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There is something almost frightening about the stories preserved for us in the Evergetinos. They are frightening not because they portray extraordinary wickedness, but because they reveal how quietly the heart can change. The monk described by Palladios is not a beginner. He is a man of profound silence and prayer, one who has surrendered himself so completely to God that even the necessities of his bodily life have been entrusted to Providence. His life has become contemplation. Prayer is his delight. God provides for him in a miraculous manner. He has tasted something of the life of the age to come. And yet the beginning of his fall is almost imperceptible. He sleeps a little longer. His prayer becomes somewhat shorter. His attention wanders. Earthly concerns begin to occupy a little more space within him. Thoughts once immediately rejected are permitted to remain for a moment. Nothing, at first, seems catastrophic. That is precisely the warning. The Fathers understood that the great falls of the spiritual life rarely begin as great falls. They begin with small permissions. Something formerly guarded carefully is treated casually. Something that once troubled the conscience is dismissed as insignificant. A thought is entertained rather than rejected. Prayer is postponed. Vigilance relaxes. A little comfort is allowed to become necessary. The heart whispers that such things hardly matter. But they matter because the heart matters. There is something extraordinarily precious hidden within the human person: the place of communion with God. The Fathers speak of guarding the heart so insistently because they know what has been entrusted to us. Grace has entered there. The Name has been received there. Desire for God has been awakened there. A fire has been kindled that does not originate in ourselves. The spiritual life, therefore, is not primarily the anxious avoidance of infractions. It is the guarding of a treasure. This changes how we understand vigilance. We do not guard ourselves because God is waiting to punish the smallest mistake. We guard ourselves because love is delicate. Communion can be obscured. Desire can cool. The eye of the heart can become clouded. What has become luminous through prayer can gradually become opaque again. The evil one understands this very well. He does not always attempt to tear a person immediately away from God. With someone who has given himself deeply to prayer, such an assault might be too obvious. Instead, he waits. He works through what appears negligible. A little negligence. A little self-confidence. A little relaxation of watchfulness. A thought that seems harmless enough to entertain. The enemy is patient because he knows that a heart need not renounce God explicitly in order gradually to lose sight of Him. Palladios gives us an extraordinary image of this darkening in the bread. At first the monk receives heavenly bread, pure and provided by God. As his interior life becomes disordered, the bread appears grimy and gnawed. Later it is almost entirely spoiled. What is happening visibly to the bread corresponds to what is happening invisibly within the monk. The gift has not ceased to be gift, but his capacity to receive it has become corrupted. The tragedy is not simply that temptation has appeared. Temptation comes to everyone. The decisive moment comes earlier: he notices the diminishment and does not respond to it. He regards the first symptoms as trivial. This is one of the most penetrating insights in the story. The monk does not suddenly decide to abandon his vocation. He fails to take seriously the cooling of his love. The Fathers would have us become sensitive to precisely this. When prayer becomes burdensome, notice. When mercy toward another begins to disappear, notice. When resentment becomes pleasurable, notice. When the imagination begins feeding upon something we would once have rejected, notice. When silence becomes uncomfortable and distraction increasingly necessary, notice. When we begin excusing in ourselves what once brought us immediately to repentance, notice. Not because every movement of weakness is a catastrophe, but because small movements reveal the direction in which the heart is turning. The story attributed to St. Maximos makes the warning still more sobering. The young monk possesses astonishing spiritual authority. Even wild animals obey him. Those around him naturally interpret such gifts as evidence of sanctity. St. Anthony is less impressed. He sees a ship filled with precious cargo and says, in effect: Yes—but will it reach the harbor? Everything is contained in that image. Grace received is not yet grace preserved. Virtue acquired is not yet virtue safely possessed. Spiritual gifts are not guarantees. Years of asceticism are not guarantees. Miracles are not guarantees. The harbor is reached only through perseverance. This is why Maximos interprets the command to “turn away from evil, and do good” as something more than the avoidance of sin. We must fight to diminish the passions; we must labor to acquire the virtues; and then—we must remain awake in order to preserve what has been given. He connects this with Adam's vocation in Eden: to cultivate and to keep. The heart is a garden. Grace cultivates it with us. Prayer waters it. Tears soften its soil. The remembrance of God makes it fruitful. Virtue slowly becomes something beautiful and living within us. But the garden must also be kept. Perhaps this is why the Fathers can appear severe about things modern people consider insignificant. Their severity is not necessarily born from fear. At its deepest, it arises from wonder. They know what the heart can become. They have seen human beings filled with