Podcasts about Asherah

1. Early in his sermon, Tim said “American Christianity has largely sentimentalized the New Testament; but you can't do that with the Old Testament.”What do you think it means to “sentimentalize the NT?” How prominent is that in your experience of Christianity? How aware of it have you been or are you now?What things can you recognize and identify as impacts or outcomes of that sentimentalizing? How have those things impacted you and your life of faith?2. The phrase “the Canaanites” acts almost as a shorthand representation for the many smaller kingdoms that operated in the region at the time. These kingdoms operated in the mode of something Brueggemann called the “Royal Consciousness: a culture of domination, consumption, and social control where the few live extravagantly…at the cost of many.”Common objects of worship in these cultures were Baal & Asherah. Baal was the rain and storm god, while Asherah was believed to have power over childbirth and family concerns. The Israelites, as noted in Judges 3:7, don't last long before they lapse into servitude of these two gods.In the cultural & historical contexts of Judges, Baal & Asherah could be understood as objects that were worshipped in attempts to avoid the threats of chaos & barrenness. These two themes have shown up repeatedly in our study of the first Old Testament books.Where, in our own modern cultural context, do you see the same perpetual specters of chaos & barrenness? What does each look like in 2026's America?How do people today try to escape these modern iterations of chaos &/or barrenness? To what extent do you see that dynamic at play within our world today?To what extent is that dynamic at play in you and your life? What things do you pursue as hopeful saviors from these timeless threats? Where do you tend to (consciously or unconsciously) look for rescue or safety in the face of them?3. Tim described a pattern that is present in Judges; it's a cycle that starts with loss of memory resulting in ideological capture.Where can you identify these first parts of the pattern in a more contemporary context?After reviewing the full cycle, how relatable or resonant does this pattern seem today? Does it hold true? Where might you call out additional nuance or variation?Tim said that though this pattern is often referred to as the “sin cycle,” it is, instead, a Redemption Cycle. He added that “failure is the engine of every redemption story.”What do you think about this framing? Where does it hold up? Where might you feel curious about gaps?How might you conceive of yourself within its stages, especially in light of the things you identified in question 2 as places you may turn for safety in the face of chaos and/or barrenness?

Was monotheism passed down from Pharaoh Akhenaten of Ancient Egypt? Who was the ancient goddess Asherah? How did exposure to other empires shape the Hebrew Bible?  William is joined by Francesca Stavrakopoulou, author of God: An Anatomy, to explore the evolution of the deity Yahweh, and Freud's theory that Jewish monotheism was passed down from Ancient Egypt.  Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com. Email: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Assistant Producer: Imogen Marriott Editor:  Imogen Marriott Social Producer: Charlie Johnson Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey friends, every month I do bonus episodes where I tackle questions from my Patreon community. For May, I hit 16 questions (see below). For this free bonus, I've included the first few questions. For the full thing, join a bronze, silver, or gold tier on my Patreon! You'll also get access to Extra Innings, Exiles conference content, free tickets, Zoom chats and more! Questions:0:52. If a pastor commits adultery, but repents, is he still disqualified from his office for the rest of his life in view of elder reqs in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1?7:55. What were your thoughts on the Pete Enns session at Exiles? In particular, how would you steel man his position about the flood narrative? 22:27. When Pete Enns spoke at Exiles I think he mentioned maybe Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses did not actually exist. What are your thoughts on this? 29:16. Advice for initiating movement into mutualism in practice & policy?31:50. How do "non-affirming" traditions engage the practice of ecumenical unity with "affirming" traditions? Does "Side A" operate outside the bounds of orthodoxy? 37:39. Is your family's current church egalitarian? If not, now that you've landed on a position, has that impacted your ability to serve/teach/etc?42:19. Why follow some OT laws (lying) but not others (shellfish, polyester)? Had an OT prof that taught that ‘ceremonial/civil/moral' distinction doesn't hold water46:07. If the annihilation theory is correct, how does that help people see their need for a savior? If you don't believe in God, ceasing to exist seems preferable. 48:13. Do you think the accommodating and not judging mentioned in Romans 14 could be applied to pronoun hospitality and how we interact with others we disagree with? 49:04. What spiritual rhythms feel most grounding for you in your ministry? And how do you balance a rhythm like scripture reading with scholarly work?50:46. How do you interact with non-Christian Biblical scholars? I have a hard time taking them seriously if they don't actually believe in what they're studying.52:56. I've read recently claims that most Israelites worshipped Asherah as Yahweh's wife and that it wasn't until later that she was condemned. Any insight?54:05. Has there been any updates or significant changes in research around gender dysphoria since Embodied was released?58:36. Do Jesus' statements in Matthew 19 and the Sermon on the Mount imply that anyone has grounds for divorce because lusting after someone is committing adultery?01:00:43. At what point does being wrong about theology become sin? I'm thinking of pre-civil-war churches preaching slavery was OK, and extrapolating to today's issues.01:02:41. I heard a conservative Christian reporter refer to individuals experiencing gender dysphoria as "gender confused." Do you consider this term pejorative? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to Day 2876 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom – Progressive Christianity and the Northern Kingdom: A Repeated Rebellion. Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2876 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps!   I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2876 of our Trek.   The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Our current series of Theology Thursday lessons is written by theologian and teacher John Daniels. I have found that his lessons are short, easy to understand, doctrinally sound, and applicable to all who desire to learn more of God's Word. John's lessons can be found on his website   theologyinfive.com.   Today's lesson is titled:  Progressive Christianity and the Northern Kingdom: A Repeated Rebellion. After the division of Israel, Jeroboam feared losing his kingdom if the people continued worshiping in Jerusalem. Rather than abolish religion, he reshaped it. He placed golden calves at Dan and Bethel and declared, “Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt” (First Kings 12, verse twenty-eight). He kept the name of Yahweh but changed the worship to fit political and cultural needs. Progressive Christianity walks the same path. It keeps the language of faith while redefining the terms. Jesus becomes a moral teacher rather than the risen Lord. Sin becomes injustice rather than rebellion. Salvation becomes social healing rather than spiritual redemption. Just like the Northern Kingdom, modern progressives offer a god who is familiar in name but foreign in nature. The First Segment is: “Open-Minded” Idolatry The people of Israel did not see themselves as rejecting Yahweh. They simply wanted to be open to other spiritual options. Baal was worshiped for rain, Asherah for fertility, and Molech for prosperity. The land was filled with high places, groves, and alternate shrines. In their minds, it was not apostasy. It was balance. It was maturity. Progressive Christianity mirrors this impulse. Its leaders are often proud to affirm all religions as valid paths to the divine. Jesus is presented as one example among many. Interfaith services blend Scripture with mantras, chakras, and meditation. This “open-mindedness” is not new. It is the same spiritual adultery that the prophets condemned as whoredom. God does not share His throne. The second Segment is: Pagan Intrusion in Sacred Clothing The Israelites introduced forbidden elements into their worship. They practiced divination, consulted mediums, and used cultic rituals they learned from their Canaanite neighbors. They may have justified these things as “spiritual tools,” but the prophets saw clearly what was happening. Paganism was creeping into the house of God. Today, angel cards, energy healing, astrology, aura readings, and manifesting are all being imported into churches, especially those influenced by progressive and New Apostolic Reformation theology. These practices are often wrapped in Christian language. They speak of light, Spirit, and destiny. But they are no different from the forbidden rituals of ancient days. Their power does not come from the Holy Spirit. It comes from the same deceiving spirits that always wait behind the idols. The Third Segment is: The Rise of Prophetic Theater In the Northern Kingdom, the prophets became professional performers. They declared victory and blessing without requiring repentance. They contradicted the true prophets, promising peace while ignoring rebellion. Jeremiah lamented, “They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you'” (Jeremiah 23, verse seventeen). Today's “prophecy schools,” such as Bethel's School of Supernatural Ministry, follow a disturbingly similar pattern. They claim to train individuals to “activate” prophetic gifts, to decree and declare realities into being, and to access heaven's secrets at will. But true prophecy in Scripture was never a skill to be mastered or a sensation to be invoked. It was a calling given by God to speak His Word with fear and trembling. At Bethel and similar movements, prophecy becomes performance. It centers on personal revelation, emotional experience, and “manifesting” outcomes rather than repentance, obedience, and holiness. Like the prophets of the Northern Kingdom, these teachers proclaim peace where there is no peace and glory without the cross. The emphasis on “prophetic activation” closely mirrors the divination condemned by Moses, where the divine is manipulated for human ends rather than received with reverent submission. The Fourth Segment is: Cultural Syncretism Rebranded as Revival Ancient Israel thought it could have both Yahweh and Baal. It thought it could use Canaanite worship styles to honor the God of Abraham. But Yahweh had already spoken at Sinai. His worship was not negotiable. Israel's attempt to blend cultures resulted in divine rejection. Progressive Christianity makes the same mistake. It borrows the language of self-help, the values of humanism, and the practices of mysticism. It attempts to wrap them in Christian terms, calling it “revival” or “awakening.” But Yahweh does not share His glory. He is not worshiped on the high places. He is not accessed through emotion, technique, or personal preference. He demands covenant faithfulness. The fifth segment is: The Prophets Were Never Popular In the Northern Kingdom, the true prophets were persecuted. Elijah was hunted. Amos was silenced. Hosea was scorned. They did not tell people what they wanted to hear. They told them what God said. The people preferred the false prophets who promised peace, affirmation, and national greatness. Today, biblical voices that warn against false spirituality are called judgmental. They are told they are stifling the Spirit. They are accused of division and fear-mongering. But their words match the prophets of old. God does not change, and neither does the nature of rebellion. The sixth segment is: The Consequence of Compromise The Northern Kingdom fell. Assyria crushed it, and its people were scattered. The fall was not just political. It was spiritual. The gods they welcomed could not save them. The prophets they trusted led them into ruin. God gave them over to what they had chosen. Progressive Christianity is on the same path. It trades revelation for reinvention. It welcomes what God forbids. It builds golden calves and calls them Jesus. Its trajectory is not renewal but collapse. A house built on sand will fall. In Conclusion The Northern Kingdom did not fall because it rejected religion. It fell because it redefined it. It kept the name of God while reshaping everything else. It embraced the gods of the age and called it progress. Progressive Christianity is repeating this rebellion. It is time to choose whom we will serve. For further study, consider these Discussion Questions Why do you think Jeroboam chose to redefine Israel's worship rather than abolish it outright? How does this reflect the way progressive Christianity reshapes faith today? What are the dangers of being “open-minded” about spiritual truth? At what point does openness become compromise, and how can we recognize the difference? How do modern practices like angel cards, manifesting, and prophetic activation parallel ancient forbidden rituals? Can these practices ever be redeemed or are they inherently incompatible with biblical faith? Why were the true prophets in Israel often unpopular and rejected? How does this help us evaluate popular spiritual leaders today? If the Northern Kingdom's downfall was theological more than political, what does that suggest about the long-term consequences of doctrinal compromise in the Church today? Join us next Theology Thursday to learn The Bible as a Polemic: Confronting the Powers that Rebelled Kingdom:. If you found this podcast insightful, please subscribe and leave us a review, then encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of  ‘Wisdom-Trek,  Creating a Legacy.'                          Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly,   I am your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal. As we take this Trek of life together, let us always:           

