Podcasts about Asherah

Welcome to Day 2906 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. Day 2906 – Theology Thursday – Prayer as Communion, Petition, and Covenant: From Ancient Near East to Modern Faith Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2906 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps!   I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2906 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 PRAYER AS COMMUNION, PETITION, AND COVENANT: FROM THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST TO MODERN FAITH. In the religious systems of the ancient Near East, prayer was a vital function, though its framework was drastically different from what later developed in Israelite and Christian thought. Prayer was primarily a method of maintaining the cosmic order through appeasement and transaction. Gods in Mesopotamia, Canaan, and Egypt were seen as powerful but unpredictable, often requiring elaborate rituals, sacrifices, and formulas to grant favor or avert wrath. These cultures did not operate under a theology of relational covenant but rather through a pattern of reciprocity: offerings and words were meant to provoke a specific divine response. Babylonian prayer texts like the “Shurpu” and “Maqlu” series reflect a deep concern with curses, omens, and unseen transgressions. The supplicant might not even know which god was offended or what sin was committed. In such cases, prayers became generalized pleas for forgiveness from all deities. Egyptian prayers often took the form of hymns to the gods, extolling their attributes and requesting protection or intervention, especially concerning the afterlife. Canaanite prayer and sacrifice, while less preserved in textual form, mirrored these transactional patterns. Ultimately, prayer in the ANE was primarily about control, using proper language and rites to maintain divine favor and personal or national survival. The first segment is: The Distinctive Voice of Ancient Israel: Relational and Covenant-Based. The emergence of Israel as a people devoted to Yahweh introduced a significant break from the ANE paradigm. While early Israelite religion still bore some cultural similarities to its surroundings, the theology of Yahweh as a covenantal, relational deity revolutionized the nature of prayer. No longer was prayer simply a means of magical manipulation or guesswork. It became a medium through which a person engaged with a God who had revealed His name, His character, and His promises. The earliest biblical prayers, such as those found in Genesis, reflect this relational nature. Abraham argues with God over the fate of Sodom, appealing not to ritual but to God's justice. Moses intercedes for Israel after the golden calf incident, reminding Yahweh of His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These prayers do not treat Yahweh as distant or unknowable but rather as a God who can be reasoned with, challenged, and persuaded because of His own covenant loyalty. The Book of Psalms shows the breadth of human emotion brought before God: joy, fear, doubt, anger, and praise. Lament becomes a central form of worship, as seen in the cries of David or the national laments after Jerusalem's destruction. These are not sterile performances but passionate expressions of faith. Prayer becomes an act of courage, a wrestling with God, a protest against silence, and a clinging to hope when the world falls apart. The second segment is: From Temple to Synagogue: Formalization in Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. As the Hebrew Bible gave way to the practices of Second Temple Judaism, especially after the exile, prayer began to evolve in response to historical necessity. With the destruction of the First Temple and the loss of the sacrificial system, the Jewish people turned increasingly to prayer and study as their central forms of worship. What was once spontaneous became structured. What was once private became communal. During this period, daily prayer rhythms began to emerge. Fixed times of prayer, morning, afternoon, and evening, mirrored the times of temple sacrifice and were eventually institutionalized. The Amidah, or “Standing Prayer,” developed into a core liturgical centerpiece. It offered a framework of blessings praising God, requesting needs, and praying for national restoration. The Shema, a declaration of God's unity and Israel's devotion, became part of daily prayer and identity. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Rabbinic Judaism restructured prayer life around the synagogue. Prayer was no longer centered on the priesthood and sacrificial rites but on the Torah, communal liturgy, and ethical action. This shift preserved Jewish identity during centuries of diaspora. Though formalized, prayer retained its relational element. It became the heartbeat of Jewish life, binding communities together and anchoring them to God's enduring promises. The Third Segment is: Prayer Reimagined in Early Christianity: Access through Christ. The earliest Christians, being Jews themselves, inherited this rich tradition of covenantal and liturgical prayer. Yet their belief in Jesus as the risen Messiah transformed their approach to prayer in significant ways. Central to this transformation was the idea of direct access to God through Christ. Jesus's own prayers, such as the Lord's Prayer, serve as both instruction and theological statement. The address “Our Father” reflects unprecedented intimacy. It reaffirms the covenantal relationship while highlighting the nearness and care of God. The prayer also orients the believer toward God's will, God's kingdom, and daily dependence, not merely petition. The Apostle Paul builds on this foundation by portraying prayer as a Spirit-driven communion. Believers are said to cry out “Abba, Father” by the Spirit. Paul claims that even when words fail, the Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for speech. This understanding of prayer shifts it away from set ritual toward a continual, personal interaction with the divine. In Christian theology, Jesus becomes the eternal High Priest, interceding on behalf of believers. This transforms the act of prayer from an attempt to reach an uncertain deity into an assurance of access to a loving Father through a faithful Son. Whether corporate or private, spontaneous or formal, prayer is understood as the believer's participation in the divine relationship secured by Christ. The Fourth Segment is: Boundaries and Prohibitions: When Prayer Becomes Misuse. While prayer is central to both testaments, not all prayer is accepted. The Bible gives several warnings about misguided or forbidden types of prayer. Chief among these is prayer to other gods. The First Commandment is clear: Israel was not to call on or serve any deity but Yahweh. This was not a cultural preference but a matter of covenant loyalty. Invoking Baal, Molech, or Asherah was not neutral. It was spiritual adultery. Another prohibited form was manipulative or theatrical prayer, often seen in paganism. The prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel danced and cut themselves, trying to compel their god to act. Elijah mocks this as futile. Jesus echoes this in the New Testament when He warns against “vain repetitions” and showy public displays. The goal of biblical prayer is not to impress people or mechanically control God. It is relational. Also forbidden were necromancy and communication with the dead, practices common in surrounding cultures. Deuteronomy 18 lists these among the detestable practices of the nations that Israel was not to imitate. Prayer was not to be blended with conjuring or attempts to access hidden knowledge through forbidden means. Later rabbinic tradition added safeguards to ensure prayer was done with the right heart. One was not to pray while intoxicated, or in moments of ritual impurity, or without focus. Christian writers like James and Peter also warn against praying from selfish motives or while harboring unresolved sin. The Fifth segment is: Rhythm and Repetition: Between Discipline and Pagan Imitation Repetitious or rhythmic prayer is sometimes misunderstood. Scripture does not forbid repetition outright, but it sharply distinguishes between reverent repetition and pagan-style incantations. Psalm 136 repeats the phrase “His steadfast love endures forever” 26 times as an act of worship, not manipulation. Many psalms and prayers use repetition as a poetic or liturgical feature, meant to reinforce covenant truths and lead the heart toward trust. The Shema and priestly blessing were repeated regularly in Jewish worship. Jesus's warning in Matthew 6 verse seven, “Do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do,” targets the kind of mechanical babbling seen in magical or pagan rituals. It does not prohibit...

