

Actions or Beliefs that Aim to Undermine or Overthrow an Established System, Authority, or Set of Beliefs.

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“Exposure to true information does not matter anymore.
A person who is demoralized is unable to assess true information. 
The facts tell nothing to him.  Even if I shower him with information, with authentic proof,
with documents, with pictures. Even if I take him by force to the Soviet Union, and show him a concentration camp,
he will refuse to believe it, until he is going to receive a kick in his fat bottom. When the military boot crushes his balls, then he will understand,
but not before that. That is the tragedy of the situation of demoralization.”

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Yuri Bezmenov

ALL Interviews & Lectures HQ 1984 1983
PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE. Control of Western Society.  Stages of Ideological Subversion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRX6vDJHEE8

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Simpsons – Bomb Shelter Scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LSIsy6YEXQ

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The National Nuclear Security Administration

An Arms Control Proposal :  Nuclear Bomb Dismantlement.

A Nuclear Posture Review : Core Mission : Non-Proliferation. 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qId-OqqyDI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVr2mFPxMGA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6W4jntbcY8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTkLE8DlsDU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP658HMOarU&t=10s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UspUEjMLsdA&t=198s

Intelligence leaders testify before House committee on worldwide threats

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBiiUR_XMaI&t=3389s

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Executive Summary

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“There are More sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any Profane History”
                                                                      –  Sir Isaac Newton
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          We the People, Ask that you to Leave the City and Camp in the Open Fields for a Rendezvous with History.  Shuttle Diplomacy to Change the Game. A Skillful Maneuver to Rescue Ourselves From the Present Evil Age.  In an Effort to Change the World for the Better, We Bring this Presentation Offering as an Interpretation of the Times.  A Time that is Not of Peace but Division.  Regarding The International Political, Military and Economic Situation.  A Time of Political, Social, and Environmental Upheaval.  We Bestow Unto You This Gift of Education, for the Healing and Restoration of the Conscience.  For Peace of Mind.  A Renewed State of Mental Resolution which Corresponds with the Fulfillment of Scriptures by Way of Theophoric Name.

We Provide this Vision and Concept of the Future to Restore Ourselves to Health such that we have the courage to Turn from Evil and Do Good.

          We “The People” Ask you “The Powers That Be” for a Leap of Faith.  Let Us Have Some Benefit From You?  Take One Step Closer to the People for “The Culmination of the Ages.”  A Divine Intervention.  A Requiem and Crucible as it is Written In Accordance with the Holy Author of Our Religion.  A “Universal Interface Override System” and an Irrevocable Living Trust Agreement.  A Fresh Perspective and New Approach of Secessio plebis  (“withdrawal of the commoners“).  “Manifest Destiny 2.0” for Better Days.

          We Advocate to Bring Together Governments, Banks, Private Companies, Academia, Civil Society & Prominent Men of The Cities.  for a Summit of the Future.  Specifically, We Appeal to Military Commanders, Those Holders of Power and Responsibility.  In Order To Avoid a Pyrrhic Victory,  We Request an Audience with High-Ranking Military Officers and their Counterparts With Capability.   To Finally Address Once and For All the Regime of the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.  During this Period of Mutually Assured Destruction.  We appeal to you that there are Special Cases and Special Situations and special Circumstances during the course of human history which are not Conducive to a Military Solution.  As such, We Request a Gathering of People to Meet at a Specified Time and Place.  If You Indulge Us, We Would Like to Change the World.

         With Your Permission,  We “the People” Request a Meeting of the High Ranking Military Officers and Chiefs of Staff of the Nations.  Ministers of Foreign Affairs.  Chiefs of Municipal Offices.  We ask you Please Prepare your Plans and Maps for Big Work Projects for the future.  For the Organization of the Lives of Citizens.  Where Important Political, Diplomatic and Military Moves are to Take Shape.  Regarding the Main Drama of Recognizing and Authorizing a Selected Power to Administer and Develop a Territory for a Specified Purpose. The Renunciation and the Rendering Over an Estate, Land Grant, Conveyance or Interest in a Property or Trust Which Serves the Interest of One or More Political Orientations.  The Allocation of Benefits in Various Policy Fields in Such a Way as to Provide.  Groups, Persons, and Places with at Least a Minimum Level of Benefits so as to Satisfy Basic Needs.  The Governance of Composite Material Plentitudes.  Whole Cities Delivered.  The Specific Ways and Means of Creating Fundamentally Self-Sufficient Cities.  International Resource Management and Addressing the Current Lack of Surplus. Equalities of Commercial Privileges.  The Admission of Neutrals into Ports of Entry.  Lines of Demarcation. The Notion of Each Thing in its Proper Sphere and Serving its Proper Purpose.  To Hone, Refine or Perfect “Chains of Events” Over a Period of Time.  Seeking to be Exact, Precise; and Marked or Characterized by Precision.  Harmonically Pure.  Having Correct Dimensions Without Interval, Deviation, or Variation.  “Exactly that, in that Very Way.“

A Season of Discovery Between Civilian/Military Affairs. 

            Regarding The Culture of Leadership and the Behavior and Conduct of Interactions of Leaders with Foreign Nations.   In Case of the Breach of Friendly Relations.  Where Currently, Leaders Who Demand from Others, Sacrifices Which they Would Never Be Called Upon to Make Themselves.  In Order to Drive Out an Unclean Spirit, Sometimes the Old Ways are Best.  Fighting the Good Fight.  To Test and Prove Matters of the Heart.  A Call to Maturity.  A Call of Endurance. A Test of Sincerity.  To Know the “Why” of Things.  For Moments of Shared Understandings. Enforcement Mechanisms to Refine the Character, Disposition and the Identity of Our Appointed World Leaders. To Keep Ourselves “On Our Mettle.”  To Expose Fruitless Deeds of Darkness. “To deal with as is right or fitting.”  Such as to That To be More Equitable, Fair and Impartial in One’s Dealings.  “They Were All Together in One Place.“

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The Way of Wisdom.

We Ask that Our Leaders Be Brave and Courageous.

Changing the Stubborn Inclinations of State Legislatures.

The Revision of Sentiments So That It May Go Well With The People.

To Answer Those Who Take Pride in What is Seen Rather Than in What is in the Heart. 

Demanding Sacrifices From Others that they Themselves Would Never be Called Upon to Make.

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Judged By the Law of Freedom

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Irina Akulenko – “Justice | Adjustment”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XGIRLwcw4o&t=32s

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R. Edward Freeman – What is Stakeholder Theory

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIRUaLcvPe8

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A View of the Constitution off Boston by Isiah Whyte
( public domain image from Art Institute of Chicago )

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Kygo & Whitney Houston – Higher Love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR49dyo-y0E

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Evangelia – Aphrodite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly9ApghS9Aw

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1 Corinthians 14
(“point” “peak“)
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(Christian Standard Bible) 

Prophecy: A Superior Gift

Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. For the person who speaks in a tongue is not speaking to people but to God, since no one understands him; he speaks mysteries in the Spirit.  On the other hand, the person who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening,  encouragement, and consolation. The person who speaks in a tongue builds himself up, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.  I wish all of you spoke in tongues, but even more that you prophesied. The person who prophesies is greater than the person who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be built up.

So now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you with a revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?  Even lifeless instruments that produce sounds — whether flute or harp — if they don’t make a distinction in the notes, how will what is played on the flute or harp be recognized?  In fact, if the bugle makes an unclear sound, who will prepare for battle?  In the same way, unless you use your tongue for intelligible speech, how will what is spoken be known? For you will be speaking into the air.  There are doubtless many different kinds of languages in the world, none is without meaning.  Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker will be a foreigner to me.  So also you — since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek to excel in building up the church.

Therefore the person who speaks in a tongue should pray that he can interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with my understanding. I will sing praise with the spirit, and I will also sing praise with my understanding.  Otherwise, if you praise with the spirit,  how will the outsider say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?  For you may very well be giving thanks, but the other person is not being built up.  I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you; yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, in order to teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your thinking, but be infants in regard to evil and adult in your thinking.  It is written in the law,

I will speak to this people

by people of other tongues

and by the lips of foreigners,

and even then, they will not listen to me,

says the Lord. Speaking in tongues, then, is intended as a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers.  If, therefore, the whole church assembles together and all are speaking in tongues and people who are outsiders or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds?  But if all are prophesying and some unbeliever or outsider comes in, he is convicted by all and is called to account by all.  The secrets Of his heart will be revealed, and as a result he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is really among you.”

Order in Church Meetings

What then, brothers and sisters? Whenever you come together, each one has a hymn, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.  Everything is to be done for building up.  If anyone speaks in a tongue, there are to be only two, or at the most three, each in turn, and let someone interpret.  But if there is no interpreter, that person is to keep silent in the church and speak to himself and God.   Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate, But if something has been revealed to another person sitting there, the first prophet should be silent.   For you can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone may learn and everyone may be encouraged.  And the prophets’ spirits are subject to the prophets,  since God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

As in all the churches of the saints, the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but are to submit themselves, as the law also says.  If they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home, since it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.  Or did the word of God originate from you, or did it come to you only?

If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, he should recognize that what I write to you is the Lord’s command.  If anyone ignores this, he will be ignored.  So then, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.  But everything is to be done decently and in order.

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2 Corinthians 4
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

Present Weakness and Resurrection Life

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.  Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” a made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

13It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” b Since we have that same spirit of c faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

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Proverbs 6
(“a common saying, old adage, maxim”  “words put forward“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Warnings against Foolishness

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,

if you have struck hands in pledge with a stranger,

if you have been trapped by the words of your lips,

ensnared by the words of your mouth,

then do this, my son, to free yourself,

for you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:

Go, humble yourself,

and press your plea with your neighbor.

Allow no sleep to your eyes

or slumber to your eyelids.

Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker;

observe its ways and become wise.

Without a commander,

without an overseer or ruler,

it prepares its provisions in summer;

it gathers its food at harvest.

How long will you lie there, O slacker?

When will you get up from your sleep?

A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest,

and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and need like a bandit.

A worthless person, a wicked man,

walks with a perverse mouth,

winking his eyes, speaking with his feet,

and pointing with his fingers.

With deceit in his heart he devises evil;

he continually sows discord.

Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;

in an instant he will be shattered beyond recovery.

There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him:

haughty eyes,

a lying tongue,

hands that shed innocent blood,

a heart that devises wicked schemes,

feet that run swiftly to evil,

a false witness who gives false testimony,

and one who stirs up discord among brothers.

Warnings against Adultery

My son, keep your father’s commandment,

and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

Bind them always upon your heart;

tie them around your neck.

When you walk, they will guide you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

when you awake, they will speak to you.

For this commandment is a lamp, this teaching is a light,

and the reproofs of discipline are the way to life,

to keep you from the evil woman,

from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

Do not lust in your heart for her beauty

or let her captivate you with her eyes.

For the levy of the prostitute is poverty,

and the adulteress preys upon your very life.

Can a man embrace fire

and his clothes not be burned?

Can a man walk on hot coals

without scorching his feet?

So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife;

no one who touches her will go unpunished.

Men do not despise the thief

if he steals to satisfy his hunger.

Yet if caught, he must pay sevenfold;

he must give up all the wealth of his house.

He who commits adultery lacks judgment;

whoever does so destroys himself.

Wounds and dishonor will befall him,

and his reproach will never be wiped away.

For jealousy enrages a husband,

and he will show no mercy in the day of vengeance.

He will not be appeased by any ransom,

or persuaded by lavish gifts.

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Isaiah 50
(“salvation of the Lord,“)
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Christian Standard Bible

This is what the Lord says:

Where is your mother’s divorce certificate

that I used to send her away?

Or to which of my creditors did I sell you?

Look, you were sold for your iniquities,

and your mother was sent away

because of your transgressions.

Why was no one there when I came?

Why was there no one to answer when I called?

Is my arm too weak to redeem?

Or do I have no power to rescue?

Look, I dry up the sea by my rebuke;

I turn the rivers into a wilderness;

their fish rot because of lack of water

and die of thirst.

I dress the heavens in black

and make sackcloth their covering.

The Obedient Servant

The Lord God has given me

the tongue of those who are instructed

to know how to sustain the weary with a word.

He awakens me each morning;

he awakens my ear to listen like those being instructed.

The Lord God has opened my ear,

and I was not rebellious;

I did not turn back.

I gave my back to those who beat me,

and my cheeks to those who tore out my beard.

I did not hide my face from scorn and spitting.

The Lord God will help me;

therefore I have not been humiliated;

therefore I have set my face like flint,

and I know I will not be put to shame.

The one who vindicates me is near;

who will contend with me?

Let us confront each other.

Who has a case against me?

Let him come near me!

In truth, the Lord God will help me;

who will condemn me?

Indeed, all of them will wear out like a garment;

a moth will devour them.

Who among you fears the Lord

and listens to his servant?

Who among you walks in darkness,

and has no light?

Let him trust in the name of the Lord;

let him lean on his God.

Look, all you who kindle a fire,

who encircle yourselves with torches;

walk in the light of your fire

and of the torches you have lit!

This is what you’ll get from my hand:

you will lie down in a place of torment.

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Isaiah 11
(“salvation of the Lord,“)
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The Branch From Jesse

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of might,

the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,

or decide by what he hears with his ears;

but with righteousness he will judge the needy,

with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;

with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

Righteousness will be his belt

and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

The wolf will live with the lamb,

the leopard will lie down with the goat,

the calf and the lion and the yearling together;

and a little child will lead them.

The cow will feed with the bear,

their young will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

The infant will play near the cobra’s den,

and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

They will neither harm nor destroy

on all my holy mountain,

for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.  In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush,  from Elam, from Babylonia,  from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

He will raise a banner for the nations

and gather the exiles of Israel;

he will assemble the scattered people of Judah

from the four quarters of the earth.

Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,

and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed;

Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,

nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.

They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west;

together they will plunder the people to the east.

They will subdue Edom and Moab,

and the Ammonites will be subject to them.

The Lord will dry up

the gulf of the Egyptian sea;

with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand

over the Euphrates River.

He will break it up into seven streams

so that anyone can cross over in sandals.

There will be a highway for the remnant of his people

that is left from Assyria,

as there was for Israel

when they came up from Egypt.

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Isaiah 53
“salvation of the Lord”
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The Suffering Servant

Who has believed our message?

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,

no beauty that we should desire Him.

He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.

Like one from whom men hide their faces,

He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

Surely He took on our infirmities

and carried our sorrows;

yet we considered Him stricken by God,

struck down and afflicted.

But He was pierced for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,

and by His stripes we are healed.

We all like sheep have gone astray,

each one has turned to his own way;

and the LORD has laid upon Him

the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet He did not open His mouth.

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,

so He did not open His mouth.

By oppression and judgment He was taken away,

and who can recount His descendants?

For He was cut off from the land of the living;

He was stricken for the transgression of My people.


A Grave Assigned

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with a rich man in His death,

although He had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him

and to cause Him to suffer;

and when His soul is made a guilt offering,

He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days,

and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

After the anguish of His soul,

He will see the light of life and be satisfied.

By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many,

and He will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great,

and He will divide the spoils with the strong,

because He has poured out His life unto death,

and He was numbered with the transgressors.

Yet He bore the sin of many

and made intercession for the transgressors.

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John 10
(“Jehovah has favored”  “Jah is gracious“)
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(New International Version)

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

1“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

7Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. a They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

19The Jews who heard these words were again divided. 20Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

21But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Further Conflict Over Jesus’ Claims

22Then came the Festival of Dedication b at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

25Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all c ; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and the Father are one.”

31Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

33“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

34Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’ d ? 35If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 36what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

40Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, 41and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42And in that place many believed in Jesus.

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Pslams 147
(“sacred poem or song”)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

It Is Good to Sing Praises

Hallelujah!

How good it is to sing praises to our God,

how pleasant and lovely to praise Him!

The LORD builds up Jerusalem;

He gathers the exiles of Israel.

He heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds.

He determines the number of the stars;

He calls them each by name.

Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;

His understanding has no limit.

The LORD sustains the humble,

but casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;

make music on the harp to our God,

who covers the sky with clouds,

who prepares rain for the earth,

who makes grass to grow on the hills.

He provides food for the animals,

and for the young ravens when they call.