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What is enough? How do you know when you have enough? Is the answer: “Just a little more . . .”? If so, you're not alone, but you're also on a dangerous road. From the rich fool who built bigger barns to the algorithm that lives in our pocket, something has always been working to convince us that the next thing is the thing that will finally make us secure. But Jesus names a deeper truth: greed isn't really about money at all. It's about where we go for safety, and whether we trust our stuff or our Father to be the ground beneath our feet. Greed Dr. Eric J. Gilchrest | May 31, 2026 Check out the weekly sermon here or on our SRBC podcast on Apple Podcast and Spotify. This Sunday we're exploring:The rich fool of Luke 12 and how building a bigger barn was a dangerous replacement for the work only God can doHow the algorithm and our social media networks form us every day into people who can never quite be satisfiedGreed as a trust problem: the quiet transfer of our security from God to the things in our closets or our bank accountsWhy the offering plate is one of the most counter-cultural things we do — and how the practice of charity and generosity is an important way we take the offramp from greed back onto the narrow road that leads to abundant life Like what you hear? We'd love to know.At South Run, we read every message personally. Whether you have a question, want to share how God is moving in your life, or are thinking about visiting in person, this is the place to start. If you click the link below, Pastor Eric will personally reach out to you. Listening online? Let us know. Sermon Transcript South Run Baptist Church | Springfield, VAPastor Eric GilchrestMark 3:1–6; Matthew 5:21–22; Exodus 34:6–9; Jonah 4May 10, 2026 — Mother's DayThis is a full sermon transcript from South Run Baptist Church in Springfield, Virginia. In this message, Pastor Eric Gilchrest preaches on anger and wrath as part of the ongoing "The Jesus Way" transformation series on the seven deadly sins. Drawing from Mark 3, Genesis 4, Exodus 34, Jonah 4, and Matthew 5, this sermon takes the congregation on a biblical tour of what Scripture says about anger — the difference between righteous and unrighteous anger, what Jesus' own anger reveals about the nature of God, and how to keep the fire in the fireplace. Announcements: Bridge Walkers and a Joint Service on May 31stGood morning, friends. It's good to be with you. Before we get started, there's just a couple things I want to say. There's something that I haven't alerted you to yet, but this is as good a time as any. So a few weeks ago, right before Easter, I was invited into a group of pastors who met over the course of two days, and there was an evening together. We stayed at a hotel. There was a grant connected to it. And it was a group of white pastors and a group of black pastors in the area here, in the Virginia, D.C., Maryland area. And the hope of this — it's a group called Bridge Walkers, which gets its name from the walk from Selma to Montgomery back in the 60s. And as somebody who lived right outside of Selma in Marion, Alabama, I know the scene well. In fact, I was there at the 50th anniversary of it in 2013, and it was a really powerful event. And so the meeting was one that I definitely wanted to participate in. And as we gathered together, we had some really frank discussions about race in the United States and in the church, and how we can be, as a church, agents of reconciliation.And so the fruit of this and the hope of where this all goes is for our churches of these pastors to do some things together over the coming year or two. And so the first of these is coming up May 31st, which happens to be the exact same day as the picnic. I did not get to pick this, it just kind of happened this way, which is in part why we are holding the picnic immediately after the service. And Jeff was right. I will be dressed for the part, and I need you to be dressed for the part too. The picnic will be fun. We'll have games. We'll drag stuff out. But then we wanted to give enough time for those of you who would like to attend this service to get home, maybe take a nap, or do whatever you do on your Sunday afternoons. And then at 6 p.m., it's up in Glen Arden, Maryland, we will have the first of these services together. I don't know what to expect, but I do expect that God will move, and I expect the Holy Spirit to be present, and I expect some of our preconceived notions to be challenged. I expect transformation is always beckoning us, and I am deeply hopeful for what might come out of this. So put that on your calendar. This is May 31st, just right around the corner, and it is 6 p.m. that evening.Happy Mother's Day: A Childhood Binder and a Mom Who Saw All of YouToday is Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to the mothers and the spiritual mothers in the room. I was trying to think of what to say at this point, and what came to mind was a collection of photos that I found from my childhood that my mom had gathered together. It was one of those binders that back in the 1998 time frame when I graduated from high school, that people would put photos into and they'd put words about what was happening at that time. And my mom was way into this. And so she chronicled my whole childhood from zero to 18 and then presented me with this big binder. And now as a father of an 18-year-old, I think about that a little differently.And I think about what it means to be a dad, only because I can't think about what it means to be a mom, because I'm not one. But I know this much on the receiving end of it all. I had a wonderful mom who looked after me in ways that I don't think I'll ever be able to fully appreciate. She saw every last bit of me and who I was, and she was there every step of the way, even if I didn't realize it. And so for all the moms in the room, I am grateful. We are all grateful. And for those of us who have moms who are still alive, may we reach out to them today and give them the thanks that they deserve.Let's begin with some prayer. Heavenly Father, I pray a special prayer of blessing over the mothers in this room today. Lord, the kind of love that you call us into, that agape love, a self-giving kind of love, I can think of no better human example than what mothers do on a day-to-day basis for their children. And so, God, may we all aspire to that. We give you thanks for them, and we give you praise for that kind of love, and may we be drawn into being those kinds of people too. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.The Jesus Way Series: Vanity, the Seven Deadly Sins, and Today's Stop — Anger All right, we are — if you don't know — we are on a road together, a path, right? And this began a few weeks ago. Well, I mean, it kind of began a long time ago, but we're on this transformation kick. But then since Easter, we've been walking in these two ways. And I've been trying to show you that there is this narrow way, right? It's the way that Jesus is drawing us into. It's narrow because fewer people choose it. It's a little hard. There's more friction to it. It requires something of you to be on it. But it is the way to life and to fullness of life and to eternal life. And this is what Jesus is trying to get us to do. But then there is this other way. There's this broad way. It's bigger and wider, and it's much easier to find yourself on it. And it's marked by a number of things. And so two weeks ago, we talked about vanity as one of the markers of this way. And it's easy to just kind of slide into vanity. And then today, we're talking about the broad way again. And I want to talk about anger. And I know it's Mother's Day. So apologies ahead of time for this. I do want you to know there was a toss-up between this and gluttony. And so I put gluttony on Father's Day. So, you know, you can get ready for that too. And I'll say, all of the analogies are aimed at the men in the room today. So all the stories — you know, like I'm looking at guys here — women, you get the day off. So you're welcome. All right, so just clarify a couple things up front. I originally had the name wrath for this sermon, and I was afraid that it might draw up like the wrong image for you. But here's the truth of the matter. The word anger and the word wrath — actually, it's the same thing. The roots of these are the same, like the down deep parts of it. They're just two different words for the same thing. The goal of what I want to accomplish in this sermon today is to really lean into the middle section of this rotten tree that stands before you. We've already touched on vanity, the far left, and we'll get to each of these branches at some point over the weeks here. And then just to remind you, at the base of all of this is your pride and your ego. It's kind of the thing that is the last thing that will die in this earth, right? Because if you could just simply root that part out, then it would take care of the rest. But pride is much trickier than simply just plucking it out like a weed. It has roots that go much deeper than you or I can really frankly imagine. So today we're just focusing on the middle one. We're talking about wrath or anger. And I have thoroughly enjoyed this. Maybe I enjoy it too much. I'm realizing this right now as I said that. I have like a thousand things I want to tell you, and I will only tell you maybe ten of those. And so if you think to yourself, well, Pastor Eric, I wish you had talked about this — I probably could have and maybe should have. But I'm glad that you're leaning in and you're really digging into what you need to know about anger and wrath. Also, it's a pitch to come to Sunday morning Bible study where we do go deeper for a whole hour on this topic. The goal of the sermon is, with the theme of roads and ways and all, to take you on a tour — like a driving tour of your Bible — and the things that it has to say about anger. Think of it this way. We've got a few key destinations I'm trying to get us to. And then as we go to those destinations, there's like bathroom stops I want to point us at, or maybe just a couple things that you should have in your view as we head to these main stops. First Stop — Mark 3:1–6: Jesus Gets Angry in the Synagogue The first stop is the one we read already, which is Mark chapter 3. And so I'd encourage you, please, open your scriptures, open your Bibles to Mark chapter 3 as we dig into what Jesus demonstrates for us about anger. Mark 3:1 to 6. Again, he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, come over here. And then he said to the Pharisees, he said, is it lawful? Does the law permit? Does your Bible tell me that it's okay to do good or harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill it? He's asking them, how do you read your Bible? What's the right thing to do here? But they were silent.And then he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, stretch out your hand. And he said, I'm going to teach you how to read your Bible. And I'm going to teach you what it looks like to keep the Sabbath. And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. And the Pharisees went out and they immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him how to destroy him.There are two angry parties here. Jesus gets angry and clearly the Pharisees do as well as they seek to destroy him by the end. There are just a few things that I want to point to in this passage that will become important. And the goal as we make these stops on this journey together is to maybe build up a case of the kinds of things we can say about anger based on what we find in our scriptures. The first would be simply that Jesus does get angry. And it's actually okay for you to be angry too sometimes — with a huge caveat around it. Because anger is actually one — it's the only sin on the list of the seven deadly sins — that it's okay to, we'll say, participate in when it's not a sin. The sin looks a whole lot like the not-sin. It's the only one that looks like this. Knowing how to distinguish between the sinful version of anger and the righteous version of anger, it takes wisdom and it takes maturity. I don't recommend it to the littlest ones among us. It's a little bit like holding a knife. Like, you want to teach someone how to do this and to train them well, or they're going to do what? They're going to cut someone, maybe themselves. And anger is much the same way. And we need to learn how to use it in a controlled manner.But Jesus does get angry. And then I'll say this about his anger. If you read closely, what is he angry at? It's actually remarkably precise here in Mark. He's angry at their hardness of heart. He's not precisely angry at them, just generally, as if Pharisees are awful people or something like this. No, he's angry at something specific. The object that he's directing his anger at is their hardness. There's something in them. And he says there's something really wrong with that. And it provokes some anger in him.The other thing I'd say is that his anger is connected to justice, which is what anger is always connected to, by the way. Usually — well, actually both in the righteous form and the unrighteous form. When something's gone wrong in the world, righteous anger says, something's wrong with the world, and I want to fix it. When anger is unrighteous, usually you're saying, something's wrong with my world, and I want to fix that. The last thing I'd say about this passage is maybe the most important of them all, which is that if you really look closely at verse 5 there, it says this: he looked around at them with anger, grieved. Two emotions are sitting together — anger and grief. Anger and grief. How does one have anger and grief sitting side by side? Well, the only way is if you manage to find empathy for the one you are angry with. It's when moms and dads say it — and I promise they mean it, kids — when they say, this is harder for me than for you. Well, they mostly mean it. I feel grief over having to discipline. I feel grief because I want your world to be right. And Jesus here is feeling grief for the Pharisees, saying, I wish your hearts were not so hard. I could teach you a better way. I could teach you a way to life.Thumos and Orge: Two Greek Words for Anger in the New TestamentAll right, let's keep going on our journey here. Actually, let me pause one more minute. This is a good opportunity to introduce two words that appear in our New Testament. Both of them are words for anger, and they are thumos and orge. It's a hard G. We're still talking about the sin of anger here. Thumos and orge.I want you to think about anger as a fire. This is the metaphor for anger often. And fire, much like a knife, is something that can do damage or it can do good. Thumos is the damaging kind. It flames up quickly. It's the road rage. It's somebody getting upset, right? And it's named specifically in Galatians 5:20 and Ephesians 4:31, if you want to look those up. Galatians 5:20 is right next to the fruit of the Spirit. You know the fruit of the Spirit? These are the ones we love to talk about. But there's the fruit of the flesh right before it. And in this fruit of the flesh is thumos. It's that anger that rages up, right? This is what we're trying to avoid.But the one next to it is orge. And orge — sometimes it is unrighteous anger, it's not always righteous — but it is a controlled anger. It has some measure of control around it, as I say, a controlled burn, right? There are times where if there's a fire in your fireplace, that's a great thing, and it's controlled. But if that fire jumps out of your fireplace and is uncontrolled and creeps up the walls, now we've got a different kind of problem. Our goal today is to learn how to keep that fire in the fireplace.Pit Stop — Genesis 4:3–7: Cain's Anger and the Sin Crouching at the Door All right, we'll move on. We need to take a quick pit stop, however, on this journey and look at Genesis chapter 4, verses 3 to 7. This is the famous story of Cain and Abel. You probably know what happens to Abel and then maybe to Cain. Cain murders his brother. But before he does, we read a little bit about how this gets set up.In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering. But for Cain and his offering, he did not And so what happens? Well, Cain was very angry, and here we see the burning starts, right? The fire begins to burn. And Cain's face fell, and the Lord said to Cain — the question you should be asking yourself this morning — which is, why are you angry? Why are you angry? When you get angry, why? What is under that for you? It's a very good question. And why has your face fallen? And then he says — God says to him — if you do well, won't you be accepted? And if you do not do well, and here's the key, "sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must master it."And what is the sin here? The sin is anger, and it's burning in him. And he says, you must master it, you must keep this in the fireplace. And if you don't keep this in the fireplace, it's going to destroy everything. We know exactly what happens. The sin that was crouching does what? It leaps out of that fireplace, and Cain kills his brother. And we have the first murder in all of Scripture.Murder is a terrible sin. It's actually not one of the deadly sins, is it? It's not one of the seven. Because underneath murder — and Jesus teaches us this in Matthew 5 — underneath murder sits the thing that's in our heart. We call that anger. Second Stop — Exodus 34:6–9: God Reveals His Nature as Slow to AngerAll right, the next stop on our tour is Exodus chapter 34, verses 6 to 9. I would encourage you, go ahead and pull your Bibles there now. Exodus 34:6–9. This is where Moses is up on the mount, Mount Sinai. He's getting the Ten Commandments. But in this very important scene, God reveals his nature to him. And he tells us, and he reports to us, what kind of God he is.And I'll say God is angry at times. God can have wrath. I do not deny this, and I don't want to even diminish this in any way. But I'd encourage you as we read through this to recognize a very important fact — that even for God, maybe especially for God, who is perfection and the thing that we are trying to strive for — God's wrath and anger flows from his love. Love is the primary, and out of that flows his anger. You might wonder, well, Eric, how in the world does that work? That doesn't seem obvious to me at all. But I would point us back to maybe Mother's Day or the fathers in the room. When you get angry as a parent, like in a good way, a good angry, when you see your child being hurt by somebody and that mama bear rage wells up — why? Because you want to protect your child. An injustice has happened or is about to happen and you want to protect them. God is not dissimilar. He knows what is good for us. He knows when the world is off kilter. He knows when you are off kilter. And he knows that when it is and when you are, that this is destructive to you. And he wants to save you from your destruction. And we call this anger. And it's him maybe punishing or reaching out and trying to fix the situation. And sometimes — and parents know this — the discipline requires something harsh.So it goes like this in verse 6. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed. And this is what the Lord is saying about himself. "The Lord, Yahweh" — and he says it twice, Yahweh, Yahweh — "I am a God who is merciful and gracious, and I'm slow to anger." And there it is, right? I'm not quick to anger. I am slow to anger. I am gracious. I'm merciful. I'm slow to anger. I abound in this. The word here is hesed. It's a steadfast love. It is a love that never quits. It is like a mother's love — like, you can do all kinds of things, but your mom is just going to love you throughout and throughout and throughout. And this is what God is saying of his very self, that he has this kind of hesed love, a steadfast love, of faithfulness. And he keeps steadfast love for thousands. And more than that, he's forgiving. And he forgives all the kinds of words for sin that appear in your Old Testament. Sometimes we call it iniquity, sometimes transgression, and sometimes sin. And he says, I'm willing to forgive all of these things. He then does go into the fact that he is a just God, and there needs to be justice. And so he says he doesn't clear the guilty just by virtue of wiping it away. And he, in fact — and this needs some explanation, and fortunately this is going to have to wait for another day — he visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children so that the third and the fourth generation, they sometimes feel the effects of the father's sin. I think you know this to be true just if you look through your family history and you think about your father and his father and his father and the ways in which their failures have a way of creeping through a family line. I think that's what God is teaching us here.And so Moses quickly bows his head toward the earth and he worshiped and he said, "If now I have found favor in your sight, oh Lord, please let this God — let you, God, the one who is merciful and slow to anger — that is the God we need in our midst. Because we're a stiff-necked people and we need you to pardon our iniquity."This is a remarkable passage in its historical context. There are lots of gods in the ancient world, if you don't know. There's a group that's praying to a God named Asherah at this point. And that God happens to be really good at fertility matters. Or there's the folks who are crying out to Baal. And Baal is one of these like really fickle gods who may get angry with you and then doesn't. And you never know who you're going to get with Baal. Or if you fast forward in time, you might get the God of Mars, who is the God of war. And that's the God you're going to meet in the pages of history.But this God, Yahweh, is unlike all the other gods. There is no other God named in history, certainly at this point, who describes himself in the ways that our God describes himself. This description literally changes the course of history. Because we should look to our God, to this God, and say to ourselves, thanks be to God that you are the God who is all of these things, and especially the God who is slow to anger.This passage is, again, as I said, one of the most important in all of the Old Testament, and we know this with certainty because — I've just got a couple here, Psalm 30 and Micah 7 — but you could do a Google search later on how many passages from the Bible as a whole, but especially our Old Testament, appeal to and quote from Exodus 34, and you'll be amazed. The Bible repeats this part of the Bible over and over and over again. Psalm 103, Nehemiah 9, Psalm 86, Joel 2 — or the next stop on our journey, Jonah chapter 4.Third Stop — Jonah 4: HOT Anger and Everything Jonah Gets WrongLet's turn there together. Jonah chapter 4. Jonah is a troubled prophet. I would encourage you, whatever you do, do not look to Jonah as an exemplar. He will let you down. Jonah is one of these — actually he's the only prophet who I can really say that about. The whole book is an upside-down prophet. He's not doing what he should be doing, and he's doing what he should not be doing, and we see this ever so clearly in chapter 4 here.We'll read it. For the sake of time, I'm not going to spend nearly as much time in it, but what we see is an angry prophet. Now, prophets are actually often angry. You should know this. The other prophets are too. They're just angry, typically in the righteous kind of way, because again, if justice is the name of the game for anger — the prophets are looking out and they're seeing injustice and unrighteousness everywhere. And they're shouting at their people, you got to fix this. And they're angry with them. And they say, the world's not right, and it should be. And you need to be doing something about it. Jonah is angry as well, much like the prophets. But he is, we'll say, more self-centered than he should be. And so it goes like this. If you don't know the story of Jonah, the lead up to this point is that he has taken his word of disaster to the Ninevites, and he has said, you need to repent. And they said, okay, we will. And they did. And then God relents, and he does not destroy them. And Jonah is not pleased with this. Chapter 4, starting in verse 1: "It displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry." There you go. It's just kind of on the face of it. He's displeased. He's angry. What's he angry about? That God was the merciful God. He wanted the war God, the wrath God. He wanted Mars. He wanted Baal. But instead, he got Yahweh. And he prayed to the Lord. And he said, "Oh Yahweh, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish." If you don't know that part of the story, he didn't even want to go to Nineveh at all, and so he fled. And so he says, this is why I left. I didn't want to come here. And then he just says it outright. "I knew you were a gracious God. You were merciful. You are slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster." He said, this is why I didn't want to come. I was looking for Mars. I was looking for the God of war. I wanted you to come in and destroy this whole place. And I knew, I knew you wouldn't do it.Jonah's upset. Does he have a righteous anger? Let's all say it together. No. No, he doesn't. He's showing us all the wrong ways. And he goes on: "Therefore now, Lord, please take my life from me." Twice he's going to ask for this — "for it's better for me to die than to live." And then God asks him the same question, or a similar question to the one Cain gets, right? Do you do well to be angry? Again, the question maybe you're being asked right now. Do you do well to be angry? And Jonah went out of the city, and he sits east of the city, makes a booth for himself there. He sat under the shade till he should see what would become of the city. And the Lord God appointed a plant to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head to save him from the discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of this plant. But when dawn came the next day, God appoints a worm that attacks the plant and it withers. And when the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that again he might die and said, it is better for me to die than to live. And God asks another time, do you do well to be angry for the plant? And Jonah says, yes. Wrong answer, Jonah. But he says, yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die. And the Lord said — and here's the convicting part — he says, you're angry about all the wrong things. Your anger is an unrighteous anger. You're targeting the wrong targets. You are not upset about what I get upset about. Your anger is self-serving. This is what he's saying when he says in verse 10: "You pity the plant for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. But shouldn't I have pity on Nineveh, a great city in which there are more than 120,000 souls? Shouldn't I care about that? Shouldn't I have pity on those people? And shouldn't you too, Jonah?"And then the story ends very abruptly. It's kind of one of these where you feel like maybe there's a missing chapter somewhere and someday we'll uncover it. But for today, this is what we get.Diagnosing Your Anger: The HOT Framework — Wrong Heat, Wrong Object, Wrong TimingThere's a few things from this that I want to kind of put into your cap to maybe help you remember something about anger that will help you diagnose it later on. I'm calling this HOT — H-O-T — hot, Jonah's hot anger. So there's the wrong heat, which is to say the wrong heat level. He gets too angry about the wrong things. His anger is the wrong intensity — he gets so angry about this plant. But he's not angry about the right things with regard to the people. And then the wrong object, right? The wrong object of his anger. So he's angry not about what is just or unjust. He's instead angry at God. He's angry at God's mercy and ultimately at the loss of this plant. He's very interested in this plant. And then lastly, the timing of it all is wrong. He stays angry for too long and it burns for too long. He's still upset about leaving Tarshish. He brings that back up, right? That was sitting somewhere in his heart that he didn't even want to go at all. And so he's mad at God for taking him out of Tarshish and his own land and heading over to Nineveh. And he's holding this grudge.But all of this speaks something to your anger and my anger, which is sometimes our anger is too hot for the situation. And when the kid spills the milk at the table and you blow up — is that the right heat level? No. No, it's not. The object of our anger — maybe you do blow up at the table, Dad. And you get angry with the kid in that moment. But that's not even the object of your anger. You're angry from work earlier that day where your boss said something to you that you didn't like. And now you're upset generally speaking, and then when the kid spills the milk, you yell at him. That is not the object of your anger. Don't take it out on him. Or the timing of it all — maybe you've been holding this grudge for years, and you've just been gathering it over time. This is why we need to forgive, and we need to reduce our resentments. And if we are going to walk this Jesus way, the way that leads to life, it is going to require some wisdom around all three of these things. Final Stop — Matthew 5:21–22: Jesus on Anger, Murder, and What's Sitting in Your HeartAll right, one more stop on the way. This one's Matthew 5:21 and 22. This is Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. This is perhaps the passage maybe I should have preached from, so I am. "You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry" — and there Jesus is just calling it out for us, even if you've got anger in your heart — "will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council, and whoever says you fool will be liable to the hell of fire."There's a lot in this passage. A lot can be said, so I'll just keep it simple. If anger is sitting at the root of this and it's sitting in our hearts, there are any number of fruit that can come out of that anger. Sometimes it's murder. I hope that's not the case for any of us. But sometimes it's just calling someone, you fool, you idiot. Or maybe it's just the rolling of your eyes at that person you think is an idiot. Or maybe it's you online. Maybe it's what you're saying in the comment box, right? To say, you don't know what you're talking about. And it's a self-righteous kind of anger. And it sits there and it burns.And here's what I'd say about all this. There is a destruction that is happening. Jesus calls this the way of destruction for a reason. Because you are aiming at God, believe it or not, when your anger is unrighteous. Because you are saying, the world is not as it should be, and I don't trust God to fix it. So I am going to fix it myself. And then the damage you're doing is all around you too. This one's a little more obvious — if you walk through the world and you're an angry person, constantly throwing barbs at other people, you are affecting them. You are changing the climate of the room when you just simply walk into it. But then also, what may be missed is that you — you are destroying yourself from the inside out.And it may actually feel good to be angry. I learned this. I didn't realize. I am a non-confrontational person by nature. I don't like conflict. But I have learned over the years some people love conflict. They actually like the fight. To them, it feels good. It feels like you're alive. But what's happening in that situation, and really any situation where anger is burning within you, is that from the inside out, you are being hollowed out. Three Antidotes to Anger: Soft Answers, Lament, and HopeThere are some antidotes to anger, and I will keep these brief, and three. One, Proverbs 15:1 tells us that a soft answer turns away wrath. Jesus teaches us the gentle way, the gentleness, gentle startups. This is always the first step forward. Anger might come way down the road, right? But you need to be slow to it. Number two, lament. Learn to grieve like Jesus grieves in Mark 3. Learn to grieve even alongside your anger. And I would encourage us mere mortals — unlike Jesus, us mere mortals — we should probably start with grief and allow the anger to follow, because it's going to be a much more trustworthy form of anger if we do. And the last thing is hope. Hope. You see, the angry person, as they rage at God — Jonah, as he rages at God — ultimately is saying, I don't trust you, God. I don't trust your way to be the right way. But we need to be people of hope and people of faith who trust that even though it seems like the world is all cattywampus — and it is, like it's all upside down — we hope and we trust that the God of the universe is fixing all the things. And we play our part. And we live as people who expect the unrighteous to receive their due reward and for the wrongs to be made right again. And that we only have control over ourselves and our hearts. And so we better take control of them, lest that fire jump out of the fireplace and begin to burn the house down all around us. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, you are a passionate God. We are to be passionate people. And some of the angriest among us can show us something about what it means to have passion. But God, it can be dangerous to hold that fire. And so, Lord, we ask for your wisdom. We ask for people who will gather around us and be honest with us about the nature of our anger — whether it's the slow-burning anger that leaps out of the fireplace eventually, or whether it's the kind that just flares up all the time. God, you are teaching us a better way, a narrow way, a way that leads to life. May we walk with you down that. Lord, we pray this in your holy name. Amen.‍ ‍South Run Baptist Church | 8712 Selger Drive, Springfield, VA 22153 | Sunday Worship at 11am Serving Springfield, Burke, West Springfield, Lorton, Alexandria, Fort Belvoir, and Franconia, Virginia. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Welcome to Day 2863 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2863 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 127:1-5 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2863 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2863 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The title for today's Wisdom-Trek is: The Song of Ascent – The Architect, the Watchman, and the Warrior In our previous episode on this grand expedition, we climbed through the seventh Song of Ascent, Psalm One Hundred Twenty-Six. We stood in the tension of the “already, but not yet,” remembering the unbelievable, dream-like rescue of God's people from exile, while desperately praying for a fresh outpouring of His grace. We learned the profound, agricultural lesson of the sower. We discovered that in the contested territory of this fallen world, we often have to plant our seeds in tears, exhausted by the spiritual warfare around us. Yet, we anchored our souls to the unbreakable, cosmic guarantee that those who weep as they plant will eventually return singing, carrying a massive, joyful harvest. Today, we take our next deliberate steps upward on this ancient pilgrim trail. We are exploring the eighth song in this magnificent collection. We are turning our attention to Psalm One Hundred Twenty-Seven, verses one through five, in the New Living Translation. Interestingly, this specific psalm is attributed to King Solomon. Solomon was the ultimate builder of the ancient world; he built the glorious Temple, fortified cities, and amassed unprecedented wealth. Yet, in this psalm, he pauses to deliver a sobering warning about the futility of human ambition. He teaches us that building a physical empire, or a lasting family legacy, is entirely useless if the Architect of the cosmos is not the one holding the blueprints. Let us step onto the trail, and learn how to build a legacy that actually lasts. The first segment is: The Futility of Autonomous Ambition Psalm One Hundred Twenty-Seven: verses one and two. Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones. This magnificent stanza opens with a definitive, double-sided declaration of human limitation. “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.” To truly grasp the weight of these words, we must view them through the lens of the Ancient Israelite worldview, specifically regarding the Divine Council and the cosmic rebellion. When human beings attempt to build a house, a dynasty, or a fortified city without the authorization and the active presence of Yahweh, they are essentially repeating the catastrophic sin of the Tower of Babel. At Babel, humanity sought to build a localized empire, a massive tower to reach the heavens, in order to make a great name for themselves, completely autonomous from the Creator. That act of autonomous ambition resulted in God disinheriting the nations, confusing their languages, and placing them under the jurisdiction of lesser, rebel spiritual principalities, the fallen elohim. Therefore, any city, or any human institution, built outside the cosmic order of God, is inherently vulnerable. It belongs to the chaotic, unstable realm of the rebel gods. You can hire the greatest architects, lay the thickest foundation stones, and post the most highly trained sentries on the walls, but if the Most High God is not the active Protector of that territory, the entire enterprise is spiritually bankrupt. It is destined to collapse into the dust. This reality brings us to the deeply psychological, and practical, observation in verse two. “It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.” The rebel gods of the surrounding pagan cultures demanded endless, anxious labor from their followers. The deities of Canaan, Egypt, and Babylon were viewed as cruel taskmasters, requiring constant sacrifices and frantic appeasement just to ensure the rains would fall, and the crops would grow. The kingdom of darkness thrives on human anxiety. It wants you waking up before dawn, terrified of failure, and going to bed late, exhausted and consumed by the stress of basic survival. But Solomon, the wisest king of Israel, calls this frantic, autonomous striving “useless.” It is vanity. It is chasing the wind. He draws a sharp, beautiful contrast between the oppressive systems of the world, and the loving economy of Yahweh. “For God gives rest to his loved ones.” Other translations say, “He provides for His beloved even in his sleep.” The God of the Bible is not a cruel taskmaster. He is the loving Father who provides Shalom—complete, restful wholeness. This does not mean that believers are called to be lazy. We are called to be diligent, responsible stewards of creation. But the motivation changes entirely. We do not work out of a suffocating, paralyzing fear of starvation, or a desperate need to build our own autonomous empires. We work from a place of profound rest, knowing that the Sovereign Lord is the ultimate Provider, and that He is intimately guarding the house we are building. The second segment is: The Divine Gift and the Rejection of the Fertility Cults Psalm One Hundred Twenty-Seven: verse three. Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Suddenly, the psalm pivots. Solomon shifts the metaphor from building a physical house out of stones and cedar, to building a household, a dynasty, made out of human lives. He declares, “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” In our modern culture, we might read this simply as a sweet, sentimental statement about the joy of parenting. But in the ancient Near East, this was a massive, aggressive theological claim. It was an act of profound spiritual warfare. The nations surrounding Israel were deeply entrenched in fertility cults. They worshiped gods like Baal and Asherah, believing that these localized, rebel deities controlled the womb, the rain, and the harvest. When a couple wanted to conceive a child, they would participate in the corrupt, often deeply immoral, rituals of the pagan temples, frantically trying to manipulate the gods into granting them fertility. By stating that “Children are a gift from the Lord,” the psalmist is explicitly stripping all power and authority away from the false gods of Canaan. He is reminding the pilgrims that Baal has absolutely no jurisdiction over human life. The womb is not controlled by the chaotic forces of nature; it is the exclusive, sovereign domain of Yahweh. Every single child is a direct, intentional inheritance, and a precious reward, handed down by the Creator of the universe. To build a family legacy, you do not turn to the frantic, anxious practices of the world; you look upward, to the Giver of all good things. The third segment is: The Warrior's Quiver and the Expansion of the Kingdom Psalm One Hundred Twenty-Seven: verses four and five. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior's hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates. Having established the divine origin of the family, Solomon introduces one of the most striking, martial metaphors in the entire Psalter. “Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior's hands.” Why does he compare children to weapons of war? Because, in the biblical worldview, raising a family is not a neutral, passive activity. It is an act of strategic, generational combat. The world is contested territory, deeply infected by the lies, the injustice, and the chaotic rebellion of the dark spiritual principalities. When you raise children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, you are intentionally shaping imagers of God, preparing them to push back against the darkness. Consider the nature of an arrow. An arrow is not meant to be kept safely inside the quiver forever. A warrior carefully shapes the shaft, balances the weight, sharpens the arrowhead, and attaches the fletching. All of this meticulous, grueling preparation is done for one specific purpose: to launch the arrow outward, into enemy...

From God's view, the Northern Kingdom of Israel isn't just a history lesson—it's 200 years of calf‑worshiping pukes proving what happens when a nation builds its own religion and rides off from the real God. In Part 5 of “The Story of God,” we zoom out and trace the trail from Solomon's drift and the split of the kingdom, to Jeroboam's golden calves at Bethel and Dan, to 19 kings in 9 dynasties who kept the “sin of Jeroboam” alive while prophets like Elijah, Amos, and Hosea shouted for them to turn back. You'll see how false worship, high places, Asherah poles, Baal altars, and partial obedience finally ended with Assyria riding in and wiping the Northern Kingdom off the map. This message is for folks who suspect they've built a comfortable, home‑made religion instead of actually following Jesus, believers who keep winning little battles but won't lay down their favorite “calf,” and top hands who want to make sure their life points at the real God, not just at tradition. Connect with Save the Cowboy Save the Cowboy is a ranch‑based ministry helping ordinary people follow Jesus in the real world—no fluff, no nonsense, just the truth told in a cowboy way. Website: SaveTheCowboy.org Ranch ministry: LXRanch.org Facebook, Instagram: @SaveTheCowboy Please help us reach more cowboys by liking and subscribing!

As You Wish Talk Radio with James Gilliland Anunnaki Tablets, A Lost History, Atlantis Lemuria and Mu, Real Disclosure Ancient Tablets, Lost Civilizations, and the Choice Between Collapse and Ascension Anunnaki Tablets and a Different Earth History In this episode of As You Wish Talk Radio, host James Gilliland discusses newly surfaced ancient tablets that he says challenge conventional accounts of Earth's history. He presents the Anunnaki as refugees who came to Earth after wars connected to Lyra, establishing colonies and using advanced knowledge to build cities, temples, canals, and underground facilities. He describes the Igigi workers, their rebellion, and the creation or genetic upgrading of early humans known as the Lulu to take over labor duties. Gilliland frames this history as more complex than mainstream accounts, emphasizing that different beings, colonies, and off-world influences contributed to humanity's development. Cycles of Cataclysm and Ancient Civilizations Gilliland then connects the tablets to recurring cycles of flood, fire, darkness, drought, plague, abundance, and collapse. He describes an Anu cycle of roughly 26,000 years and says past civilizations experienced great floods, fire from the sky, earthquakes, poisoned land, and abandoned cities. The episode also moves into Atlantis, Lemuria, Mu, India, China, vitrified stone, submerged ruins, frozen civilizations under ice, pole shifts, rising and sinking continents, and catastrophic Earth changes. His central point is that human history is far older and more advanced than commonly accepted timelines allow. Pleiadians, Universal Law, and Humanity's Choice A major theme of the episode is the choice between repeating past destructive patterns or aligning with universal law. Gilliland contrasts Atlantean misuse of technology, domination, surveillance, and warfare with Lemurian and Mu traditions of spiritual harmony and living according to the Law of One. He says Pleiadian, Andromedan, Arcturian, Sirian, Orion, and other benevolent councils are involved in Earth's future, but operate under non-interference unless invited. He argues that humanity must choose between social, economic, and environmental collapse or an upward spiral of peace, brotherhood, individual freedom, prosperity, and spiritual evolution. Yeshua Scrolls, Inner Divinity, and the Feminine The episode shifts into what Gilliland calls the Yeshua scrolls, which he says are controversial writings connected to Templar preservation and attributed to Yeshua ben Joseph. He highlights teachings that place the power of God within each person rather than in external religious authority. Gilliland discusses the Ethiopian Bible, the Council of Nicaea, Asherah, Eve, Arcturus, Mary, and the idea of a joint male-female spiritual teaching. He interprets these materials as supporting inner God connection, the equality of women, and the rejection of fear-based religious control. Warnings About Deception, UFO Culture, and False Narratives Gilliland also warns listeners about deception in spiritual, religious, UFO, and disclosure communities. He criticizes gossip, jealousy, character assassination, fame-seeking, manipulation, and what he describes as false teachings or controlled opposition. He says people should not attack others over beliefs and should focus on their own healing, enlightenment, and personal relationship with Creator. He also warns against a fake alien invasion narrative, saying benevolent councils would not allow it, and advises listeners to approach contact experiences with prayer, protection, sacred space, discernment, and the intention to connect only with benevolent off-world beings. Personal Contact, Planetary Ascension, and Returning to Nature The final portion emphasizes making one's own personal connection with Creator, discovering one's unique purpose, and rising with the planetary ascension process. Gilliland says Earth is going through intense changes involving the sun, volcanoes, earthquakes, continents, and timelines, and that humanity no longer has the luxury of remaining caught in conflict, deception, or spiritual immaturity. He urges listeners to move beyond old sacrificial-god programming, reconnect with nature, and focus on innocence, children, animals, gardens, and trees. The episode ends with descriptions of filmed lights, ships, “power ups,” and activity around the ranch, reinforcing Gilliland's larger message that off-world contact and Earth changes are already underway.