What if the most powerful religious leader in ancient Judah was the king's mother? Sister Heather Farrell walks us through 2 Chronicles and the queen mother whose name the record keeps even when it forgets everything else, and makes the case that the covenants have always traveled through the household and through family stories far messier than we'd like to admit.SHOW NOTES/TRANSCRIPTSEnglish: https://tinyurl.com/podcastOT230ENFrench: https://tinyurl.com/podcastOT230FRGerman: https://tinyurl.com/podcastOT230DEPortuguese: https://tinyurl.com/podcastOT230PTSpanish: https://tinyurl.com/podcastOT230ESYOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/00ytqfvXE48ALL EPISODES/SHOW NOTESfollowHIM website: https://www.followHIMpodcast.comFREE PDF DOWNLOADS OF followHIM QUOTE BOOKSNew Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastNTBookOld Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastOTBookBook of Mormon: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastBMBook WEEKLY NEWSLETTERhttps://tinyurl.com/followHIMnewsletter SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/followHIMpodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastTIMECODE0:00 - Part 1 - Sister Heather Farrell1:15 Why would anyone love Chronicles?2:51 “Our eyes are upon thee”4:01 Bio6:40 Come, Follow Me Manual7:49 Chronicles 101: one book, not two (and its two obsessions)9:50 Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, and Torah10:55 The Chronicler as Mormon13:04 Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia–4 ways to conquer a people16:28 The last verse in the Hebrew Bible is about the temple17:47 Dolly, Mary, and a messy line22:23 Why do Kings and Chronicles tell the same stories?24:24 Solomon built two houses26:36 The Nauvoo parallel28:13 God accepts the dedication31:03 The verse that became a song33:33 The second covenant35:43 Official religion vs. household religion38:30 Easter happens at home (why we need fridge magnets)40:40 Asa tears down the high places and groves43:18 Asherah and why she is NOT our Heavenly Mother46:35 Asa's prayer48:20 Worthiness to ask for a miracle50:38 Spiritual storehouses (like grain but better)53:03 The hard verse is descriptive not prescriptive55:21 Asa's mistake58:13 The gebirah–the King's mother1:00:13 Bathsheba and why Kings always names the mother1:02:39 Covenant power that transfers through a woman1:05:13 A dynasty that runs on worthiness, not just blood1:06:12 Jumping Jehoshaphat1:08:37 “There is yet one man … but I hate him”1:09:47 End of Part 1 – Sister Heather FarrellThanks to the followHIM team:Steve & Shannon Sorensen: Cofounder, Executive Producer, SponsorDavid & Verla Sorensen: SponsorsDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: Marketing, SponsorLisa Spice: Client Relations, Editor, Show NotesWill Stoughton: Video EditorKrystal Roberts: Translation Team, English & French Transcripts, WebsiteAriel Cuadra: Spanish TranscriptsAmelia Kabwika: Portuguese TranscriptsHeather Barlow: Communications DirectorSydney Smith: Social Media, Graphic Design "Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com