He does not delight in the strength of the horse;

He takes no pleasure in the legpower of the man.

The LORD is pleased with those who fear Him,

who hope in His loving devotion.

Exalt the LORD, O Jerusalem;

praise your God, O Zion!

For He strengthens the bars of your gates

and blesses the children within you.

He makes peace at your borders;

He fills you with the finest wheat.

He sends forth His command to the earth;

His word runs swiftly.

He spreads the snow like wool;

He scatters the frost like ashes;

He casts forth His hail like pebbles.

Who can withstand His icy blast?

He sends forth His word and melts them;

He unleashes His winds, and the waters flow.

He declares His word to Jacob,

His statutes and judgments to Israel.

He has done this for no other nation;

they do not know His judgments.

Hallelujah!

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A Testimony of Conscience
The Seed of Creation for a Journey of Life
With God’s Deliberate Plan & Foreknowledge

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The “Winged Lion ” With the Scroll of Isaiah.
Symbol of Saint Mark the Evangelist

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“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.  Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong;
let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

                                                                                                  –  Revelation 22  (New International Version)

“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
                                                    –  Mark 10  (NIV)
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Hosea 6
“salvation”  “to save”  
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(New International Version)

Israel Unrepentant

“Come, let us return to the Lord.

He has torn us to pieces

but he will heal us;

he has injured us

but he will bind up our wounds.

After two days he will revive us;

on the third day he will restore us,

that we may live in his presence.

Let us acknowledge the Lord;

let us press on to acknowledge him.

As surely as the sun rises,

he will appear;

he will come to us like the winter rains,

like the spring rains that water the earth.”

“What can I do with you, Ephraim?

What can I do with you, Judah?

Your love is like the morning mist,

like the early dew that disappears.

Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,

I killed you with the words of my mouth—

then my judgments go forth like the sun. 

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,

and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

As at Adam, they have broken the covenant;

they were unfaithful to me there.

Gilead is a city of evildoers,

stained with footprints of blood.

As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,

so do bands of priests;

they murder on the road to Shechem,

carrying out their wicked schemes.

I have seen a horrible thing in Israel:

There Ephraim is given to prostitution,

Israel is defiled.

“Also for you, Judah,

a harvest is appointed.

“Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,

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Isaiah 43
“salvation of the Lord” “salvation, deliverance“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Israel’s Only Savior

But now, this is what the Lord says—

he who created you, Jacob,

he who formed you, Israel:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom,

Cush and Seba in your stead.

Since you are precious and honored in my sight,

and because I love you,

I will give people in exchange for you,

nations in exchange for your life.

Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

I will bring your children from the east

and gather you from the west.

I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’

and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’

Bring my sons from afar

and my daughters from the ends of the earth—

everyone who is called by my name,

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed and made.”

Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,

who have ears but are deaf.

All the nations gather together

and the peoples assemble.

Which of their gods foretold this

and proclaimed to us the former things?

Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,

so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”

“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,

“and my servant whom I have chosen,

so that you may know and believe me

and understand that I am he.

Before me no god was formed,

nor will there be one after me.

I, even I, am the Lord,

and apart from me there is no savior.

I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—

I, and not some foreign god among you.

You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.

Yes, and from ancient days I am he.

No one can deliver out of my hand.

When I act, who can reverse it?”

God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness

This is what the Lord says—

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“For your sake I will send to Babylon

and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians, 

in the ships in which they took pride.

I am the Lord, your Holy One,

Israel’s Creator, your King.”

This is what the Lord says—

he who made a way through the sea,

a path through the mighty waters,

who drew out the chariots and horses,

the army and reinforcements together,

and they lay there, never to rise again,

extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

“Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.

The wild animals honor me,

the jackals and the owls,

because I provide water in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland,

to give drink to my people, my chosen,

the people I formed for myself

that they may proclaim my praise.

“Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,

you have not wearied yourselves for me, Israel.

You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,

nor honored me with your sacrifices.

I have not burdened you with grain offerings

nor wearied you with demands for incense.

You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,

or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.

But you have burdened me with your sins

and wearied me with your offenses.

“I, even I, am he who blots out

your transgressions, for my own sake,

and remembers your sins no more.

Review the past for me,

let us argue the matter together;

state the case for your innocence.

Your first father sinned;

those I sent to teach you rebelled against me.

So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;

I consigned Jacob to destruction 

and Israel to scorn.

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Isaiah 50
“salvation of the Lord” “salvation, deliverance“
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(New International Version)

Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience

This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce

with which I sent her away?

Or to which of my creditors

did I sell you?

Because of your sins you were sold;

because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.

When I came, why was there no one?

When I called, why was there no one to answer?

Was my arm too short to deliver you?

Do I lack the strength to rescue you?

By a mere rebuke I dry up the sea,

I turn rivers into a desert;

their fish rot for lack of water

and die of thirst.

I clothe the heavens with darkness

and make sackcloth its covering.”

The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue,

to know the word that sustains the weary.

He wakens me morning by morning,

wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.

The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;

I have not been rebellious,

I have not turned away.

I offered my back to those who beat me,

my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;

I did not hide my face

from mocking and spitting.

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,

I will not be disgraced.

Therefore have I set my face like flint,

and I know I will not be put to shame.

He who vindicates me is near.

Who then will bring charges against me?

Let us face each other!

Who is my accuser?

Let him confront me!

It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.

Who will condemn me?

They will all wear out like a garment;

the moths will eat them up.

Who among you fears the Lord

and obeys the word of his servant?

Let the one who walks in the dark,

who has no light,

trust in the name of the Lord

and rely on their God.

But now, all you who light fires

and provide yourselves with flaming torches,

go, walk in the light of your fires

and of the torches you have set ablaze.

This is what you shall receive from my hand:

You will lie down in torment.

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Isaiah 46
“salvation of the Lord” “salvation, deliverance“
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(New International Version)

Gods of Babylon

Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;

their idols are borne by beasts of burden. 

The images that are carried about are burdensome,

a burden for the weary.

They stoop and bow down together;

unable to rescue the burden,

they themselves go off into captivity.

“Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,

all the remnant of the people of Israel,

you whom I have upheld since your birth,

and have carried since you were born.

Even to your old age and gray hairs

I am he, I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

“With whom will you compare me or count me equal?

To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?

Some pour out gold from their bags

and weigh out silver on the scales;

they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god,

and they bow down and worship it.

They lift it to their shoulders and carry it;

they set it up in its place, and there it stands.

From that spot it cannot move.

Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;

it cannot save them from their troubles.

“Remember this, keep it in mind,

take it to heart, you rebels.

Remember the former things, those of long ago;

I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me.

I make known the end from the beginning,

from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say, ‘My purpose will stand,

and I will do all that I please.’

From the east I summon a bird of prey;

from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.

What I have said, that I will bring about;

what I have planned, that I will do.

Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted,

you who are now far from my righteousness.

I am bringing my righteousness near,

it is not far away;

and my salvation will not be delayed.

I will grant salvation to Zion,

my splendor to Israel.

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Micah 4
(“who is like the Lord?“)
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(New International Version)

The Mountain of the Lord

In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established

as the highest of the mountains;

it will be exalted above the hills,

and peoples will stream to it.

Many nations will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the temple of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us his ways,

so that we may walk in his paths.”

The law will go out from Zion,

the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He will judge between many peoples

and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.

They will beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not take up sword against nation,

nor will they train for war anymore.

Everyone will sit under their own vine

and under their own fig tree,

and no one will make them afraid,

for the Lord Almighty has spoken.

All the nations may walk

in the name of their gods,

but we will walk in the name of the Lord

our God for ever and ever.

The Lord’s Plan

“In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will gather the lame;

I will assemble the exiles

and those I have brought to grief.

I will make the lame my remnant,

those driven away a strong nation.

The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion

from that day and forever.

As for you, watchtower of the flock,

stronghold of Daughter Zion,

the former dominion will be restored to you;

kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.”

Why do you now cry aloud—

have you no king?

Has your ruler perished,

that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?

Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,

like a woman in labor,

for now you must leave the city

to camp in the open field.

You will go to Babylon;

there you will be rescued.

There the Lord will redeem you

out of the hand of your enemies.

But now many nations

are gathered against you.

They say, “Let her be defiled,

let our eyes gloat over Zion!”

But they do not know

the thoughts of the Lord;

they do not understand his plan,

that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

“Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion,

for I will give you horns of iron;

I will give you hooves of bronze,

and you will break to pieces many nations.”

You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,

their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

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Matthew 24
“Gift of Jehova”

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(New International Version)

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.  “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.  You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains.

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.  At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,  and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.  Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,  but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house.  Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak.  How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!  Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.  At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.  For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  See, I have told you ahead of time.

“So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.  For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.  Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

“Immediately after the distress of those days

“ ‘the sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not give its light;

the stars will fall from the sky,

and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.  And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.  Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.  Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Day and Hour Unknown

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.  But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.  So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?  It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.  Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.  But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.  The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.  He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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2 Timothy 3
“honoring God”  “honor respect“
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Evil in the Last Days

But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come.  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,   unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good,  traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!

They are the kind who worm their way into households and captivate vulnerable women who are weighed down with sins and led astray by various passions,  who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses,  so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.  But they will not advance much further. For just like Jannes and Jambres, their folly will be plain to everyone.

All Scripture Is God-Breathed

You, however, have observed my teaching, my conduct, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my perseverance,  my persecutions, and the sufferings that came upon me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.   Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,  while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and firmly believed, since you know from whom you have learned them.   From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.   All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

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Daniel 12
“God is my judge“

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(New International Version)

The End Times

“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.  Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.  But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”

Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank.  One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?”

The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, times and half a time.  When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.”

I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?”

He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end.  Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.

“From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.  Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.

“As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.”

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Amos 3
(“ borne (by God).”)
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(New International Version)

Witnesses Summoned Against Israel

Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:

“You only have I chosen

of all the families of the earth;

therefore I will punish you

for all your sins.”

Do two walk together

unless they have agreed to do so?

Does a lion roar in the thicket

when it has no prey?

Does it growl in its den

when it has caught nothing?

Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground

when no bait is there?

Does a trap spring up from the ground

if it has not caught anything?

When a trumpet sounds in a city,

do not the people tremble?

When disaster comes to a city,

has not the Lord caused it?

Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing

without revealing his plan

to his servants the prophets.

The lion has roared—

who will not fear?

The Sovereign Lord has spoken—

who can but prophesy?

Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod

and to the fortresses of Egypt:

“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;

see the great unrest within her

and the oppression among her people.”

“They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,

“who store up in their fortresses

what they have plundered and looted.”

Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“An enemy will overrun your land,

pull down your strongholds

and plunder your fortresses.”

This is what the Lord says:

“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth

only two leg bones or a piece of an ear,

so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued,

with only the head of a bed

and a piece of fabric from a couch. ”

“Hear this and testify against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.

“On the day I punish Israel for her sins,

I will destroy the altars of Bethel;

the horns of the altar will be cut off

and fall to the ground.

I will tear down the winter house

along with the summer house;

the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed

and the mansions will be demolished,”

declares the Lord.

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Isaiah 2
(“salvation of the Lord”)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The Mountain of the House of the LORD

This is the message that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD

will be established as the chief of the mountains;

it will be raised above the hills,

and all nations will stream to it.

And many peoples will come and say:

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,

to the house of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us His ways

so that we may walk in His paths.”

For the law will go forth from Zion,

and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Then He will judge between the nations

and arbitrate for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation,

nor train anymore for war.

The Day of Reckoning

Come, O house of Jacob,

let us walk in the light of the LORD.

For You have abandoned Your people,

the house of Jacob,

because they are filled

with influences from the east;

they are soothsayers like the Philistines;

they strike hands with the children of foreigners.

Their land is full of silver and gold,

with no limit to their treasures;

their land is full of horses,

with no limit to their chariots.

Their land is full of idols;

they bow down to the work of their hands,

to what their fingers have made.

So mankind is brought low,

and man is humbled—

do not forgive them!

Go into the rocks

and hide in the dust

from the terror of the LORD

and the splendor of His majesty.

The proud look of man will be humbled,

and the loftiness of men brought low;

the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

For the Day of the LORD of Hosts

will come against all the proud and lofty,

against all that is exalted—

it will be humbled—

against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up,

against all the oaks of Bashan,

against all the tall mountains,

against all the high hills,

against every high tower,

against every fortified wall,

against every ship of Tarshish,

and against every stately vessel.

So the pride of man will be brought low,

and the loftiness of men will be humbled;

the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,

and the idols will vanish completely.

Men will flee to caves in the rocks

and holes in the ground,

away from the terror of the LORD

and from the splendor of His majesty,

when He rises to shake the earth.

In that day men will cast away

to the moles and bats

their idols of silver and gold—

the idols they made to worship.

They will flee to caverns in the rocks

and crevices in the cliffs,

away from the terror of the LORD

and from the splendor of His majesty,

when He rises to shake the earth.

Put no more trust in man,

who has only the breath in his nostrils.

Of what account is he?

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Psalm 59
“sacred poem or song“
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(King James Version)

Deliver Me From My Enemies, My God

{To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.} Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me.

Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men.

For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD.

They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me, and behold.

Thou therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah.

They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.

Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?

But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision.

Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence.

The God of my mercy shall prevent me: God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies.

Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord our shield.

For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.

Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah.

And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.

Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied.

But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.

Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.

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Psalm 73
“sacred poem or song“
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(King James Version)

Surely God Is Good to Israel

A Psalm of Asaph.

Surely God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;

my steps had nearly slipped.

For I envied the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

They have no struggle in their death;

their bodies are well-fed.

They are free of the burdens others carry;

they are not afflicted like other men.

Therefore pride is their necklace;

a garment of violence covers them.

From their prosperity proceeds iniquity;

the imaginations of their hearts run wild.

They mock and speak with malice;

with arrogance they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against the heavens,

and their tongues strut across the earth.

So their people return to this place

and drink up waters in abundance.

The wicked say, “How can God know?

Does the Most High have knowledge?”

Behold, these are the wicked—

always carefree as they increase their wealth.

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure;

in innocence I have washed my hands.

For I am afflicted all day long

and punished every morning.

If I had said, “I will speak this way,”

then I would have betrayed Your children.

When I tried to understand all this,

it was troublesome in my sight

until I entered God’s sanctuary;

then I discerned their end.

Surely You set them on slick ground;

You cast them down into ruin.

How suddenly they are laid waste,

completely swept away by terrors!

Like one waking from a dream,

so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.

When my heart was grieved

and I was pierced within,

I was senseless and ignorant;

I was a brute beast before You.

Yet I am always with You;

You hold my right hand.

You guide me with Your counsel,

and later receive me in glory.

Whom have I in heaven but You?

And on earth I desire no one besides You.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

Those far from You will surely perish;

You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.

But as for me, it is good to draw near to God.

I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,

that I may proclaim all Your works.

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Psalm 64
“sacred poem or song“
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(Christian Standard Bible)

Protection from Evildoers

For the choir director. A psalm of David.

God, hear my voice when I am in anguish.

Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.

Hide me from the scheming of wicked people,

from the mob of evildoers,

who sharpen their tongues like swords

and aim bitter words like arrows,

shooting from concealed places at the blameless.

They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.

They adopt an evil plan;

they talk about hiding traps and say,

“Who will see them? ”

They devise crimes and say,

“We have perfected a secret plan.”

The inner man and the heart are mysterious.

But God will shoot them with arrows;

suddenly, they will be wounded.

They will be made to stumble;

their own tongues work against them.

All who see them will shake their heads.

Then everyone will fear

and will tell about God’s work,

for they will understand what he has done.

The righteous one rejoices in the Lord

and takes refuge in him;

all those who are upright in heart

will offer praise.

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Psalm 20
(“sacred poem or song.“)
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Christian Standard Bible

The Day of Trouble

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble;

may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

May He send you help from the sanctuary

and sustain you from Zion.

May He remember all your gifts

and look favorably on your burnt offerings.

Selah

May He give you the desires of your heart

and make all your plans succeed.

May we shout for joy at your victory

and raise a banner in the name of our God.

May the LORD grant all your petitions.

Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;

He answers him from His holy heaven

with the saving power of His right hand.

Some trust in chariots and others in horses,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

They collapse and fall,

but we rise up and stand firm.