May 13, 2026Today's Reading: Numbers 10:11-36Daily Lectionary: Numbers 10:11-36; Luke 16:19-31 “And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, ‘Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.' And when it rested, he said, ‘Return, O Lord, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.'” (Numbers 10:35-36)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.In the Scriptures, God is locatable. Not the way you type a location into Google Maps. And it's not like you can slap an Apple AirTag on him or open the “find my phone” app to see where he's roaming. Nevertheless, in the Scriptures, God is findable. God locates himself. God dwells with his people. In the pillar of fire and smoke. In the tabernacle. Upon the ark. There, he's enthroned between the cherubim. There he's present with and for his people.In the Old Testament, the people of Israel spent a lot of time searching for God's presence and peace in all the wrong places—back in Egypt in slavery, in the golden calf in the wilderness, in the idols of Baal and the Asherah, or any other number of pseudo, self-made deities they foolishly put their trust in. The truth is, God is not hard to find. All you have to do is look where he promises to be, and where he promises to dwell, and where he declares that he is present with and for his people. In the Old Testament, God wasn't hard to find. He was in his house, the tabernacle, and later the temple. He was in his word and promise. He was in the sacrifices and the blood and the smoke and the fire for his people.In the New Testament, once again, God is locatable. He is born of the Virgin Mary. He is findable for he took on human flesh. God dwells with his people as one of his people, first in Mary's womb, then on the cross and in the tomb, and out alive again three days later. Sadly, like Israel, we spend a lot of time searching for God's presence and peace in all the wrong places: our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Our selfish loves, lusts, and longings for peace and joy apart from Christ. But thankfully, God is still locatable. Findable. He dwells with you and for you. No longer on the ark or in the pillar of smoke and fire. But on the altar. Enthroned between the flaming candles, seated in the bread and wine for you. Jesus dwells with you and for you, setting up a watery tabernacle of his own where he sends the Holy Spirit to dwell with you. Jesus is present with all of his promises for you in holy words, holy Baptism, and holy Communion.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Sing praise to the God of Israel! Sing praise for His visitation! Redeeming his people from their sin, Accomplishing their salvation, Upraising a mighty horn within The house of his servant David. (LSB 936:1)Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz, pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.

Anger is the one vice that almost always believes it's a virtue. We rage, we seethe, we simmer — and we're usually convinced we're completely justified. This Sunday we're taking a road trip through Scripture to look honestly at the fire inside us: what it's telling us, where it goes wrong, and what it looks like when it burns the way God intended. Anger Dr. Eric J. Gilchrest | May 10, 2026 Check out the weekly sermon here or on our SRBC podcast on Apple Podcast and Spotify. This Sunday we're exploring:Why the object of our anger tells us more about ourselves than the thing we're angry about When anger is righteous and when it is not, and how to tell the differenceWhat the Bible actually says about God's anger, and why the God who is "slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love" is not the same God many of us grew up fearingThe “HOT” diagnostic — three questions to ask when the fire rises: is the Heat of my anger proportionate, is the Object of my anger right, and is the the Time I've held onto anger appropriate?How social media has industrialized anger as a commodity to be bought and soldWe're exploring the following passages: Mark 3:1–6 · Genesis 4:3–7 · Exodus 34:6 · Psalm 30:5 · Micah 7:18 · Jonah 4:1–9 · Nehemiah 5:6–7 · Proverbs 16:32 · Matthew 5:21–22 · 1 John 3:15 · Ephesians 4:26–27 · Psalm 4:4 · James 1:19–20 · Romans 12:19 Like what you hear? We'd love to know.At South Run, we read every message personally. Whether you have a question, want to share how God is moving in your life, or are thinking about visiting in person, this is the place to start. If you click the link below, Pastor Eric will personally reach out to you. Listening online? Let us know. Sermon Transcript South Run Baptist Church | Springfield, VAPastor Eric GilchrestMark 3:1–6; Matthew 5:21–22; Exodus 34:6–9; Jonah 4May 10, 2026 — Mother's DayThis is a full sermon transcript from South Run Baptist Church in Springfield, Virginia. In this message, Pastor Eric Gilchrest preaches on anger and wrath as part of the ongoing "The Jesus Way" transformation series on the seven deadly sins. Drawing from Mark 3, Genesis 4, Exodus 34, Jonah 4, and Matthew 5, this sermon takes the congregation on a biblical tour of what Scripture says about anger — the difference between righteous and unrighteous anger, what Jesus' own anger reveals about the nature of God, and how to keep the fire in the fireplace. Announcements: Bridge Walkers and a Joint Service on May 31stGood morning, friends. It's good to be with you. Before we get started, there's just a couple things I want to say. There's something that I haven't alerted you to yet, but this is as good a time as any. So a few weeks ago, right before Easter, I was invited into a group of pastors who met over the course of two days, and there was an evening together. We stayed at a hotel. There was a grant connected to it. And it was a group of white pastors and a group of black pastors in the area here, in the Virginia, D.C., Maryland area. And the hope of this — it's a group called Bridge Walkers, which gets its name from the walk from Selma to Montgomery back in the 60s. And as somebody who lived right outside of Selma in Marion, Alabama, I know the scene well. In fact, I was there at the 50th anniversary of it in 2013, and it was a really powerful event. And so the meeting was one that I definitely wanted to participate in. And as we gathered together, we had some really frank discussions about race in the United States and in the church, and how we can be, as a church, agents of reconciliation.And so the fruit of this and the hope of where this all goes is for our churches of these pastors to do some things together over the coming year or two. And so the first of these is coming up May 31st, which happens to be the exact same day as the picnic. I did not get to pick this, it just kind of happened this way, which is in part why we are holding the picnic immediately after the service. And Jeff was right. I will be dressed for the part, and I need you to be dressed for the part too. The picnic will be fun. We'll have games. We'll drag stuff out. But then we wanted to give enough time for those of you who would like to attend this service to get home, maybe take a nap, or do whatever you do on your Sunday afternoons. And then at 6 p.m., it's up in Glen Arden, Maryland, we will have the first of these services together. I don't know what to expect, but I do expect that God will move, and I expect the Holy Spirit to be present, and I expect some of our preconceived notions to be challenged. I expect transformation is always beckoning us, and I am deeply hopeful for what might come out of this. So put that on your calendar. This is May 31st, just right around the corner, and it is 6 p.m. that evening.Happy Mother's Day: A Childhood Binder and a Mom Who Saw All of YouToday is Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to the mothers and the spiritual mothers in the room. I was trying to think of what to say at this point, and what came to mind was a collection of photos that I found from my childhood that my mom had gathered together. It was one of those binders that back in the 1998 time frame when I graduated from high school, that people would put photos into and they'd put words about what was happening at that time. And my mom was way into this. And so she chronicled my whole childhood from zero to 18 and then presented me with this big binder. And now as a father of an 18-year-old, I think about that a little differently.And I think about what it means to be a dad, only because I can't think about what it means to be a mom, because I'm not one. But I know this much on the receiving end of it all. I had a wonderful mom who looked after me in ways that I don't think I'll ever be able to fully appreciate. She saw every last bit of me and who I was, and she was there every step of the way, even if I didn't realize it. And so for all the moms in the room, I am grateful. We are all grateful. And for those of us who have moms who are still alive, may we reach out to them today and give them the thanks that they deserve.Let's begin with some prayer. Heavenly Father, I pray a special prayer of blessing over the mothers in this room today. Lord, the kind of love that you call us into, that agape love, a self-giving kind of love, I can think of no better human example than what mothers do on a day-to-day basis for their children. And so, God, may we all aspire to that. We give you thanks for them, and we give you praise for that kind of love, and may we be drawn into being those kinds of people too. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.The Jesus Way Series: Vanity, the Seven Deadly Sins, and Today's Stop — Anger All right, we are — if you don't know — we are on a road together, a path, right? And this began a few weeks ago. Well, I mean, it kind of began a long time ago, but we're on this transformation kick. But then since Easter, we've been walking in these two ways. And I've been trying to show you that there is this narrow way, right? It's the way that Jesus is drawing us into. It's narrow because fewer people choose it. It's a little hard. There's more friction to it. It requires something of you to be on it. But it is the way to life and to fullness of life and to eternal life. And this is what Jesus is trying to get us to do. But then there is this other way. There's this broad way. It's bigger and wider, and it's much easier to find yourself on it. And it's marked by a number of things. And so two weeks ago, we talked about vanity as one of the markers of this way. And it's easy to just kind of slide into vanity. And then today, we're talking about the broad way again. And I want to talk about anger. And I know it's Mother's Day. So apologies ahead of time for this. I do want you to know there was a toss-up between this and gluttony. And so I put gluttony on Father's Day. So, you know, you can get ready for that too. And I'll say, all of the analogies are aimed at the men in the room today. So all the stories — you know, like I'm looking at guys here — women, you get the day off. So you're welcome. All right, so just clarify a couple things up front. I originally had the name wrath for this sermon, and I was afraid that it might draw up like the wrong image for you. But here's the truth of the matter. The word anger and the word wrath — actually, it's the same thing. The roots of these are the same, like the down deep parts of it. They're just two different words for the same thing. The goal of what I want to accomplish in this sermon today is to really lean into the middle section of this rotten tree that stands before you. We've already touched on vanity, the far left, and we'll get to each of these branches at some point over the weeks here. And then just to remind you, at the base of all of this is your pride and your ego. It's kind of the thing that is the last thing that will die in this earth, right? Because if you could just simply root that part out, then it would take care of the rest. But pride is much trickier than simply just plucking it out like a weed. It has roots that go much deeper than you or I can really frankly imagine. So today we're just focusing on the middle one. We're talking about wrath or anger. And I have thoroughly enjoyed this. Maybe I enjoy it too much. I'm realizing this right now as I said that. I have like a thousand things I want to tell you, and I will only tell you maybe ten of those. And so if you think to yourself, well, Pastor Eric, I wish you had talked about this — I probably could have and maybe should have. But I'm glad that you're leaning in and you're really digging into what you need to know about anger and wrath. Also, it's a pitch to come to Sunday morning Bible study where we do go deeper for a whole hour on this topic. The goal of the sermon is, with the theme of roads and ways and all, to take you on a tour — like a driving tour of your Bible — and the things that it has to say about anger. Think of it this way. We've got a few key destinations I'm trying to get us to. And then as we go to those destinations, there's like bathroom stops I want to point us at, or maybe just a couple things that you should have in your view as we head to these main stops. First Stop — Mark 3:1–6: Jesus Gets Angry in the Synagogue The first stop is the one we read already, which is Mark chapter 3. And so I'd encourage you, please, open your scriptures, open your Bibles to Mark chapter 3 as we dig into what Jesus demonstrates for us about anger. Mark 3:1 to 6. Again, he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, come over here. And then he said to the Pharisees, he said, is it lawful? Does the law permit? Does your Bible tell me that it's okay to do good or harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill it? He's asking them, how do you read your Bible? What's the right thing to do here? But they were silent.And then he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, stretch out your hand. And he said, I'm going to teach you how to read your Bible. And I'm going to teach you what it looks like to keep the Sabbath. And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. And the Pharisees went out and they immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him how to destroy him.There are two angry parties here. Jesus gets angry and clearly the Pharisees do as well as they seek to destroy him by the end. There are just a few things that I want to point to in this passage that will become important. And the goal as we make these stops on this journey together is to maybe build up a case of the kinds of things we can say about anger based on what we find in our scriptures. The first would be simply that Jesus does get angry. And it's actually okay for you to be angry too sometimes — with a huge caveat around it. Because anger is actually one — it's the only sin on the list of the seven deadly sins — that it's okay to, we'll say, participate in when it's not a sin. The sin looks a whole lot like the not-sin. It's the only one that looks like this. Knowing how to distinguish between the sinful version of anger and the righteous version of anger, it takes wisdom and it takes maturity. I don't recommend it to the littlest ones among us. It's a little bit like holding a knife. Like, you want to teach someone how to do this and to train them well, or they're going to do what? They're going to cut someone, maybe themselves. And anger is much the same way. And we need to learn how to use it in a controlled manner.But Jesus does get angry. And then I'll say this about his anger. If you read closely, what is he angry at? It's actually remarkably precise here in Mark. He's angry at their hardness of heart. He's not precisely angry at them, just generally, as if Pharisees are awful people or something like this. No, he's angry at something specific. The object that he's directing his anger at is their hardness. There's something in them. And he says there's something really wrong with that. And it provokes some anger in him.The other thing I'd say is that his anger is connected to justice, which is what anger is always connected to, by the way. Usually — well, actually both in the righteous form and the unrighteous form. When something's gone wrong in the world, righteous anger says, something's wrong with the world, and I want to fix it. When anger is unrighteous, usually you're saying, something's wrong with my world, and I want to fix that. The last thing I'd say about this passage is maybe the most important of them all, which is that if you really look closely at verse 5 there, it says this: he looked around at them with anger, grieved. Two emotions are sitting together — anger and grief. Anger and grief. How does one have anger and grief sitting side by side? Well, the only way is if you manage to find empathy for the one you are angry with. It's when moms and dads say it — and I promise they mean it, kids — when they say, this is harder for me than for you. Well, they mostly mean it. I feel grief over having to discipline. I feel grief because I want your world to be right. And Jesus here is feeling grief for the Pharisees, saying, I wish your hearts were not so hard. I could teach you a better way. I could teach you a way to life.Thumos and Orge: Two Greek Words for Anger in the New TestamentAll right, let's keep going on our journey here. Actually, let me pause one more minute. This is a good opportunity to introduce two words that appear in our New Testament. Both of them are words for anger, and they are thumos and orge. It's a hard G. We're still talking about the sin of anger here. Thumos and orge.I want you to think about anger as a fire. This is the metaphor for anger often. And fire, much like a knife, is something that can do damage or it can do good. Thumos is the damaging kind. It flames up quickly. It's the road rage. It's somebody getting upset, right? And it's named specifically in Galatians 5:20 and Ephesians 4:31, if you want to look those up. Galatians 5:20 is right next to the fruit of the Spirit. You know the fruit of the Spirit? These are the ones we love to talk about. But there's the fruit of the flesh right before it. And in this fruit of the flesh is thumos. It's that anger that rages up, right? This is what we're trying to avoid.But the one next to it is orge. And orge — sometimes it is unrighteous anger, it's not always righteous — but it is a controlled anger. It has some measure of control around it, as I say, a controlled burn, right? There are times where if there's a fire in your fireplace, that's a great thing, and it's controlled. But if that fire jumps out of your fireplace and is uncontrolled and creeps up the walls, now we've got a different kind of problem. Our goal today is to learn how to keep that fire in the fireplace.Pit Stop — Genesis 4:3–7: Cain's Anger and the Sin Crouching at the Door All right, we'll move on. We need to take a quick pit stop, however, on this journey and look at Genesis chapter 4, verses 3 to 7. This is the famous story of Cain and Abel. You probably know what happens to Abel and then maybe to Cain. Cain murders his brother. But before he does, we read a little bit about how this gets set up.In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering. But for Cain and his offering, he did not And so what happens? Well, Cain was very angry, and here we see the burning starts, right? The fire begins to burn. And Cain's face fell, and the Lord said to Cain — the question you should be asking yourself this morning — which is, why are you angry? Why are you angry? When you get angry, why? What is under that for you? It's a very good question. And why has your face fallen? And then he says — God says to him — if you do well, won't you be accepted? And if you do not do well, and here's the key, "sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must master it."And what is the sin here? The sin is anger, and it's burning in him. And he says, you must master it, you must keep this in the fireplace. And if you don't keep this in the fireplace, it's going to destroy everything. We know exactly what happens. The sin that was crouching does what? It leaps out of that fireplace, and Cain kills his brother. And we have the first murder in all of Scripture.Murder is a terrible sin. It's actually not one of the deadly sins, is it? It's not one of the seven. Because underneath murder — and Jesus teaches us this in Matthew 5 — underneath murder sits the thing that's in our heart. We call that anger. Second Stop — Exodus 34:6–9: God Reveals His Nature as Slow to AngerAll right, the next stop on our tour is Exodus chapter 34, verses 6 to 9. I would encourage you, go ahead and pull your Bibles there now. Exodus 34:6–9. This is where Moses is up on the mount, Mount Sinai. He's getting the Ten Commandments. But in this very important scene, God reveals his nature to him. And he tells us, and he reports to us, what kind of God he is.And I'll say God is angry at times. God can have wrath. I do not deny this, and I don't want to even diminish this in any way. But I'd encourage you as we read through this to recognize a very important fact — that even for God, maybe especially for God, who is perfection and the thing that we are trying to strive for — God's wrath and anger flows from his love. Love is the primary, and out of that flows his anger. You might wonder, well, Eric, how in the world does that work? That doesn't seem obvious to me at all. But I would point us back to maybe Mother's Day or the fathers in the room. When you get angry as a parent, like in a good way, a good angry, when you see your child being hurt by somebody and that mama bear rage wells up — why? Because you want to protect your child. An injustice has happened or is about to happen and you want to protect them. God is not dissimilar. He knows what is good for us. He knows when the world is off kilter. He knows when you are off kilter. And he knows that when it is and when you are, that this is destructive to you. And he wants to save you from your destruction. And we call this anger. And it's him maybe punishing or reaching out and trying to fix the situation. And sometimes — and parents know this — the discipline requires something harsh.So it goes like this in verse 6. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed. And this is what the Lord is saying about himself. "The Lord, Yahweh" — and he says it twice, Yahweh, Yahweh — "I am a God who is merciful and gracious, and I'm slow to anger." And there it is, right? I'm not quick to anger. I am slow to anger. I am gracious. I'm merciful. I'm slow to anger. I abound in this. The word here is hesed. It's a steadfast love. It is a love that never quits. It is like a mother's love — like, you can do all kinds of things, but your mom is just going to love you throughout and throughout and throughout. And this is what God is saying of his very self, that he has this kind of hesed love, a steadfast love, of faithfulness. And he keeps steadfast love for thousands. And more than that, he's forgiving. And he forgives all the kinds of words for sin that appear in your Old Testament. Sometimes we call it iniquity, sometimes transgression, and sometimes sin. And he says, I'm willing to forgive all of these things. He then does go into the fact that he is a just God, and there needs to be justice. And so he says he doesn't clear the guilty just by virtue of wiping it away. And he, in fact — and this needs some explanation, and fortunately this is going to have to wait for another day — he visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children so that the third and the fourth generation, they sometimes feel the effects of the father's sin. I think you know this to be true just if you look through your family history and you think about your father and his father and his father and the ways in which their failures have a way of creeping through a family line. I think that's what God is teaching us here.And so Moses quickly bows his head toward the earth and he worshiped and he said, "If now I have found favor in your sight, oh Lord, please let this God — let you, God, the one who is merciful and slow to anger — that is the God we need in our midst. Because we're a stiff-necked people and we need you to pardon our iniquity."This is a remarkable passage in its historical context. There are lots of gods in the ancient world, if you don't know. There's a group that's praying to a God named Asherah at this point. And that God happens to be really good at fertility matters. Or there's the folks who are crying out to Baal. And Baal is one of these like really fickle gods who may get angry with you and then doesn't. And you never know who you're going to get with Baal. Or if you fast forward in time, you might get the God of Mars, who is the God of war. And that's the God you're going to meet in the pages of history.But this God, Yahweh, is unlike all the other gods. There is no other God named in history, certainly at this point, who describes himself in the ways that our God describes himself. This description literally changes the course of history. Because we should look to our God, to this God, and say to ourselves, thanks be to God that you are the God who is all of these things, and especially the God who is slow to anger.This passage is, again, as I said, one of the most important in all of the Old Testament, and we know this with certainty because — I've just got a couple here, Psalm 30 and Micah 7 — but you could do a Google search later on how many passages from the Bible as a whole, but especially our Old Testament, appeal to and quote from Exodus 34, and you'll be amazed. The Bible repeats this part of the Bible over and over and over again. Psalm 103, Nehemiah 9, Psalm 86, Joel 2 — or the next stop on our journey, Jonah chapter 4.Third Stop — Jonah 4: HOT Anger and Everything Jonah Gets WrongLet's turn there together. Jonah chapter 4. Jonah is a troubled prophet. I would encourage you, whatever you do, do not look to Jonah as an exemplar. He will let you down. Jonah is one of these — actually he's the only prophet who I can really say that about. The whole book is an upside-down prophet. He's not doing what he should be doing, and he's doing what he should not be doing, and we see this ever so clearly in chapter 4 here.We'll read it. For the sake of time, I'm not going to spend nearly as much time in it, but what we see is an angry prophet. Now, prophets are actually often angry. You should know this. The other prophets are too. They're just angry, typically in the righteous kind of way, because again, if justice is the name of the game for anger — the prophets are looking out and they're seeing injustice and unrighteousness everywhere. And they're shouting at their people, you got to fix this. And they're angry with them. And they say, the world's not right, and it should be. And you need to be doing something about it. Jonah is angry as well, much like the prophets. But he is, we'll say, more self-centered than he should be. And so it goes like this. If you don't know the story of Jonah, the lead up to this point is that he has taken his word of disaster to the Ninevites, and he has said, you need to repent. And they said, okay, we will. And they did. And then God relents, and he does not destroy them. And Jonah is not pleased with this. Chapter 4, starting in verse 1: "It displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry." There you go. It's just kind of on the face of it. He's displeased. He's angry. What's he angry about? That God was the merciful God. He wanted the war God, the wrath God. He wanted Mars. He wanted Baal. But instead, he got Yahweh. And he prayed to the Lord. And he said, "Oh Yahweh, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish." If you don't know that part of the story, he didn't even want to go to Nineveh at all, and so he fled. And so he says, this is why I left. I didn't want to come here. And then he just says it outright. "I knew you were a gracious God. You were merciful. You are slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster." He said, this is why I didn't want to come. I was looking for Mars. I was looking for the God of war. I wanted you to come in and destroy this whole place. And I knew, I knew you wouldn't do it.Jonah's upset. Does he have a righteous anger? Let's all say it together. No. No, he doesn't. He's showing us all the wrong ways. And he goes on: "Therefore now, Lord, please take my life from me." Twice he's going to ask for this — "for it's better for me to die than to live." And then God asks him the same question, or a similar question to the one Cain gets, right? Do you do well to be angry? Again, the question maybe you're being asked right now. Do you do well to be angry? And Jonah went out of the city, and he sits east of the city, makes a booth for himself there. He sat under the shade till he should see what would become of the city. And the Lord God appointed a plant to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head to save him from the discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of this plant. But when dawn came the next day, God appoints a worm that attacks the plant and it withers. And when the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that again he might die and said, it is better for me to die than to live. And God asks another time, do you do well to be angry for the plant? And Jonah says, yes. Wrong answer, Jonah. But he says, yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die. And the Lord said — and here's the convicting part — he says, you're angry about all the wrong things. Your anger is an unrighteous anger. You're targeting the wrong targets. You are not upset about what I get upset about. Your anger is self-serving. This is what he's saying when he says in verse 10: "You pity the plant for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. But shouldn't I have pity on Nineveh, a great city in which there are more than 120,000 souls? Shouldn't I care about that? Shouldn't I have pity on those people? And shouldn't you too, Jonah?"And then the story ends very abruptly. It's kind of one of these where you feel like maybe there's a missing chapter somewhere and someday we'll uncover it. But for today, this is what we get.Diagnosing Your Anger: The HOT Framework — Wrong Heat, Wrong Object, Wrong TimingThere's a few things from this that I want to kind of put into your cap to maybe help you remember something about anger that will help you diagnose it later on. I'm calling this HOT — H-O-T — hot, Jonah's hot anger. So there's the wrong heat, which is to say the wrong heat level. He gets too angry about the wrong things. His anger is the wrong intensity — he gets so angry about this plant. But he's not angry about the right things with regard to the people. And then the wrong object, right? The wrong object of his anger. So he's angry not about what is just or unjust. He's instead angry at God. He's angry at God's mercy and ultimately at the loss of this plant. He's very interested in this plant. And then lastly, the timing of it all is wrong. He stays angry for too long and it burns for too long. He's still upset about leaving Tarshish. He brings that back up, right? That was sitting somewhere in his heart that he didn't even want to go at all. And so he's mad at God for taking him out of Tarshish and his own land and heading over to Nineveh. And he's holding this grudge.But all of this speaks something to your anger and my anger, which is sometimes our anger is too hot for the situation. And when the kid spills the milk at the table and you blow up — is that the right heat level? No. No, it's not. The object of our anger — maybe you do blow up at the table, Dad. And you get angry with the kid in that moment. But that's not even the object of your anger. You're angry from work earlier that day where your boss said something to you that you didn't like. And now you're upset generally speaking, and then when the kid spills the milk, you yell at him. That is not the object of your anger. Don't take it out on him. Or the timing of it all — maybe you've been holding this grudge for years, and you've just been gathering it over time. This is why we need to forgive, and we need to reduce our resentments. And if we are going to walk this Jesus way, the way that leads to life, it is going to require some wisdom around all three of these things. Final Stop — Matthew 5:21–22: Jesus on Anger, Murder, and What's Sitting in Your HeartAll right, one more stop on the way. This one's Matthew 5:21 and 22. This is Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. This is perhaps the passage maybe I should have preached from, so I am. "You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry" — and there Jesus is just calling it out for us, even if you've got anger in your heart — "will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council, and whoever says you fool will be liable to the hell of fire."There's a lot in this passage. A lot can be said, so I'll just keep it simple. If anger is sitting at the root of this and it's sitting in our hearts, there are any number of fruit that can come out of that anger. Sometimes it's murder. I hope that's not the case for any of us. But sometimes it's just calling someone, you fool, you idiot. Or maybe it's just the rolling of your eyes at that person you think is an idiot. Or maybe it's you online. Maybe it's what you're saying in the comment box, right? To say, you don't know what you're talking about. And it's a self-righteous kind of anger. And it sits there and it burns.And here's what I'd say about all this. There is a destruction that is happening. Jesus calls this the way of destruction for a reason. Because you are aiming at God, believe it or not, when your anger is unrighteous. Because you are saying, the world is not as it should be, and I don't trust God to fix it. So I am going to fix it myself. And then the damage you're doing is all around you too. This one's a little more obvious — if you walk through the world and you're an angry person, constantly throwing barbs at other people, you are affecting them. You are changing the climate of the room when you just simply walk into it. But then also, what may be missed is that you — you are destroying yourself from the inside out.And it may actually feel good to be angry. I learned this. I didn't realize. I am a non-confrontational person by nature. I don't like conflict. But I have learned over the years some people love conflict. They actually like the fight. To them, it feels good. It feels like you're alive. But what's happening in that situation, and really any situation where anger is burning within you, is that from the inside out, you are being hollowed out. Three Antidotes to Anger: Soft Answers, Lament, and HopeThere are some antidotes to anger, and I will keep these brief, and three. One, Proverbs 15:1 tells us that a soft answer turns away wrath. Jesus teaches us the gentle way, the gentleness, gentle startups. This is always the first step forward. Anger might come way down the road, right? But you need to be slow to it. Number two, lament. Learn to grieve like Jesus grieves in Mark 3. Learn to grieve even alongside your anger. And I would encourage us mere mortals — unlike Jesus, us mere mortals — we should probably start with grief and allow the anger to follow, because it's going to be a much more trustworthy form of anger if we do. And the last thing is hope. Hope. You see, the angry person, as they rage at God — Jonah, as he rages at God — ultimately is saying, I don't trust you, God. I don't trust your way to be the right way. But we need to be people of hope and people of faith who trust that even though it seems like the world is all cattywampus — and it is, like it's all upside down — we hope and we trust that the God of the universe is fixing all the things. And we play our part. And we live as people who expect the unrighteous to receive their due reward and for the wrongs to be made right again. And that we only have control over ourselves and our hearts. And so we better take control of them, lest that fire jump out of the fireplace and begin to burn the house down all around us. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, you are a passionate God. We are to be passionate people. And some of the angriest among us can show us something about what it means to have passion. But God, it can be dangerous to hold that fire. And so, Lord, we ask for your wisdom. We ask for people who will gather around us and be honest with us about the nature of our anger — whether it's the slow-burning anger that leaps out of the fireplace eventually, or whether it's the kind that just flares up all the time. God, you are teaching us a better way, a narrow way, a way that leads to life. May we walk with you down that. Lord, we pray this in your holy name. Amen.‍ ‍South Run Baptist Church | 8712 Selger Drive, Springfield, VA 22153 | Sunday Worship at 11am Serving Springfield, Burke, West Springfield, Lorton, Alexandria, Fort Belvoir, and Franconia, Virginia. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Join David Lee Corbo (The Raven) and Top Lobster on Nephilim Death Squad as they welcome best-selling author Brian Godawa for an epic deep dive into his new Daniel Trilogy (Chronicles of the Watchers series). Godawa reveals how he retells the biblical story of Daniel in Babylon with the supernatural lens of the Watchers, fallen angels masquerading as gods like Marduk, Ishtar, Baal, Asherah, and Nergal.  Discover why Daniel studied the language and literature of the Chaldeans (divination, astrology, astronomy) without compromising, how the Magi followed the Bethlehem Star 500+ years later, and the explosive spiritual warfare behind earthly kingdoms—including the Prince of Persia vs. Prince of Greece. Godawa breaks down his research on Daniel NOT being a eunuch, the love story with his Jewish maidservant, his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (one portrayed as autistic), and how the book fills in the biblical gaps with historical and mythological accuracy.  Plus: Parallels between ancient Jezebel (child sacrifice, feminism archetype) and modern culture, the alien deception, Bohemian Grove event details, and why understanding the Watcher paradigm changes everything about spiritual warfare today. Godawa also discusses his full series—Chronicles of the Nephilim, Chronicles of the Apocalypse, Judah Maccabee, and Jesus Triumphant—plus the research appendices that prove it's all biblically grounded.  Get your tickets to Bohemian Grove (Wildwood, Florida) before they sell out: toplobsta.com Buy "Daniel: Exile in Babylon" (eBook, paperback, audiobook) and the full Chronicles of the Watchers series: godawa.com or Amazon Support Nephilim Death Squad early access, ad-free episodes & merch: patreon.com/NephilimDeathSquad  0:00 - Intro & Bohemian Grove Event Promo (Wildwood, Florida Tickets)3:45 - Patreon Support, Nephilim Death Squad Communities & TopLobster Merch6:20 - Guest Introduction: Brian Godawa (godawa.com)9:10 - Official Trailer for "Daniel: Exile in Babylon" (Chronicles of the Watchers)12:05 - Chronicles of the Watchers Series Overview – Fallen Angels as Gods of the Nations17:30 - The War of the Seed & Deuteronomy 32 Watcher Paradigm Explained22:40 - Jezebel Book Deep Dive: Archetypes, Feminism, Child Sacrifice & Modern Parallels29:15 - Elijah vs Prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel – Spiritual Warfare Behind the Scenes33:50 - Why Brian Godawa Chose Daniel for a Trilogy (Prophecy, 70 Weeks, Revelation Links)39:20 - Daniel Chapter 1: Babylonian Schooling, Wise Men Training & Chaldean Literature46:05 - Was Daniel a Eunuch? Historical Research & Love Story Reveal52:40 - Magi Connection: Bethlehem Star, Astronomy vs Astrology & Mazaroth (God's Story in the Stars)1:01:10 - Daniel's Character Arc – From Royal Pride to Unshakable Faith1:08:35 - Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego – School Bullies, Autism in Hananiah & Harry Potter Vibes1:15:50 - Spiritual Realm in the Novel: Marduk, Ishtar, Nergal, Anzu Bird & Mushu Dragons1:23:40 - How the Spiritual Warfare Mirrors Earthly Kingdoms (Prince of Persia vs Prince of Greece)1:29:20 - “Are You Having Fun?” – Brian Godawa's Hollywood to Biblical Fiction Journey1:33:45 - Where to Buy the Books + Spiritual World of Daniel Research Appendix1:36:10 - Final Thoughts & OutroBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nephilim-death-squad--6389018/support.☠️ Nephilim Death Squad — New episodes 5x/week.Join our Patreon for early access, bonus shows & the private Telegram hive.Subscribe on YouTube & Rumble, follow @NephilimDSquad on X/Instagram, grab merch at toplobsta.com. Questions/bookings: chroniclesnds@gmail.com — Stay dangerous.