This week the message is from Sunday July 12th 2026 titled Made To Worship with Pastor Travis Blais.The following are Scriptures  and other points that were referenced during the sermon:Worship= proskyneōmeaning: to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand.Showing profound admiration or esteem. to men and beings ofsuperior rank.Noah webster: 1828 WORSHIP, verb transitive1. To adore; to pay divine honors to; to reverence withsupreme respect and veneration.Worship = is adoration and reverenceRevelation 19:7-9 NLT7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. 8 She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God's holy people.Isaiah 14:12-14 (NKJV)  “12 How you are fallen fromheaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cutdown to the ground, you who weakened the nations! 13 Foryou have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I willexalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on themount of the congregation on the farthest sides of thenorth; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I willbe like the Most High.'”1 Corinthians 10:14 (AMP)“Therefore, My beloved, runkeep far, far away from any sort of idolatry [and thatincludes loving anything more than God, or participating inanything that leads to sin and enslaves the soul.”“Loving anything more than God” LEADS TO SIN &ENSLAVES THE SOUL#1 = SPIRIT OF MAMMON [GOD OF POSSESSIONS & GREED]#2 = BAAL [GOD OF POWER AND ROOT OF PRIDE]#3 = ASHERAH [GODDESS OF PLEASURE]Genesis 3:6 (NKJV)6 So when the woman saw that thetree was good for food [MAMMON], that it was pleasant tothe eyes [ASHERAH], and a tree desirable to make one wise[BAAL], she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to herhusband with her, and he ate.”We need to recalibrate once and awhile, make sure ouradoration for God remains.Thank you for listening and join us next time for more great teachings from The Word. If you feel to give towards this podcast ministry you can do so through the same ways that you give your tithes & offerings by writing Podcast ministry.

Every great story has a hero. An epic battle. A villain worth defeating. And somewhere deep down, most of us feel like we were made to be part of a story like that.We were right.Heroes and Villains is a series exploring the hero moments found in Scripture — and what they reveal about Jesus as the ultimate Hero. Because every story of Good vs. Evil, every underdog triumph, every moment where one person stands against impossible odds — they're all echoes of the same cosmic battle still being written.Epic story. Real battles. One Hero.This week we go to one of the most dramatic showdowns in all of the Old Testament: Elijah vs. the 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mount Carmel.Send us Fan MailSupport the show

→ Watch on YouTube → Detailed Show Notes(00:00) Israel is scattered because they rejected God's statutes and covenants.(09:05) Israel caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire and the Lord was very angry with them for this. These chapters are a warning to us today. We are to take care of the weakest among us. When we do, we show the Lord we desire his presence.(11:48) In 721 BC the Assyrian empire carried away the ten tribes of Israel. The text offers clues as to when this record was written.(13:21) King Hezekiah sends an invitation to all of Israel to return to the temple in order to avoid destruction. Individual families who are obedient are saved.(19:01) The Israelites have divided loyalties to many gods. Being committed to our faith significantly impacts our posterity.(21:33) In Isaiah's day, the kingdom of Judah is ruled by King Hezekiah. He takes a bold stand against the Assyrian army and Rabshakeh's rhetoric. This story is also found in Isaiah 36-37.(26:23) Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord promises to stop the Assyrian army, defend Jerusalem, and preserve a remnant of Judah. The incredible fulfillment of this prophecy is a pivot point in world history.(36:37) Hezekiah allows Babylon to see all the precious things of his house and he is reprimanded by Isaiah for doing so. Isaiah prophesies that Babylon will carry Judah into exile.(39:09) Hezekiah secures the city of Jerusalem by building a tunnel to divert water from the Spring of Gihon into the pool of Siloam inside Jerusalem's walls. He also covers up the water source so that his enemies cannot access it. God honors our best efforts with blessings.(43:43) Manasseh is an evil king of Judah who shed innocent blood, including sacrificing his own son. According to tradition, he even killed the prophet Isaiah.(46:12) Josiah is 8 years old when he began to reign as king. Hilkiah, the high priest in Josiah's day, discovered “The Book of the Law,” which many believe to be the core text of Deuteronomy. The prophetess Huldah proclaims that God's wrath will come upon the people of Judah.(50:29) Josiah's religious reforms are outlined in 2 Kings 23. Josiah burns the Asherah, takes down the high places, slays many priests, stops child sacrifice, and holds Passover.(55:37) The Book of Mormon and doctrines of the Restoration help bring balance to the reforms of Josiah.(1:04:42) Josiah is killed in battle and is replaced by a series of unrighteous kings. King Zedekiah is the last of the kings of Judah. Many of the people of Judah are carried captive into Babylon during this time. This is where the story of Lehi in the Book of Mormon picks up. He prophesies of the coming destruction and takes his family into the wilderness for safety.(1:09:33) After King Zedekiah is captured, Jerusalem and the temple are destroyed by the Babylonians. Gedaliah, a Judean, is appointed to govern the remnant. King Jehoiachin, after over 30 years of captivity in Babylon, is released and allowed to live, sparking hope for the return of the Davidic dynasty.(1:12:05) One son of Zedekiah, Mulek, flees to the Americas and his posterity are the people of Zarahemla, or the “Mulekites” in the Book of Mormon.(1:15:01) Christ is The King. If we put someone or something else on that throne, we will end up lost, captive, and scattered. → For more of Bryce Dunford’s podcast classes, click here. → Enroll in Institute → YouTube → Apple Podcasts → Spotify → Amazon Music → Facebook The post Ep 380 | 2 Kings 16-25, Come Follow Me 2026 (July 13-19) appeared first on Talking Scripture.

We have Pastor Mason, our Care Pastor, bringing a word about Hezekiah! He shows us how in moments of triumph God's work within us isn't over and how we are tested by God at different stages of our life.Key Verse2 Kings 18:3-4 NIV  “3 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. 4 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it.