O LORD, save the king.

Answer us on the day we call.

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Ezekiel 36
(“God strengthens” “he was strong, he strengthened“)
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(New International Version)

Hope for the Mountains of Israel

“Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord.  This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The enemy said of you, “Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession.” ’  Therefore prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because they ravaged and crushed you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people’s malicious talk and slander, therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and the deserted towns that have been plundered and ridiculed by the rest of the nations around you— this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland.’  Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I speak in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations.  Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I swear with uplifted hand that the nations around you will also suffer scorn.

“ ‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home.  I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, and I will cause many people to live on you—yes, all of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.  I will increase the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the Lord.  I will cause people, my people Israel, to live on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; you will never again deprive them of their children.

“ ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because some say to you, “You devour people and deprive your nation of its children,”  therefore you will no longer devour people or make your nation childless, declares the Sovereign Lord.  No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, declares the Sovereign Lord.’ ”

Israel’s Restoration Assured

Again the word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman’s monthly uncleanness in my sight.  So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols.  I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions.  And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the Lord’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.’  I had concern for my holy name, which the people of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.

“Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone.  I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.

“ ‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.  I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.  Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.  I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you.  I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.  Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices.  I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel!

“ ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt.  The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it.  They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.”  Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Once again I will yield to Israel’s plea and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep, as numerous as the flocks for offerings at Jerusalem during her appointed festivals. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

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Jude 1
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(Barean Standard Bible)

A Greeting from Jud

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,

To those who are called, loved by God the Father, and kept in Jesus Christ:

Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

God’s Judgment on the Ungodly

Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints.  For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Although you are fully aware of this, I want to remind you that after Jesus had delivered His people out of the land of Egypt, He destroyed those who did not believe.  And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling—these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on that great day.   In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.

Yet in the same way these dreamers defile their bodies, reject authority, and slander glorious beings.  But even the archangel Michael, when he disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, did not presume to bring a slanderous charge against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”  These men, however, slander what they do not understand, and like irrational animals, they will be destroyed by the things they do instinctively.   Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.

These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.   They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them:

“Behold, the Lord is coming

with myriads of His holy ones

to execute judgment on everyone,

and to convict all the ungodly

of every ungodly act of wickedness

and every harsh word spoken against Him by ungodly sinners.”

These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage.

A Call to Persever

But you, beloved, remember what was foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ when they said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow after their own ungodly desires.”   These are the ones who cause divisions, who are worldly and devoid of the Spirit.

But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.

And indeed, have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; and to still others show mercy tempered with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.

Doxolog

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time, and now, and for all eternity.

Amen.

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Ezekiel 13
(“God strengthens” “he was strong, he strengthened“)
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(New International Version)

False Prophets Condemned

The word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!  This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!   Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins.  You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord.  Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words.  Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken?

 ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign Lord.   My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.

 ‘Because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,   therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth.   When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?”

‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury.   I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord.  So I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, “The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it,  those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.” ’

“Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on all their wrists and make veils of various lengths for their heads in order to ensnare people. Will you ensnare the lives of my people but preserve your own? You have profaned me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.

 ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against your magic charms with which you ensnare people like birds and I will tear them from your arms; I will set free the people that you ensnare like birds. I will tear off your veils and save my people from your hands, and they will no longer fall prey to your power. Then you will know that I am the Lord.  Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies, when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives, therefore you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will save my people from your hands. And then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Psalm 132
“sacred poem or song“
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(King James Version)

Remember David and All his Affliction

A Song of degrees. LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions:

How he sware unto the LORD, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;

Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed;

I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids,

Until I find out a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.

Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood.

We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool.

Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.

Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.

For thy servant David’s sake turn not away the face of thine anointed.

The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.

If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.

For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.

This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.

I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.

I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.

There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.

His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.

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2 Samuel 7
(“the name of God”)
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(New International Version)

God’s Promise to David

After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”

But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:

“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?  I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.  Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” ’

“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel.  I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth.  And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.

“ ‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you:  When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.  He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.  But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.  Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me ; your throne will be established forever.’ ”

Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

David’s Prayer

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:

“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?  And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human! 

“What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord.  For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.

“How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.  And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?  You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.

“And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.

“Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.  Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.  Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

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Jeremiah 4
“may Jehovah exalt”  “the Lord casts, the Lord founds“
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(King James Version)

God Calls Israel by His Promise

If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.

And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

Disaster from the North

Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.

Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.

The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.

For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.

And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.

Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,  Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.

Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.

O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.

Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.

As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.

Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.

Lamentation for Judah

My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.

How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.

I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.

I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.

For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.

For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.

And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.

For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.

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1 Thessalonians 5
(“who is like the Lord?“)
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(New International Version)

The Day of the Lord

Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.  You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.  But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.  For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.  He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.  Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Final Instructions

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you.  Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.  And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

Brothers and sisters, pray for us.  Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss.  I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

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Psalm 77
“sacred poem or song“
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(Berean Standard Bible)


In the Day of Trouble I Sought the Lord

For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

I cried out to God;

I cried aloud to God to hear me.

In the day of trouble I sought the Lord;

through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary;

my soul refused to be comforted.

I remembered You, O God, and I groaned;

I mused and my spirit grew faint.

Selah

You have kept my eyes from closing;

I am too troubled to speak.

I considered the days of old,

the years long in the past.

At night I remembered my song;

in my heart I mused, and my spirit pondered:

“Will the Lord spurn us forever

and never show His favor again?

Is His loving devotion gone forever?

Has His promise failed for all time?

Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has His anger shut off His compassion?”

Selah

So I said, “I am grieved

that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”

I will remember the works of the LORD;

yes, I will remember Your wonders of old.

I will reflect on all You have done

and ponder Your mighty deeds.

Your way, O God, is holy.

What god is so great as our God?

You are the God who works wonders;

You display Your strength among the peoples.

With power You redeemed Your people,

the sons of Jacob and Joseph.

Selah

The waters saw You, O God;

the waters saw You and swirled;

even the depths were shaken.

The clouds poured down water;

the skies resounded with thunder;

Your arrows flashed back and forth.

Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind;

the lightning lit up the world;

the earth trembled and quaked.

Your path led through the sea,

Your way through the mighty waters,

but Your footprints were not to be found.

You led Your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

 

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.“
–     2 Corinthians 12  (“Point” “peak“)


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In This Moment – “As Above, So Below”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZYzcPwQN-8

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The Notorious B.I.G. – Notorious Thugs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGj2RBRltEM

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Six Sex – AY PAPI (Prod. Danilo Montana)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUN2m8e0tMI

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Duke Dumont – Won’t Look Back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRamw_39cn8

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A Work

A Handsome Offering. 
To Remove Whatever Rancor is in The Hearts of Men.  
Such Delicacies Fit for Kings.  Perhaps an Improvement in Manners.  For Devout Men.  
 Now To Him Who’s Toil and Sweat Paved the Way.  The One Who is Able to do Immeasurably More Than All We Ask or Imagine.  

The Obedience of the Nations Shall be His. 
As the Most High Divided to the Nations Their Inheritance.  Setting Aside the First to Establish the Second.

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Sabrina Carpenter – Don’t Smile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju9X2HMMid4
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The Light of the Knowledge of God’s Glory Displayed in the Face of Christ.

“whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
–  Mark 10

 “consecrated to the god Mars”  “God of war”  “to be warlike“ “boundary, limit; sign, landmark”  “to denote” “sign, omen, aim”  “margin”

 

“If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? ”

–   1 Corinthians 9   “point, peak”  (NIV)

 
“No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
–   Jesus
From:  Luke 9  ( “tepid”  “warm”  “Bringer of light“)   (NIV)

 
“The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.”
–  2 Timothy 2
“honor, respect”  “Honoring God”  (NIV) 

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Mark 12
“consecrated to the god Mars”  “God of war”  “to be warlike” “boundary, limit; sign, landmark”  “to denote” “sign, omen, aim”  “margin”
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(New International Version)

The Parable of the Tenants

Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’  So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.  Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“ ‘The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

the Lord has done this,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’  ?”

Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar

Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words.  They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?  Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”   They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

And they were amazed at him.

Marriage at the Resurrection

Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question.  “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children.  The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third.  In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too.  At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?  When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.  Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ ?   He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

The Greatest Commandment

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’   There is no commandment greater than these.”

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.   To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David?   David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:

“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand

until I put your enemies

under your feet.” ’

David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

The large crowd listened to him with delight.

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces,  and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.   They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

The Widow’s Offering

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.  But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

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Mark 4
“consecrated to the god Mars”  “God of war”  “to be warlike” “boundary, limit; sign, landmark”  “to denote” “sign, omen, aim”  “margin”
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(New International Version)

The Parable of the Sower

Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge.  He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:  “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.   Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.  Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.  He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that,

“ ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,

and ever hearing but never understanding;

otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’ ”

Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?   The farmer sows the word.  Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.  Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.   But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.  Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;  but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.   Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

A Lamp on a Stand

He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?   For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.  If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”

“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.  Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

The Parable of the Growing Seed

He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.   As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?  It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth.  Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.  He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Jesus Calms the Storm

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.  Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

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Matthew 13
“gift of God.”
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The Parable of the Sower

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.  Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.   Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.   But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.   Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.  Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.  This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;

though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

For this people’s heart has become calloused;

they hardly hear with their ears,

and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’ 

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.   For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:  When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.  The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.   But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.   The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.  But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

The Parable of the Weeds

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.  But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.  When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

“ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.  Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.  So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables,

I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.  The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.  They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.  When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.  This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

“Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

A Prophet Without Honor

When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there.  Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked.  “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?  Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”  And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”

And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

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1 Corinthians 13
(“point” “peak“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The Rights of an Apostle

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you yourselves not my workmanship in the Lord?  Even if I am not an apostle to others, surely I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

This is my defense to those who scrutinize me: Have we no right to food and to drink? Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?  Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living?

Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk?

Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing?  For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”  Is it about oxen that God is concerned?  Isn’t He actually speaking on our behalf? Indeed, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they should also expect to share in the harvest.

If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much for us to reap a material harvest from you?  If others have this right to your support, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not exercise this right. Instead, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings?  In the same way, the Lord has prescribed that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.  But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that something be done for me. Indeed, I would rather die than let anyone nullify my boast.

Yet when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!  If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility.  What then is my reward? That in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not use up my rights in preaching it.

Paul the Servant to All

Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.  To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win those under the law.  To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law.  To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.

I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

Run Your Race to Win

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize. Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable.  Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air.  No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

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Romans 14
“of Rome“
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(New International Version)

The Weak and the Strong

Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.  One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.  The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.  Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.  Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.  For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.  If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.  For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister?  Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.  It is written:

“ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,

‘every knee will bow before me;

every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ”

So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.  I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.  If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.  Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil.  For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,  because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.  Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.  It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.

So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.  But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

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Proverbs 12
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Loving Discipline and Knowledge

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

but he who hates correction is stupid.

The good man obtains favor from the LORD,

but the LORD condemns a man who devises evil.

A man cannot be established through wickedness,

but the righteous cannot be uprooted.

A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown,

but she who causes shame is like decay in his bones.

The plans of the righteous are just,

but the counsel of the wicked leads to deceit.

The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,

but the speech of the upright rescues them.

The wicked are overthrown and perish,

but the house of the righteous will stand.

A man is praised according to his wisdom,

but a twisted mind is despised.

Better to be lightly esteemed yet have a servant,

than to be self-important but lack food.

A righteous man regards the life of his animal,

but the tender mercies of the wicked are only cruelty.

The one who works his land will have plenty of food,

but whoever chases fantasies lacks judgment.

The wicked desire the plunder of evil men,

but the root of the righteous flourishes.

An evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech,

but a righteous man escapes from trouble.

By fruitful speech a man is filled with good things,

and the work of his hands returns to him.

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,

but a wise man listens to counsel.

A fool’s anger is known at once,

but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

He who speaks the truth declares what is right,

but a false witness speaks deceit.

Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword,

but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Truthful lips endure forever,

but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

Deceit is in the hearts of those who devise evil,

but the counselors of peace have joy.

No harm befalls the righteous,

but the wicked are filled with trouble.

Lying lips are detestable to the LORD,

but those who deal faithfully are His delight.

A shrewd man keeps his knowledge to himself,

but a foolish heart proclaims its folly.

The hand of the diligent will rule,

but laziness ends in forced labor.

Anxiety weighs down the heart of a man,

but a good word cheers it up.

A righteous man is cautious in friendship,

but the ways of the wicked lead them astray.

A lazy man does not roast his game,

but a diligent man prizes his possession.

There is life in the path of righteousness,

but another path leads to death.

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1  Thessalonians 5
“victory”
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(New International Version)

The Day of the Lord

Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.  You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.  But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.  For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.  He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.  Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Final Instructions

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you.  Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.  And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

Rejoice always,  pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

Brothers and sisters, pray for us.  Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss.  I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

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Matthew 21
(“gift of Jehovah”)
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(New International Version)

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,  saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.  If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to Daughter Zion,

‘See, your king comes to you,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ” 

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.  They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.  A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” 

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus at the Temple

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.  “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’  but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’  ”

The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.  But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

“ ‘From the lips of children and infants

you, Lord, have called forth your praise’ ?”

And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree

Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry.  Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.  If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.  John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’  But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

“ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.  For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.  When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.  Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.  Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’  So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“ ‘The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

the Lord has done this,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’  ?

“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.  Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” 

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them.  They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

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Isaiah 5
“salvation of the Lord” “salvation, deliverance“
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(New International Version)

The Song of the Vineyard

I will sing for the one I love

a song about his vineyard:

My loved one had a vineyard

on a fertile hillside.

He dug it up and cleared it of stones

and planted it with the choicest vines.

He built a watchtower in it

and cut out a winepress as well.

Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,

but it yielded only bad fruit.

“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,

judge between me and my vineyard.

What more could have been done for my vineyard

than I have done for it?

When I looked for good grapes,

why did it yield only bad?

Now I will tell you

what I am going to do to my vineyard:

I will take away its hedge,

and it will be destroyed;

I will break down its wall,

and it will be trampled.

I will make it a wasteland,

neither pruned nor cultivated,

and briers and thorns will grow there.

I will command the clouds

not to rain on it.”

The vineyard of the Lord Almighty

is the nation of Israel,

and the people of Judah

are the vines he delighted in.

And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;

for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Woes and Judgments

Woe to you who add house to house

and join field to field

till no space is left

and you live alone in the land.

The Lord Almighty has declared in my hearing:

“Surely the great houses will become desolate,

the fine mansions left without occupants.

A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine;

a homer of seed will yield only an ephah of grain.”

Woe to those who rise early in the morning

to run after their drinks,

who stay up late at night

till they are inflamed with wine.

They have harps and lyres at their banquets,

pipes and timbrels and wine,

but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord,

no respect for the work of his hands.

Therefore my people will go into exile

for lack of understanding;

those of high rank will die of hunger

and the common people will be parched with thirst.

Therefore Death expands its jaws,

opening wide its mouth;

into it will descend their nobles and masses

with all their brawlers and revelers.

So people will be brought low

and everyone humbled,

the eyes of the arrogant humbled.

But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice,

and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts.

Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;

lambs will feed among the ruins of the rich.

Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit,

and wickedness as with cart ropes,

to those who say, “Let God hurry;

let him hasten his work

so we may see it.

The plan of the Holy One of Israel—

let it approach, let it come into view,

so we may know it.”

Woe to those who call evil good

and good evil,

who put darkness for light

and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet

and sweet for bitter.

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes

and clever in their own sight.

Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine

and champions at mixing drinks,

who acquit the guilty for a bribe,

but deny justice to the innocent.

Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw

and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,

so their roots will decay

and their flowers blow away like dust;

for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty

and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against his people;

his hand is raised and he strikes them down.

The mountains shake,

and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.

He lifts up a banner for the distant nations,

he whistles for those at the ends of the earth.

Here they come,

swiftly and speedily!

Not one of them grows tired or stumbles,

not one slumbers or sleeps;

not a belt is loosened at the waist,

not a sandal strap is broken.

Their arrows are sharp,

all their bows are strung;

their horses’ hooves seem like flint,

their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.

Their roar is like that of the lion,

they roar like young lions;

they growl as they seize their prey

and carry it off with no one to rescue.

In that day they will roar over it

like the roaring of the sea.