Welcome to Day 2853 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2853 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 121:1-8 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2853 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2853 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The title for today's Wisdom-Trek is: The Song of Ascent – The Guardian Who Never Sleeps In our previous episode on this grand expedition, we took our very first steps onto the ancient pilgrim trail. We opened the collection known as the Songs of Ascents, beginning with Psalm One Hundred Twenty. There, we felt the suffocating exhaustion of living among deceitful people, dwelling in the hostile, spiritual wastelands of Meshech and Kedar. We realized that true peace, true biblical Shalom, cannot be found by negotiating with the empire of lies. That painful realization served as the ultimate catalyst for our journey. We packed our bags, left our tents in the chaotic lowlands, and began our steep, deliberate ascent toward Jerusalem, seeking the presence of the True King. Today, we take our next determined strides up the mountain pass. We are exploring the second song in this pilgrim collection: Psalm One Hundred Twenty-One, verses one through eight, in the New Living Translation. As the traveler leaves the safety of his home, and steps out onto the dangerous, open road, a profound sense of vulnerability sets in. The journey is long, the terrain is treacherous, and the wilderness is infested with bandits, predators, and dark spiritual forces. To survive the ascent, the pilgrim needs absolute assurance that he is not walking alone. Let us step onto the trail, lift our eyes to the horizon, and meet the Guardian of our souls. Psalm One Hundred Twenty-One: verses one and two. I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! The psalm opens with one of the most iconic, yet frequently misunderstood, questions in all of Scripture: “I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there?” In our modern, romanticized view of nature, we often read this verse and think the psalmist is drawing peace from the majestic beauty of the mountain peaks. We imagine a serene, snow-capped range inspiring a sense of divine comfort. But to the Ancient Israelite mind, the mountains were deeply intimidating, and spiritually contested, territory. Physically, the mountains were where the bandits hid. They were the places of ambush, rockslides, and wild beasts. But more importantly, we must view this through the lens of the Divine Council worldview. In the ancient Near East, the high places—the peaks of the mountains—were universally recognized as the dwelling places of the gods. The rebel spiritual principalities, the fallen elohim of the disinherited nations, demanded worship on the high places. The Canaanites built their altars to Baal, and their shrines to Asherah, on the elevated hills. Therefore, as the weary pilgrim looks up at the towering, shadow-filled mountains surrounding the road to Jerusalem, he is acknowledging a profound temptation. The pagan culture whispers, "The journey is too hard. The road is too dangerous. Why don't you stop at this local shrine? Why don't you offer a quick sacrifice to the gods of these hills, just to ensure your safe passage?" The psalmist asks the question, “Does my help come from there?” And he answers it with a resounding, cosmic rejection of the rebel gods. “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!” He completely bypasses the localized, lesser deities of the hills. He declares that he will not seek protection from the dark powers that claim jurisdiction over the mountains. Instead, he appeals directly to Yahweh, the Supreme Architect, who actually created the dirt, the rocks, and the sheer cliffs of those very mountains. Why would he beg for help from a created, rebel spirit, when he has direct access to the Uncreated Maker of the entire cosmos? His help is anchored not in the terrain, but in the Creator of the terrain. Psalm One Hundred Twenty-One: verses three and four. He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. Having established the identity of his Helper, the psalmist begins to sing an anthem of profound assurance over his own soul, and over the souls of his fellow travelers. He promises, “He will not let you stumble.” On a steep, rocky, and unpaved mountain trail, a single stumble could mean a sprained ankle, a broken leg, or a fatal fall into a ravine. A stumble meant you became easy prey. But the psalmist assures us that the Creator is actively involved in the micro-movements of our lives. Yahweh is not a distant, clockmaker God who wound up the universe and walked away; He is intimately engaged, ensuring that our feet find solid purchase on the treacherous path of obedience. And why is God's protection so flawless? Because, “the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.” In this beautiful repetition, the psalmist draws a sharp, mocking contrast between the God of Israel and the false gods of the surrounding nations. In pagan mythology, the gods were fundamentally limited. They got tired. They needed to eat, and they needed to sleep. If you remember the story of Elijah on Mount Carmel, he famously mocked the prophets of Baal when their god failed to send fire. Elijah taunted them, saying, “Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and needs to be awakened!” A sleeping god is a useless god. If your deity takes a nap, you are entirely vulnerable to the chaotic forces of the world. But the Commander of the heavenly armies does not experience fatigue. He does not require a night watchman to relieve Him of His post. Because Yahweh never closes His eyes, the pilgrim can safely close his. In a world fraught with nocturnal terrors, and dark spiritual forces that prowl in the night, the absolute, unbroken vigilance of the Creator is our ultimate source of rest. Psalm One Hundred Twenty-One: verses five and six The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. The promises of protection become even more intimate, and incredibly specific. “The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.” The Hebrew word used repeatedly throughout this psalm for “watches over,” or “keeps,” is shamar. It means to guard, to protect, to build a hedge around, or to carefully attend to. The psalmist is emphasizing that Yahweh does not delegate your ultimate security to a lower-ranking angel; the Lord Himself is your personal bodyguard. He stands at your right hand, which was the traditional position of a military defender, holding a shield to protect a warrior's exposed side. He acts as a "protective shade." In the scorching, relentless heat of the Middle Eastern desert, shade was not just a luxury; it was a matter of life and death. But once again, we must read verse six through the eyes of the ancient, cosmic worldview: “The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.” To the surrounding pagan cultures, the sun and the moon were not just celestial bodies; they were powerful, ruling deities. Shamash was the Babylonian sun god, representing blistering, judging heat. Yarih, or Sin, was the moon god, often associated with the terrors of the night, madness, and disease. When the psalmist declares that the sun and the moon will not harm you, he is making a massive theological claim. He is stating that Yahweh exercises absolute sovereignty over the celestial realm. The rebel gods of the sky have been stripped of their power to destroy the faithful exile. The oppressive, scorching trials of the daytime cannot break you, and the creeping, psychological terrors of the moonlight cannot drive you to despair. The Lord, your protective shade, completely neutralizes the most powerful, threatening elements of the natural, and supernatural, world. Psalm One Hundred Twenty-One: verses seven and eight The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. The psalm reaches its crescendo with a sweeping, comprehensive guarantee of...