As You Wish Talk Radio with James Gilliland End of Tyranny, Chemtrails, Life, Before Adam and Eve, Jesus the Real Message The Inner God Spark, Hidden Control, and the Call to Rise Above Division Returning From Illness Into a Warning About Control In this episode of As You Wish Talk Radio, host James Gilliland returns after what he describes as a bout with “chemtrail flu” and frames the show around illness, targeting, spiritual warfare, and hidden systems of control. He introduces a video from a presenter identified in the transcript as possibly Bridgette Forteague of Light on Liberty, saying the video lays a foundation for the rest of the episode. The video presents “The Secret Covenant,” a conspiracy-oriented text describing an alleged elite plan to poison, weaken, distract, divide, and control humanity through food, water, air, medicine, media, money, religion, fear, war, and debt. The Secret Covenant and the Architecture of Enslavement The video segment describes a hidden ruling group that allegedly uses science, technology, poisons, entertainment, government, media, economic systems, and social division to keep people weak and unaware. It claims that heavy metals, sedatives, aging accelerators, corrupted food and water, medical systems, consumer distraction, debt, and engineered conflict are used to keep humanity divided and dependent. The narrator concludes that awareness breaks the spell, arguing that once people recognize the system's methods, they can build lives outside of it and stop feeding the structures designed to control them. Chemtrails, Poisoned Systems, and Social Engineering James uses the video as a launching point for his own discussion of what he says are poisoned air, water, land, food supplies, vaccines, biological agents, weather warfare, and engineered sickness. He claims chemtrails contain heavy metals, graphene, nanoparticles, neurotoxins, biologicals, and other harmful substances, and he connects these claims to illness, dying trees, failing crops, dead fawns, fog events, hurricanes, tornadoes, and what he calls the “real war” overhead. He argues that people are participating in their own enslavement by continuing to support systems that, in his view, want humanity sick, impoverished, divided, or dead. Ancient History, Star Colonies, and the Suppressed Feminine The episode then moves into James's account of ancient and extraterrestrial history. He discusses alleged off-world colonies, underground civilizations, Sumerian tablets, primordial gods and goddesses, Anunnaki, Enki, Ninhursag, Mami, the Adam Kadmon seed, Yahweh, Asherah, Adam and Eve, Enoch, and ancient flood narratives. He emphasizes that earlier traditions included masculine and feminine divine pairs and argues that later patriarchal systems, governments, religions, and Rome suppressed the feminine and distorted the teachings of Jesus. He also references teachings attributed to Yeshua ben Joseph that locate the temple in the heart rather than in external religious structures. Personal Connection, Universal Law, and the Danger of False Teachers James repeatedly urges listeners to stop giving their power away to external authorities, gurus, teachers, religions, or spiritual personalities who do not lead people inward to their own direct connection with Creator, God, Great Spirit, or the Most High. He warns against people who claim special status, gather followers, exploit wounds, create dependency, or present themselves as uniquely chosen. For James, authentic spirituality empowers each person's own soul purpose, while false teaching feeds on ignorance, trauma, jealousy, competition, and the need for external approval. Division, Projection, Karma, and the Rising Frequencies A major theme of the episode is that division is the tool of oppressors. James names race, color, religion, gender, spiritual competition, gossip, jealousy, victimhood, and ideological conflict as ways people are kept fragmented. He says unity is the “kryptonite” of the controllers and that love, joy, bliss, universal peace, brother-sister love, individual freedom, and prosperity for all are the principles of universal law. He also says waves of solar, energetic, and consciousness-based change are accelerating karma, exposing false motives, and bringing unresolved wounds, traumas, wrong conclusions, and attachments to the surface for healing. Sky-Watch, UFO Activity, and the Closing Call to Go Within The later portion shifts into a cleaned sky-watch/video segment, with James and participants reacting to lights, ships, fleets, the space station, Starlink, planes, and what they describe as UFO activity over the ranch. They comment on objects powering up, crossing, flashing, moving in groups, and interacting near aircraft or the space station. The episode closes by returning to James's core message: keep an open mind, a loving heart, and pure intent; stop participating in division and external worship programs; get grounded in nature; listen to inner guidance through the heart; and focus on love, joy, and bliss while being kind to each other and the planet.

Under the prosperous King Omri of the King of Israel there was religious tolerance. Thus King Omri is trashed in the Bible by the Yahweh worshipers.Omri worshiped Baal Melqart the chief god of the Phoneticians and Sidon. This is different from Baal Hadad of the Baal cycle and the storm God that Baal-Yahweh is largely modeled on. Not the Story of Elijah at Mount Carmel. (1 Kings 18:40)Never heard of Omri? The Omride dynasty basically made Israel. King Ahab was Omri's son. His wife Jezebel (Jezebaal) also worshiped Baal-Melqart. The bible is not kind to her either. But they admit she was queen. (She was pushed out a window trampled by horses and fed devoured by stray dogs)The Asherah poles have a very interesting history going back to the Tree of Life. Kings' scepters were said to be branches from the tree of life. Note Aaron's budding staff. Numbers 17:6“6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron's staff was among them. 7 Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant law.8 The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron's staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds”The earliest version of the plant of life and waters of life referred to a Date Tree and Rivers. However between that and the Garden of Eden story which has both he tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life, the life Tree Asherah is an almond tree. The Menorah is a stylized Tree of life. The Asherah poles did disappear after King Josiah's orders. They went underground. God with the capital G, from the Israelites is a merger of El and Asherah with a touch of Baal Hadad. The metallurgy and life tree in the Menorah is beautiful iconography of both. (Earliest Yahweh was a Wind god of Edom used in smelting and is storms).There are neat parallels between the pre-Jewish Kabbalah and its Sephirot Tree and the Norse Yggdrasil (Cosmic tree of the realms). Also the Qlippoth or tree of death worshiped by some Jewish cults today.Unfortunately Asherah (do not confuse with Astarte/Ishtar/Inanna) was removed as the Israelites became further and further obsessed with war, rape and genocide. The Book of Hosea in the OT is basically Yahweh's divorce from his wife. More on Ancient gods. I lifted the paywall This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ryandawson.org/subscribe