And if one looks at the land,

there is only darkness and distress;

even the sun will be darkened by clouds.

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Matthew 20
(“gift of Jehovah”)
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(New International Version)

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.  He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

“About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.  He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’  So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing.  About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

“ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

“The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius.  So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.  When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.  ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?  Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.  Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time

Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them,  “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

A Mother’s Request

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

“What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.  Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Two Blind Men Receive Sight

As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.  Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

“Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

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Matthew 13
(“gift of Jehovah”)
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(New International Version)

The Parable of the Sower

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.  Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.  Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.  Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.  This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;

though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

For this people’s heart has become calloused;

they hardly hear with their ears,

and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’ 

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.  For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:  When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.  The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.  The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.  But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

The Parable of the Weeds

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.  But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.  When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

“ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.  Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.  So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables,

I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.” 

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.  The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.  They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.  When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.  This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

“Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

A Prophet Without Honor

When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there.  Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked.  “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?  Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”  And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”

And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

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Τ έ λ ο ς

It is Written.
Ever Upward.
This is the Way.
Shuttle Diplomacy.
People’s Intercession.
A Vision of the Future.
To Make The War Cease.
A Special Civil Operation.
As One Nation Under God.
In God, We Trust It is Written.
In a Movement We Call Our Own.
The Basis of International Stability.
International Resource Management
A Plan Devised for the Whole of Earth.
Marking Out the Path of Understanding.
The Renegotiation of World Arrangements.
God’s Chosen Servant Has Prepared the Way.
So That What Cannot be Shaken May Remain.
A New World Order for the Benefit of Humanity.
From the Government that is Of, By and For the People.
For Destroying The Barrier & Dividing Walls of Hostility.
A Proclamation to the Nations And Mandate from the Masses.
Addressing the Tumult of the Nations and the Political Upheaval.
The Biblical Gospel of the Kingdom as a Testimony to All Nations.
To the Nations and Peoples of Every Language, Who Live in All the Earth.
Regarding The Behavior and Conduct of the Interactions with Foreign Nations.
An International Statement of Culture, Religion, Government, Politics, Economics.
A Political Move So Sweeping as to Immortalize the Reign and Legacy of All Involved.
A Singular Cooperative Purpose, Interwoven With One Another.  For the Common Good,
In Defense of the Gospel For Truth, Justice & The American Way.  A Divine Blessing From the USA.
Regarding the Hour of Trial That is Going to Come on the Whole World to Test the Inhabitants of the Earth.
This is A Testimony for the Churches and the Nations and Peoples of Every Language, Who Live in All the Earth.
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What are your merchants doing with their money?

Witness Global Infrastructure Investments.

Global Economic Relationships

A planning perspective. 

The Wealth of Nations.

Spheres of Activity.

Bills of Lading.

144,000 Sealed

“Sheaves“

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“you will feed on the wealth of nations, 
and you will boast in their riches.“
–  Isaiah 61 (BSB)

Credit: Wellcome Library, London.  with seven branches inscribed with verses on the seven ages of man, arts and philosophy, the Trinity and Eternal Wisdom Ink and Watercolour Circa 1420-30 MS 49 Apocalypse, etc. Published: c.1420. 

The Big Picture of Geo-Politics
An Understanding of Humanity’s Environment.  

Doing Without All The Constant Enumerations of Imagined Grievances.
We “The People” Wish to Conclude a Peace With Those Regarded As World Leaders.
Regarding What is Thought to Be Just and Fitting as To China’s and Russia’s Restraining Boundaries.
May We Deal with Each Other in a Hope that is Fair & In a Way Which Grows and Confirms That Which Preceded it.
When Leaders Begin to Enumerate all the Troops and General Resources at Their Disposal, is this (More than anything) Intoxicating?
Stakeholders of all the Lethal, Political, Governmental, Economic, Cultural, Religious, Ethical and Identity Based Factors in the Environment.

Ark of the Covenant,
Jan Luyken, Pieter Mortier

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People’s Covenant

Is Strong & Courageous 

Oath of Obedience & Fidelity

Those Who Keep the Demands of

This Covenant of Love & Faith.

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” In God, We Trust it is Written. “

“In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the creatures that move along the ground.  Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety.”
– Hosea (“Salvation”  “to save“)  2  (NIV)

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Redeeming the Time through a Book of Life & Remembrance
For The Perfection of Our Faith. 
The Endurance of Scorn and Shame.
Freewill Sacrificial Offerings
Fragrant Sacrificial Offering To God.
Lasting Ordinances For The Generations to Come.

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The Spirit of Deliverance and Hope of Glory..
The Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and of might,
The Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord.
The Spirit of Health and Healing.
The Spirit of Abundance, Peace and Truth.
The Spirit of Cleansing, Goodness and Prosperity.   

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From The Biblical Prophecy of Isaiah

–  Isaiah 11 – 
(New International Version )

The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling  together;
and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

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2 Corinthians 2
(“Point, Peak.“)
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(New International Version)

So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.  For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved?  I wrote as I did, so that when I came I would not be distressed by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy.  For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

Forgiveness for the Offender

If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely.  The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient.  Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.  I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.  Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.  Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Ministers of the New Covenant

Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.  For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.  To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?  Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.

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2 Corinthians 3
(“Point, Peak.“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Ministers of a New Covenant

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?  You yourselves are our letter, inscribed on our hearts, known and read by everyone.  It is clear that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Such confidence before God is ours through Christ.  Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God. And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The Glory of the New Covenant

Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at the face of Moses because of its fleeting glory,  will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?  For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry of righteousness!  Indeed, what was once glorious has no glory now in comparison to the glory that surpasses it.  For if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which endures!

Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.  We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of what was fading away.

But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed. And even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.   But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

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Hebrews 8
(“a biblical Jew Israelite” “one from the other side“)
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(New King James Version)

The New Priestly Service

Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.

For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer.  For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”  But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

A New Covenant

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.  Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

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Enoch

Lithograph by William Blake  (1803 – 1807)

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Enoch is a person in the Book of Genesis.   He is described as a son of Cain, and father of Irad and Methuselah

Enoch is the subject of many Jewish and Christian traditions. He was considered the author of the Book of Enoch and also called the scribe of judgment.  In the New Testament, Enoch is referenced in the Gospel of Luke, the Epistle to the Hebrews, and in the Epistle of Jude, the last of which also quotes from it.  In the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Oriental Orthodoxy, he is venerated as a saint. In Islam, Enoch is identified with Idris (Arabic: إدريس, romanized: ʾIdrīs) and is considered a prophet.

There are few details about Enoch. We learn that he lived 365 years, and then Enoch “walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” (Genesis 5:24)    Source:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enoch_(son_of_Cain)

After the birth of Enoch, the Hebrew text of Genesis 4:17 is unclear. Either Cain built a city and named it after the mighty Enoch, or else Enoch built a city.[1] In the King James Bible, the text makes it clear that Cain built the city and named it after his son.

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Atlas

“The Bearer (of the Heavens),”

By:  Giovanni Francesco Barbieri

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Nickelback – When We Stand Together

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76RbWuFll0Y

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The United Nations Building in New York City

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Johnny Cash – God’s Gonna Cut You Down

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJlN9jdQFSc
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The United Nations Security Council

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Tron Legacy – Sirens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyovIAXi5mc
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Of Monsters and Men – “Little Talks” Live Performance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E-OqIBvsRg
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The United Nations General Assembly

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” I Could Only Beg My Judge for Mercy “

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The flagellation of Christ

 By Giovanni Francesco Barbieri
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland

“God Save the King.“

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“It Is Written“
East and West Geo-Political Relations.  Shadow’s Mirror.  For the Best Between Both Worlds.  Inner Sanctuaries Behind the Veil.
“Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Test and prove what pleases the Lord… Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.“
–  Ephesians 5 (BSB)  (“overseer“)

The  King & Queen of Great Britain

His and Her Majesty

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King Charles III and Queen Camilla 

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“May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;  May he send you help from the sanctuary…
May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed…
Lord, give victory to the  king!  Answer us when we call!“
                                                                                               –   Psalm 20  “sacred poem or song”  (NIV)

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‘God Save the King’

Plays for the First Time as Charles Wears Imperial State Crown

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqse9O9j3kg

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May it Please Your Majesty,

Thy Choices Gifts in Store

To host the culmination of the ages.   Envoys of the Nations for the Renewal of all things.
Bridging the material and spiritual world.  A vast unfolding of creation.

Into your hands, we “the people” commend our spirit.  We bring you this work as tribute as an Atoning sacrifice.
For The Co-Creation of a New, Unique and Everlasting Geo-Political Institution.
A Strong & Courageous House of Prayer for All Nations.

If I may be so bold, one “King’s Dome” please?  Customizable.  Biodomes.  “Dreamscapes.”
spiritual realms where reality becomes an inverse of our own.  Where Weapons are for the weak.

A place of springs & Rivers of living waters.  All the Kings horses and all the Kings men.
To See if we can try and put this thing back together again.  Bigger than the super bowl.

A Blue diamond jubilee & Festival of Tabernacles for a crucible and requiem.  So that the land may know rest.

to Work Out Our Salvation and Build Up Our Faith.  as the boundary between light and darkness.

For moments of shared understanding.

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Traditional: God Save The King (British National Anthem)

Traditional: God Save The King (British National Anthem)

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“HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE”

“Shamed be Whoever Thinks Ill of It“

“DIEU ET MON DROIT“

‘God and my right’‘

The Winged Lion With the Scroll of Isaiah

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Symbol of Saint Mark the Evangelist

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“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.  Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong;
let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”
                                                                                                  –  Revelation 22  (New International Version)
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The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,  the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” — “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ”
–  Mark 1 (New International Version)
“consecrated to the god Mars”  “God of war”  “to be warlike“  “boundary, limit; sign, landmark”  “to denote” “sign, omen, aim”  “margin”
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“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
–  Mark 10 (New International Version)
“consecrated to the god Mars”  “God of war”  “to be warlike“  “boundary, limit; sign, landmark”  “to denote” “sign, omen, aim”  “margin”
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Of the People, By the People for the People.

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Ronald Jenkees – ‘Disorganized Fun’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoFurLevE28

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” The Hosts of the Heavens” 

Conforming Honors, Dignities & Counsels.

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We the People, Request an Audience with high-ranking military Officers and The Prominent Men of The Cities.

Bringing Together Governments, Private Companies, Academia, & Civil Society by Facilitating a Summit of the

Future.  To Create a Place Where All the Nations Can Gather Together.  A Place Where The Peoples Can Assemble.

We The People, Request An Earthly Sanctuary To Fill the Appetites of Our Souls With the Spirit of God.

We The People, Wish to Constitute A New and Elevated Soul For a New Humanity.

Who Has Woe?  Who Has Sorrow?  Who Has Strife?  Who Has Complaints?

This is a King’s Challenge to He That Hath Wisdom and Understanding.

We Who Seek God, Bring Salvation to Those Who Are Waiting for Him.

We the People, Bring An Offering.  To Create a Company of Peoples.

That we may possess the land where We dwell as a foreigner.

For the Sins the People Had Committed in Ignorance. 

Who Has Needless Bruises?  Who Has Bloodshot Eyes?

Both Formal & Natural. A Matter Fit for a Form.

A Mediocrity Which is Suitable to Harmony.

An Immovable Rock for All the Nations.

For The Purification of the Nations.

Essence of Life & a Giving Spirit.

The Righteous Kingdom. 

An Earthly Sanctuary.

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Proverbs 21
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The King’s Heart

The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD;

He directs it where He pleases.

All a man’s ways seem right to him,

but the LORD weighs the heart.

To do righteousness and justice

is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Haughty eyes and a proud heart—

the guides of the wicked—are sin.

The plans of the diligent bring plenty,

as surely as haste leads to poverty.

Making a fortune by a lying tongue

is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.

The violence of the wicked will sweep them away

because they refuse to do what is just.

The way of a guilty man is crooked,

but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

Better to live on a corner of the roof

than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

The soul of the wicked man craves evil;

his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.

When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;

and when a wise man is instructed, he acquires knowledge.

The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked

and brings the wicked to ruin.

Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,

he too shall cry out and receive no answer.

A gift in secret soothes anger,

and a covert bribe pacifies great wrath.

Justice executed is a joy to the righteous,

but a terror to the workers of iniquity.

The man who strays from the path of understanding

will rest in the assembly of the dead.

He who loves pleasure will become poor;

the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich.

The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,

and the faithless for the upright.

Better to live in the desert

than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.

Precious treasures and oil are in the dwelling of the wise,

but a foolish man consumes them.

He who pursues righteousness and loving devotion

finds life, righteousness, and honor.

A wise man scales the city of the mighty

and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.

He who guards his mouth and tongue

keeps his soul from distress.

Mocker is the name of the proud and arrogant man—

of him who acts with excessive pride.

The craving of the slacker kills him

because his hands refuse to work.

All day long he covets more,

but the righteous give without restraint.

The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—

how much more so when brought with ill intent!

A lying witness will perish,

but the man who listens to truth will speak forever.

A wicked man hardens his face,

but the upright man makes his way sure.

There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel

that can prevail against the LORD.

A horse is prepared for the day of battle,

but victory is of the LORD.

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Spice Girls – Wannabe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ

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We The People,
Who Seek God

Establish a Semi-Independent Political Entity Under a Federal Authority.  “Telos” as One of the Bodies Politic Which Together Make up a Federal Republic.

To Redeem Ourselves as Those In Acquaintance With The Word.

So As not to deprive the oppressed of all their rights.  To speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, On Behalf of all who are destitute.  Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Convey Knowledge With Understanding

Through the DIVINE ENUMERATIONS WHICH UNITE THE EXTREMES OF MATTER AND SPRIT.

 

Bestowing Blessings

with regard to government, prosperity etc.  The  condition (or Existence) of the Republic.
“To set in a position and declare in words” “placing” the “condition of a country“

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The Entrance to the Tent of Meeting

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“They will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a gift to the Lord
on horses and chariots, in litters, and on mules and camels, to my holy mountain“
                                                                                         –  Isaiah 66  (Christian Standard Bible)

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2 Corinthians 8
(“Point Peak.“)
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(New International Version)

The Collection for the Lord’s People

And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own,  they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.  So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.  But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you  —see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.   For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.   Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.  For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality,  as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

Titus Sent to Receive the Collection

Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you.  For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.  And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel.  What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help.  We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift.  For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.

In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you.  As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ.  Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.

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Jude 1
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(Barean Standard Bible)

A Greeting from Jud

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,

To those who are called, loved by God the Father, and kept in Jesus Christ:

Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

God’s Judgment on the Ungodly

Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints.  For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Although you are fully aware of this, I want to remind you that after Jesus had delivered His people out of the land of Egypt, He destroyed those who did not believe.  And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling—these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on that great day.   In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.

Yet in the same way these dreamers defile their bodies, reject authority, and slander glorious beings.  But even the archangel Michael, when he disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, did not presume to bring a slanderous charge against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”  These men, however, slander what they do not understand, and like irrational animals, they will be destroyed by the things they do instinctively.   Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.

These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.   They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them:

“Behold, the Lord is coming

with myriads of His holy ones

to execute judgment on everyone,

and to convict all the ungodly

of every ungodly act of wickedness

and every harsh word spoken against Him by ungodly sinners.”

These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage.

A Call to Persever

But you, beloved, remember what was foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ when they said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow after their own ungodly desires.”   These are the ones who cause divisions, who are worldly and devoid of the Spirit.

But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.

And indeed, have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; and to still others show mercy tempered with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.

Doxolog

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time, and now, and for all eternity.

Amen.

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Ezekiel 13
(“God strengthens” “he was strong, he strengthened“)
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(New International Version)

False Prophets Condemned

The word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!  This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!   Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins.  You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord.  Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words.  Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken?

 ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign Lord.   My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.

 ‘Because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,   therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth.   When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?”

‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury.   I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord.  So I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, “The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it,  those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.” ’

“Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on all their wrists and make veils of various lengths for their heads in order to ensnare people. Will you ensnare the lives of my people but preserve your own? You have profaned me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.

 ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against your magic charms with which you ensnare people like birds and I will tear them from your arms; I will set free the people that you ensnare like birds. I will tear off your veils and save my people from your hands, and they will no longer fall prey to your power. Then you will know that I am the Lord.  Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies, when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives, therefore you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will save my people from your hands. And then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”

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Luke 21
( “tepid”  “warm”  “Bringer of light“)
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The Widow’s Gift

He looked up and saw the rich dropping their offerings into the temple treasury.  He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins.  “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all of them.  For all these people have put in gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

Destruction of the Temple Predicted

As some were talking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said,  “These things that you see — the days will come when not one stone will be left on another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

“Teacher,” they asked him, “so when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place? ”

Then he said, “Watch out that you are not deceived.  For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Don’t follow them.  When you hear of wars and rebellions, don’t be alarmed. Indeed, it is necessary that these things take place first, but the end won’t come right away.”

Then he told them, “Nation will be raised up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be violent earthquakes, and famines and plagues in various places, and there will be terrifying sights and great signs from heaven.  But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you. They will hand you over to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.  This will give you an opportunity to bear witness.  Therefore make up your minds not to prepare your defense ahead of time, for I will give you such words and a wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.  You will even be betrayed by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. They will kill some of you.  You will be hated by everyone because of my name,  but not a hair of your head will be lost.  By your endurance, gain your lives.

The Destruction of Jerusalem

“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that its desolation has come near.  Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.  Those inside the city must leave it, and those who are in the country must not enter it,  because these are days of vengeance to fulfill all the things that are written.  Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for there will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.  They will be killed by the sword and be led captive into all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Coming of the Son of Man

“Then there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and there will be anguish on the earth among nations bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the waves.  People will faint from fear and expectation of the things that are coming on the world, because the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  But when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift your heads, because your redemption is near.”

The Parable of the Fig Tree

Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  As soon as they put out leaves you can see for yourselves and recognize that summer is already near.  In the same way, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.  Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Need for Watchfulness

“Be on your guard,  so that your minds are not dulled from carousing, drunkenness, and worries of life, or that day will come on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come on all who live on the face of the whole earth.  But be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”

During the day, he was teaching in the temple, but in the evening he would go out and spend the night on what is called the Mount of Olives.  Then all the people would come early in the morning to hear him in the temple.

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 Job 33
( “piece of work; something to be done,“
“occurrence, business, state of things“  “Patient  Endurance” )
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Elihu Rebukes Job

“But now, O Job, hear my speech,

and listen to all my words.

Behold, I will open my mouth;

my address is on the tip of my tongue.

My words are from an upright heart,

and my lips speak sincerely what I know.

The Spirit of God has made me,

and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Refute me if you can;

prepare your case and confront me.

I am just like you before God;

I was also formed from clay.

Surely no fear of me should terrify you;

nor will my hand be heavy upon you.

Surely you have spoken in my hearing,

and I have heard these very words:

‘I am pure, without transgression;

I am clean, with no iniquity in me.

Yet God finds occasions against me;

He counts me as His enemy.

He puts my feet in the stocks;

He watches over all my paths.’

Behold, you are not right in this matter.

I will answer you, for God is greater than man.

Why do you complain to Him

that He answers nothing a man asks?

For God speaks in one way and in another,

yet no one notices.

In a dream,

in a vision in the night,

when deep sleep falls upon men

as they slumber on their beds,

He opens their ears

and terrifies them with warnings

to turn a man from wrongdoing

and keep him from pride,

to preserve his soul from the Pit

and his life from perishing by the sword.

A man is also chastened on his bed

with pain and constant distress in his bones,

so that he detests his bread,

and his soul loathes his favorite food.

His flesh wastes away from sight,

and his hidden bones protrude.

He draws near to the Pit,

and his life to the messengers of death.

Yet if there is a messenger on his side,

one mediator in a thousand,

to tell a man what is right for him,

to be gracious to him and say,

‘Spare him from going down to the Pit;

I have found his ransom,’

then his flesh is refreshed like a child’s;

he returns to the days of his youth.

He prays to God and finds favor;

he sees God’s face and shouts for joy,

and God restores His righteousness

to that man.

Then he sings before men

with these words:

‘I have sinned and perverted what was right;

yet I did not get what I deserved.

He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit,

and I will live to see the light.’

Behold, all these things God does to a man,

two or even three times,

to bring back his soul from the Pit,

that he may be enlightened with the light of life.

Pay attention, Job, and listen to me;

be silent, and I will speak.

But if you have something to say, answer me;

speak up, for I would like to vindicate you.

But if not, then listen to me;

be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.”

 

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Jeremiah 17
“may Jehovah exalt”  “the Lord casts, the Lord founds“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The Sin and Punishment of Judah

“The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus,

engraved with a diamond point

on the tablets of their hearts

and on the horns of their altars.

Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles

by the green trees and on the high hills.

O My mountain in the countryside,

I will give over your wealth

and all your treasures as plunder,

because of the sin of your high places,

within all your borders.

And you yourself will relinquish

the inheritance that I gave you.

I will enslave you to your enemies

in a land that you do not know,

for you have kindled My anger;

it will burn forever.”

This is what the LORD says:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind,

who makes mere flesh his strength

and turns his heart from the LORD.

He will be like a shrub in the desert;

he will not see when prosperity comes.

He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,

in a salt land where no one lives.

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,

whose confidence is in Him.

He is like a tree planted by the waters

that sends out its roots toward the stream.

It does not fear when the heat comes,

and its leaves are always green.

It does not worry in a year of drought,

nor does it cease to produce fruit.

The heart is deceitful above all things

and beyond cure.

Who can understand it?

I, the LORD, search the heart;

I examine the mind

to reward a man according to his way,

by what his deeds deserve.

Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay

is the man who makes a fortune unjustly.

In the middle of his days his riches will desert him,

and in the end he will be the fool.”

Jeremiah’s Prayer for Deliverance

A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning,

is the place of our sanctuary.

O LORD, the hope of Israel,

all who abandon You will be put to shame.

All who turn away will be written in the dust,

for they have abandoned the LORD,

the fountain of living water.

Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed;

save me, and I will be saved,

for You are my praise.

Behold, they keep saying to me,

“Where is the word of the LORD?

Let it come now!”

But I have not run away from being Your shepherd;

I have not desired the day of despair.

You know that the utterance of my lips

was spoken in Your presence.

Do not become a terror to me;

You are my refuge in the day of disaster.

Let my persecutors be put to shame,

but do not let me be put to shame.

Let them be terrified,

but do not let me be terrified.

Bring upon them the day of disaster

and shatter them with double destruction.

Restoring the Sabbath

This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and stand at the gate of the people, through which the kings of Judah go in and out; and stand at all the other gates of Jerusalem.

Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, all people of Judah and Jerusalem who enter through these gates.  This is what the LORD says: Take heed for yourselves; do not carry a load or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.  You must not carry a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day, but you must keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I commanded your forefathers.  Yet they would not listen or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and would not listen or receive My discipline.

If, however, you listen carefully to Me, says the LORD, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, and keep the Sabbath day holy, and do no work on it, then kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city. They will sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses with their officials, along with the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.  And people will come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, and from the foothills, the hill country, and the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and thank offerings to the house of the LORD.

But if you do not listen to Me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load while entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in its gates to consume the citadels of Jerusalem.’”

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Hebrews 4
(“a biblical Jew Israelite” “one from the other side“)
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(New International Version)

A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God

Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.  For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.  Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger,

‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ” 

And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world.  For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”  And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”

Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience,  God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.” 

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.  There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.  Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Jesus the Great High Priest

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, f Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

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Daniel 11
(“God is my judge” “he who judges“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Kings of the South and North

“And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him.

Now then, I will tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. By the power of his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.

Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.  But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the authority with which he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others.

The king of the South will grow strong, but one of his commanders will grow even stronger and will rule his own kingdom with great authority.

After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. But his daughter will not retain her position of power, nor will his strength endure. At that time she will be given up, along with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.

But one from her family line will rise up in his place, come against the army of the king of the North, and enter his fortress, fighting and prevailing.  He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North, who will invade the realm of the king of the South and then return to his own land.

But his sons will stir up strife and assemble a great army, which will advance forcefully, sweeping through like a flood, and will again carry the battle as far as his fortress.  In a rage, the king of the South will march out to fight the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be delivered into the hand of his enemy.

When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be proud in heart and will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not triumph.  For the king of the North will raise another army, larger than the first, and after some years he will advance with a great army and many supplies.

In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they will fail.

Then the king of the North will come, build up a siege ramp, and capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand; even their best troops will not be able to resist.  The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.  He will resolve to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and will reach an agreement with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plan will not succeed or help him.

Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many of them. But a commander will put an end to his reproach and will turn it back upon him.  After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more.

In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be destroyed, though not in anger or in battle.

In his place a despicable person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.  Then a flood of forces will be swept away before him and destroyed, along with a prince of the covenant.

After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; for he will rise to power with only a few people.  In a time of peace, he will invade the richest provinces and do what his fathers and forefathers never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will plot against the strongholds—but only for a time.

And with a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South, who will mobilize a very large and powerful army but will not withstand the plots devised against him.  Those who eat from his provisions will seek to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.

And the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.  The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; so he will do damage and return to his own land.

At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time will not be like the first.  Ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant. His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.

With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. Those with insight will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by sword or flame, or be captured or plundered.

Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, but many will join them insincerely.  Some of the wise will fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

The King Who Exalts Himself

Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished.  He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the one desired by women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all.

And in their place, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches.  He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing the land for a price.

At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading many countries and sweeping through them like a flood.  He will also invade the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. But these will be delivered from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites.

He will extend his power over many countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape. He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt, and the Libyans and Cushites will also submit to him.

But news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will go out with great fury to destroy many and devote them to destruction.  He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him.

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Isaiah 5
(“salvation of the Lord”  “deliverance“)
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(New International Version)

The Song of the Vineyard

I will sing for the one I love

a song about his vineyard:

My loved one had a vineyard

on a fertile hillside.

He dug it up and cleared it of stones

and planted it with the choicest vines.

He built a watchtower in it

and cut out a winepress as well.

Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,

but it yielded only bad fruit.

“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,

judge between me and my vineyard.

What more could have been done for my vineyard

than I have done for it?

When I looked for good grapes,

why did it yield only bad?

Now I will tell you

what I am going to do to my vineyard:

I will take away its hedge,

and it will be destroyed;

I will break down its wall,

and it will be trampled.

I will make it a wasteland,

neither pruned nor cultivated,

and briers and thorns will grow there.

I will command the clouds

not to rain on it.”

The vineyard of the Lord Almighty

is the nation of Israel,

and the people of Judah

are the vines he delighted in.

And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;

for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Woes and Judgments

Woe to you who add house to house

and join field to field

till no space is left

and you live alone in the land.

The Lord Almighty has declared in my hearing:

“Surely the great houses will become desolate,

the fine mansions left without occupants.

A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine;

a homer of seed will yield only an ephah of grain.”

Woe to those who rise early in the morning

to run after their drinks,

who stay up late at night

till they are inflamed with wine.

They have harps and lyres at their banquets,

pipes and timbrels and wine,

but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord,

no respect for the work of his hands.

Therefore my people will go into exile

for lack of understanding;

those of high rank will die of hunger

and the common people will be parched with thirst.

Therefore Death expands its jaws,

opening wide its mouth;

into it will descend their nobles and masses

with all their brawlers and revelers.

So people will be brought low

and everyone humbled,

the eyes of the arrogant humbled.

But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice,

and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts.

Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;

lambs will feed among the ruins of the rich.

Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit,

and wickedness as with cart ropes,

to those who say, “Let God hurry;

let him hasten his work

so we may see it.

The plan of the Holy One of Israel—

let it approach, let it come into view,

so we may know it.”

Woe to those who call evil good

and good evil,

who put darkness for light

and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet

and sweet for bitter.

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes

and clever in their own sight.

Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine

and champions at mixing drinks,

who acquit the guilty for a bribe,

but deny justice to the innocent.

Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw

and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,

so their roots will decay

and their flowers blow away like dust;

for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty

and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against his people;

his hand is raised and he strikes them down.

The mountains shake,

and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.

He lifts up a banner for the distant nations,

he whistles for those at the ends of the earth.

Here they come,

swiftly and speedily!

Not one of them grows tired or stumbles,

not one slumbers or sleeps;

not a belt is loosened at the waist,

not a sandal strap is broken.

Their arrows are sharp,

all their bows are strung;

their horses’ hooves seem like flint,

their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.

Their roar is like that of the lion,

they roar like young lions;

they growl as they seize their prey

and carry it off with no one to rescue.

In that day they will roar over it

like the roaring of the sea.

And if one looks at the land,

there is only darkness and distress;

even the sun will be darkened by clouds.

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Psalms 94
(“sacred poem or song” )
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The LORD Will Not Forget His People

O LORD, God of vengeance,

O God of vengeance, shine forth.

Rise up, O Judge of the earth;

render a reward to the proud.

How long will the wicked, O LORD,

how long will the wicked exult?

They pour out arrogant words;

all workers of iniquity boast.

They crush Your people, O LORD;

they oppress Your heritage.

They kill the widow and the foreigner;

they murder the fatherless.

They say, “The LORD does not see;

the God of Jacob pays no heed.”

Take notice, O senseless among the people!

O fools, when will you be wise?

He who affixed the ear, can He not hear?

He who formed the eye, can He not see?

He who admonishes the nations, does He not discipline?

He who teaches man, does He lack knowledge?

The LORD knows the thoughts of man,

that they are futile.

Blessed is the man You discipline, O LORD,

and teach from Your law,

to grant him relief from days of trouble,

until a pit is dug for the wicked.

For the LORD will not forsake His people;

He will never abandon His heritage.

Surely judgment will again be righteous,

and all the upright in heart will follow it.

Who will rise up for me against the wicked?

Who will stand for me against the workers of iniquity?

Unless the LORD had been my helper,

I would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.

If I say, “My foot is slipping,”

Your loving devotion, O LORD, supports me.

When anxiety overwhelms me,

Your consolation delights my soul.

Can a corrupt throne be Your ally—

one devising mischief by decree?

They band together against the righteous

and condemn the innocent to death.

But the LORD has been my stronghold,

and my God is my rock of refuge.

He will bring upon them their own iniquity

and destroy them for their wickedness.

The LORD our God will destroy them.

Tinashe – All Hands on Deck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxUdFQ6N_OI

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Saint Mark the Evangelist

By : Vladimir Borovikovsky
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(Icon from the royal gates of the central iconostasis of the Kazan Cathedral in St.-Petersburgh) 

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Loreena McKennitt – The Mystic’s Dream

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t267aQJcwjs

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Τ έ λ ο ς : A Multilateral Defense Strategy : A "Stonewall" Contingency in the Case of Breach of Friendly Relations.

 

Because the Days are evil and the world is in turmoil, We the People, bring justice to the nations through to victory.  We Formulate these New Creations in order to Address the current destructive behavior of our age.  Telos is a new geo-political and Global order of things.  The Purpose of Τ έ λ ο ς  is to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,  We the People, in Good Conscience do ordain and establish this as “The Declaration of Intercession” & “Proclamation to the Nations” for a “Special Civil Operation.”  ‘Τ έ λ ο ς ‘ as  “The Foreign Policy Regime for the Non-Proliferation of weapons of Mass Destruction.” 

 

 

we Enact the following measures of Shuttle Diplomacy To drive out impure spirits and answer the wickedness of the world.  Through these expeditions of discovery, May we have more sincere conversations and Navigate this Age of Great Power competition and political upheaval.  in order To Clear the Air & Calm the Seas, we perform these Acts in the sense of religious and spiritual Pilgrimage.  We the People, Who Trust In God, take our stand on His perfect words.  We Take this Leap of Faith as it is Written to transcend this Age Of Great Tribulation & Dispersion.  At this point of Mutually Assured Destruction, When Nations Rage.

 

In hopes that Our cities will overflow with prosperity and that we can free Ourselves from common human burdens.  We “the people“, (Who fight and prevail through hardship & Distress) bring you this Doctrine and Sound pattern of teaching which has now claimed your allegiance.  we, “the people“, dedicate ourselves to this end and Put Our Religion into Practice so that we may collectively work towards this shared Salvation.  A vision of the future to help guide those holders of power and responsibility.
May we collectively trust the sound instruction and Godly teaching of the holy author of our religion. 