Don't Let Anyone Fool You! Ephesians 5:3-20 by William Klock The last three weeks we've been making our way through the fourth chapter of St. Paul's letter to the churches in Ephesus, just getting into the first couple of verses of Chapter 5 last Sunday.  This is rubber-meets-the-road stuff.  In Ephesians 1-3 Paul writes about what the church is and our part in God's plan to renew his creation.  By the blood of Jesus' sacrifice at the cross, God has purified us from the stain of sin and death and set us free from their bondage.  And then, having purified us and made us fit for his holy presence, he's filled us with his Spirit.  He's made us—his church, his people—to be his temple.  He has made us stewards of his presence and his wisdom and his life.  Through Jesus and the Spirit, he has given back to us the vocation that Adam rejected.  And now he calls us, as he called Adam, to be fruitful and to multiple and to fill the earth.  And as we fill the earth, we expand the temple.  We carry God's presence with us.  We bring his light and life into the darkness.  We confront the foolishness and injustice of the world with his wisdom.  As I've said repeatedly, we are in the present God's working model of his future new creation.  We—the church—are the architect's model meant to show what his grand project of renewal and recreation and resurrection will one day look like. Which is why Paul has stressed, has said that it's vital to our identity as the church that we put off the old way of being human and put on the new—the new exemplified by Jesus who is the firstborn of God's new creation, the new Adam and prototype of God's renewed humanity.  God told Israel repeatedly: Be holy as I am holy.  That's why he gave Israel his law.  And this is why God has raised Jesus from the dead—to lead the way—and this is why he's filled us with his Spirit.  Instead of a law written on stone tablets that our hearts would struggle to embrace, God has united us with his resurrected son and his Spirit has renewed or hearts and has written his law of love on them.  It's still a struggle.  The world, the flesh, and the devil do their best to make us forget our baptism.  They do their best to drag us back into the slavery from which Jesus has freed us.  But this is why Paul stresses at the beginning of this very practical part of his letter, in 4:25, “Put away lies.  Each of you speak the truth with your neighbour.” Brothers and Sisters, that's what it comes down to.  Jesus the Messiah, resurrect from the dead, is God's truth.  The renewed creation he represents is the truth.  Everything else is a lie.  It began when the serpent lied to Adam and ever since Adam's disobedience, the world has been filled with pain and tears, darkness and death—because we chose the lie over the truth.  But if we know Jesus, if we have been united with him in faith in our baptism, he is the truth—the truth and the way to life.  Put off the lies and the old way of being human and embrace Jesus, embrace the truth, and be the new humanity God is making us. And we saw last Sunday, that as Paul gets into the practical details of this he starts with our speech.  It's not only that we shouldn't speak lies; he says to put away anger and vulgar speech and, instead, to be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God forgave us in the Messiah.  Instead of letting the pain and brokenness of the world sweep us up into a storm of rage, instead of lashing out at those who hurt us, be God's new humanity, look to the example of Jesus.  De-escalate, respond to wrongs with forgiveness, respond to anger with tender-heartedness, be kind.  Break the cycle.  This is why we need our hope—that vision of God's creation set to rights, modelled by Jesus—we need that vision always before us.  We need to remember that we are God's temple, the stewards of his presence and his wisdom, so that we can make him know to the world, so that we can expose the foolishness of the world with the wisdom of God—with his new creational way of life—with godliness, with holiness, with justice. And I think Paul started with anger because even the most pagan of pagans knows—even if he won't admit it—that anger and wrath only make the world worse.  They hurt others, they destroy our relationships, they make the darkness darker.  Even though the pagans might laugh at the idea of being kind to your enemies and showing mercy to the weak—because that was loser talk to the Greek and Romans—when they looked at the church they saw a community of mercy and reconciliation, of kindness and peace that they had to envy.  That witness made the Greeks and Romans constructively curious and won many to the faith.  But, like I said, I think Paul starts with anger and wrathful words because—even if they confront our sins head on—it's hard to argue with him.  And so he establishes that this is what God's wisdom for the world looks like.  This is new creation and it's infinitely better than the darkness of the pagan world. And now he can move on to the thing that's going to get everyone's hackles up, that everyone's going to want to push back on: sex.  And money.  Mostly sex, but greed is a familiar friend of sexual immorality.  Look at Ephesians 5:3-10 [page 1162 in the pew Bibles]: “As for sexual immorality, impurity of every kind, or greed: you shouldn't even mention them!  You are, after all, God's holy people.  Shameful, stupid or course conversations are quite out of place.  Instead, there should be thanksgiving.” “You should know this, you see: no sexually immoral or impure person, no one who is greedy (in other words, an idolator) has any inheritance in the Messiah's kingdom or in God's.  Don't let anyone fool you with empty words.  It's because of these things, you see, that God's wrath is coming on people who are disobedient.” “Don't let anyone fool you.”  Brothers and Sisters, this is about truth—real truth—and it's about God's wisdom that will set his creation to rights.  Again, ever since Adam believed the lie of the serpent that he could be like God, we humans have been making a mess of God's good creation.  Instead of living the truth of it and instead of living out the wisdom of God, we live a lie.  We've rejected the true story about God and about his creation and about us, the one in which he is good and faithful and loves us; the story in which he created us to live in his presence and to know his generosity; the story in which he called us to care for his garden temple and blessed us with children (and with sex so we can make them) so that we could expand that temple and the place of his good presence until his glory filled the whole earth.  But instead we've tried to write our own stories for ourselves.  Brothers and Sisters, we weren't created to do that.  We're terrible at it.  Writing our stories for ourselves has corrupted God's good creation.  Our stories compete with each other.  We hurt each other.  We use and abuse each other.  We even abuse ourselves.  We deny the truth about God and worship idols instead.  We deny the truth about creation.  We even deny the truth about ourselves.  And some of the most powerful stories we try to write for ourselves are about sex and money. We write our own stories about sex to justify all sorts of awful things: to justify sex before we're married; to justify affairs when we're married; to abandon our spouses; to justify the use and abuse of others through pornography and prostitution; to use and abuse our spouses when we are married; to abuse each other through unnatural relations, men with men and women with women; even to deny the reality of how God made us as men and women—writing our stories in which men are women, women are men, humans are cats—the most absurd denials of reality.  And money.  We write out own stories to justify taking and taking and taking, to justify stealing, to justify crushing others, to make ourselves rich, to put ourselves on at the top—idolatry—all the time forgetting the story God's already written about his great goodness and his generosity.  We write our stories instead of living in the grand story of love and truth and beauty that God has written for us and we make a mess of his creation and each other. To be clear: Paul was a Jew, steeped in Israel's scriptures.  He knew that God created men and women to complement each other and, in that, to learn how to share and love and show grace in humility and to learn something about even the nature of God who exists as Father, Son, and Spirit in mutual love and harmony.  Paul knew that God created sex and that sex is good.  It's the blessing God gave in order to fulil his mandate to be fruitful and to fill the earth. Marriage and sex are part of the reality of God's good creation.  Paul was no prude.  God's first commandment was about something that results in more delight, physical pleasure, and the glory of mutual love than anything else.  The devil can't beat it, but he can corrupt and counterfeit it with lies.  He'll fool us into abusing God's gift selfishly and in ways that hurt and destroy and that reject God's purposes for it. Brothers and Sisters, don't be fooled by those lies.  God's word and God's son, the firstborn of his new creation, show us the truth, the reality of his creation.  So Paul says in verses 3 and 4 that as his people we have been given God's Spirit that we might know the truth, the wisdom of new creation and model it for the world.  This is why truth matters.  This is why Paul tells us not to tell lies.  Sexual immorality means telling lies about God's creation.  It means misrepresenting the very new creation he's give us the Spirit to live out. And Paul casts a wide net.  Sexual immorality—the Greek word should sound familiar: porneia.  We get our word “pornography” from it—sexually immoral writing, literally.  It meant any sexual activity outside marriage.  And, of course, for the Jews—and anyone else in that world no matter how pagan they were—marriage meant a man and a woman.  But just in case we might think of something that doesn't fall under the heading of porneia—sexual immorality—Paul ads “impurity”—any kind of sexually deviant behaviour that would render one unclean or impure before God.  Remember, the point of Jesus' death, of his blood shed at the cross as a sacrifice for sin, was to wash us clean from the stain of sin—to purify us the way the priests in the Old Testament used the blood of the sacrifices to purify the temple—so that God can dwell with us, so that the Holy Spirit can dwell within us.  We are God's temple and the first rule of the temple has always been purity, holiness. And it's not like Paul was sheltered and didn't know about sexual immorality.  Sex was everywhere in the world of Greece and Rome.  If you've ever had the misfortune of stumbling onto a Pride Parade—it happened to us once in Portland—and you see the open and proud displays not just of sexuality and nudity, but lewd, vile, grossness on shameless public display.  Greece and Rome were like that everywhere every day.  When we think of worship, we think of a church, a place that is quiet and holy.  When we think of priests we think of sexual purity—even sometimes abstinence and celibacy.  It was the opposite in the pagan world.  The worship of fertility gods and goddesses involved ritual prostitution and sex and raucous orgies in the temples.  Priests were often ritual prostitutes.  Wives were generally expected to be chaste, but men could and did have sex with anyone they wanted—male or female—just so long as it wasn't another man's wife.  Slaves were fair game for rape.  We know this from ancient literature and art.  There were occasionally philosophers or emperors who wrote that maybe all this sexual licentiousness had gone too far and wasn't good for society, but the pagans weren't interested.  People like their sexual immorality.  Paul and the Ephesians knew all about this world.  Most of the Ephesians, being gentiles, had been very much a part of that world.  So they knew the power of the gospel.  They knew the power of recovering the truth of God's creation.  They'd been transformed by it.  About a hundred and fifty years later, the famous doctor and philosopher Galen wrote about Christians and said two crazy things stood out about them: They believed in the resurrection of the body and they didn't sleep around the way everyone else did.  He thought they were crazy, but he also respected them.  They put off the old way of being human and put on the new way that Jesus taught them and the whole world noticed.  Those two thing: belief in the resurrection of the body and not sleeping around go together.  Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6 that the body is not meant for immorality but for the Lord and the Lord for the body.  Just as God raised the Lord Jesus, he will one day raise us, so it's incumbent upon us to glorify God in our bodies. The world will tell us otherwise.  There were all sort of “empty words” in Paul's day, used to justify sexual immorality, just as there are today.  As our culture has rapidly de-Christianised over the last half century or so it's been tempting for Christians and for the church to buy into those empty words.  The world's empty words tell us we need to be more tolerant.  And there is a place for toleration in the church.  Thinking of 1 Corinthians again, Paul told the Christians there that they needed to be tolerant of their differences.  Some ate food butchered in the pagan temples and other refused to.  Paul told them to tolerate each other.  That's what love does.  But it doesn't work with everything.  It doesn't work with lies.  In that same letter Paul called them out for tolerating sexual immorality and incest.  There's no place for that in the new creation.  Saying so isn't hate speech.  It's telling the truth.  At heart, it's a warning against idolatry.  In 1 Thessalonians 1 Paul calls us to “turn from idols to serve the living God”.  Brothers and Sisters, ethics, Christian morality, being pure and holy isn't just good advice.  It's a call to worship. This is why Paul warns in verses 5 and 6: the sexually immoral, the impure, the greedy—they have no place in the kingdom.  These things are idolatry.  It's because of these things that God's wrath is coming on the disobedient.  This idolatry, these behaviours, this trying to write our own stories for our own benefit and to the hurt and detriment of others, this is why the world is broken, this is why it needs renewal, this is why Jesus died and rose again.  When the day comes that the church, the temple has filled the earth with God's presence and glory, Jesus will finish his work of new creation.  He will put a final end to sin and death.  And that will mean that wiping from creation of anyone who still insists on disobedience, on sin, on writing their own stories.  If Jesus sets the world right and leaves them, they'll just corrupt it all over again.  And, I think, pointing back to Israel: Paul warns that you can't call yourself one of God's people and live in disobedience and impurity.  That's like the Israelites setting up altars to Baal or Asherah and worshipping with cult prostitutes in the temple alongside God's altar.  It doesn't work.  Either you belong to God or you don't.  Either you give him your full allegiance and obedience or you don't.  Either you're part of his new creation or you're not. So Paul goes on in verse 11: “So don't get involved in the works of darkness, which all come to nothing.  Instead, expose them.  The things they do in secret, you see, are shameful even to talk about.  But everything becomes visible when it's exposed to the light, since everything that is visible is light.  That's why it says...” And here Paul quotes what appears to be an early Christian hymn, “‘Wake up, you sleeper! Rise up from the dead! The Messiah will shine on you!' So take special care how you conduct yourselves.  Don't be unwise, but be wise.”  Brothers and Sisters, that's the nature of being the working model of God's new creation.  Wisdom is the way God intends his creation to work.  And as his new humanity, his wisdom is what we're called to live out in the midst of the foolish darkness of the world.  “Make every opportunity you have,” Paul goes on in verse 16, “because these are wicked times we live in.  So don't be foolish; rather, understand what the Lord's will is.  And don't get drunk with wine; that way lies debauchery.  Instead, be filled with the Spirit!” Again, think of those pagan temples.  Ephesus was full of them.  Where people would go to worship their gods in drunken orgies with priests and priestesses and who were prostitutes.  It was the idolatrous lie taken to extremes.  In contrast, picture the temple in Jerusalem.  A place purity.  Its priests forbidden to drink in its precincts lest they lose their inhibitions and become like the pagans.  A holy place where heaven and earth overlapped.  The place where humanity could go to meet God—and know his glory.  Everything about it a reminder of the garden that Adam had forsaken, but also everything about it pointing forward to God's new creation and the day when his presence and his glory will fill the earth.  And now Paul tells us, leave behind that old, corrupt way of life and its lies and be God's temple—a temple not of bricks and mortar, but a living temple.  Never forget that he has filled you with his holy Spirit. The devils and the world won't like our challenge to them.  They will throw their lies at us.  They will even threaten us if we won't go along with the lies.  They always do that.  In the days of the Maccabees, the Greek king made the eating of pork a loyalty test for the Jews.  To many it didn't seem like such a big deal.  There were other more important points of the law to keep.  But the faithful Jews knew, it was a symbolic compromise.  To give in was to reject the living God for the paganism of the Greeks.  And just so in the early centuries of the Church.  Caesar would not tolerate the challenge of Jesus, the world's true Lord.  He could tolerate Christians doing just about anything, so long as they acknowledge him as lord with a pinch of incense offered at his festivals or in his temples.  But those early Christians knew, even though it seemed like a small thing, it meant everything.  And just so today.  The world increasingly insists: honour the rainbow, use the pronouns.  And it might seem like such a small thing.  We can keep going about all our other Christian business.  But Brothers and Sisters, that's the lie.  And to capitulate, to offer that pinch of incense on the rainbow altar is to give up everything. So remember the truth of new creation embodied in Jesus the Messiah who died and rose again to lead the way.  Do not capitulate to the lies.  And, as Paul says in verses 19 and 20: Being filled with Spirit, “speak to each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and chanting in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah.” Brother and Sisters, encourage one another.  None of us can stand alone.  We were never meant to.  You can't build a temple out of a single stone.  God has brought us together to be his temple and together we fill it with his praises, giving thanks for what he's done.  Giving thanks that he hasn't left us to languish in a lie that brings death.  Giving thanks that he's given himself to die to deliver us from that lie and to wash us clean from its stain.  Giving thanks that he rose from the grave to conquer the lie and to reestablish the truth of his good creation.  Giving thanks that he's filled us with his Spirit to make us the firstborn of his new and renewed world.  Sing his praises with each other.  Sing his praises to each other.  Drown out the lies, drown out the idolatry with the truth of his glory as you give thanks for his mercy and grace, as you give thanks for his lovingkindness, as you give thanks for his goodness and his generosity and his faithfulness.  Remind each other of his glory so that we feel no need to live in any story but the glorious one that he has written for us. Let's pray: Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the many and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Our reading today begins by wrapping up the account of Deborah and Barak after Sisera's defeat. It's not long, however, before Israel turns, once again, to worship idols. The false gods of Baal and Asherah were meant to bring fertile crops and prosperity, but they only bring despair and a fractured relationship with the One True God. During a period of oppression by the Midianites, the Lord speaks to a young man named Gideon and calls upon him to destroy his father's idolatrous altars. Later, the spirit of the Lord envelops Gideon as he gathers troops for battle. The Lord then reduces the number of men who will go to battle to just 300 so that Israel will not forget the power of God and His merciful deliverance. Judges 5 - 1:01 .  Judges 6 - 7:28 .  Judges 7 - 16:49 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

Wear your body like lingerie. Wellness & Self Care Website:⁠ https://underneathyourlingerie.com⁠The Legs of a Goddess: ⁠https://underneathyourlingerie.thinkific.com/courses/pancakestopeaches⁠

Our reading today begins by wrapping up the account of Deborah and Barak after Sisera's defeat. It's not long, however, before Israel turns, once again, to worship idols. The false gods of Baal and Asherah were meant to bring fertile crops and prosperity, but they only bring despair and a fractured relationship with the One True God. During a period of oppression by the Midianites, the Lord speaks to a young man named Gideon and calls upon him to destroy his father's idolatrous altars. Later, the spirit of the Lord envelops Gideon as he gathers troops for battle. The Lord then reduces the number of men who will go to battle to just 300 so that Israel will not forget the power of God and His merciful deliverance. Judges 5 – 1:13 .  Judges 6 – 7:22 .  Judges 7 – 16:49 .  Psalm 72 – 23:15 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

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April 24, 2026Today's Reading: Introit for Easter 4 - Psalm 66:3, 5, 8-9; antiphon: Psalm 66:1-2Daily Lectionary: Exodus 39:32-40:16; Luke 8:22-39“Come and see what God has done.” (Psalm 66:5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. King Hezekiah is the best king Judah had since David (2 Kings 18:1-3). Like David, he fights the Philistines. He expands Judah's land and he restores true worship (spelled: F-A-I-T-H) by getting rid of the “high places” forbidden in Deuteronomy 12:10-14. He smashes the Asherah pillars and crushes the bronze serpent of Moses, to which Judah burned incense (2 Kings 18:4).  However, the mighty Assyrians under Sennacherib are on the move. Judah faces the same fate as the Northern Kingdom. In the “fourteenth year” of King Hezekiah (Isaiah 36:1 – a clue that suggests the events of Isaiah 36-39 are similar to Passover – see Leviticus 23:5), the Assyrians taunt the Jerusalemites by contending that they should not expect Hezekiah or the LORD to save them.  Why? Because no gods have been able to stand against Assyria! Sounds like Pharaoh, “Who is the LORD?” (Exodus 5:2). Hezekiah takes the derisive letter into the temple and spreads it before the LORD. He asks God to hear the Assyrian blasphemies Assyrians and defend Himself. “So now, O LORD our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone,” (2 Kings 19:19; also Isaiah 36:18-20; 37:1-10). The LORD humbles the gods of Assyria (Isaiah 37:21-29) just as He did with the gods of Egypt (Exodus 12:12). The “angel of death” passes through the Assyrian camp by night and slaughters 185,000 of them (Isaiah 37:36; cf. Exodus 12:23).  Isaiah 38 tells the story of Hezekiah's illness and recovery. Hezekiah offers a psalm of thanksgiving (38:19-20). The “angel of death” slaughtered the Assyrians but passed over Hezekiah. In a sense, Judah has experienced a new Passover or a Passover 2.0 with the angel of death delivering her – this time from the Assyrians. No wonder Psalm 66, first written because of what we have just reviewed, exhorts the people of the Old Testament or any Christian to “come and see what God has done.” And to give “him glorious praise.” King Hezekiah sure did!  We pray this psalm in response to the greater exodus (Luke 9:31) that the LORD Jesus did for us and for our salvation when He suffered (including all the mockery), died, and rose on the third day. He crushed the enemy Satan's head. He achieved and accomplished our salvation through the shedding of His blood from His crucified body. On the night when He was betrayed, during the context of a Passover meal, Jesus instituted His Supper, by which He gives us His crucified, risen, and ascended Body and Blood to eat and drink, with the promise that all our sins are forgiven (Matthew 26:26-28). Jesus is God FOR YOU! In the Lord's Supper, “come and see what God has done for you” and gives you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. LORD Jesus Christ. Thank you for saving me on the cross. I trust You. Amen. 

SHOW NOTES   In Podcast Episode 371, “When Did You Begin to Seek God?” Kim discusses the timeline of young King Josiah's spiritual life and growth. As we examine the early years of the king's reign, Kim challenges listeners to reflect on their own spiritual timelines.   Our focal passage for this episode is 2 Chronicles 34:1-9, and with 3 as the focal verse:   During the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David. Then in the twelfth year he began to purify Judah and Jerusalem, destroying all the pagan shrines, the Asherah poles, and the carved idols and cast images.     WEEKLY ENGAGEMENT FEATURE:   If you were to draw a timeline of your spiritual walk, where would the progress points be?   Additional Resources and Scriptures:   EMAIL — encouragingothersinlovingjesus@gmail.com Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/encouragingothersinlovingjesus X - https://x.com/eoinlovingjesus?s=21&t=YcRjZQUpvP7FrJmm7Pe1hg INSTAGRAM -  https://www.instagram.com/encouragingothersinlovingjesus/ “Encouraging Others in Loving Jesus” YouTube Channel: Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/@EncouragingOthersInLovingJesus   I WANT TO BEGIN A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST.   RESOURCES USED FOR BOOK OF 1 & 2 Kings (1 & 2 Chronicles) PODCASTS: “The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete Old Testament OT in One Volume” “Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings” by Tony Merida “The Tony Evans Bible Commentary: Advancing God's Kingdom Agenda” “Life Application Study Bible” “The Swindoll Study Bible: NLT” by Charles R. Swindoll Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary “The Baker Illustrated Bible Background Commentary” by J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays (Editors) Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): Old Testament, 2004, by Kenneth L. Barker, John R. Kohlenberger, III. xAI. (2026). Grok [Large language model]. https://x.ai/grok/chat      "Encouraging Others in Loving Jesus" Facebook Group:   Our Facebook Group is devoted to providing a place for us to encourage each other through all the seasons of life. Follow the provided link to request admittance into “Encouraging Others in Loving Jesus”—https://www.facebook.com/groups/encouragingothersinlovingjesus/ Feel free to invite others who will be good encouragers and/or need encouragement to follow Jesus.   This podcast is hosted by Kim Smith, a small town Country Girl who left her comfort zone to follow Jesus in a big City World. Now, she wants to use God's Word and lessons from her faith journey to encourage others in loving Jesus.   In each episode, Kim will share insights regarding a portion of God's Word and challenge listeners to apply the lessons to their daily lives.   If you want to grow in your faith and learn how to encourage others in loving Jesus, subscribe and commit to prayerfully listening each week.   Remember, “It's Always a Trust & Obey Kinda Day!”   If you have questions or comments or would like to learn more about how to follow Jesus, please email Kim at EncouragingOthersinLovingJesus@gmail.com.     National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline   988   https://988lifeline.org/   Reference: Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004.   Podcast recorded through Cleanfeed and edited through GarageBand. The soundtrack, entitled “Outlaw John McShane” was obtained from Pixabay.     The HIDDEN Episodes:  If you can't access episodes 1-50 on your podcast app (the podcast was then entitled "A Country Girl in a City World - Loving Jesus"), you can get all the content at my Podbean site at https://acountrygirlinacityworldlovingjesus.podbean.com/  

To become a follower of Jesus, visit: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Jesus  ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ⇒ Get a copy of the MM Companion Journal: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/journal ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 2 Kings 21:1–6 - Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. [2] And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. [3] For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. [4] And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” [5] And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. [6] And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. (ESV) ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ FINANCIALLY SUPPORT THE MORNING MINDSET: (not tax-deductible) -- Become a monthly partner: https://mm-gfk-partners.supercast.com/ -- Support a daily episode: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/daily-sponsor/ -- Give one-time: https://give.cornerstone.cc/careygreen -- Venmo: https://venmo.com/CareyNGreen  ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ NON-ENGLISH VERSIONS OF THIS PODCAST: SPANISH version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Spanish CHINESE version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Chinese  ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ CONTACT: Carey@careygreen.com  ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ THEME MUSIC: “King’s Trailer” – Creative Commons 0 | Provided by https://freepd.com/

This week, we feature the first half of a two-part interview we recorded in 2005 with the late Dr. Michael S. Heiser, a Bible scholar with a Ph.D. in Biblical Hebrew and Ancient Semitic Languages. This is P.I.D. 101, a primer in the nature of the spiritual war in which we find ourselves. To wit: What is the Divine Council?What implications does the Divine Council model have for Christian theology?How does this affect our lives? In a nutshell, the Divine Council is the group of divine beings -- seraphim, cherubim, and malakim -- who make up the court of God. It's referenced most notably in I Kings 22:19-23 and Psalm 82. The rebellion of the fallen angels has taken place in several stages: The “serpent” in Eden;The Watchers of Genesis chapter 6, whose interaction with human women produced the Nephilim;The seventy “sons of God” (bene elohim) who were placed over the nations after the incident at the Tower of Babel. Those 70 bene elohim became the gods of the nations around the ancient Hebrews: Marduk, Molech, Chemosh, Baal, Asherah, Dagon, and the rest. They are still with us, and their goal is the destruction of mankind. Next week, we'll discuss with Mike how this is all tied to the UFO phenomenon. Sharon's niece, Sarah Sachleben, is fighting stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah. Follow us! X (formerly Twitter): @pidradio | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert | @gilberthouse_tvTelegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunkerSubstack: gilberthouse.substack.comYouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelationFacebook.com/pidradio JOIN US IN ISRAEL! We will tour the Holy Land October 11–23, 2026 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel. Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square foot pole barn has a new HVAC system, epoxy floor, 100-amp electric service, new windows, insulation, lights, and ceiling fans! If you are so led, you can help out by clicking here: gilberthouse.org/donate. Get our free app! It connects you to this podcast, our weekly Bible studies, and our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at pidradio.com/app. Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site: gilberthouse.org/video! Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store/.

In this episode, Caesar sits down with Effie from IO Astrology to peel back the layers of a practice often dismissed as mere entertainment. The conversation moves quickly past modern "pop" astrology, diving instead into the rigorous traditions of medieval and traditional astrology. They explore the idea that tracking celestial patterns was the original foundation for human survival, predicting weather and agriculture, and how this ancient "science" may actually be the root of many modern religions and power structures.The discussion takes a fascinating turn into the intersection of ancient mysticism and modern technology. The pair discuss the massive energy demands of modern AI, the resurgence of interest in nuclear power, and the suppressed history of "free energy" theories associated with figures like Nikola Tesla. They bridge the gap between past and present by examining how ancient archetypes and mythological figures like Molech and Asherah still seem to echo within today's geopolitical conflicts and financial systems.From the ethics of digital expansion to the spiritual rhetoric found in modern warfare, this episode is a wide-ranging exploration of how ancient wisdom and future tech are more closely linked than they appear.