God. They have seen the mind made luminous through prayer, the passions transfigured, the hardened heart made merciful, and ordinary human beings become bearers of the Holy Spirit. Having seen such things, they cannot regard anything that gradually extinguishes that life as trivial. The treasure is too precious. And yet neither story finally teaches despair. Palladios' monk awakens. Remarkably, his awakening comes while he is teaching others. He hears himself speaking truths that he has ceased to live, and suddenly sees himself. The contradiction becomes unbearable. He runs back into the desert, casts himself upon the ground, and repents. God receives him. The angel's words are filled with mercy: “God has accepted your repentance and has had mercy on you.” Something has nevertheless changed. The miraculous bread does not return. His remaining years are marked by mourning. This is not because God refuses forgiveness. Rather, the story preserves the terrible seriousness of freedom. Forgiveness is complete, yet our choices are real. Grace is not magic, and repentance does not make our history unreal. The Fathers hold together what we so often separate: immense mercy and immense seriousness. Never despair. But never presume. Never imagine that a fall places you beyond the mercy of God. But never imagine that what darkens the heart is therefore insignificant. The Christian life is lived between these truths. Perhaps the most important question, then, is not simply, Have I committed some great sin? It may be much quieter: What is happening to my desire for God? Is the flame growing brighter or dimmer? Is prayer becoming more truthful or merely habitual? Is my heart becoming softer or harder? Am I becoming freer to love, or increasingly absorbed in myself? Have I begun calling “small” those things that slowly make me forget the One whom I love? The evil one is willing to wait. He knows that great falls can grow from tiny seeds of forgetfulness. We too must learn to wait—but differently. We remain before God. We keep the heart. We cultivate the garden. We guard the treasure. And when we discover even the smallest cooling of love, we do not panic and we do not despair. We turn again toward Christ. Immediately. Simply. Humbly. For vigilance, rightly understood, is not living in terror that we might lose God. It is living with the knowledge that nothing is more precious than having found Him. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:08:19 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 61 Section C 00:14:06 Jacqulyn Dudasko: I received my books today! Even had a bit of time to start reading!
Today, Pastor Jack teaches that Jesus came to heal with authority, over suffering, and even over death itself. It's why understanding His purpose can reshape the way we see God, His offer of healing and His desire to save us.
Today, Pastor Jack teaches that Jesus came to preach, reaching both the heart and the mind of every person who listened. When the gospel is preached, decisions are made and lives are changed.
Today, Pastor Jack teaches that when Jesus taught, He spoke with an authority that drew people in instead of pushing them away. His teaching whispered obedience, painted pictures, and brought assurance to everyone who heard Him speak.
Welcome to Day 2922 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2923 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 150:1-6 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2923 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2923 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 Cosmic Crescendo – Everything That Has Breath Praise the Lord! On our previous expedition—on Day Two Thousand Nine Hundred Twenty-Two—we explored the fourth movement of the "Final Hallel" in Psalm One Hundred Forty-Nine. We marveled at the powerful, revolutionary posture of God's faithful ones, who sing a new song of victory, rejoice on their beds of rest, and carry both the high praises of God in their mouths and the two-edged sword of divine truth in their hands to execute the written judgments of heaven. Today, on Day Two Thousand Nine Hundred Twenty-Three of our trek, we reach the ultimate summit, the grand finale, and the absolute crown of the entire Book of Psalms: Psalm One Hundred Fifty, verses one through six. This brief, six-verse hymn is the grand crescendo toward which all one hundred forty-nine preceding psalms have been steadily marching. The tears of lament, the pleas for rescue in dark caves, the struggles against deceptive enemies, the prayers for direction, and the celebrations of royal victory all dissolve into one uninhibited, all-encompassing, galactic explosion of pure praise. In this final psalm, we are given the ultimate masterclass in worship, answering the four fundamental questions of praise: where to praise, why to praise, how to praise, and who should praise. The Dual Sanctuary: Praise in the Heavenly and Earthly Courts Let us open our ears to the thunderous opening salvo of this final psalm, as recorded in the New Living Translation, grouping together the logical, contiguous thoughts found in verse one and verse two. Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness! The psalmist launches this final doxology with an explosive series of commands, shouting, “Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!” He then immediately provides the unshakeable foundation for this worship, declaring, “Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness!” Notice how verse one answers the critical question of where God is to be praised! The psalmist points to two interconnected locations: "in his sanctuary" and "in his mighty heavens." To fully appreciate the spiritual magnitude of this pairing, we must view it through the Ancient Israelite divine-council worldview. In ancient biblical theology, the earthly sanctuary—the tabernacle, and later the temple in Jerusalem—was understood to be a physical micro-copy and Earthly anchor of the true, celestial temple in heaven. When the psalmist calls for praise in both the earthly sanctuary and the "mighty heavens"—or literally, the raqia, the radiant dome of the sky—he is calling for a complete synchronization of the two realms! He is summoning the human worshipper on earth to lift their voice in perfect harmony with the angelic hosts, the seraphim, and the heavenly assembly gathered around the supreme throne of Yahweh. Then, in verse two, the psalmist answers the question of why we offer this praise! We praise Him for two distinct reasons: His actions and His character. We praise Him for His "mighty works"—His tangible, historical acts of creation, deliverance, covenant-keeping, and redemption. And we praise Him for His "unequaled greatness"—His inherent, infinite, unsearchable majesty that sets Him completely apart from every created entity, every earthly monarch, and every rival spiritual power in existence. He stands entirely without equal! The Full Symphony of Sacred Sound: The Heavenly Orchestra The narrative now transitions into a magnificent, detailed blueprint answering the question of how God is to be praised, weaving together every category of musical instrument in verse three, verse four, and verse five. Praise him with a blast of the ram's horn; praise him with the lyre and harp! Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes! Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud, clanging cymbals! The psalmist unleashes a dizzying, symphonic array of instruments, commanding, “Praise him with a blast of the ram's horn; praise him with the lyre and harp! Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes! Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud, clanging cymbals!” Look at the astonishing variety and sensory richness of this worship band! The psalmist intentionally gathers instruments from every sphere of Israelite life to create a total, unrestricted environment of praise. He begins with the shofar—the ram's horn—whose piercing, resonant blast was blown by priests to announce sacred assemblies, signal royal coronations, and sound the charge on the day of battle. He then adds the delicate, melodic elegance of royal court music: the lyre, the harp, wind flutes, and plucked stringed instruments. Furthermore, he brings in the joyous, rhythmic percussion of village celebrations: the tambourine, expressive communal dancing, and the metallic, reverberating crash of loud, clanging cymbals! In the ancient world, different instruments were often reserved for specific social classes or localized rituals. The elite played the lyre; the priests blew the shofar; the women danced with tambourines. But here, in the grand finale of the Psalter, all artificial boundaries are completely demolished! Every sound, every rhythm, every melody, every instrument, and every cultural art form is recruited into one massive, glorious, roaring avalanche of sacred sound, dedicated entirely to the King of kings. The Universal Anthem: Everything That Has Breath Having established where to praise, why to praise, and how to praise, the psalmist reaches the final, climactic verse of the entire Book of Psalms, answering the ultimate question of who should praise in verse six. Let everything that lives and breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! With one final, breathless, cosmic shout that echoes across the centuries, the psalmist closes the entire collection, commanding, “Let everything that lives and breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” What a staggering, magnificent climax to this multi-month journey through the psalter! The Hebrew phrase used here for "everything that lives and breathes" is kol ha-neshamah—literally, every single breath! This single line brings the entire biblical narrative full circle. Way back in Genesis chapter two, Yahweh bent down into the dust of the earth and breathed the neshamah—the divine breath of life—into human nostrils, animating humanity to become living souls. Now, at the end of the Book of Psalms, the purpose of that breath is fully disclosed! Every lungful of oxygen you inhale, every pulse of air that moves past your vocal cords, and every breath taken by every living creature across the entire planet is designed for one supreme purpose: to return to its Creator in grateful, joyous adoration! Notice how this final verse connects seamlessly with the journey we have taken together through the "Final Hallel," from Psalm One Hundred Forty-Six through One Hundred Fifty. In Psalm One Hundred Forty-Six, the psalmist vowed, "I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath." In Psalm One Hundred Forty-Eight, he called upon the stars, the stormy winds, the sea monsters, and human kings to praise the Lord. Now, here in Psalm One Hundred Fifty, all individual voices, all instruments, all celestial beings, all earthly creatures, and all breathing life unite into one final, eternal Hallelujah! As we stand at the summit of this magnificent book today, let us carry this ultimate legacy of wisdom into our daily lives. Whatever wilderness you are trekking through, whatever dark caves you have lived in, and whatever mountains you must climb, remember the ultimate destination of your story. You were created by an infinite, loving God; you were redeemed by His mighty works; and your very breath belongs to Him. Take a deep breath right now, lift your heart to the heavens, and join the cosmic choir in shouting: Hallelujah—Praise the Lord! If you found this podcast insightful,...