Welcome to Day 2895 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2895 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 139:7-12 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2895 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day two thousand eight hundred ninety-five 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: Shivering in the Omnipresence – No Hiding Places in Cosmic Geography In our previous expedition along this ancient, sacred trail, we stepped into the breathtaking opening movement of Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Nine, verses one through six. We explored the terrifying, yet deeply comforting reality of God's absolute omniscience. We learned that the Creator has meticulously mined the deepest shafts of our hearts, intimately tracking our sitting down, and our standing up. We marveled at how He has hemmed us in, constructing a protective, supernatural perimeter around our vulnerabilities, and resting His hand of covenant blessing firmly upon our heads. We experienced a beautiful sense of spiritual vertigo, realizing that the infinite intelligence of our King completely surpasses our human comprehension. Today, my friends, we take our next deliberate, awe-inspiring steps up the mountain pass. We are continuing our exploration of this magnificent psalm, focusing our attention on Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Nine, verses seven through twelve, in the New Living Translation. If the first six verses established that God knows everything about us, this next stanza reveals why that is a cosmic necessity. We are moving from the infinite depth of the divine mind, to the infinite width of the divine presence. David is going to take us on a rapid, macro-cosmic tour across the vertical and horizontal axes of reality, demonstrating that there is absolutely no hiding place in all of cosmic geography. Let us step onto the trail, and discover the beautiful impossibility of escaping the Sovereign King. The first segment is: The Vertical Axis: Piercing the Realms of Heaven and Sheol Let us listen to the opening lines of this cosmic pursuit, as recorded in verse seven and verse eight. I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. In these grouped, contiguous thoughts, David confronts a reality that completely upends the ancient world's understanding of space and spiritual authority. He cries out, “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!” To fully grasp the radical, polemical nature of verse seven and verse eight, we must view them through the brilliant lens of the Ancient Israelite divine-council worldview. In the ancient Near East, the surrounding pagan nations operated under a strict system of cosmic geography. They believed that the spiritual realm was deeply fragmented, carved up into competitive, localized jurisdictions controlled by different, territorial elohim—the rebel sons of God who were assigned to the nations after the Tower of Babel. If you were in Egypt, you were under the eye of Ra and Osiris; if you crossed over into Canaan, you were in the domain of Baal and Asherah. Furthermore, these gods were vertically limited. Baal was the lord of the high skies, but he had no power in the underworld. Mot was the terrifying king of the grave, ruling the domain of death where the living gods could not interfere. The pagan world assumed that if you traveled far enough, or if you descended into the darkness of death, you could successfully escape the gaze of a specific national deity. But David stands as a theological revolutionary, and he completely demolishes this fragmented, pagan worldview. He looks at the vertical axis of the cosmos and declares, “If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.” Think about the absolute totality of this claim. “Heaven”—the Shamayim—represented the supreme, radiant assembly room of the divine council, the very zenith of cosmic light and order. If David climbs to the highest spiritual heights, Yahweh is effortlessly enthroned there, presiding over the loyal heavenly host. But then David flips the map completely, looking into the pitch-black abyss of the “grave”—or Sheol, the underworld. In pagan thought, Sheol was a garbage dump of forgotten souls, a territory completely isolated from the gods of life. Yet David declares that if he makes his bed in the deep recesses of the underworld, he will open his eyes and find Yahweh standing right there next to him! There is no independent dark zone, and no demonic underworld, that can construct a legal barrier to lock the Creator out. Yahweh's jurisdiction is absolute, unmediated, and completely seamless from the highest celestial throne, to the deepest subterranean tomb. The rebel principalities of death have no private closets where they can hide from the King of Glory. The second segment is: The Horizontal Axis: Overruling the Farthest Horizons Having mapped the vertical dimensions of reality, the psalmist turns his attention to the horizontal limits of the earth, combining his logical thoughts in verse nine and verse ten. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. David paints a breathtaking, cinematic visual of rapid, long-distance transit across the globe: “If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.” In the poetic vocabulary of ancient Israel, the “wings of the morning” referred to the first, blinding rays of the dawning sun, leaping up over the eastern horizon at the speed of light. Conversely, the “farthest oceans” referred to the western horizon, the deep, unpredictable, and highly dangerous waters of the Mediterranean Sea and whatever lay beyond. David is mapping out an extreme, east-to-west trajectory. He is saying, “What if I could capture a sunbeam in the east, fly across the entire planet in a fraction of a second, and drop myself down into the most remote, uncharted wilderness of the western sea?” In the ancient mind, traveling to the farthest oceans meant crossing the boundary lines into disinherited pagan lands, crossing into territories heavily fortified by the rebel spirits of the nations. It was the ultimate frontier of chaos. In Canaanite mythology, the deep sea was the personal playground of Yamm, the god of primordial chaos and liquid destruction. A traveler who ventured into the far oceans expected to find themselves completely abandoned, left to the cruel whims of foreign elements and hostile deities. But notice the beautiful, protective reality that intercepts David in verse ten: “even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.” The phrase “even there” is a thunderous declaration of cosmic ownership. There are no blank spots on Yahweh's map. There are no international waters where His sovereignty doesn't apply. You can travel to the most distant, unchurched, and spiritually dark coordinate on the globe, and you will not find an empty space. Instead, you will find that the personal, loving hand of your Creator has already beaten you there! He doesn't just watch you from a celestial distance; His hand is actively present to guide your steps, and His raw, warrior strength is right beside you to support your weariness. The rebel principalities have no exclusive legal zones where they can isolate a child of God from the perimeter defense of the Almighty. The horizontal limits of the earth are merely a carpet unrolled beneath the feet of the King. The third segment is: The Spiritual Shroud: Dismantling the Canopy of Darkness The narrative moves from the physical limitations of space, to the psychological and spiritual attempt to find a hiding place under the shroud of darkness. The psalmist groups these contiguous thoughts in verse eleven and verse twelve. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. David explores a deeply human, and highly desperate temptation: “I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.”...