 

The following is our testimony of Biblical Scripture Regarding The kingdom of God.
We begin by “Marking Out” these Signs & Wonders.

 

Of Rivalries and lack of Self Control.  What Answer then, will be Given to Envoys of the Nation?

The Old is gone and the new is here.

(published by Edouard Thomas Charton (1854).
Original from the British Library. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.)

Stonehenge
A leap of faith.
put on Your new self
reproofs of discipline.
The Spirit of Life and Peace
An Assembly of Great Nations
justice, mercy and faithfulness
For Long Life, Riches and Honor.
Because much good will come of it
Orientation of Psychology and Religion.
as a Nucleus for Facilitating Human Cooperation
A heart for the world where there was nothing before
From Strength to Strength for Something that is Forever.
Of Ethics, Moral Standpoints,  Values, Justice, Integrity, & Respect.
Special Civil Operations.:  Special Measures of How We Might Ought Live.
The Choice of Travel Relationships.  from the Ancient Ways to Modern Travelers,

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“I am the LORD, and there is no other.  I form the light and create the darkness;
I bring prosperity and create calamity.   I, the LORD, do all these things.“
                                                                       –    Isaiah 45   “salvation of the Lord”   “salvation, deliverance“
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The Last Supper

By:  Leonardo Davinci

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Proverbs 17

(““a common saying, old adage, maxim”   “ words put forward”“)
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New International Version

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet

than a house full of feasting, with strife.

A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son

and will share the inheritance as one of the family.

The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,

but the Lord tests the heart.

A wicked person listens to deceitful lips;

a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker;

whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.

Children’s children are a crown to the aged,

and parents are the pride of their children.

Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool—

how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

A bribe is seen as a charm by the one who gives it;

they think success will come at every turn.

Whoever would foster love covers over an offense,

but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

A rebuke impresses a discerning person

more than a hundred lashes a fool.

Evildoers foster rebellion against God;

the messenger of death will be sent against them.

Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs

than a fool bent on folly.

Evil will never leave the house

of one who pays back evil for good.

Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;

so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—

the Lord detests them both.

Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom,

when they are not able to understand it?

A friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge

and puts up security for a neighbor.

Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin;

whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.

One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper;

one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.

To have a fool for a child brings grief;

there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.

A cheerful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

The wicked accept bribes in secret

to pervert the course of justice.

A discerning person keeps wisdom in view,

but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

A foolish son brings grief to his father

and bitterness to the mother who bore him.

If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good,

surely to flog honest officials is not right.

The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint,

and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.

Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent,

and discerning if they hold their tongues.

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Philippians 2
(“fond of horses”  ” beloved, loving “)
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(New International Version)

One in Christ

Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,  then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

The Mind of Christ

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:

Who, existing in the form of God,

did not consider equality with God

something to be grasped,

but emptied Himself,

taking the form of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

He humbled Himself

and became obedient to death—

even death on a cross.

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place

and gave Him the name above all names,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Lights in the World

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.  For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I learn how you are doing. I have nobody else like him who will genuinely care for your needs.  For all the others look after their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy’s proven worth, that as a child with his father he has served with me to advance the gospel.  So I hope to send him as soon as I see what happens with me.  And I trust in the Lord that I myself will come soon.

But I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my needs.  For he has been longing for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.  He was sick indeed, nearly unto death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.

Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less anxious. Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, because he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for your deficit of service to me.

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2 Corinthians 1
(“point, peak“)
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(Berean Standard Version)

Paul Greets the Corinthians

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The God of All Comfort

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which accomplishes in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we experience. 7And our hope for you is sure, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort.

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.  Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.

He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the favor shown us in answer to their prayers.

Paul’s Change of Plans

And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.  For we do not write you anything that is beyond your ability to read and understand. And I hope that you will understand us completely, as you have already understood us in part, so that you may boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of our Lord Jesus.

Confident of this, I planned to visit you first, so that you might receive a double blessing. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to return to you from Macedonia, and then to have you help me on my way to Judea.

When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I make my plans by human standards, so as to say “Yes, yes” when I really mean “No, no”?  But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”  For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed among you by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.”  For all the promises of God are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him, our “Amen” is spoken to the glory of God.

Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us, placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.  I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.  Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are fellow workers with you for your joy, because it is by faith that you stand firm.

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Matthew 6
(“gift of Jehovah”)
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(New International Version)

Giving to the Needy

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Prayer

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“ ‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, 

but deliver us from the evil one.  ’

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Fasting

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Treasures in Heaven

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,  your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are unhealthy,  your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Do Not Worry

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life ?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

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Psalm 41
(“song played on a stringed instrument“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Victory of Betrayal

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Blessed is the one who cares for the poor;

the LORD will deliver him in the day of trouble.

The LORD will protect and preserve him;

He will bless him in the land

and refuse to surrender him

to the will of his foes.

The LORD will sustain him on his bed of illness

and restore him from his bed of sickness.

I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me;

heal me, for I have sinned against You.”

My enemies say with malice:

“When will he die and be forgotten?”

My visitor speaks falsehood;

he gathers slander in his heart;

he goes out and spreads it abroad.

All who hate me whisper against me;

they imagine the worst for me:

“A vile disease has been poured into him;

he will never get up from where he lies!”

Even my close friend whom I trusted,

the one who shared my bread,

has lifted up his heel against me.

But You, O LORD, be gracious to me and raise me up,

that I may repay them.

By this I know that You delight in me,

for my enemy does not triumph over me.

In my integrity You uphold me

and set me in Your presence forever.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

Amen and Amen.

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Psalms 104
(“performance on stringed instrument; a plucking of the harp”)
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Christian Standard Bible

God the Creator

How Many Are Your Works, O LORD!

Bless the LORD, O my soul!

O LORD my God, You are very great;

You are clothed with splendor and majesty.

He wraps Himself in light as with a garment;

He stretches out the heavens like a tent,

laying the beams of His chambers

in the waters above,

making the clouds His chariot,

walking on the wings of the wind.

He makes the winds His messengers,

flames of fire His servants.a

He set the earth on its foundations,

never to be moved.

You covered it with the deep like a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

At Your rebuke the waters fled;

at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away—

the mountains rose and the valleys sank

to the place You assigned for them—

You set a boundary they cannot cross,

that they may never again cover the earth.

He sends forth springs in the valleys;

they flow between the mountains.

They give drink to every beast of the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

The birds of the air nest beside the springs;

they sing among the branches.

He waters the mountains from His chambers;

the earth is satisfied by the fruit of His works.

He makes the grass grow for the livestock

and provides crops for man to cultivate,

bringing forth food from the earth:

wine that gladdens the heart of man,

oil that makes his face to shine,

and bread that sustains his heart.

The trees of the LORD have their fill,

the cedars of Lebanon that He planted,

where the birds build their nests;

the stork makes her home in the cypresses.b

The high mountains are for the wild goats,

the cliffs a refuge for the rock badgers.c

He made the moon to mark the seasons;

the sun knows when to set.

You bring darkness, and it becomes night,

when all the beasts of the forest prowl.

The young lions roar for their prey

and seek their food from God.

The sun rises, and they withdraw;

they lie down in their dens.

Man goes forth to his work

and to his labor until evening.

How many are Your works, O LORD!

In wisdom You have made them all;

the earth is full of Your creatures.

Here is the sea, vast and wide,

teeming with creatures beyond number,

living things both great and small.

There the ships pass,

and Leviathan, which You formed to frolic there.

All creatures look to You

to give them their food in due season.

When You give it to them,

they gather it up;

when You open Your hand,

they are satisfied with good things.

When You hide Your face,

they are terrified;

when You take away their breath,

they die and return to dust.

When You send Your Spirit

they are created,

and You renew

the face of the earth.

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;

may the LORD rejoice in His works.

He looks on the earth,

and it trembles;

He touches the mountains,

and they smolder.

I will sing to the LORD all my life;

I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

May my meditation be pleasing to Him,

for I rejoice in the LORD.

May sinners vanish from the earth

and the wicked be no more.

Bless the LORD, O my soul.

Hallelujah!

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Psalms 56
(“performance on stringed instrument; a plucking of the harp”)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Be Merciful to Me, O God

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.”
A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

Be merciful to me, O God,

for men are hounding me;

all day they press their attack.

My enemies pursue me all day long,

for many proudly assail me.

When I am afraid,

I put my trust in You.

In God, whose word I praise—

in God I trust.

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

All day long they twist my words;

all their thoughts are on my demise.

They conspire, they lurk,

they watch my steps

while they wait to take my life.

In spite of such sin, will they escape?

In Your anger, O God, cast down the nations.

You have taken account of my wanderings.

Put my tears in Your bottle—

are they not in Your book?

Then my enemies will retreat

on the day I cry for help.

By this I will know that God is on my side.

In God, whose word I praise,

in the LORD, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

Your vows are upon me, O God;

I will render thank offerings to You.

For You have delivered my soul from death,

and my feet from stumbling,

that I may walk before God

in the light of life.

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Laocoön and His Sons

Prototypical Depiction of the Agony of Human Existence

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▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Psalms 104
(“performance on stringed instrument; a plucking of the harp”)
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Christian Standard Bible

God the Creator

How Many Are Your Works, O LORD!

Bless the LORD, O my soul!

O LORD my God, You are very great;

You are clothed with splendor and majesty.

He wraps Himself in light as with a garment;

He stretches out the heavens like a tent,

laying the beams of His chambers

in the waters above,

making the clouds His chariot,

walking on the wings of the wind.

He makes the winds His messengers,

flames of fire His servants.a

He set the earth on its foundations,

never to be moved.

You covered it with the deep like a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

At Your rebuke the waters fled;

at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away—

the mountains rose and the valleys sank

to the place You assigned for them—

You set a boundary they cannot cross,

that they may never again cover the earth.

He sends forth springs in the valleys;

they flow between the mountains.

They give drink to every beast of the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

The birds of the air nest beside the springs;

they sing among the branches.

He waters the mountains from His chambers;

the earth is satisfied by the fruit of His works.

He makes the grass grow for the livestock

and provides crops for man to cultivate,

bringing forth food from the earth:

wine that gladdens the heart of man,

oil that makes his face to shine,

and bread that sustains his heart.

The trees of the LORD have their fill,

the cedars of Lebanon that He planted,

where the birds build their nests;

the stork makes her home in the cypresses.b

The high mountains are for the wild goats,

the cliffs a refuge for the rock badgers.c

He made the moon to mark the seasons;

the sun knows when to set.

You bring darkness, and it becomes night,

when all the beasts of the forest prowl.

The young lions roar for their prey

and seek their food from God.

The sun rises, and they withdraw;

they lie down in their dens.

Man goes forth to his work

and to his labor until evening.

How many are Your works, O LORD!

In wisdom You have made them all;

the earth is full of Your creatures.

Here is the sea, vast and wide,

teeming with creatures beyond number,

living things both great and small.

There the ships pass,

and Leviathan, which You formed to frolic there.

All creatures look to You

to give them their food in due season.

When You give it to them,

they gather it up;

when You open Your hand,

they are satisfied with good things.

When You hide Your face,

they are terrified;

when You take away their breath,

they die and return to dust.

When You send Your Spirit

they are created,

and You renew

the face of the earth.

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;

may the LORD rejoice in His works.

He looks on the earth,

and it trembles;

He touches the mountains,

and they smolder.

I will sing to the LORD all my life;

I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

May my meditation be pleasing to Him,

for I rejoice in the LORD.

May sinners vanish from the earth

and the wicked be no more.

Bless the LORD, O my soul.

Hallelujah!

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Psalms 56
(“performance on stringed instrument; a plucking of the harp”)
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
(Berean Standard Bible)

Be Merciful to Me, O God

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.”
A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

Be merciful to me, O God,

for men are hounding me;

all day they press their attack.

My enemies pursue me all day long,

for many proudly assail me.

When I am afraid,

I put my trust in You.

In God, whose word I praise—

in God I trust.

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

All day long they twist my words;

all their thoughts are on my demise.

They conspire, they lurk,

they watch my steps

while they wait to take my life.

In spite of such sin, will they escape?

In Your anger, O God, cast down the nations.

You have taken account of my wanderings.

Put my tears in Your bottle—

are they not in Your book?

Then my enemies will retreat

on the day I cry for help.

By this I will know that God is on my side.

In God, whose word I praise,

in the LORD, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

Your vows are upon me, O God;

I will render thank offerings to You.

For You have delivered my soul from death,

and my feet from stumbling,

that I may walk before God

in the light of life.

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

2 Corinthians 1
(“point, peak“)
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(Berean Standard Version)

Paul Greets the Corinthians

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The God of All Comfort

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which accomplishes in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we experience. 7And our hope for you is sure, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort.

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.  Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.

He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the favor shown us in answer to their prayers.

Paul’s Change of Plans

And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.  For we do not write you anything that is beyond your ability to read and understand. And I hope that you will understand us completely, as you have already understood us in part, so that you may boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of our Lord Jesus.

Confident of this, I planned to visit you first, so that you might receive a double blessing. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to return to you from Macedonia, and then to have you help me on my way to Judea.

When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I make my plans by human standards, so as to say “Yes, yes” when I really mean “No, no”?  But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”  For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed among you by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.”  For all the promises of God are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him, our “Amen” is spoken to the glory of God.

21Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us, placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.  I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.  Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are fellow workers with you for your joy, because it is by faith that you stand firm.

They Did Not Expect Him

By:  Ilya Repin. 1884-88.

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

1 Corinthians 1
(“point” “peak“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Greetings from Paul and Sosthenes
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving
I always thank my God for you because of the grace He has given you in Christ Jesus.  For in Him you have been enriched in every way, in all speech and all knowledge, because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.

Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Unity in the Church
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,”  or “I follow Christ.”

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?  I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that I do not remember if I baptized anyone else. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

The Message of the Cross

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;

the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom,  and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

Wisdom from God

Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are,  so that no one may boast in His presence.

It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

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Cities of Refuge

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▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

A City is a Partnership of Similar Persons.

Establishing Legitimacy & Some Bearable Comprehensive Solution.

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A political system combining military, diplomatic, economic, scientific, and political operations.   An idealized form, emphasizing purity and happiness.  Ensuring a maximum amount of freedom for citizens and legal entities.  Suitable or proper in the current circumstances.  Existing for the sake of living well.  A well balanced aristocracy and a constitutional republic.  A Regime.  A Constitution.  The construction of a city-state “Telos”  Regarding the most choice-worthy way of life.  The correct principles for living the good life.  Virtue / Prudence.  Concept of reciprocal equality containing a center “agora” constituting, ritual mystery, and anarchy.  Naturally ruling and ruled, on account of preservation.  Seeking a plenitude.  A city state of self-sufficiency.   A city to be held in a fine condition. Sense of order, foresight. Rounded to a whole number and expressed as a percent of the population.

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Regarding a city based on what one would pray for. Uniting spirit and thought.  Being refined and sensible regarding virtue and prudence.  Talos will be full of (and characterized by) excellence and merit.  An organized human society or community, body of persons forming a community governed according to a recognized system of government.  An administration based upon principles that were broadly conceived and nobly adopted to the ideas of our century and suited to the real needs of the people.  Regarding the most choice-worthy way of life.  The correct principles for living a good life.  To signify the beginning of the new Era.  Chaos theory and theory of sacred geometry.  A “middling of the general universal” administrative system of which the countries merge together.  That these laws under which the people will live, will offer real guarantees to every citizens against all arbitrary action.  A great conception, and destined to win the voluntary consent of every people; for it is as much to the interest of individuals as it was to the interest of the continent as a whole.  This result alone would immortalize the reign of all involved through the internal prosperity of all advocates and factions the world over.

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Spirited and endowed with thought.  A share in the regime on the basis of the conception.  A share in freedom with courage, justice, and prudence. A self-sufficient city that is happy and acts nobly.  Distributing offices on the basis of merit.  The laws and management of the population arranged in such a way that it is impossible to profit from the offices.  Something that will do for the longest period of time.  A partnership of free persons.  A middling sort of regime for the common good.  Seeking not only the best regime but also the regime that is the best possible, and similarly also the regime that is easier and more attainable for all.  A well balanced aristocracy.  A mixture of oligarchy (aristocracy) and democracy (constitutional republic).  Containing a center of ritual mystery and chaos.  It can be spoken of as either a democracy or an oligarchy.  Both – and neither – a democracy and an oligarchy.  Because none of the parts of the city generally would wish to have another regime.  A regime established in accordance with equality and similarity among the citizens.  The citizens will claim to merit ruling in turn.  Intentionally choosing to be be ruled and ruling with a view to the life in accordance with virtue. 
Persons similar by nature, justice and merit must necessarily be the same according to nature.