Welcome to Day 2838 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2838 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 119:113-120 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2838 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2838 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The Title for Today's Wisdom-Trek is: The Samekh of Support – An Undivided Loyalty In our previous episode on this grand expedition, we navigated the dark and treacherous trails of the fourteenth stanza in Psalm One Hundred Nineteen, the “Nun” section. We learned that to survive the suffocating darkness of a hostile world, we must carry the lamp of God's Word. We discovered that the Creator does not typically give us a massive searchlight to illuminate the next twenty years, but rather, a small, flickering clay lamp that provides just enough truth for the very next step. We promised to keep walking, carefully avoiding the tripwires of the wicked, and we claimed the eternal testimonies of the Lord as our greatest, permanent heritage. Today, we take our next courageous step forward, transitioning from the imagery of a lamp, to the reality of a fortress. We are entering the fifteenth stanza of this magnificent, alphabetical mountain. We are exploring the “Samekh” section, covering Psalm One Hundred Nineteen, verses one hundred thirteen through one hundred twenty, in the New Living Translation. In the ancient Hebrew alphabet, the letter “Samekh” was originally depicted as a prop, a pillar, or a sturdy shield. It represents something that you can lean your entire weight against when you are utterly exhausted, knowing that it will not collapse. This imagery forms the absolute backbone of this entire stanza. The psalmist is tired of the spiritual compromise around him. He is drawing a hard line in the sand, rejecting the cultural pressure to mix his faith with the idolatry of the world. He is declaring an undivided loyalty to Yahweh, and in return, he is asking the Creator to prop him up, and shield him from the fallout. Let us step onto the trail, and learn how to lean on the pillar of truth. The first segment is: The Hatred of the Divided Heart and the Divine Shield Psalm One Hundred Nineteen: verses one hundred thirteen through one hundred fifteen. I hate those with divided loyalties, but I love your instructions. You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope. Get out of my life, you evil-minded people, for I intend to obey the commands of my God. The stanza opens with a jarring, absolute declaration: “I hate those with divided loyalties.” Other translations render this as, “I hate the double-minded.” To modern ears, this sounds harsh, perhaps even unloving. But to understand this, we must look through the lens of the Ancient Israelite worldview. In the ancient Near East, the greatest threat to Israel was not atheism; it was syncretism. Syncretism is the blending of different religions. The surrounding pagan nations, governed by the rebel gods of the Divine Council, constantly pressured the Israelites to compromise. The temptation was to worship Yahweh on the Sabbath, but then sacrifice to Baal on Tuesday to ensure a good harvest, or pray to Asherah for fertility. A person with "divided loyalties" is someone who limps between two opinions. They want the blessings of the Creator, but they also want to participate in the corrupt, chaotic systems of the rebel principalities. The psalmist hates this double-mindedness, because it is spiritual treason. It is a fundamental betrayal of the cosmic order. You cannot serve two masters. In stark contrast, he declares, “...but I love your instructions.” He refuses to mix his devotion. He wants the pure, unadulterated blueprint of the Most High God. Because he refuses to compromise, he immediately makes himself a target. The culture does not tolerate exclusive loyalty to Yahweh. So, he runs to his defense: “You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope.” Here is the “Samekh” in action. A refuge is a place to hide, and a shield is a mobile defense that deflects incoming arrows. The psalmist realizes that his own human willpower is not a sufficient defense against the spiritual warfare of his culture. If he is going to stand firm against the pressure of double-mindedness, he must hide his mind behind the massive, impenetrable shield of the Creator. This fierce loyalty leads to a drastic, practical boundary. “Get out of my life, you evil-minded people, for I intend to obey the commands of my God.” Literally, the Hebrew says, “Depart from me, you evildoers.” The psalmist recognizes that bad company corrupts good character. The “evil-minded people” are those who have fully embraced the chaotic rebellion of the world. They are the agents of compromise. The psalmist is not just being antisocial; he is executing a spiritual quarantine. He knows that if he allows these voices of compromise to constantly whisper in his ear, his own heart might become divided. He draws a firm, unyielding boundary, protecting his environment so that he can fulfill his singular intention: obeying the commands of his God. The second segment is: The Plea to be Propped Up Psalm One Hundred Nineteen: verses one hundred sixteen and one hundred seventeen. Lord, sustain me as you promised, that I may live! Do not let my hope be crushed. Sustain me, and I will be rescued; then I will meditate continually on your decrees. After boldly drawing his boundaries and evicting the evildoers, the adrenaline fades, and the psalmist feels his own profound human weakness. He cries out, “Lord, sustain me as you promised, that I may live!” The Hebrew word used here for “sustain” is samakh, which is the exact verbal root of the letter “Samekh.” It literally means to lean your hand heavily upon something, to prop up, to uphold, or to brace. Think of a timber pillar holding up the collapsing roof of a mine shaft. The psalmist feels the crushing, gravitational weight of the world pressing down on his shoulders. He has chosen the hard path of undivided loyalty, and the pressure is threatening to cave his chest in. He begs Yahweh, “Step under this weight with me. Be my pillar. Prop me up, because if You do not uphold me, I am going to collapse, and my life will be extinguished.” He anchors this desperate plea to the covenant, asking God to intervene “as you promised.” He adds a poignant, emotional request: “Do not let my hope be crushed.” Or, “Do not let me be ashamed of my hope.” He has bet everything on the invisible reality of the Creator's kingdom. He has alienated the powerful, evil-minded people of his community to stay true to the Torah. If God fails to support him, his entire worldview will shatter, and the mockers will have won. He repeats the plea for emphasis: “Sustain me, and I will be rescued; then I will meditate continually on your decrees.” Notice the cause and effect. He does not say, “I will meditate, and therefore I will rescue myself.” He acknowledges that salvation comes entirely from the external, upholding power of God. The rescue must happen first. When Yahweh steps in and braces the collapsing walls of his life, it frees the psalmist's mind. Once he is secure, leaning safely against the pillar of grace, he can return to his favorite occupation: meditating continually on the eternal decrees of the King. The Third segment is: The Dross of the Earth and the Purity of Justice Psalm One Hundred Nineteen: verses one hundred eighteen and one hundred nineteen But you have rejected all who wander from your decrees. They are only fooling themselves. You skim off the wicked of the earth like scum; no wonder I love to obey your laws! From the safety of his divine refuge, the psalmist looks out at the fate of the double-minded. He makes a sobering, objective observation about cosmic justice: “But you have rejected all who wander from your decrees. They are only fooling themselves.” The rebel gods promise freedom and power to those who wander off the path, but the psalmist reveals the ultimate, tragic reality: wandering leads to rejection. The Most High God will not permit the universe to remain in a state of chaotic rebellion forever. The people who think they are outsmarting the system, playing both sides with divided loyalties, are entirely deceived. The literal translation is, “their deceit is falsehood.” They are living in an illusion, a house of cards that is destined to fall. The psalmist then uses a startling, industrial metaphor to describe God's judgment: “You skim off the wicked of the earth like scum.” The Hebrew word here is sig, which refers to dross, or slag. In the ancient metallurgical process of refining silver or gold, the raw ore was placed in a...

Is the divine feminine a deception, or have we been taught to fear something sacred? In this episode, we explore Heavenly Mother, feminine wisdom in scripture, the “Queen of Heaven” debate, and why discernment matters more than fear.Meghan responds to arguments that connect the divine feminine with deception, idolatry, and false light. She examines scriptural symbolism, the role of feminine wisdom in Proverbs and the Tree of Life, questions around 1 Enoch 42, and the historical suppression of feminine imagery in religious tradition. This conversation also dives into discernment, personal revelation, spiritual autonomy, and the relationship between divine masculine and divine feminine as part of becoming whole.In this episode: The real issue with lumping all “divine feminine” ideas together  Heavenly Mother, scripture, and feminine symbolism  Why fear is not the same as wisdom  How discernment differs from blanket rejection  1 Enoch, Proverbs, Jeremiah, and competing interpretations  The role of intuition, revelation, and spiritual maturity  Why integration of masculine and feminine matters Whether you are curious about Heavenly Mother, wrestling with concerns about deception, or studying the divine feminine through a Christian lens, this episode offers a thoughtful framework for seeking truth without fear.Resources & References“Destroying the Divine Feminine” with Dave Butler — Heavenly Mother in the Hebrew temple. "The Word of God, By Humans: Contextualizing the Bible and Tips for Study" — mentioned as an earlier episode explaining how the Bible was written, curated, translated, and transmitted. Daniel C. Peterson, “Nephi and his Asherah” — mentioned in relation to Tree of Life symbolism and Asherah. Available in Hidden Wisdom app. Sherry and Victor Wirth, Mother in Heaven — 500+ page resource on the divine feminine in scripture, apocrypha, and extra-biblical texts. Available in Hidden Wisdom App. Margaret Barker, “What Did King Josiah Reform?” — historical context on Josiah's reforms. Available in Hidden Wisdom app. Gospel of Thomas — mentioned in relation to integrating male and female into one. Gospel of Philip — referenced in connection with Adam, Eve, and reunion overcoming death.  Questions about Return to the Garden? Sign up for a free discovery call! Hidden Wisdom initiates truth-seekers into the Mysteries, guiding listeners toward a lived experience of the Divine that awakens and transforms faith—without dismantling family or community. Pursue your Journey: ✨ Hidden Wisdom App – Pathway programs, community, library, events and more! Register for free or learn more here.

The Legs of a Goddess: https://underneathyourlingerie.thinkific.com/courses/pancakestopeachesWellness & Self Care Website: https://underneathyourlingerie.com/

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // Idolatry - What's the Big Deal?  Deuteronomy 30:11-20 (NIV)“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.” Half HeartednessDeuteronomy 16:21 (NLT)“You must never set up a wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build for the Lord your God.” James 1:5-8 (NLT)“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” Idolatry Robs Us of Our True God Designed Humanity Idolatry is Misplaced Identity, Trust and Dependance Idolatry Reshapes Behavior      Romans 1:21-25 – 21 (NLT)“They knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.” Modern Idolatry May Well be Good Things Turned to Ultimate Things Idolatry May Be Just Hiding Inside Normal Life Here are a few simple questions way identify modern idols are:1.    What do I fear losing the most?2.    What do I think I need to be okay?3.    What do I organize my life around?4.    What hinders my giving or generosity? So, in everyday life, idolatry isn't about statues—it's about substitutes.  Therefore, we have to ask... is there anything that plays the role the Bible says belongs to God alone?

So, hello, everyone. Again, this is a welcome to the Christian Bible Study Ministry podcast, and we are today going into chapter 2 of Jeremiah. Our study of the book of Jeremiah, and do pray, as always, that this episode will bless you and somehow or another encourage you in your walk with Jesus. And if you are, of course, if you are not a Christian, then I pray that somehow maybe the good Lord's spirit will touch you and you will have a chance to be saved. Before we get into the program, there is always something that I like to say and that that is that I know that, especially right now, you know, with some news that I got today, There is a person that used to work with my mother over at one of the stores here that has passed away. And honestly, it hits hard, you know, and it's something that is difficult to think about, you know. But I have faith that they knew Jesus, and so they are in the same place that my mother is, you know. So, and that plus all the other people who are grieving, you know, that's something that I pray about every day. There's a lot of people family and friends who have lost people and their families recently so that's again i know firsthand the burden that grief is it's not pleasant and of course you know there's other things going on too you know people might have financial problems and other things that are weighing weighing them down excuse me so i do pray that. Whoever in the world is listening to this podcast that you will have some kind of blessing from God, you know, whether it be money, a kind word, or a good report from a doctor or whatever, you know, because the Lord knows we need these things. And so I'm just going to end the beginning of the program with that. And we're going to talk about Jeremiah, you know, as a refresher, Jeremiah was sent by the good lord to preach to the israelites who had abandoned their covenant and so jeremiah was promised by god in chapter one he said that. Jeremiah was not to worry about anything because the king or no one else would be able to harm him while he was preaching because the Lord wanted this message to be preached. And this was 50 years before the Babylonian invasion. So they had plenty of time to listen to Jeremiah's message and to accept it or reject it. And unfortunately, we will see they did in fact reject that message. So we're going to go into chapter two now so hold on just a second y'all bear with me please okay here we go so again we have we will see that in chapter two god will recall israel's early love and devotion when they were freed from egypt they followed him in the wilderness and they were set apart as holy and belonged uniquely to him you know this is why god gave them these rules to follow that the ten commandments and the other you know all 639 commandments total so and israel unfortunately had a tendency to wander from this so we're going to read the first few verses of chapter two moreover the word of the lord came to me saying go and cry in the ears of jerusalem saying thus saith the lord i remember thee the kindness of thy youth the love of thine espousals when thou wentest after me in the wilderness in a land that was not sown israel was holiness unto the lord and the first fruits of his increase all that devour him shall offend evil shall come upon them saith the lord the lord says hey anybody who comes after his own chosen people in this case the nation of israel they will cause great offense. And evil shall come upon them. It doesn't specify specifically what kind of evil. It just says evil. So it could be anything. And that evil can be very bad. And I believe we have seen in history that anybody who has gone after the Jewish people has suffered horribly for it. And there's too many examples for me to go into there on that. So, you know, we are going to go now to the next several verses. Where we see that God asks, what did he do wrong to deserve their abandonment? You know, God says, rhetorically speaking, what did he do to deserve Israel abandoning the covenant? The people followed their worthless idols, you know, their Asherah poles, their Baal idols and Ashtoreths and whatever other kind of idols that they had there. They forgot God and their leaders failed spiritually. The leaders were probably some of the very first people to turn in their hearts from God. They were in charge of the temple. They were in charge of teaching the law to the people. And they failed. They failed in their sacred duty. Verse 4. Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord What iniquity have your fathers found in me That they are gone far from me And have walked after vanity And are become vain. This is where we see God As asking the people What fault did he have That they chose to turn from him He had blessed them with freedom He freed them from 400 years Of bondage in Egypt, Freedom from the last Freedom from beatings Freedom from murder uh, And yet, they rebelled against him. Why, God asked, did they turn? Verse 6, neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, through a land of drought and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through and where no man dwelt? They didn't ask that question because they didn't have to. The Lord was there. With a pillar of fire in the sky. And then before that, the pillar of fire that blocked the path of Pharaoh's army. He led them through a barren wilderness. Hot, dry desert. Water in a few places here and there. Oasises, you know. Things look bleak in the desert, and yet he led them through that. So no, they didn't ask the question, where is the God of our fathers? Because they had no need to ask the question. They knew that he was there by the sheer fact that they were still alive in the desert and that they had even been allowed out of Egypt was proof of his presence and his power. Verse seven. And I brought you into a plentiful country, the land of Canaan to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof. But when he entered, he defiled my land and made mine heritage and abomination. When they got into Canaan. They came into contact with all these other people their idols their human sacrifices and other things the prostitution the sexual immorality there they were contaminated or rather they let themselves be contaminated instead of driving out all the people of canaan that the lord told them to they failed and they suffered for it god delivered on his promise he led them into a land that was extremely productive and fertile the land of milk and hunting it grew plentiful fruit and it had a lot of goodness in it and yet they still turned from him spiritually, verse 8 the priest said not where is the lord and they that handle the law knew me not the pastors also transgressed against me and the prophet and they and the prophets prophesied by bail and walked after things that do not profit you remember the story of bail the prophets of Baal, Elisha, or Elisha, I can't remember which were off the top of my head. These prophets were being stupid. They were cutting themselves, hollering and screaming and dancing around, thinking that that would get their God's attention. And yet all God's person had to do was basically, I guess, just kind of look up, you know, when the offering was consumed. And so were the prophets, consumed by fire. God doesn't need you to cut yourself up. and act stupid he can do whatever he wants to do without even you thinking about it, and yet these people this is what the people of israel had turned to they had turned to idols, the bales the asherahs the ashtaroths and i'm sure there's some other names there too you know, why did the people do this it is simply the evil of the human heart so israel exchanged the true god Yahweh. Adonai they exchanged the true gods or idols they abandoned the fountain of living waters you remember when jesus talked to the woman at the whale he said whoever drinks from this well will thirst again but whoever drinks of the water i shall give them shall have life eternal living water, instead of living water the people chose something that was broken first nine wherefore i will plead yet i will yet plead with you saith the lord and with your children's children not while i plead, he's already saying the lord's going to give them time here for pass over the isles of chitim and see and send them to ketar and consider diligently and see if there be such a thing, hath a nation changed their gods which are not which are yet no gods but my people have changed their glory for that which stood out which doth not profit the people of israel had exchanged their worship of the true god for worship of something that was meaningless that had no profit the idols couldn't move they couldn't eat they couldn't talk there were demonic influences behind it but the idols themselves had no power and it was i believe these verses are telling us that even among amongst the people around them there had no there had been no such thing because Because the people around them had no worship of the true God. So they were worshiping the same thing that they always had. People of Israel, however, had knowledge and worship of the true God, and they turned from that. God is saying here in his word through Jeremiah that that was unheard of. Verse 12, be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid. Be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and huge amount of cisterns, broken scissors, that can hold no water. Again, this is reiterating here. The people of Israel were working with something that was broke. It could not work, did not work, and will never work. Why would you want to turn away from living water? and to a cistern that can hold no water i would rather have the living water, i don't know about y'all but i don't like being thirsty it's not very comfortable so, this should have been very very apparent and abundantly clear to the people of israel they lived in the desert it's hot and it's dry why would you want to abandon living water, it's not a very wise decision at all they went after something that was broken that couldn't whole water see those idols and all that these you know they can't hold the holy spirit, they cannot hold the holy spirit and neither could the people neither could human beings until jesus christ died but yet their faith the faith of the people the people who believed in and followed the lord their faith was accredited to them as righteousness just like they had the holy spirit in a sense and they turned from that israel brought trouble on themselves by doing this. Israel's suffering came from abandoning God, not God abandoning them. They abandoned God. And four nations came in, Babylon, Assyria, the Philistines, and they oppressed them because they turned away from him. Verse 14, is Israel a servant? Is he a home-born slave? Why is he spoiled? The young lions roared upon him and yelled, and they made his land waste. His cities are burned without inhabitants. this is very important here you know israel was ruined first of all they were ruined because of the rebellion but they were externally ruined by babylon and what does verse 15 say say the young lions lion was the symbol of babylon and warred upon him and yelled and they made his land waste his cities are burned without inhabitant when babylon invaded israel i think it was in 586 bc they expelled most of the inhabitants the jews were largely taken to babylon the babylonian empire and this lasted for decades it lasted for decades so yes the lion was a symbol of babylon babylon came in and wrecked the country took the people off to exile, Israel was spoiled They were made slaves To the Babylonian empire They were made servants. And also Verse 16 Also the children of Noth And Tehapans have broken the crown Of thy head, And so Knopf and Tahaphanes, I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly, through my research, these were two cities in Egypt. So Egypt also played a role in betraying Israel too. So that tells me that the Israelites probably had tried to place some of their trust in the might of Egypt. Egypt betrayed them. And so they were betrayed from the south and ruined from the north. Knopf, by the way, is the ancient capital of lower Egypt, which was Memphis. Just want to throw that in there. So yes, we see Israel got into quite a bit of trouble. Hast thou not procured, verse 17, hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God when he led thee by the way? So hey, Jeremiah is saying, you're going to bring this on yourself, Because you have forsaken the order of God He led you out of Egypt And you've done this You've betrayed him As punishment, Israel was going to bring this on themselves The ruin from the Babylonian Empire And the betrayal by Egypt Verse 18 And now what hast. Thou to do in the way of egypt to drink the waters of sihor or what hast thou to do in the way of assyria to drink the waters of the river and so and so what god is asking them here is why are you trusting in egypt and the assyrians for these things that you should be trusting in me for they were spiritually and they they had spiritual infidelity they were in essence adulterers they were spiritual adulterers and so egypt nor assyria was going to be able to help them And honestly, why would they, I guess? So this is what happens when we stop putting our trust in God to handle our problems and to bless us and give us water and everything that we need. And we turn to things that are not eternal. We turn to things that are spiritually corrupt. We turn to things that are evil. God is not going to let it slide forever. He will wake you up in some manner. He will definitely wake you up. Verse 18, excuse me, verse 19. Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backsliding shall reprove thee. Know therefore and see that this is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts. In other words, he's saying that all the stuff that they're going to do and that's going to happen to them, they were going to be smarting really bad from this, and they would learn a lesson here. It would teach them not to do the things that they have done, the spiritual rebellion, abandoning the covenant. And they're going to know that it is a horrible thing and that it's going to be bitter. Sin is like this. When we do stuff that we want, you know, say, for instance, if somebody commits adultery on their spouse, you know, and they don't stop, they keep on doing this stuff, eventually some bad consequences are going to happen, especially if they have kids. Kids get caught up in a divorce and they see the horrible and the the person who committed the adultery they see the horrible harm that it's done to their family and that's how it hurt their kids, and it can't be undone but they can still learn and not do these things again. Israel have lost the fear of the lord and here it says say if the lord god of hosts you know hey the lord is the commander of an entire army and armies of heaven you know and the people still lost their fear of him but he's warning them that i'm not going to let the he says i'm not i'm not going to let this go forever he would rather warn people give people plenty of warning, so that when calamity does come they will have had plenty of time to repent. Going on to the next part here. Israel, long ago, rejected God and turned to widespread idolatry. Their sin could not be washed away. We're going to read a few verses here. For of old time I have broken thy yoke and burst thy bands, and thou saidst I will not transgress, when upon every high hill and on every green tree thou wanderest playing the harlot. Yet i have planted the noble vine holy a right seed how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me for for though thou washed i for excuse me for though thou wash thee with nitre and take thee much soap yet that iniquity is marked before me saith the lord their sin was so deep and had gone for so long that it couldn't be corrected as far as consequences you know they were you know god was still giving them time to repent but he was warning them that the time was going to come to where he was going to have to deal with it israel had promised god that they weren't going to go do these things that they were going to follow him but god says. That it seems like upon every high hill and under every green tree that thou wanderest playing the harlot so everywhere they went they played the harlot not just upon the mountains or not just in the trees but everywhere they played a harlot god gave them a good tree and yet somehow or another they turned into something that was strange a degenerate plant and for some reason you know when i read the word nitro here i'm thinking of lie that's probably not what that is but you know basically god said no matter how much soap that they were to use they were not going to be able to wash that sin away god could see it plain as day. It was an offense going to the next few verses here the people denied their guilt despite obvious idolatry so god controls them quite frankly to wild and uncontrollable animals which that really is what a rebellious christian is that is what a lost person is and it's to an extent i say to an extent because the lost person is dead spiritually so you know a christian is a christian who is out of step with god who is backslidden they're kind of like uncontrollable animals they've lost their way verse 23 how can't thou say i am not polluted i have not gone after balaam see the way in the valley know what thou hast done and thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways a wild ass used to be in the wilderness that snuff up the wind at her pleasure and in her occasion who can turn her away all they that seek her will not weary themselves in her. Month they shall find her withhold thy foot from being unshod and thy throat from thirst but thou saidest there is no hope no for i have loved strangers and after them i will go basically this is saying that the people were denying their sin and yet they had no they were not able to not they were not able to not to deny it because they were guilty they were saying they had not gone after these idols and yet they had jeremiah tells them to look around to see what they have done. They were doing these things without care. He says they were a swift, a swift drama dairy traversing her ways. They're going about business at full swing. Another, their, their rebellion was in full swing. So Israel verse 25 was saying, there's no hope. We love strangers. And after them, I will go while I go. So it's like, they're saying, Hey, you know, why stop what we're doing? We go now to verse 26 and we see that shame is coming all leaders will be ashamed they're going to be in trouble they'll cry to god but he tells them to call on their idols instead that they have trusted in as the thief is ashamed when he is found so as the house of israel ashamed they their kings their princess and their priests and their prophets. And honestly one thing that just popped in my mind here is the thief on the cross you know i know this is not a this is not tied to that but it did cross through my mind the thief on the cross repented when he realized that he had met god at his death contrast between him and the, people of israel in the time of jeremiah by and large the people of israel did not listen Amen. I'm sure that the thief on the cross felt shame towards himself when he knew that he knew that Jesus Christ, the man next to him, was perfect and flawless and did not deserve to die. And he placed his total, complete faith in him. And as a result of that, he went to paradise. Verse 27, saying to a stock, thou art my father into a stone and thou has brought me forth for they have turned their back unto me. And not their face, but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise and save us. But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? Let them arise, that they can save thee in the time of thy trouble, for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah. So the people of Judah had numerous gods, false gods that they worshipped, and the Lord said, Hey, you want to follow that? Get them to come save you. That's pretty harsh. instead of receiving the mercy of god they are receiving his wrath or will be receiving his wrath and nothing was going to be able to stop it when it started god was going to use his wrath their time in babylon in exile to break them to teach them verse 29 we're going to start with verse 29 and so even after this discipline occurred the people still refused correction And they rejected God. Wherefore will you plead with me? Ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord In vain have I spitt in your children They received no correction Your own sword hath devoured your prophets Like a destroying lion, O generation, see ye the word of the Lord Have I been a wilderness unto Israel A land of darkness? Wherefore say my people We are lords, we will come no more unto thee. Rejected god they rejected his discipline you know and the it's kind of like a child being disciplined by the parents saying oh that didn't hurt you know and they just keep on they insist on doing things their own way and god says you know was i wilderness to you did i not give you water and food in the desert why have you turned from me the people say we are lords we will come no more unto thee. Remember what satan said to adam or to eve in the garden of eden he said when you eat of this tree the knowledge of good and evil you will be like gods you will have, knowledge of good and evil satan was a liar and these people had brought into that lie, in a way they said we are lords we're going to do what we want to do you don't tell us what to do we're going to do what we want to do. We're not going to come to you anymore. And that is pretty much what Satan, I believe, had told Eve what would happen. That if they eat that fruit, then they would be like gods. He lied to them, of course. Human beings are not gods. We all know this. It is moral and spiritual degeneration. It is sin to tell God that you are not going to do what he wants you to do. Verses 32 through 33, we see that Israel's forgetfulness is unnatural. They had no reason to forget God because God had done so much for them. Can a maid forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. Why tremmest thou thy way to seek love? Therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways? You know, they were people who were adorned with all the trappings of righteousness you know they had the temple they had, the you know they had the commandments god had shown them basically face to almost face to face this power they had seen it with their own eyes the parting of the red sea the the plagues in egypt the almighty power of god and yet they still rebelled against him and refused to listen, they were so bad that they even taught people around them how to be wicked that's bad. 34 through 35 everybody can see their sin and yet they said we did no wrong. It's kind of like a you know person who's convicted of a serious crime you know like murder or whatever you know and they say hey we didn't do it even though the evidence is plainly before everybody you know and so verse 34 also in thy skirt also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents i have not found it by secret and search but upon all these yet thou sayest because i am innocent surely his anger shall turn from me behold i will plead with thee because thou sayest i have not sinned they were saying god we didn't do it let us go don't punish us god told them that he had found the blood of the innocent people on them so they were murdering people you know i'm sure there was probably human there was human sacrifice involved in that you know and they were saying but we didn't do it we didn't do what they say but god said it's right there in front of you in front of everybody you are guilty and so finally this these last few couple of verses here 36 to 37 basically judah put their trust in foreign nations like egypt and assyria and we see what happened they failed and god I chose to discipline them, to turn them away from that, and they would be ashamed of what they had done. 36 why gaddest thou about so much to change that way thou also shalt be ashamed of egypt as thou were ashamed of assyria yay though thou shalt go forth from him and thine hands upon my head for the lord hath rejected thy confidences and thou shalt not prosper in them yeah they were going to go up go away from the land their hands were going to be on top of their heads and they were going to be carted off to babylon where they would stay for many years jerusalem would remain desolate basically until the return and you know and they were in babylon for decades. The confidence that the israel place in egypt and assyria would be they would find that it was badly misplaced they were going to be marched out of their homes to a faraway land with their hands on top of their head so we could see at the end of this part of our study that god remembers the good stuff we do he's not going to forget it we are the ones who cause trouble for ourselves when we choose to turn and abandon what we're supposed to be doing and that idolatry leads to a place of emptiness and bad things judgment the things that we do wrong when we wind up in that backsliding condition backsliding condition it the sin is persistent it's visible in it and we deny it for a time. It could be years, depending on the person, you know? And so trusting anything other than God leads to shame and disaster. And it's going to hurt, you know, when we come to the realization that we've, whether we realize it or not, we've been placing our trust in something that we shouldn't have. So that, you know, these are things that we need to ponder, people. Remember what Peter said, you know, Peter said something along the lines of taking care, you know, and stand, you know, stand firm in our walk lest we slip and lose our secure footing. That's what it's talking about here. And it's talking about people who slip and stay down, you know, and they have trouble getting back up. So I pray that this program has been a blessing to you all. I know this is one of the longest podcast episodes I've ever done, but I hope that I certainly hope that it was worth it and that you all find it to be a blessing. You know, again, if there's anybody out there who is listening to this program and they don't know Jesus Christ, I pray right now that that they would open up the door to their hearts, you know, and let him in. Dear lord i pray that if there's anybody listening to this who doesn't know you i pray that they would that they would know that this is the time the moment to come to you and open up your their hearts and minds to you and accept you accept christ as their the only way of salvation if there's anybody here who is listening to this who is a christian and who has not fallen the right path you know so to speak i pray that this will be the time to where they could But at the very least, start to have your spirit work on them to pull them back to where they're supposed to be. And I pray these things in Jesus' name, Lord. Amen.