Transcript created by Ai and might not be 100% accurate. Iran strikes 8 US military sites destroyedIran and Israel are inching closer and closer to all-out war with each other where the US will not be able to save Israelbecause their bases have been decimated aside from like one in Jordanthe salty one you've got the Houthi threatening to go in on the groundin Aden they've already been sending some probing shots with drones to oustthat Saudi puppet regime from there that leaves the option of closingthe Bob El-Mendab Strait Trump's not moving on these 14 points because Israel won't allow them.They're going to continue to bomb Lebanon no matter what, which means the MOU is moot.But Iran still had to go through the motions and show the world,China in particular,look, we tried to negotiate, we tried to make a deal, we tried to do everything.The U.S. continues to allow Israel to bomb,and they even sent ships into the strait last Friday. You know more market yo-yo.They hit eight U.S. targets with missiles.U.S. is packing up and moving west.Some think they may go as far west as Israel which kind of defeats the pointof having forward bases around Iran.But you know that part of the MOU is beingFollowed Because They Are Physically Being Forced To Do It Anyway Which I've Always Said Is The Only Way Because You Cannot Negotiate WithThe US They Are Unagreeable They Don't Honor Anything They Say You HaveTo Settle This On The Battlefield And That's What's Happening The Dream of Dreams is Israel is losing its only ally, America.And the Gulf states are powerless without the U.S.And Iran has allies in the Houthi,Hezbollah, and the PMU in Iraq, which is growing every day.And so you can see the writing on the wall,I wouldn't worry about ISIS, they're in a civil war right now.They're nothing without that Gulf Arab money anyway.And if that is sent to them, then the Gulf Arabs will get bombed.Saudi Arabia would love to do a double cross,but there's nothing They have no leverage and they're gonna have their hands full with the Houthis soon.It looks like ground invasion is imminent and Ifthat Bob El Mondeb straight is closed…Well,you might want to go fill up your gas tank We'll see how kinetic that one becomes But the big, big, big standoff is going to be Iran-Israel And the US?Can't save them And honestly, it's like Larry Johnson and I have been saying Look at the size It's 92 million It'sthe size of Alaska Hitting a little s**t country like Israel Can't sustainthat barrage of missiles They're going to be forced to tap And that'swhen we'll burn that Netanyahu candle We'll melt his faceIf you missed yesterday's story on other gods in the Bible and the story of Ashtoreth/Inanna/Ishtar here it is. She is one of many gods with resurrection stories but I do believe hers is the most metal. The news letter went out before i could make some crucial edits. If this is of no interest I wanna know. If religious history is something you would enjoy learning if nothing else but a break from the war let me know that. I think everyone needs to get their head around the Jewish god Yahweh and how he came about as a war god promoting rape and genocide to better understand the radical Judaism we have today and why israelis are the way they are. But first one had to learn about the Baals, Ashtoreth, Asherah, and Pantheon on El, and the chief gods of Phoneticians, Moabites, Eshmun and Chemosh, Baal-Melqart etcThis does not undermine Christianity at all IF you understand WHY Jesus who Jesus was rebelling against and why he was rebelling against Judaism and why they were so threatened by his message that they killed him. The Romanized Christianity today is a perversion of how it started. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ryandawson.org/subscribe