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(Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs)

 

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Allocating Benefits in Various Policy Fields in Such a Way

as to Provide Groups, Persons, and Places with

at Least a Minimum Level of Benefits

so as to Satisfy Basic Needs.

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(Sierpinski Triangle)

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Fractality.  Fractional Algorithm.  Statistical Self- Similarity.

Identical in Substance or Nature.

To Assign, to A lot, to Take.

A Never Ending Pattern.

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Cash Flow Analysis

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PGI                                –        Projected Gross Income
– V&C                            –        Vacancy and Collection (Bad Tenants)
————-
EGI                                –        Effective Gross Income

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– FE                                –        Fixed Expenses (operating expenses)  Taxes, Insurance,
– VE                               –        Variable Expenses (Operating expenses) (Utilities)
– R                                 –        Reserves for Expenses (operating expenses) (money set aside for replacement items)
——————
NOI                              –        Net Operating Income

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– DS                              –        Debt Service (Mortgage Payment)
———–
CTO                             –       Cash Throw-off  (Cashflow before Taxes)

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NOI                              –        Net Operating Income (Income)
+R                                 –        Reserves for Replacement
————–
ANOI                            –        Adjusted NOI

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– I                                  –        Interest (on Loan)
– D                                –        Depreciation
———-
TI                                 –        Taxable income

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xTR                             –        Tax Rate
————–
T                                  –        Tax Payable

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CTO                            –        Cash Throw off
– T                               –        Taxes
———————
ATCF                          –        After Tax Cash Flow

 

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Hermes & Souls on the Banks of the Acheron (1898)

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By:   Adolf Hirémy-Hirschl

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God speaks through prophet Jeremiah,
condemning the hypocritical worship of the people of Judah. Despite their offerings and sacrifices,
they continue to engage in wickedness and fail to show justice and kindness to others.
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Image Source:  BiblePics.co 

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Leo Tolstoy in his Study

By: Ilya Repin (1891)

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Hero of the  Russian Federation

Chief of the General Staff

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Valery  Gerasimov
Валерий Герасимов

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Уважаемый Владимир Владимирович Путин с днём рождения вас 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV-82v3uDMA

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Romans 13
“of Rome“
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(New International Version)

Jeremiah’s Message at the Temple Gate

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,  “Stand in the gate of the house of the LORD and proclaim this message: Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who enter through these gates to worship the LORD.  Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Correct your ways and deeds, and I will let you live in this place.  Do not trust in deceptive words, chanting:

‘This is the temple of the LORD,

the temple of the LORD,

the temple of the LORD.’

For if you really correct your ways and deeds, if you act justly toward one another,  if you no longer oppress the foreigner and the fatherless and the widow, and if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

But look, you keep trusting in deceptive words to no avail.  Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before Me in this house, which bears My Name, and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue with all these abominations’?  Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Yes, I too have seen it, declares the LORD.

But go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for My Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.  And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and because I have spoken to you again and again but you would not listen, and I have called to you but you would not answer, therefore what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears My Name, the house in which you trust, the place that I gave to you and your fathers.  And I will cast you out of My presence, just as I have cast out all your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.

Judah’s Idolatry Persists

As for you, do not pray for these people, do not offer a plea or petition on their behalf, and do not beg Me, for I will not listen to you.  Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?  The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger.  But am I the One they are provoking? declares the LORD. Is it not themselves they spite, to their own shame?

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the produce of the land, and it will burn and not be extinguished.

This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves!  For when I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt, I did not merely command them about burnt offerings and sacrifices,  but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you.

Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.  From the day your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets again and again.  Yet they would not listen to Me or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and did more evil than their fathers.

When you tell them all these things, they will not listen to you. When you call to them, they will not answer. Therefore you must say to them, ‘This is the nation that would not listen to the voice of the LORD their God and would not receive correction. Truth has perished; it has disappeared from their lips.  Cut off your hair and throw it away. Raise up a lamentation on the barren heights, for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’

The Valley of Slaughter

For the people of Judah have done evil in My sight, declares the LORD. They have set up their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it.  They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.

So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. For they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.   The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare them away.

I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bride and bridegroom, for the land will become a wasteland.”

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Flag of Mariupol

“Mary”
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Regarding the Reconstruction of Mariupol,  Ukraine

(“Virgin Mary“)

Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
                                                                                                                    –   Isaiah 7:13

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Ukraine

“Borderline ”  “borderland”  “Threshold“

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Слава нашим ЗСУ – Виконує заслужена артистка України Ярослава Руденко.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEg5TslSSIM

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ЛЮСЯ КАВА – Незламна

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZuCAA_93wc

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Ukrainian Choir – Agnus Dei

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-2CVjPgPoI

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Доброго вечора, ми з України🇺🇦 | Кліп PROBASS ∆ HARDI – Where are you from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5RsQWm3rOY

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The President of Ukraine

His Excellency :  Supreme Commander-In-Chief

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Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy
Володимир Зеленський

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“Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 
But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.“
                                                                                                        – Matthew 19 (“Gift of Jehova“)   (NIV)

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Massive Attack – Group Four

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1BkecC0tSg

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Ukraine – President

Addresses United Nations General Debate , 79th Session

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84MZJM7jw4U&t=298s

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Your Excellency,

I Am the Harbinger of Ruin.

Thank You For Your Attention.
This One Comes From The Depths of The People’s Bitterness and Resentment.
Regarding the Lack of Progress Towards a Cease-Fire Between Neighbors.  Escaping This Prolonged Limbo.
We “The People” Appeal To Your Sense of Reason of Logic.  Not To Your Intellectual Vanity.  Sins of the Fallen.

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Nicki Minaj – Anthem

ft. Lil Baby, Offset, Travis Scott, Quavo, 21 Savage (Music Video) 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGSxgnzc5G8

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The Winged Lion.

With the Scroll of Isaiah

The Symbol of Saint Mark.  “The Messiah’s Herald.“

Evangelist

An Evangelist is one of a class of spiritual beings.  Attendants and messengers of God.  A way of life and a practice of announcing or proclaiming good news.  Evangelists are Christian preachers who proclaims good news and tries to persuade people to become Christians.  “Bringer of good news”  “the reward of good tidings“

The feast of St. Mark, who was a cousin of barnabas (“son of exhortation”  “son of prophecy”  “son of consolation“
“son of the right hand”  and who accompanied the apostle Paul (“small” “little“)  on his first missionary journey ;
later he followed him to Rome.

The lion is one of Mark’s symbols because his Gospel begins with the voice of one crying in the desert,
and the lion was seen as an image of such a creature

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1 Corinthians 4
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

The Nature of True Apostleship

This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.  Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.  I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.  My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.  Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.  For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you!  For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings.  We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!  To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.  We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;  when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.

Paul’s Appeal and Warning

I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children.  Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.  Therefore I urge you to imitate me.  For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.  But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.  For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.  What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

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Proverbs 21
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The King’s Heart

The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD;

He directs it where He pleases.

All a man’s ways seem right to him,

but the LORD weighs the heart.

To do righteousness and justice

is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Haughty eyes and a proud heart—

the guides of the wicked—are sin.

The plans of the diligent bring plenty,

as surely as haste leads to poverty.

Making a fortune by a lying tongue

is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.

The violence of the wicked will sweep them away

because they refuse to do what is just.

The way of a guilty man is crooked,

but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

Better to live on a corner of the roof

than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

The soul of the wicked man craves evil;

his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.

When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;

and when a wise man is instructed, he acquires knowledge.

The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked

and brings the wicked to ruin.

Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,

he too shall cry out and receive no answer.

A gift in secret soothes anger,

and a covert bribe pacifies great wrath.

Justice executed is a joy to the righteous,

but a terror to the workers of iniquity.

The man who strays from the path of understanding

will rest in the assembly of the dead.

He who loves pleasure will become poor;

the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich.

The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,

and the faithless for the upright.

Better to live in the desert

than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.

Precious treasures and oil are in the dwelling of the wise,

but a foolish man consumes them.

He who pursues righteousness and loving devotion

finds life, righteousness, and honor.

A wise man scales the city of the mighty

and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.

He who guards his mouth and tongue

keeps his soul from distress.

Mocker is the name of the proud and arrogant man—

of him who acts with excessive pride.

The craving of the slacker kills him

because his hands refuse to work.

All day long he covets more,

but the righteous give without restraint.

The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—

how much more so when brought with ill intent!

A lying witness will perish,

but the man who listens to truth will speak forever.

A wicked man hardens his face,

but the upright man makes his way sure.

There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel

that can prevail against the LORD.

A horse is prepared for the day of battle,

but victory is of the LORD.

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2 Corinthians 10
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

Paul’s Defense of His Ministry

By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away!  I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.  For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

You are judging by appearances.   If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do.  So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it.  I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters.  For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”  Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.

We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.  We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you.  We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ.  Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand,  so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory.  But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”  For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

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Lamentations 3
(“a wailing, moaning, a weeping”  “to bark, scold” )
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The Prophet’s Afflictions

I am the man who has seen affliction

under the rod of God’s wrath.

He has driven me away and made me walk

in darkness instead of light.

Indeed, He keeps turning His hand

against me all day long.

He has worn away my flesh and skin;

He has shattered my bones.

He has besieged me and surrounded me

with bitterness and hardship.

He has made me dwell in darkness

like those dead for ages.

He has walled me in so I cannot escape;

He has weighed me down with chains.

Even when I cry out and plead for help,

He shuts out my prayer.

He has barred my ways with cut stones;

He has made my paths crooked.

He is a bear lying in wait,

a lion hiding in ambush.

He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces;

He left me without help.

He bent His bow

and set me as the target for His arrow.

He pierced my kidneys

with His arrows.

I am a laughingstock to all my people;

they mock me in song all day long.

He has filled me with bitterness;

He has intoxicated me with wormwood.

He has ground my teeth with gravel

and trampled me in the dust.

My soul has been deprived of peace;

I have forgotten what prosperity is.

So I say, “My strength has perished,

along with my hope from the LORD.”

The Prophet’s Hope

Remember my affliction and wandering,

the wormwood and the gall.

Surely my soul remembers

and is humbled within me.

Yet I call this to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed,

for His mercies never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness!

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in Him.”

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,

to the soul who seeks Him.

It is good to wait quietly

for the salvation of the LORD.

It is good for a man to bear the yoke

while he is still young.

Let him sit alone in silence,

for God has disciplined him.

Let him bury his face in the dust—

perhaps there is still hope.

Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him;

let him be filled with reproach.

For the Lord will not

cast us off forever.

Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion

according to His abundant loving devotion.

For He does not willingly afflict

or grieve the sons of men.

To crush underfoot

all the prisoners of the land,

to deny a man justice

before the Most High,

to subvert a man in his lawsuit—

of these the Lord does not approve.

God’s Justice

Who has spoken and it came to pass,

unless the Lord has ordained it?

Do not both adversity and good

come from the mouth of the Most High?

Why should any mortal man complain,

in view of his sins?

Let us examine and test our ways,

and turn back to the LORD.

Let us lift up our hearts and hands

to God in heaven:

“We have sinned and rebelled;

You have not forgiven.”

You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us;

You have killed without pity.

You have covered Yourself with a cloud

that no prayer can pass through.

You have made us scum and refuse

among the nations.

All our enemies

open their mouths against us.

Panic and pitfall have come upon us—

devastation and destruction.

Streams of tears flow from my eyes

over the destruction of the daughter of my people.

My eyes overflow unceasingly,

without relief,

until the LORD

looks down from heaven and sees.

My eyes bring grief to my soul

because of all the daughters of my city.

Without cause my enemies

hunted me like a bird.

They dropped me alive into a pit

and cast stones upon me.

The waters flowed over my head,

and I thought I was going to die.

I called on Your name, O LORD,

out of the depths of the Pit.

You heard my plea:

“Do not ignore my cry for relief.”

You drew near when I called on You;

You said, “Do not be afraid.”

You defend my cause, O Lord;

You redeem my life.

You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me;

vindicate my cause!

You have seen all their malice,

all their plots against me.

O LORD, You have heard their insults,

all their plots against me—

the slander and murmuring of my assailants

against me all day long.

When they sit and when they rise,

see how they mock me in song.

You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD,

according to the work of their hands.

Put a veil of anguish over their hearts;

may Your curse be upon them!

You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them

from under Your heavens, O LORD.

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Proverbs 6
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“
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(Christian Standard Bible)

Financial Entanglements

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor

or entered into an agreement with a stranger,

you have been snared by the words of your mouth—

trapped by the words from your mouth.

Do this, then, my son, and free yourself,

for you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power:

Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.

Don’t give sleep to your eyes

or slumber to your eyelids.

Escape like a gazelle from a hunter,

like a bird from a hunter’s trap.

Laziness

Go to the ant, you slacker!

Observe its ways and become wise.

Without leader, administrator, or ruler,

it prepares its provisions in summer;

it gathers its food during harvest.

How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?

When will you get up from your sleep?

A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the arms to rest,

and your poverty will come like a robber,

your need, like a bandit.

The Malicious Man

A worthless person, a wicked man

goes around speaking dishonestly,

winking his eyes, signaling with his feet,

and gesturing with his fingers.

He always plots evil with perversity in his heart;

he stirs up trouble.

Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly;

he will be shattered instantly, beyond recovery.

What the Lord Hates

The Lord hates six things;

in fact, seven are detestable to him:

arrogant eyes, a lying tongue,

hands that shed innocent blood,

a heart that plots wicked schemes,

feet eager to run to evil,

a lying witness who gives false testimony,

and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.

Warning against Adultery

My son, keep your father’s command,

and don’t reject your mother’s teaching.

Always bind them to your heart;

tie them around your neck.

When you walk here and there, they will guide you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

when you wake up, they will talk to you.

For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light,

and corrective discipline is the way to life.

They will protect you from an evil woman,

from the flattering tongue of a wayward woman.

Don’t lust in your heart for her beauty

or let her captivate you with her eyelashes.

For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread,

but the wife of another man goes after a precious life.

Can a man embrace fire

and his clothes not be burned?

Can a man walk on burning coals

without scorching his feet?

So it is with the one who sleeps with

another man’s wife;

no one who touches her will go unpunished.

People don’t despise the thief if he steals

to satisfy himself when he is hungry.

Still, if caught, he must pay seven times as much;

he must give up all the wealth in his house.

The one who commits adultery lacks sense;

whoever does so destroys himself.

He will get a beating and dishonor,

and his disgrace will never be removed.

For jealousy enrages a husband,

and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

He will not be appeased by anything

or be persuaded by lavish bribes.

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1 Corinthians 6
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

Lawsuits Among Believers

If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people?  Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?  Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!  Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church?  I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?  But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers!

The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?  Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters.  Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Sexual Immorality

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.  You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.  By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.  Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”  But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.  Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

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Psalm 18
“sacred poem or song“
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(New King James Version)

God the Sovereign Savior

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:

I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
He flew upon the wings of the wind.
He made darkness His secret place;
His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.
From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.

The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
I was also blameless before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down haughty looks.

For You will light my lamp;
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
For by You I can run against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.
As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And sets me on my high places.
He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
You enlarged my path under me,
So my feet did not slip.

I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
I have wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.
For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.
They cried out, but there was none to save;
Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;
I cast them out like dirt in the streets.

You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;
You have made me the head of the nations;
A people I have not known shall serve me.
As soon as they hear of me they obey me;
The foreigners submit to me.
The foreigners fade away,
And come frightened from their hideouts.

The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
It is God who avenges me,
And subdues the peoples under me;
He delivers me from my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.
Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.

Great deliverance He gives to His king,
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forevermore.

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Hebrews 1
(“a biblical Jew Israelite” “one from the other side“)
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(New International Version)

God’s Final Word: His Son

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.  The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

The Son Superior to Angels

For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son;

today I have become your Father”  ?