Pastor Tyler's new book "Firebrand" is available NOW! https://www.ironworks.media/bookstore/p/firebrand Check out IronWorks Media, our Christian resource network! https://www.ironworks.media/ Give to support the ministry of Calvary Chapel Trussville! https://tithe.ly/give?c=411758 More info on Calvary Chapel Trussville!

SHOW NOTES   In Podcast Episode 363, “Idols I Need to Smash,” Kim discusses how when someone meets with the Lord, they cannot remain the same. In today's primary text, the people of Judah and some from Israel had celebrated the Passover for the first time in their lifetimes. Immediately, they smashed multiple different idols. When the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord, he immediately saw how sinful he and the people were, and the Lord graciously forgave and then commissioned him to speak on His behalf. We can't meet with the Lord and leave unchanged.   Our focal passage for this episode is 2 Chronicles 31:1-21, with 1 as the focal verse:   1 When the festival ended, the Israelites who attended went to all the towns of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh, and they smashed all the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and removed the pagan shrines and altars. After this, the Israelites returned to their own towns and homes.     WEEKLY ENGAGEMENT FEATURE:   Prayerfully identify any idols you need to smash immediately.   Additional Resources and Scriptures:   Isaiah 6:1-8 EMAIL — encouragingothersinlovingjesus@gmail.com Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/encouragingothersinlovingjesus X - https://x.com/eoinlovingjesus?s=21&t=YcRjZQUpvP7FrJmm7Pe1hg INSTAGRAM -  https://www.instagram.com/encouragingothersinlovingjesus/ “Encouraging Others in Loving Jesus” YouTube Channel: Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/@EncouragingOthersInLovingJesus   I WANT TO BEGIN A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST.   RESOURCES USED FOR BOOK OF 1 & 2 Kings (1 & 2 Chronicles) PODCASTS: “The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete Old Testament OT in One Volume” “Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings” by Tony Merida “The Tony Evans Bible Commentary: Advancing God's Kingdom Agenda” “Life Application Study Bible” “The Swindoll Study Bible: NLT” by Charles R. Swindoll Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary “The Baker Illustrated Bible Background Commentary” by J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays (Editors) Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): Old Testament, 2004, by Kenneth L. Barker, John R. Kohlenberger, III. xAI. (2026). Grok [Large language model]. https://x.ai/grok/chat      "Encouraging Others in Loving Jesus" Facebook Group:   Our Facebook Group is devoted to providing a place for us to encourage each other through all the seasons of life. Follow the provided link to request admittance into “Encouraging Others in Loving Jesus”—https://www.facebook.com/groups/encouragingothersinlovingjesus/ Feel free to invite others who will be good encouragers and/or need encouragement to follow Jesus.   This podcast is hosted by Kim Smith, a small town Country Girl who left her comfort zone to follow Jesus in a big City World. Now, she wants to use God's Word and lessons from her faith journey to encourage others in loving Jesus.   In each episode, Kim will share insights regarding a portion of God's Word and challenge listeners to apply the lessons to their daily lives.   If you want to grow in your faith and learn how to encourage others in loving Jesus, subscribe and commit to prayerfully listening each week.   Remember, “It's Always a Trust & Obey Kinda Day!”   If you have questions or comments or would like to learn more about how to follow Jesus, please email Kim at EncouragingOthersinLovingJesus@gmail.com.     National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline   988   https://988lifeline.org/   Reference: Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004.   Podcast recorded through Cleanfeed and edited through GarageBand. The soundtrack, entitled “Outlaw John McShane” was obtained from Pixabay.     The HIDDEN Episodes:  If you can't access episodes 1-50 on your podcast app (the podcast was then entitled "A Country Girl in a City World - Loving Jesus"), you can get all the content at my Podbean site at https://acountrygirlinacityworldlovingjesus.podbean.com/  

In this expansive episode of Hidden Wisdom, Meghan Farner is joined by theologian and author Michelle Wiener to explore the hidden feminine thread within the Abrahamic tradition.Drawing from Michelle's book Return to Mamre: Recovering the Melchizedek Mysteries Beneath the Sacred Groves, this conversation reframes Abraham and Sarah not merely as patriarch and matriarch, but as participants in a sacred matrimonial priesthood order — a divine pairing of priest and priestess rooted in ancient sacred groves, temple imagery, and cosmic symbolism.Together, they explore:Sarah as possible high priestessThe Mamre Order as a template for Melchizedek priesthoodHenotheism vs. monotheism and the divine councilThe role of Heavenly Mother in healing Abrahamic divisionAstrology, archetypes, and the constellations as priesthood patternsThe mother/daughter (virgin/“harlot”) archetype in scriptureThe sacred feminine as key to reconciliation among Judaism, Christianity, and IslamThis episode invites listeners into deeper discernment, symbolic literacy, and spiritual maturity — reclaiming a balanced priesthood of partnership rather than hierarchy.If you've ever wondered whether the sacred feminine was truly erased from scripture — and how to recover her — this conversation will expand your lens.00:00 Introduction + Michelle's academic background04:00 Southern Baptist roots & fear-based theology08:40 Discovering the mystical & divine feminine15:30 Introducing Return to Mamre16:20 Abraham & Sarah's journey to Mamre20:00 Was Sarah initiated alongside Abraham?23:00 Sacred groves, Asherah, and priestesshood29:00 Bread, libations, and feminine temple ritual34:00 Monotheism, henotheism, and the divine council38:30 The “Most High God and Goddess”45:00 Avoiding goddess conflation & discernment50:15 Astrology, archetypes, and the Maseroth55:30 The maiden–mother–crone pattern in the stars1:02:00 Sarah & Hagar: mother/daughter archetypes1:07:00 Solar vs lunar symbolism & degrees of glory1:10:00 Healing Abrahamic division through the feminine1:11:30 Final reflections on sacred partnershipJoin the Contemplative Prayer + Meditation Q&A with Meghan and Phil McLemore, on February 16th at 7pm MT. Register here! Hidden Wisdom initiates truth-seekers into the Mysteries, guiding listeners toward a lived experience of the Divine that awakens and transforms faith—without dismantling family or community. Pursue your Journey: ✨ Hidden Wisdom App – Coming Spring 2026! Pathway programs, community, library, events and more! Join the waitlist for updates, sneak peeks, and discounts!

Buy Michelle Wiener's book Return to Mamre here! https://amzn.to/4kAJILPFor centuries, we've been told that the roots of faith are exclusively patriarchal, but what if the most sacred sites in history were actually presided over by forgotten priestesses? Michelle Wiener shares all from the mysterious figure of Melchizedek to the suppressed imagery of the "Sacred Groves," we are diving into the controversial intersection of scholarship and the supernatural to uncover the goddess hidden in plain sight.✨ Download Our FREE Throne Room Meditation✨ ➡️ https://www.truthseekah.com/throne-room-free➡️ Support on Patreon! https://patreon.com/join/truthseekah✅ Get access to 40+ video lessons + Weekly LIVE calls!✅ Worldwide Online Community!✅ Courses, Monthly Webinars, Prayer, Meditation, Discussion✅ TruthSeekah's Meditation Library

Why does the Bible mention 400 prophets of Asherah at Mount Carmel only to vanish from the story? This episode digs into one of the Old Testament's most intriguing silent gaps. We'll explore the political and theological tensions in 1 Kings 18, asking the hard question, why Asherah was deleted from the Bible. Was it a scribal edit, a symbolic number, or a deliberate narrative to silence a female deity? Join us as we untangle the history, and theology, behind the controversial story of Asherah.

In this episode, we speak with Asherah, who is a modern oracle and feminine embodiment mentor. Asherah shares about her journey from working the night life in strip clubs, to follow her spiritual journey and then returning, only differently. We touch on, some key points throughout her journey, including the reclamation of her own feminine embodiment, ancient wisdoms and the lost appreciation of eros and Devine feminine energy in rituals such as male initiation. Asherah shares not only her wisdom, but her passion for the work she does and what led her here. Thank you Asherah, If you would like to connect with Asherah, you can find her here and discover her offerings, and recent sub stack addition!https://www.instagram.com/thehouseofasherah?igsh=MTU5b3ZmaDFzcTB6bA==Make sure to find her free Somatic Reset Ritual .

Jehu was God's weapon of judgment upon Ahab and Jezebel. He carried out his mission with intensity and zeal. Although God has not called the church to violence, we should, nevertheless, imitate Jehu's zeal in our mission to love. 1 Kings 16:30-33 Ahab did more to provoke God to anger than all the kings of Israel who came before him. He introduced and sponsored the worship of Canaanite gods, including Baal and Asherah. His wife, Jezebel of Sidon, was a religious zealot who relentlessly persecuted the prophets of Yahweh, including Elijah (1 Kgs. 19:2). 1 Kings 21:5-7 When righteous Naboth refused to sell his vineyard to Ahab, Jezebel took matters into her own hands. After she had Naboth executed, Ahab took possession of his neighbor's plot. 1 Kings 19:15-17; 21:19-29 God ordained that Jehu become king instead of Ahab. This Jehu would be God's weapon of vengeance upon Ahab's house. 2 Kings 9:4-13 After a young prophet anointed the military commander, Jehu, king, his officers immediately supported his bid for the throne. 2 Kings 9:30-31 Jehu first confronted and the reigning king Joram, Ahab's son. Then he came for Jezebel. Next, he arranged for the death of all Ahab's seventy sons. 2 Kings 10:18-19 Last of all, Jehu killed as many worshipers of Baal as he could and turned the temple into a latrine. John 3:16-17 Jesus is the true and better Jehu. However, God did not send him to condemn the world, but to save it. Revelation 19:11-16 Nevertheless, when Jesus comes again, he will come in judgment, making Jehu's zeal look small in comparison. Pastor Sean uses the Bible version NRSVUEThe post Forgotten Kings: Jehu first appeared on Living Hope.

Texas State Rep and pastor Nate Schatzline calls Grace City to consecration—a fully submitted life and dream that belongs to Jesus, not us. Through stories of family, political battles, and personal freedom, he argues that private holiness fuels public reformation, and that God is looking for believers willing to pay the cost, tear down “Asherah poles,” and say an unapologetic yes to His plans for Washington.Support the showThanks for listening! Go to www.StrongerManNation.com for more resources.

Fr. Spitzer and Doug discuss Yahwism and how the God of Moses differed from the gods worshiped by other cultures of the time, such as Baal, Asherah, and Molech.

Send us a textIn this episode we discuss Lehi's vision and how Jesus Christ, the fruit, is connected to the Tree of Life, Mother in Heaven. Follow Jesus, find the tree, and stay by the tree. This is how we ultimately come to know the Divine Feminine.❤️  ❤️  ❤️My current work in Progress: Emerging from the Wilderness: Rediscovering our Mother in Heaven and Her Relationship with her Son, Jesus Christ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨❤️ Join our Facebook community - Exploring the Divine Femininehttps://www.facebook.com/groups/937748690065723❤️ Follow this channel on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/exploringthedivinefeminine/❤️Follow my author channel https://www.instagram.com/ramonasiddoway/❤️ Follow me on Facebook author-- https://www.facebook.com/ramonasiddowayauthor/regular nutty day-to-day me--https://www.facebook.com/ramona.siddoway✨ ✨ ✨ ✨Exploring the Divine Feminine YouTube ChannelSUBSCRIBE NOW -- ExploringTheDivineFeminineChannel✨ ✨ ✨ ✨About Me: ⬇️I am a nonfiction and fiction writer who absolutely loves research! I have three published books available on Amazon; the latest is "We Are Adam: The Partnership of Adam and Eve in the Garden and What It Means for You."I live on a homestead in the country with a large garden, several chickens, 3 dogs, a cat, a large garden, and a few acres of forest just to myself. I love yoga, gardening, reading, and spending time with my best friends (who are my husband, four children, and their families). Sounds cliche, but they are the ones who know all about me, but still like me.Buy my books here:  Amazon  WeAreAdam                                     CedarFort https://www.cedarfort.com/products/we-are-adamMonica Rivers books: Amazon https://a.co/d/2mvYhQR

In this extended episode of Hidden Wisdom, Meghan Farner offers a courageous and deeply grounded exploration of what it truly means to call the Bible “the Word of God.” Drawing from history, theology, mysticism, and personal discernment, Meghan invites listeners to approach scripture—especially the Old Testament—not as an inerrant divine transcript, but as a profoundly human record of humanity wrestling with God.This episode examines biblical authorship, political and cultural influences, polytheism in ancient Israel, the suppression of the divine feminine, and the role of ego, power, and hierarchy in shaping scripture. Meghan introduces the four levels of Hebrew interpretation, demonstrates how symbolic and mystical readings restore depth and coherence, and reframes troubling biblical narratives as invitations to inner transformation rather than external obedience.Ultimately, this episode is a call to spiritual maturity: to trust Christ, cultivate discernment, and allow God—not institutions—to be your primary tutor. For anyone studying the Bible this year, navigating faith transitions, or seeking a lived experience of the Divine beyond fear, this conversation offers clarity, permission, and profound hope.00:00 – 02:40 | Introduction and why this topic matters now02:40 – 04:00 | Why the Old Testament creates tension and confusion04:00 – 06:45 | Personal discernment and direct relationship with God06:45 – 09:45 | Projection, ego, and humans creating God in their image09:45 – 12:45 | The Bible as a human record—not divine dictation12:45 – 15:30 | Violence, fear, and misattributed divine commands15:30 – 18:15 | Ancient Israel's polytheism and the divine council18:15 – 21:40 | Spiritual evolution and changing views of God21:40 – 24:45 | Political power, Rome, and biblical curation24:45 – 27:30 | Loss of feminine wisdom and oral tradition27:30 – 30:45 | Asherah, goddess suppression, and missing feminine imagery30:45 – 34:15 | Excluded texts and erased mystical traditions34:15 – 37:00 | Four levels of Hebrew interpretation37:00 – 40:15 | Symbolism as the language of scripture40:15 – 43:00 | Cain and Abel as inner allegory43:00 – 46:30 | Discernment, humility, and spiritual maturity46:30 – 50:45 | Translation bias and priesthood hierarchy50:45 – 55:30 | Christ revealing the true character of God Thank you for listening to Hidden Wisdom! For free resources, courses, programs, and upcoming events, visit meghanfarner.com. ✨ Register for our FREE Intention Workshop - January 5th, 7pm MT If this episode brought value to your life, please consider: Donating through Venmo: @Meghan-Farner Subscribing to stay updated Sharing it with someone who would love it Leaving a comment or review to help others find the show Connecting and exploring more resources at meghanfarner.com Thank you for being a part of the Hidden Wisdom community!

This week in the Biblical Time Machine, Helen and Lloyd travel back to a time when God had a wife named Asherah... or did he? To help them answer decipher the ancient goddess, our co-hosts enlist the help of Dr Steve Wiggins, a world-leading expert on Asherah. Together, they explore how Asherah came to be associated with the God of Israel, discuss inscriptions and figurines associated with the goddess, and consider why the question of God once having a 'wife' remains so controversial today. Steve Wiggins earned his PhD at the University of Edinburgh in 1992 and taught Hebrew Bible at Nashotah House Episcopal Seminary from 1992-2004. His revised dissertation, A Reassessment of Asherah: With Further Considerations of the Goddess, was expanded in 2007 and came out as a paperback version in 2025. It is the only full-length treatment of the Ugaritic source material on Asherah, and combines that with comprehensive examination of textual sources from the Hebrew Bible, ancient Mesopotamia, Epigraphic South Arabian sources, Hittite sources, as well as Hebrew inscriptions that may mention the goddess. SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINEIf you enjoy the podcast, please (pretty please!) consider supporting the show through the Time Travellers Club, our Patreon. We are an independent, listener-supported show (no ads!), so please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a monthly subscription.DOWNLOAD OUR STUDY GUIDE: MARK AS ANCIENT BIOGRAPHYCheck out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." While you're there, get yourself a Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle.Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

What if ancient Israel didn't start out believing in one God? In this groundbreaking episode, Oxford Professor Emeritus Dr. John Day reveals how archaeological evidence and biblical texts themselves show that early Israelites worshipped multiple deities from the Canaanite pantheon. With over 40 years of scholarship and doctorates from both Cambridge and Oxford, Dr. Day takes us on a fascinating journey through the religious landscape of ancient Canaan, where Yahweh was originally just one god among many, including El, Baal, and even goddesses like Asherah who was worshipped alongside Yahweh in the Jerusalem temple.Dr. Day traces the revolutionary transformation from polytheism to monotheism, showing how Yahweh absorbed attributes from other gods like El (becoming equated with him) while rejecting others like Baal. We explore how mythological creatures like Leviathan were borrowed from Canaanite sources, why "Israel" contains the name El rather than Yahweh, and how true monotheism didn't emerge until the Babylonian exile with Second Isaiah's radical declaration: "I am Yahweh, and there is no other." This conversation will challenge and deepen your understanding of how the biblical faith developed over centuries.In this episode you will learn:Why Deuteronomy 32:8-9 suggests Yahweh received Israel as his portion among 70 godsHow El and Yahweh were originally separate deities who later merged into oneThe shocking evidence that some Israelites worshipped Asherah as Yahweh's wifeWhy Baal was rejected while El was embraced in Israelite religionHow the seven-headed Leviathan from Canaanite mythology became part of Yahweh's identityThe difference between monolatry ("worship only one god") and monotheism ("only one god exists")King Josiah's radical 621 BC reformation that centralized worship in JerusalemWhy the Babylonian exile was the catalyst for absolute monotheismHow these Canaanite connections appear in the New Testament (Beelzebub, Revelation's seven-headed dragon)Why understanding this evolution enriches rather than threatens faithGuest's Work: Get Dr. Day's groundbreaking book "Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan": https://a.co/d/h6gCyuGAlso check out his extensive work on Genesis: "From Creation to Babel" and "From Creation to Abraham"Stay Connected with The Dig In Podcast: Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thejohnnyova Follow all things Johnny Ova: https://linktr.ee/johnnyova Get Johnny's book "The Revelation Reset": https://a.co/d/hiUkW8H#BiblicalArchaeology #AncientNearEast #Monotheism #Canaanite #Yahweh #BiblicalStudies #ChristianHistory #OldTestament #HebrewBible #AncientIsrael #BiblicalScholarship #ChurchHistory #Theology #ReligiousStudies #DigInPodcastSupport the show

2 Kings 23 records King Josiah's sweeping reforms after the rediscovery of the Book of the Law. Josiah renews the covenant before the Lord and aggressively purges Judah of idolatry, destroying pagan altars, removing false priests, defiling high places, and eradicating worship of Baal, Asherah, and other foreign gods—even extending reforms into former northern territories like Bethel. He also restores the Passover, celebrating it more faithfully than at any time since the judges. Despite Josiah's unmatched devotion and obedience, the chapter ends soberly: God's judgment on Judah is not revoked because of long-standing sins under earlier kings. Josiah later dies in battle against Pharaoh Necho, and the nation moves closer to exile—highlighting that reform delayed judgment but could not erase generations of rebellion. Hashtags: #2Kings23 #KingJosiah #BiblicalReform #CovenantRenewal #DestroyingIdols #PassoverRestored #ObedienceToGod #JudgmentAndMercy #OldTestamentTruth #ScriptureReflectionBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sendme-radio--732966/support.“Thank you for listening to SendMe Radio — where we share the Gospel, inspire faith, and keep you connected with powerful stories and updates from around the world. Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe so you never miss a message.And remember — you can listen to SendMe Radio streaming 24/7 at www.sendmeradio.net or simply say: ‘Hey Alexa, play SendMe Radio.'