As You Wish Talk Radio with James Gilliland Disclosure, Earth Changes, and the Battle Over Who Controls the Story A Wide-Ranging Report From ECETI In this episode of As You Wish Talk Radio, host James Gilliland of ECETI presents a fast-moving commentary on earth changes, solar activity, weather anomalies, disclosure, government secrecy, UFO research, and the spiritual state of the contact community. Speaking in what he calls a strained voice because of heavy chemtrails over the Pacific Northwest, James frames the episode around the idea that official disclosure has been an “80-plus year fail,” arguing that the public has been given controlled narratives rather than meaningful truth about extraterrestrial contact. Solar Activity, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Weather Warnings James begins with what he describes as major earth-change updates, including large sunspots, possible X-class flares, auroras, communications glitches, power-grid concerns, and increased earthquake and volcanic activity. He mentions Yellowstone, Long Valley, the Socorro magma body, the San Andreas and Cascadia fault systems, and recent quakes in California, Japan, and Venezuela. He also discusses typhoons, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and unusual storm behavior, suggesting that some weather patterns may be connected to atmospheric changes or weather manipulation. Chemtrails, Health, Deep State Claims, and Political Commentary The episode then moves into James's broader critique of government, public health institutions, and what he calls deep-state agendas. He discusses Tulsi Gabbard, Anthony Fauci, COVID-19 origins, gain-of-function research, biolabs, Big Pharma, depopulation claims, chemtrails, food and water contamination, heavy metals, parasites, nanotechnology, and 6G-related concerns. He also comments on political figures, alleged election interference, James Comey, Barack and Michelle Obama, Donald Trump, and a reported threat involving a UFC event, framing these topics through his belief that hidden systems of control are being exposed. Why Disclosure Keeps Failing A major theme of the episode is James's claim that the UFO and UAP disclosure movement has been compromised by controlled narratives, financial incentives, jealousy, gatekeeping, and agency influence. He criticizes major UFO organizations, researchers, conference systems, and media figures whom he believes have ignored or suppressed authentic contact evidence. He praises some congressional disclosure figures, including Anna Paulina Luna, Tim Burchett, and David Grusch, but says real disclosure requires harder questions about past agreements with less-evolved beings, human abduction, experimentation, censorship, and the suppression of spiritually advanced extraterrestrial contact. Benevolent Contact, Universal Law, and the Divine Feminine James contrasts what he sees as fear-based disclosure with contact involving spiritually and technologically advanced beings such as Nordics, Pleiadians, and other benevolent off-worlders. He argues that these beings could help humanity evolve, restore the Earth, transcend war, clean up the planet, and live according to universal law. He also emphasizes the importance of the divine feminine, saying that spiritually advanced societies often honor feminine wisdom and that suppressed stories of women, grandmothers, Mary, Asherah, and other feminine spiritual figures are beginning to reemerge. ECETI, Censorship, Shasta, and Spiritual Protection James points to ECETI's decades of documented sightings, witnesses, videos, and contact experiences as evidence that he believes has been unfairly ignored by the broader UFO community. He says ECETI has had witnesses from many backgrounds, including engineers, military personnel, pilots, air traffic controllers, and visitors from many walks of life. He also discusses Mount Shasta, saying that remote viewers, including himself, found that benevolent beings had left due to psychic turbulence, reptilian intrusion, drugs, commercialization, and other disruptive energies. He urges listeners to use discernment, live according to universal law, anchor in the light, and ask for protection in the days ahead. UFO Footage and the Call for Direct Experience The final portion of the episode features James narrating footage that he says shows UFOs, fleets of ships, objects near Starlink satellites, objects near the space station, and craft interacting with planes or moving through the sky above ECETI. Throughout the footage, he emphasizes that these are not “fuzzy tic-tacs,” but repeated sightings that he believes demonstrate direct contact and ongoing surveillance of human space activity. The episode closes with a promotional invitation for viewers to join ECETI's online community, watch As You Wish Talk Radio, view skywatch footage, explore workshops, and support ECETI's work.

In this powerful continuation of the Stolen Images series, Bishop Omar Thibeaux teaches from Jasher 31:38–40 and exposes the past idols of Israel — the golden calf, Baal and Asherah, Molech, Chemosh, the Queen of Heaven, astrology, and the bronze serpent.This episode reveals that idolatry is not only ancient history. The images may change, but the idols of impatience, pleasure, greed, false mixtures, and misplaced trust still fight for the heart today.

Daily Dose of Hope June 24, 2026   Scripture:  1 Kings 18   Prayer:  Holy God, We come before you today rejoicing in your powerful name.  Thank you for who you are and all you do.  Thank you for loving us.  Help us gather our scattered thoughts, help us set aside distractions, and truly focus on you right now.  In these next few moments of silence, Lord, we want to hear your voice...In Your Name, Amen.   Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope daily Bible reading plan.  This summer, we are working our way through the Old Testament books of 1 & 2 Kings.  While the texts are fascinating, they are difficult!  I would love to hear your feedback.   Today's reading is 1 Kings 18.  God has called Elijah to come face to face with King Ahab once again.  Times are tense–the drought is severe; animals and people are dying.  Ahab blames Elijah for Israel's trouble.  Afterall, in Ahab's mind, Elijah has offended Baal (the Canaanite god of rain) and that is why the rain has stopped.  Elijah, amazingly brave and solid, denies Ahab's claim and turns it around–it's actually Ahab's fault because he has been so disobedient to the Lord, Yahweh, and it is he who is in charge of the rain.   What's interesting to me is that Ahab and the people of Israel were still worshiping Yahweh, but they also were worshiping the Canaanite gods of Baal and Asherah.  Elijah is tasked with challenging Ahab on this issue.  The king can't have it both ways; it's time to choose.  Will he choose the one true God OR the Canaanite gods?  Verse 21 is quite powerful, Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, "How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!"  But the people were completely silent.    Elijah then proposes a contest to demonstrate who is really God–is it Baal or Yahweh?  The prophets of Baal spent hours calling on Baal to light the altar, complete with dead bull and wood, on fire. They dance around it, then begin to cut themselves and allow their own blood to be shed, begging Baal to respond. Not surprisingly, Baal is silent.  But when Elijah calls on Yahweh, the one true God, to light the altar (bull, wood, twelve stones to represent the tribes of Israel, and lots of water), God demonstrates his power in an awesome way.  Everything is consumed in flames and the water is quickly soaked up.  It's only then that the people acknowledge that the Lord is God.   We may think that we're far removed from Ahab and the people of Israel during Elijah's day.  Granted, we probably aren't bowing down to Baal and worshiping Asherah.  But the reality is that we try to serve Yahweh along with other gods as well.  What other gods vie for attention in your life?  Money, power, jobs, family, boats, travel, food, exercise, retirement plans, golf, you get the idea.  There are so many things that we put before God or at least on the same level.  We may think this is harmless but it is insidiously dangerous.  What have you allowed to creep into your life and take on the same level of importance as worship, as ministry, as mission, as Scripture, as tithe, as God? Blessings, Pastor Vicki    