Or again,

“I will be his Father,

and he will be my Son” ?

And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.” 

In speaking of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels spirits,

and his servants flames of fire.” 

But about the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;

a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;

therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions

by anointing you with the oil of joy.” 

He also says,

“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

They will perish, but you remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

You will roll them up like a robe;

like a garment they will be changed.

But you remain the same,

and your years will never end.” 

To which of the angels did God ever say,

“Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies

a footstool for your feet” ?

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

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Psalm 17
“sacred poem or song“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Hear My Righteous Plea

A prayer of David.

Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;

listen to my cry.

Give ear to my prayer—

it comes from lips free of deceit.

May my vindication come from Your presence;

may Your eyes see what is right.

You have tried my heart;

You have visited me in the night.

You have tested me and found no evil;

I have resolved not to sin with my mouth.

As for the deeds of men—

by the word of Your lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent.

My steps have held to Your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

I call on You, O God,

for You will answer me.

Incline Your ear to me;

hear my words.

Show the wonders of Your loving devotion,

You who save by Your right hand

those who seek refuge from their foes.

Keep me as the apple of Your eye;

hide me in the shadow of Your wings

from the wicked who assail me,

from my mortal enemies who surround me.

They have closed their callous hearts;

their mouths speak with arrogance.

They have tracked us down, and now surround us;

their eyes are set to cast us to the ground,

like a lion greedy for prey,

like a young lion lurking in ambush.

Arise, O LORD, confront them!

Bring them to their knees;

deliver me from the wicked by Your sword,

from such men, O LORD, by Your hand—

from men of the world

whose portion is in this life.

May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons,

so they leave their abundance to their children.

As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness;

when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Psalm 51
“sacred poem or song“
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(New International Version)

Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba.

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to Your loving devotion;

according to Your great compassion,

blot out my transgressions.

Wash me clean of my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is always before me.

Against You, You only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in Your sight,

so that You may be proved right when You speak

and blameless when You judge.

Surely I was brought forth in iniquity;

I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

Surely You desire truth in the inmost being;

You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones You have crushed rejoice.

Hide Your face from my sins

and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from Your presence;

take not Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

and sustain me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,

and sinners will return to You.

Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God,

the God of my salvation,

and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare Your praise.

For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;

You take no pleasure in burnt offerings.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and a contrite heart,

O God, You will not despise.

In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper;

build up the walls of Jerusalem.

Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,

in whole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on Your altar.

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Psalm 102
“sacred poem or song“
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(New International Version)

The Prayer of the Afflicted

A prayer of one who is afflicted, when he grows faint and pours out his lament before the LORD.

Hear my prayer, O LORD;

let my cry for help come before You.

Do not hide Your face from me

in my day of distress.

Incline Your ear to me;

answer me quickly when I call.

For my days vanish like smoke,

and my bones burn like glowing embers.

My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass;

I even forget to eat my bread.

Through my loud groaning

my flesh clings to my bones.

I am like a desert owl,

like an owl among the ruins.

I lie awake;

I am like a lone bird on a housetop.

All day long my enemies taunt me;

they ridicule me and curse me.

For I have eaten ashes like bread

and mixed my drink with tears

because of Your indignation and wrath,

for You have picked me up and cast me aside.

My days are like lengthening shadows,

and I wither away like grass.

But You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever;

Your renown endures to all generations.

You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,

for it is time to show her favor—

the appointed time has come.

For Your servants delight in her stones

and take pity on her dust.

So the nations will fear the name of the LORD,

and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory.

For the LORD will rebuild Zion;

He has appeared in His glory.

He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute;

He will not despise their prayer.

Let this be written for the generation to come,

so that a people not yet created may praise the LORD.

For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary;

the LORD gazed out from heaven to earth

to hear a prisoner’s groaning,

to release those condemned to death,

that they may proclaim the name of the LORD in Zion

and praise Him in Jerusalem,

when peoples and kingdoms assemble

to serve the LORD.

He has broken my strength on the way;

He has cut short my days.

I say: “O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days!

Your years go on through all generations.

In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

They will perish, but You remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

Like clothing You will change them,

and they will be passed on.

But You remain the same,

and Your years will never end.

The children of Your servants will dwell securely,

and their descendants will be established before You.”

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Ephesians 6
(“overseer.“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Children and Parents

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  “Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.”

Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Serving with Honor

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.  And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.  Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

And masters, do the same for your slaves. Give up your use of threats, because you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.

The Full Armor of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.  Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel,  for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.

Final Greetings

Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know about me and what I am doing.  I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that he may encourage your hearts.

Peace to the brothers and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

Ephesians 1
(“overseer.“)
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(New International Version)

Paul’s Greeting to the Ephesians

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints in Ephesus,  the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.  For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love  He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,  to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace  that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.  And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ.

In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,  in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory.

And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,  who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.

Spiritual Wisdom

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,  I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.

I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬

2 Samuel 7
(“the name of God”)
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(New International Version)

God’s Promise to David

After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”

But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:

“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?  I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.  Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” ’

“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel.  I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth.  And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.

“ ‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you:  When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.  He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.  But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.  Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me ; your throne will be established forever.’ ”

Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

David’s Prayer

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:

“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?  And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human! 

“What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord.  For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.

“How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.  And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.

“And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised,  so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.

“Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.  Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.  Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

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Psalm 101
“sacred poem or song“
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(New King James Version)

I Will Sing of Loving Kindness and Justice

{A Psalm of David.} I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.

I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.

Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.

Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.

He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.

I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD.

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Acts 4
“a thing done”  “a doing; a driving, impulse, a setting in motion; a part in a play”
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(New International Version)

Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin

The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people.  They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.  They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.  But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem.  Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family.  They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!  If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed,  then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.  Jesus is

“ ‘the stone you builders rejected,

which has become the cornerstone.’ 

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.  But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.  So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.  “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it.  But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.  But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!  As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened.  For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

The Believers Pray

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.  When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.  You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“ ‘Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth rise up

and the rulers band together

against the Lord

and against his anointed one.  ’ 

Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.  They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.  Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.  Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

The Believers Share Their Possessions

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.  With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

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Quark Discusses Business

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PvpwP72wGg

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Ferengi Rules of Acquisition – Complete List

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvFYBkesqGU

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Quark Solves the Problem of War with Economics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdQcGzbpN7s

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Psalm 77
“sacred poem or song“
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(Berean Standard Bible)


In the Day of Trouble I Sought the Lord

For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

I cried out to God;

I cried aloud to God to hear me.

In the day of trouble I sought the Lord;

through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary;

my soul refused to be comforted.

I remembered You, O God, and I groaned;

I mused and my spirit grew faint.

Selah

You have kept my eyes from closing;

I am too troubled to speak.

I considered the days of old,

the years long in the past.

At night I remembered my song;

in my heart I mused, and my spirit pondered:

“Will the Lord spurn us forever

and never show His favor again?

Is His loving devotion gone forever?

Has His promise failed for all time?

Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has His anger shut off His compassion?”

Selah

So I said, “I am grieved

that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”

I will remember the works of the LORD;

yes, I will remember Your wonders of old.

I will reflect on all You have done

and ponder Your mighty deeds.

Your way, O God, is holy.

What god is so great as our God?

You are the God who works wonders;

You display Your strength among the peoples.

With power You redeemed Your people,

the sons of Jacob and Joseph.

Selah

The waters saw You, O God;

the waters saw You and swirled;

even the depths were shaken.

The clouds poured down water;

the skies resounded with thunder;

Your arrows flashed back and forth.

Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind;

the lightning lit up the world;

the earth trembled and quaked.

Your path led through the sea,

Your way through the mighty waters,

but Your footprints were not to be found.

You led Your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

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2 Corinthians 8
(“point” “peak“)
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(Berean Standard Bible)

Generosity Commended

Now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the churches of Macedonia.  In the terrible ordeal they suffered, their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich generosity.  For I testify that they gave according to their ability and even beyond it. Of their own accord, they earnestly pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.  And not only did they do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us, through the will of God.

So we urged Titus to help complete your act of grace, just as he had started it.  But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness, and in the love we inspired in you —see that you also excel in this grace of giving.  I am not giving a command, but I am testing the sincerity of your love through the earnestness of others.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.  And this is my opinion about what is helpful for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give, but even to have such a desire.  Now finish the work, so that you may complete it with the same eager desire, according to your means.  For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

It is not our intention that others may be relieved while you are burdened, but that there may be equality.  At the present time, your surplus will meet their need, so that in turn their surplus will meet your need. This way there will be equality.  As it is written:

“He who gathered much had no excess,

and he who gathered little had no shortfall.”

Titus Commended

But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same devotion I have for you.  For not only did he welcome our appeal, but he is eagerly coming to you of his own volition.

Along with Titus we are sending the brother who is praised by all the churches for his work in the gospel.  More than that, this brother was chosen by the churches to accompany us with the gracious offering we administer to honor the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help.

We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this generous gift.  For we are taking great care to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the eyes of men.

And we are sending along with them our brother who has proven his earnestness to us many times and in many ways, and now even more so by his great confidence in you.  As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you. As for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.  In full view of the churches, then, show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our boasting about you.

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Proverbs 21
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“

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(New International Version)

Wisdom’s Call

Does not wisdom call out?

Does not understanding raise her voice?

At the highest point along the way,

where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

beside the gate leading into the city,

at the entrance, she cries aloud:

“To you, O people, I call out;

I raise my voice to all mankind.

You who are simple, gain prudence;

You who are foolish, set your hearts on it. 

Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say;

I open my lips to speak what is right.

My mouth speaks what is true,

for my lips detest wickedness.

All the words of my mouth are just;

none of them is crooked or perverse.

To the discerning all of them are right;

they are upright to those who have found knowledge.

Choose my instruction instead of silver,

knowledge rather than choice gold,

for wisdom is more precious than rubies,

and nothing you desire can compare with her.

“I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;

I possess knowledge and discretion.

To fear the Lord is to hate evil;

I hate pride and arrogance,

evil behavior and perverse speech.

Counsel and sound judgment are mine;

I have insight, I have power.

By me kings reign

and rulers issue decrees that are just;

by me princes govern,

and nobles—all who rule on earth. 

I love those who love me,

and those who seek me find me.

With me are riches and honor,

enduring wealth and prosperity.

My fruit is better than fine gold;

what I yield surpasses choice silver.

I walk in the way of righteousness,

along the paths of justice,

bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me

and making their treasuries full.

“The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,

before his deeds of old;

I was formed long ages ago,

at the very beginning, when the world came to be.

When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,

when there were no springs overflowing with water;

before the mountains were settled in place,

before the hills, I was given birth,

before he made the world or its fields

or any of the dust of the earth.

I was there when he set the heavens in place,

when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,

when he established the clouds above

and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,

when he gave the sea its boundary

so the waters would not overstep his command,

and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.

Then I was constantly at his side.

I was filled with delight day after day,

rejoicing always in his presence,

rejoicing in his whole world

and delighting in mankind.

“Now then, my children, listen to me;

blessed are those who keep my ways.

Listen to my instruction and be wise;

do not disregard it.

Blessed are those who listen to me,

watching daily at my doors,

waiting at my doorway.

For those who find me find life

and receive favor from the Lord.

But those who fail to find me harm themselves;

all who hate me love death.”

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2 Corinthians 5
(“point” “peak“)
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(New International Version)

Awaiting the New Body

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.  Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.  For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.  Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  For we live by faith, not by sight.  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.  We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.  If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.  For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:  The old has gone, the new is here!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.  God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

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Hebrews 11
(“a biblical Jew Israelite” “one from the other side“)
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(New International Version)

Faith in Action

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.  This is what the ancients were commended for.

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”  For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.  By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.  And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.  And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.  People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.  If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.  Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”  Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.  He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.  He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.  By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.  By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. 

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.  Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.  Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.  They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

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Ephesians 3
(“overseer.“)

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(New International Version)

God’s Marvelous Plan for the Gentiles

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you,  that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.  In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,  which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.  This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.  Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.  His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,  according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.  In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.  I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

A Prayer for the Ephesians

For this reason I kneel before the Father,  from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,  may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

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Acts 17
“a thing done”  “a doing; a driving, impulse, a setting in motion; a part in a play”

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(New International Version)

In Thessalonica

When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.  As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,  explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said.  Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.

But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.  But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here,  and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”  When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil.  Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.

In Berea

As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.  Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.  As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up.  The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea.  Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

In Athens

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.  So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.  A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.  Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?  You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.”  (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.  For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.  And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.  From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.  ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’  As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 

“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.  In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”  At that, Paul left the Council.  Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

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Jeremiah 10
“may Jehovah exalt”  “the Lord casts, the Lord founds“
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(New International Version)

False Religion Worthless

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:  “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:

“ ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord.  This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place.  Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!”  If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly,  if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm,  then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever.  But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.

“ ‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things?  Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.

“ ‘Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.  While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer.  Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors.  I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’

“So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you.  Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?  The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger.  But am I the one they are provoking? declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?

“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land—and it will burn and not be quenched.

“ ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves!  For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you.  But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.  From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets.  But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.’

“When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer.  Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.

“ ‘Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath.

The Valley of Slaughter

“ ‘The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it.  They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.  So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.  Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.  I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will become desolate.

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Psalm 16
“sacred poem or song“
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(Berean Standard Bible)

The Presence of the LORD

A Miktam of David.

Preserve me, O God,

for in You I take refuge.

I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord;

apart from You I have no good thing.”

As for the saints in the land,

they are the excellence

in whom all my delight resides.

Sorrows will multiply

to those who chase other gods.

I will not pour out their libations of blood,

or speak their names with my lips.

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;

You have made my lot secure.

The lines of my boundary have fallen in pleasant places;

surely my inheritance is delightful.

I will bless the LORD who counsels me;

even at night my conscience instructs me.

I have set the LORD always before me.

Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will dwell securely.

For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.

You have made known to me the path of life;

You will fill me with joy in Your presence,

with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

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Proverbs 21
” A common saying, old adage, maxim”   “words put forth“

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(New International Version)

In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water

that he channels toward all who please him.

A person may think their own ways are right,

but the Lord weighs the heart.

To do what is right and just

is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

Haughty eyes and a proud heart—

the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin.

The plans of the diligent lead to profit

as surely as haste leads to poverty.

A fortune made by a lying tongue

is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.

The violence of the wicked will drag them away,

for they refuse to do what is right.

The way of the guilty is devious,

but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

Better to live on a corner of the roof

than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

The wicked crave evil;

their neighbors get no mercy from them.

When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;

by paying attention to the wise they get knowledge.

The Righteous One takes note of the house of the wicked

and brings the wicked to ruin.

Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor

will also cry out and not be answered.

A gift given in secret soothes anger,

and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.

When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous

but terror to evildoers.

Whoever strays from the path of prudence

comes to rest in the company of the dead.

Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;

whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.

The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,

and the unfaithful for the upright.

Better to live in a desert

than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.

The wise store up choice food and olive oil,

but fools gulp theirs down.

Whoever pursues righteousness and love

finds life, prosperity and honor.

One who is wise can go up against the city of the mighty

and pull down the stronghold in which they trust.

Those who guard their mouths and their tongues

keep themselves from calamity.

The proud and arrogant person—“Mocker” is his name—

behaves with insolent fury.

The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him,

because his hands refuse to work.

All day long he craves for more,

but the righteous give without sparing.

The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—

how much more so when brought with evil intent!

A false witness will perish,

but a careful listener will testify successfully.

The wicked put up a bold front,

but the upright give thought to their ways.

There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan

that can succeed against the Lord.

The horse is made ready for the day of battle,

but victory rests with the Lord.

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The Fallen Angel

by :  Alexandre Cabanel (1847)

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“To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’ 
—just as I have received authority from my Father.  I will also give that one the morning star.  Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.“
                                                                                                    –  Revelation 2 (New International Version)

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Star Trek: The Next Generation – Sentient Being

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjuQRCG_sUw

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Prove To The Court That I Am Sentient

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol2WP0hc0NY

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“There may be babblers, wholly ignorant of mathematics, who dare to condemn my hypothesis,
upon the authority of some part of the Bible twisted to suit their purpose.  I value them not, and scorn their unfounded judgment.“
                                                                            –  Nicolaus Copernicus

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