A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Advent Philippians 4:4-7 & St. John 1:19-28 by William Klock For the last few months I've been reading Tom Holland's book Dominion.  (That's Tom Holland the historian, not the actor.  Until recently I didn't even know there was an actor because, I guess, I'm a history nerd.)  Anyway, I've been reading a chapter here and a chapter there in between reading other more important things and it's been worthwhile.  Holland isn't a Christian, but this rather large book is nevertheless about the influence that the Gospel, the good news about Jesus, has had in shaping Western Civilisation.  One of the points he stresses is just how brutal and barbaric the ancient world was.  Greeks and Romans knew little of mercy and grace.  Theirs was a dog-eat-dog world.  It was cruel.  The weak were something to be exploited and if they couldn't be exploited, they were a liability and left to fend for themselves.  Nearly a third of the people of the Roman empire were slaves.  Infants were routinely left to die of exposure.  Sexual immorality was everywhere and was a central part of the worship of many gods.  Marital fidelity, especially amongst the wealthy and powerful was uncommon.  Think of the pagan gods of Greece and Rome we learned about in school: petty, capricious, fickle, unloyal, angry, and constantly fighting amongst themselves.  These were the gods the Greeks and the Romans created in their own image.  Whatever problems we see in our world—and it's getting worse the deeper we drift from the Gospel and return to paganism—but however bad you think our world is, theirs was worse.  Brother and Sisters, the gospel has had a profound impact on our world.  And even as gospel virtues go to seed in the secular world and we have distorted and perverted version of love and mercy and justice thrown at us, the very fact that anyone at all in our society cares about things like justice, is because of the powerful impact of the gospel. It's appropriate that Advent comes to us at the darkest time of the year, because it reminds us of the darkness of the world into which Jesus was born.  Surrounded by those pagans, Israel had the light of God's law, but even then, Israel lived in darkness.  They'd returned from their Babylonian exile five hundred years before, but the Lord had never returned to his temple.  The priests kept the lamp lit in the temple—the lamp symbolic of the Lord's presence with his people, but behind the great and heavy curtain, the holy of holies was empty.  And Israel was ruled by a series of pagan empires: the Persians, the Greeks, and then the Romans.  But Israel had her story.  They were the people whom the Lord had delivered from slavery in Egypt.  They knew his character and they knew his faithfulness.  And they knew his promises.  They had faith.  And so they lived in hope and expectant longing.  One day the words of Isaiah—the ones we read in our Old Testament lesson—“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.”  One day those words would be fulfilled.  And, most people were pretty sure, that day was coming soon.  That's the setting for today's Gospel, which begins at John 1:19. This is the testimony John [the Baptist] gave when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.”  “What then?” they asked him, “Are you Elijah?” “I am not,” he replied.  “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”  “Well, then who are you?” they said.  “We've got to take an answer back to those who sent us.  Who do you claim to be?”  He said, “I am ‘a voice calling in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord,' just as the prophet Isaiah said.”  (John 1:19-28) So the priests were the spiritual gatekeepers of Israel and when they heard of this prophet, John, preaching and baptising, they sent their people to ask him what he was about—to see if he was legit.  People were talking about John like he was the Messiah—as if he were the one come to fulfil the prophecies of deliverance and salvation.  Was John the one? So they ask, “Who are you?  Who do you claim to be? Elijah?”  Remember that the Prophet Elijah had never died; he was swept up into have by a fiery chariot.  And Malachi had prophesied that “before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes” the Lord would send Elijah back.  Like King Arthur returning to Britain in its hour of greatest need. But John says, “No.  I'm not Elijah.”  He hadn't come to earth in a fiery chariot.  He was the son of Zechariah the priest and his wife, Elizabeth. “Are you the prophet?” they asked.  In Deuteronomy 18 the Lord had promised that he would one day raise up a prophet like Moses, who would declare his words.  Many people thought this prophet would be the Messiah.  But again John answers, “Nope, I'm not the prophet either.”  We get a sense of just how great the longing of these people was.  Like a kid getting up every morning of December and asking his parents if it's Christmas yet, the people of Israel longed for the Messiah to come and set the world to rights, to end the darkness, to once again fill the temple with the glory of the Lord. John was as eager as anyone, but he tells them “No, I'm not the Prophet.”  In fact, John was fulfilling those prophecies—Matthew and Mark tell us as much.   But I think John denied it because he knew people associated the prophecies of Elijah and the Prophet with the Messiah.  John knew he wasn't the Messiah; he was the Messiah's herald.  And so when the priests finally let him speak for himself, he quotes Isaiah 40:3, and says, “I am ‘a voice calling in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.'”  In other words, John was indeed fulfilling prophecy—not as the Messiah, but as the one sent to prepare Israel to receive the Messiah. And that surprised those priests.  People in the past had claimed to be the Messiah.  No one claimed to be his herald.  That was weird.  So they dig deeper.  Look at verses 25-27: They continued to question him, “So why are you baptising, if you aren't the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?” John answered them, “I'm baptising with water, but there is one standing among you whom you do not know—someone who is to come after me.  I'm not worthy to untie his sandal straps.” For the Jews, baptism was a symbol of cleansing and of ritual purity.  It was a ritual washing.  At this point the other gospel-writers are helpful as they expand on John's answer.  Mark tells us that John's baptism was a baptism of repentance—it was a preparatory act in light of the coming judgement the Messiah would bring.  And Matthew and Luke also report John going on about this one who will come, this one greater than him: “He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16).  In other words, John is calling Israel to repentance in anticipation of the Messiah, who will fulfil the Lord's promises to set Israel to rights by filling his people with his own Spirit.  The law written on stone tablets would be inscribed on the hearts of God's people so that they could finally fulfil his law of love.  But the Messiah was also coming in judgement.  He would baptise the repentant with God's own Spirit, but he would baptise unrepentant Israel with fire. These are the two sides of the gospel coin.  You can't have one without the other.  Jesus' advent, on the one hand, brought mercy to the repentant, but on the other it also brought judgement on the unrepentant of Israel.  What's important for us here, Brothers and Sisters, is that this exchange between John and the priests reminds us of the Messiah's place in Israel's story and of the faithfulness of God to his promises.  It is this manifestation of the Lord's faithfulness (and of his goodness, mercy, grace, and wisdom) to Israel—something we see brought to its climax in the birth, the death, the resurrection, and the ascension of Jesus, that has drawn us—you and I—to the God of Israel and that, by faith, has incorporated us into the people of God.  Through our union with Jesus, through our incorporation into this people, through our being made adopted sons and daughters of Abraham, you and I have come to know God's mercy and the life of the Spirit, too.  Because of the faithfulness of God, revealed in Jesus and in the power of the gospel, the darkness that Israel knew; that deep, deep darkness full of false gods and wicked kings and evil principalities and powers has been driven away by the light.  The light has come into the darkness, his gospel has thrown those powers down and lit up the world.  And you and I have seen—we live in—the glory of that light.  And knowing that takes us from our Gospel passage today into our Epistle.  Paul writes those wonderful and challenging words in Philippians 4:4: Rejoice in the Lord always; I say again, rejoice. Paul spoke these words to a people surrounded by the dark.  “Rejoice in the Lord always!”  Because being surrounded by the dark, it's awfully easy to forget the light of the gospel.  Just before he wrote this, Paul exhorted two women in the Philippian church, Euodia and Syntyche, to “agree in the Lord”.  These two sisters in the Messiah, once close, once working together in gospel life had some kind of falling out.  We don't know the details, but it was something important enough to prompt Paul to address them publicly.  They'd let the darkness extinguish their light.  Instead of standing as a witness to the victory of Jesus over the principalities and powers of the present wicked age, the local church was letting those powers have their way in their midst.  Brothers and Sisters, don't let that happen.  Paul exhorts them (and us) instead: Let everyone know how gentle and gracious you are.  (Philippians 4:5a) Gentle and gracious.  Paul uses the same description in 2 Corinthians 10 to describe the meekness of Jesus as a model for Christians.  This is gospel light lived out.  What Paul's getting at is that Jesus is the King, but in him we see this amazing display of gracious gentleness.  This is the gentleness we see revealed as Jesus, the one to whom heaven and earth belong, humbled himself to be born one of us, to die on the cross, and to show mercy to his enemies.  And in that, Jesus defeated the powers that held the world in darkness and sin and now, we his people, are called to live that victory out amongst ourselves as witnesses to Jesus' victory and the inauguration of God's kingdom.  This is our Advent stewardship. So consider, Brothers and Sisters, when we demand our rights, when we grasp for power, when we nurse grudges, we undermine our gospel witness—we put on display the very darkness from which we've been delivered by the one who is light.  In contrast Paul calls us to rejoice in the Lord and to manifest Jesus-like gentleness in our relationships.  Jesus' gracious gentleness has forgiven and restored us and that same gracious gentleness ought to shine through us and through the life of the church.  Consider that every time we hold a grudge, allow a relationship to break down, or follow the world's advice to cut those problem or negative people out of our lives, we undermine the Church's witness to the world.  But that's not all. Paul goes on: The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything.  Rather in everything let your requests be made known to God, by prayer, supplication, and with thanksgiving.   There's our Advent theme again: Jesus has given us a job to do.  He's given us a gospel treasure to steward in his absence.  In the meantime, rather than being anxious—and anxiousness is so often the thing that evil uses to manipulate us—instead of being anxious we should take our needs to God.  Jesus made the same point in the Sermon on the Mount.  The pagans worry about what they'll eat, what they'll wear, and where they'll sleep.  God's people should know better than to worry unduly about these things.  The God who fed Israel with manna in the wilderness will provide.  He is faithful to his promises.  The story of his dealings with Israel is the proof and even more so, so is his gift of Jesus, who died and rose again to set us free from sin and death.  So go to the Lord with your needs and ask.  And while you're at it, give thanks, because you know his faithfulness and his love. This is part of the witness of the people of God—it's how we are light in the darkness—and it ties back into rejoicing.  When Paul talks about rejoicing, at least part of what he's got in mind is a public display or a public witness.  The pagan Greeks in Philippi regularly held public celebrations to honour their gods.  And yet the pagans, as Jesus said, were always anxious.  Because their gods never delivered.  Pagan religion was a non-stop game of trial and error, trying to guess what the gods wanted, trying to guess what you may have done wrong to offend them, and then guessing at what you might offer to appease their anger or to ingratiate them to you in order to get what you needed or wanted.  The pagan gods were silent and they were notoriously capricious and unreliable.  And in this context Paul exhorts the Philippian Christians: Rejoice yourselves.  Let the pagans see you celebrating the fact that the Creator of the universe has, through Jesus, made you his own and lives in your midst by his own Holy Spirit.  Let the pagans, who know only mean and capricious gods and who live in a dog-eat-dog world, let them see the gracious gentleness of God in you.  Live in such a way that they see in you the God who humbles himself to die for the sake of his enemies.  And let the pagans see you living in faith, praying in confident thankfulness to the God whose story reveals an unfailing pattern of promise and fulfilment.  Shine the light of Jesus into the darkness of the world.  And if you'll do that, he says in verse 7: The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in King Jesus.   I think we tend to look at Paul's exhortation here as something we should do in order to experience the peace of God ourselves, but given the context in Philippians, I think Paul's point is actually more about our witness.  If we truly live as stewards of the good news about Jesus, if we truly live as people who know the faithfulness of God revealed in Jesus and particularly in his death and resurrection, if we truly know the life of the Spirit, the peace of God—instead of the strife and anxiety of the world—will guard our hearts and minds in a way that will astound the unbelievers around us. I like to say that Jesus calls us—his church—to be a pocket of new creation in the middle of the old—to be heaven-on-earth people, living Gods' future in the hic et nunc, in the here and now.  Brothers and Sisters, this is how we do that.  And this makes us the John the Baptists of our own place and age as we proclaim the good news about Jesus—how we proclaim and show the world that Jesus has triumphed over the principalities and powers just as he has over sin and death.  And as the world took notice of those tiny and seemingly insignificant Christian communities popping up around the Roman empire, so it will take not of us.  And some will give glory to God as they see his faithfulness, they will come in faith to Jesus and his cross.  But it will also threaten those who are invested in the present age, its pagan gods and sinful systems.  And they will fight back. So we need to ask: Does the world see our joy?  Are we the voice crying in the wilderness?  Are we the royal heralds the Lord has called us to be, summoning the word to let go of its false gods and to come to the Lord Jesus, calling the world away from sin and self and to come to the cross?  And we need to ask how the world is responding to us.  If we're faithfully proclaiming the good news about Jesus, if we're faithfully calling people to repent and to believe, if we're faithfully proclaiming that Jesus is Lord and that his kingdom has come—well—people will respond in one of two ways.  Either they'll believe or they'll get angry—as Herod got angry with John.  There's some of both out there in the world, but overwhelmingly, when I look at how people respond to or think of the church these days in our part of the world, it's often just indifference.  Why? Because we have not been the witnesses God calls us to be.  We are afraid to confront the world with the good news about Jesus and we are half-hearted in our allegiance to his kingdom.  Like old Israel, we pray to God, but we've failed to tear down the old altars to Baal and Asherah—or money, sex, and power.  We name Jesus, but we deal dishonestly in business, we sell our souls to the commercialism that surrounds us, we look to politics or to science as our saviours, and we dabble in the sexual immorality of the age.  We've failed to proclaim the gospel and we justify it, saying that we'll preach it with our lives.  But if we stop to ask what the world sees in our lives, is it really very different?  Does the world see us rejoicing in the Lord?  Does the world see us manifesting the gracious gentleness of Jesus?  Does the world see us living in faithful prayer and trusting in God, or does it see people just as anxious as everyone else?  Does it see enmity and strife and broken relationships or does it see a gospel people living out the healing and reconciling love of Jesus in loving unity?  Does the world see the peace of God ruling our hearts and minds?  Does the world see us, holding high the gospel, as a challenge to its gods and its kings and its sins?  It should.  But sadly, I think that for the Western Church at large, the answer is often “no”. And, all too often, when we do proclaim the gospel, we do so without power or authority.  Think of John boldly declaring the coming judgement and calling Israel to repentance.  It was urgent and powerful.  In contrast we tend to hold the gospel out as good advice, rather than as the good news that it is.  Friends, the gospel is the royal summons to come in faith to Jesus, the world's true Lord—the Lord who has come with mercy so that the repentant will escape when he comes one day in judgement.  This was the power behind John the Baptist' preaching.  But all too often we present the gospel as just another option on the religious smorgasbord—something you might want to try. See if you like it.  See if it works for you.  If not…oh well.  Brothers and Sisters, that's not the gospel.  The gospel is life! The gospel is good news to the people living in the midst of darkness and death: the king who will set the world to rights has come.  And that means the gospel, when preached as it should be, will challenge and upset the Herods and Caesars of our age and all those invested in the false gods of the world. The Advent message is to be prepared.  Jesus has given us a gospel mission to take the good news of his death, his resurrection, and his lordship into the world.  Brothers and Sisters, pray that we will be faithful to our mission—faithful enough to provoke opposition, because that's the kind of faithfulness that also reaps a harvest for the kingdom.  Pray for the holy boldness of John the Baptist and the gracious gentleness of Jesus.  Pray that we will be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  Pray that the joy of the Lord will overcome us.  Brothers and Sisters, Rejoice!  Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again, I say rejoice. Let's pray: O Lord, come among us, we pray, with your power and strengthen us with your great might; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness we are grievously hindered in running the race that is set before us, your bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit, be honour and glory, now and for ever.  Amen.

Heather and Jonathan have a conversation about Baal and Asherah. Who were they in ancient Israel and how can we best understand them in light of the Biblical story? Join us at www.firstcenturyyouthministry.comBecome part of our growing Facebook community Join our "closed" group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/firstcenturyouthministryLike our fan page! https://www.facebook.com/FirstCenturyYouthMin

Today we come to one of the most fascinating times in the history of the kingdom of Judah, an amazing king who does amazing things by the power of an amazing God. But first we take a look at King Ahaz who ruled from 731-715 BC. In 2 Kings 16:2-3 we read that Ahaz did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He followed the ways of other kings, even sacrificing his son in the fire. King Ahaz     ⁃    Finds himself under attack by Pekah and Rezin     ⁃    Discovers there is a price to pay when you turn your back on the Living God     ⁃    Seeks help from the Assyrians - Assyria was a massive growing super power.     ⁃    Then God brings a rebuke through the prophet Isaiah (a most effective and influential prophet) but Ahaz refuses to listen.     ⁃    Ahaz continues to turn away from God and desecrated the Temple of God as he continues to rebel against God.     ⁃    His rebellion brings sadness and tragedy and he continues to suffer military attacks. During Ahaz's reign in Judah, we read in 2 Kings 17:5-6 that Israel is defeated by the Assyrians after a 3 year siege. At the end of Ahaz's reign we see that in spite of the faithlessness of God's people, God remains faithful.  The next king of Judah is one of the best. King Hezekiah is Ahaz's son and Hezakiah rules 715-686 BC. King Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 2 Kings 18:3.   King Hezekiah     ⁃    In the first month of the first year of his reign he had the Temple cleansed. 2 Chronicles 29:3-5     ⁃    Then Hezekiah holds a national Passover celebration inviting all of Israel and Judah. They had a 2 week Passover celebration. 2 Chronicles 30:1.     ⁃    Hezekiah destroys the sacred stones, high places and Asherah poles and also brakes into pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had used to God's glory but that had become an idol of the Israelites who had been burning incense to it. 2 Kings 18:4      ⁃    Hezekiah is facing the enemy of Assyria as they are coming to conquer Jerusalem and so in 2 Kings 20:20 we read that he built a tunnel and a pool. In the 1880's the Siloam Inscription was discovered. It tells the story of the building of the tunnel. Hezekiah built this tunnel to ensure there would be water when under siege by the Assyrian army by diverting the Gehon spring into Jerusalem leaving no fresh water available to the Assyrian army.      ⁃    Then the siege begins against Jerusalem. 2 Kings 18:28-29 the king's commander, speaking in Hebrew, calls out that the king of Assyria says that Hezekiah has deceived you because he will not be able to deliver you from me and my army. The king of Assyria is trying to get the people in Jerusalem to just give up.     ⁃    Then Hezekiah prays a beautiful prayer - 2 Kings 19:15-16 and God listens and the King of Assyria is defeated by God Himself. 2 Kings 19:35-36. The Assyrians withdraw and return to Nineveh and the siege is ended.     ⁃    Then Hezekiah becomes very ill to the point of death. Isaiah comes to Hezekiah to tell him to put his house in order. Hezekiah weeps and prays and God sees Hezekiah's tears and hears his prayer and God heals him. 2 Kings 20:1-5      ⁃    Hezekiah is visited by the Babylonians, a rising power that will ultimately defeat the Assyrians. 2 Kings 20:13 we read of Hezekiah being tempted by pride. The prophet Isaiah then brings a word to Hezekiah telling him that everything you just showed off to the Babylonians will be taken by Babylonians. Hezekiah repents.     ⁃    The prophets Micah and Isaiah were very active during Hezekiah's reign.     ⁃    Hezekiah was one of the greatest kings the nation had ever known. 2 Kings 18:5-6 tells us that Hezekiah trusted the Lord, that there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, both before and after him, that Hezekiah held fast to the Lord and did not stop following God and that he kept the commands of the Lord. Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE. View live or on demand: https://www.awakeusnow.com/tuesday-bible-class Join us Sundays  https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.

Prepare to have your eyes opened to the profound truths hidden within the very first pages of the Bible.In the BeginningThe singular God most of us were taught simply does not exist — at least, not as we've been led to believe.What exists is Elohim — a plural divine family, a council of powers — and humanity was always meant to be part of that family.Before monotheism, ancient worship looked very different. It included a divine mother.Before Israel took shape, people honored El, the father of the gods, and Asherah, the mother — the “creatress of the gods,” a symbol of life, fertility, and sacred trees.When early Israel emerged, it inherited this divine structure. Archaeologists have found inscriptions reading “Yahweh and his Asherah,” suggesting the earliest Israelites still honored a heavenly pair.Even the language remembers it. The Hebrew word Elohim — the most common name for God — is plural. Genesis 1:26 says, “Let us make man in our image.” The grammar itself hints at a divine union.The Erasure of the MotherEverything changed during King Josiah's reforms in the 7th century BCE. He ordered Asherah's symbols destroyed and redefined Israel's story around one male deity. This is when monotheism truly began.But the mother was never completely erased. The plural names, the feminine imagery, and traces in Psalms and prophetic writings still whisper what was once known — that creation came through two, not one.The very first line of Genesis reads, “In the beginning, the gods (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth.” It's not one voice speaking to itself — it's a divine conversation.The Hebrew Bible reflects a world where many divine beings were acknowledged, yet one was lifted above the rest. Jealousy among gods, rivalries, and divine councils only make sense in that context.What “God” Really Means“God” is not a personal name — it's a title. It means “ruler” or “judge.”Calling out to “God” is like walking into a room full of kings and shouting, “Your Majesty!”Any one of them could answer — and that's why so many prayers feel scattered or uncertain.The original picture is Father plus Mother.Even the Holy Spirit is grammatically and conceptually feminine in Hebrew, and the Firstborn Son stands as the eldest of this divine family.When he said, “You are gods,” he wasn't speaking poetically. He was reminding us who we actually are — divine children who have forgotten their lineage.Remember Who You AreIf you want real clarity and power in prayer, stop speaking to a vague concept of “God.”Get specific.Need comfort, nurturing, or rebirth? Speak to the Mother.Need guidance or brotherhood? Speak to the Yeshua, your Brother.Need direction, identity, or purpose? Speak to the Father.The moment you remember who you're addressing — and that you already belong at that table — everything shifts.That's the unlock.Love, KassandraReference: https://publicsquaremag.org/faith/gospel-fare/elohim-meaning-divine-family/https://www.youtube.com/@caveofmystery/videos This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelightbetween.substack.com/subscribe

Pastor Michael Kisaka warns that Israel's downfall began when leaders like Solomon, Jeroboam, Jehu, and Amaziah tolerated “high places,” letting idols capture their hearts and lead the people astray. He urges us to examine our own lives for anything elevated above God.

Some people insist that in our post-modern (or even meta-modern) age, we only believe in science, not metaphysics. That's not quite true. At the heart of the transgender movement, people believe they are what they claim to be regardless of biological evidence. None of this is new. Something similar happened in the ancient worship of Asherah. Let's examine it more carefully.I. The Practice of Debased Idolatry (Jeremiah 7)(Three Notable Characteristics)II. The Proclamation of Divine Wrath (Romans 1)(Three Notable Reasons)Talk with God: Ask the Lord to give you His heart for the lost, confused, and hurting people in your family, community, and city.Talk with others: Ask your Connect Group or believing family and friends how you can support them in boldly and lovingly sharing the hope of Jesus with someone this week.Talk with kids: Pick up some poster board from Calvary Kids and create a banner to share what you're thankful for as a family at our Thanksgiving Banner Service this Wednesday.

If you think the Sexual Revolution began in 1960s America, think again. It's been going on since ancient times. Today we look at three texts which outline God's standard for human sexuality and how a competing system, the worship of Asherah, blurred the lines of gender and sex. The worship of this ancient demon tampered with three distinct areas.I. Identity (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:18-25)II. Clarity (Deuteronomy 22:5)III. Intimacy (Leviticus 18:19-23)Talk with God: Ask the Lord for clarity as you root your identity in Him and walk in the path He's prepared for you (see Ephesians 2:10).Talk with others: Talk about what it looks like to honor your God-given sex in today's world with your Connect Group or believing friends.Talk with kids: How does God see people differently than we see them?

What's the difference between Israel and Judah? What are Asherah poles? Do you worship God, or your idea of God? In today's episode, Patrick shares how 1 Kings 14:21-31 reminds us of God's faithfulness amid a faithless culture. If you're listening on Spotify, tell us about yourself and where you're listening from! Read the Bible with us in 2025! This year, we're exploring the Historical Books—Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 1 Kings 14:21-31