In today's episode of the Atheist Experience, Thinker and Zenamae celebrate Father's Day by comparing the silence of a celestial parent to the immediate response of artificial intelligence! From the ethics of missing children advocacy to the submissive vows of religious weddings, the hosts explore how deconstruction provides a community based on facts rather than the "voicemail" of a distant deity. Can we build a moral legacy for the next generation without waiting for a ghost to return the call?Hannah argues that the universe is a necessary infinite substance with infinite attributes that we should call God. Thinker and Zenamae challenge the semantic need for the label "God," noting that existence does not exhibit personal traits like listening or making promises. Does redefining the universe as a deity actually provide any evidence for the supernatural?Tom in TX describes God as the ultimate deadbeat dad who has abandoned his creation to suffer through global boiling and corporate greed. The hosts emphasize the importance of fighting for real-world progress rather than waiting for a silent celestial father to intervene in a rigged system. Will the next generation be able to clean up the mess left behind by a negligent deity?Zama waseMzansiza on TikTok struggles with the pain of potentially disappointing her fragile, religious mother while navigating her own deconstruction journey. Zenamae shares her personal experience with setting boundaries and learning to see parents as flawed human beings rather than just spiritual authority figures. Can we find a way to honor our family relationships without sacrificing our own intellectual integrity?Asherah in South Africa questions whether Jesus was actually a disciple of John the Baptist, citing potential overlaps in their apocalyptic messages and ministry origins. Hosts dive into the "deceiver" narrative found in apocryphal texts and discuss the historical competition between these two rival religious figures. Was the Christian savior originally just a member of another preacher's crew?Thank you for joining us this week! We will see you next time!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

2 Kings 23:4 (ESV) - “And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.” In this episode of Daily Devotions, Pastor David Sumrall reflects on King Josiah's reforms and the importance of maintaining a sense of what is sacred. When Josiah discovered that objects and practices associated with idol worship had been brought into the temple, he took decisive action to remove anything that dishonored God and compromised the purpose of a place dedicated to His worship. Pastor Sumrall explains that throughout Scripture, God's people were called to treat what was dedicated to Him with reverence and respect. While believers understand that God's presence is not limited to a building, places, ministries, and things set apart for His service should still be treated with honor and care. Scripture repeatedly shows that God values what is consecrated to Him. This Daily Devotion reminds us to protect what has been dedicated to God and to guard against anything that would diminish its purpose. ---- Don't forget to like, subscribe to Cathedral of Praise TV https://www.youtube.com/c/cathedralofpraiseTV/?sub_confirmation=1,and hit the bell icon

In this Bible Story, Elijah puts the God of the universe on display against the false Gods of Baal. 450 prophets of Baal and King Ahab gathered to challenge Elijah and the One True God. In front of the whole nation, God sent fire and rain down from the skies to prove his power and might. The blighted and unfertile land finally received rain. This story is inspired by 1 Kings 18. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 1 Kings 18:39 from the King James Version.Episode 123: For three years the famine in Israel continued and King Ahab was desperate to find Elijah. One day, when his servant Obediah was out searching for water, Elijah appeared to him. Elijah tells him to send for the king and challenges king Ahab to bring all of his “prophets” of Baal and Asherah for a showdown on Mount Carmel.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2 Kings 18:4 (ESV) - “He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it.” In this episode of Daily Devotions, Pastor David Sumrall explores an important lesson from the reforms of King Hezekiah. What had once been a God-given symbol of faith became an object of worship. The bronze serpent, originally used by God to encourage faith and bring healing, had gradually become something the people honored and revered in place of God Himself. Pastor Sumrall explains that symbols can be helpful reminders of God's work, but they must never take the place of a relationship with Him. Throughout history, people have sometimes become attached to objects, traditions, or experiences that once strengthened their faith, only to elevate them beyond their proper purpose. This Daily Devotion reminds us that our faith must always be centered on God. ---- Don't forget to like, subscribe to Cathedral of Praise TV https://www.youtube.com/c/cathedralofpraiseTV/?sub_confirmation=1,and hit the bell icon

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

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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/.

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?

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!

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.

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!

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?