Earthly success is temporary, but God's reward is everlasting. Discover how self-control and faithful perseverance prepare us for an imperishable crown.Morning Offering, August 10, 2026 is brought to you by The Catholic Company https://bit.ly/4hgjYFaEvery morning, join Father Brad as he begins the day with prayer and reflection. In a few short minutes, Father Brad guides you in prayer, shares a brief reflection grounding your day in the Church's rhythm of feast days and liturgy, and provides you with the encouragement necessary to go forward with peace and strength. Disclaimer: The ads shown before, during, or after this video have no affiliation with Morning Offering and are controlled by YouTubeLet us do as the saints urge and begin our days in prayer together so as a community of believers we may join the Psalmist in saying, “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” (Psalm 5:3-4)________________
August 9, 2026 - Brian Mashburn
Welcome to Day 2920 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2920 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 148:1-14 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2920 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2920 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 Cosmic Choir – When Creation and Heavenly Hosts Unite in Praise On our previous trek together, on Day Two Thousand Nine Hundred Eighteen, we stood in holy awe as we completed Psalm One Hundred Forty-Seven. We witnessed how Yahweh fortifies the gates of Jerusalem, satisfies His people with the finest wheat, and commands the swift operations of nature—sending snow like white wool, hurling hail like stones, and then thawing the frozen wilderness with a single warm breath of His word! We marveled at how the God who controls the winter weather uniquely revealed His sacred decrees to Jacob. Today, as we step onto Day Two Thousand Nine Hundred Twenty of our trek, we enter the third breathtaking movement of the “Final Hallel”—Psalm One Hundred Forty-Eight, verses one through fourteen. In our last study, the focus was centered on how God interacts with Jerusalem and the natural elements. But today, the aperture of divine revelation opens to its absolute maximum width! Psalm One Hundred Forty-Eight is nothing short of a cosmic summons—a grand, universal invitation issued by the psalmist to every single layer of reality. From the highest spiritual throne rooms of heaven, down through the sun, moon, and blazing stars, past the deep ocean trenches and stormy winds, and all the way to earthly kings, young maidens, and little children! Every created entity in existence is called to join one massive, harmonious symphony of adoration for the Sovereign Creator. The first segment is: The Cosmic Liturgy of the Highest Heavens Let us open our ears to the celestial call that begins this cosmic liturgy, as recorded in the New Living Translation, grouping together the logical, contiguous thoughts found in verse one, verse two, verse three, verse four, verse five, and verse six. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise him from the skies! Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all the armies of heaven! Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, highest heavens, and the waters above the highest heavens. Let them all praise the name of the Lord. For he commanded and they were created. He established them forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked. The psalmist begins this song at the highest possible altitude, shouting into the celestial realm: “Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise him from the skies!” He calls upon the angels, the armies of heaven, the sun, moon, shining stars, highest heavens, and the waters above to lift their voices in praise, because Yahweh commanded and they were created, establishing them by a decree that can never be revoked. To fully appreciate the vast, stunning scope of this opening movement, we must view these verses through the Ancient Israelite divine-council worldview. In the ancient Near East, neighboring pagan nations bowed down in fear to the sun, the moon, and the stars. They worshipped the heavenly bodies as autonomous, supreme deities who controlled human destiny. Furthermore, they viewed the “armies of heaven”—the Sabaoth—as divine powers competing for cosmic dominance. But the psalmist shatters all pagan mythology with a single theological hammer blow! The sun, moon, stars, angels, and celestial hosts are not independent gods! They are created beings, members of Yahweh's heavenly assembly, who owe their very existence to His single creative command. When God spoke in Genesis, He established their assigned order, set their boundaries, and issued a cosmic decree that can never be revoked. Therefore, the stars do not rule over us; rather, along with the angelic council, they function as a radiant choir, continuously singing praises to their ultimate Master and Creator. The second segment is: The Earthly Symphony: Ocean Depths, Weather, and Wild Spaces The narrative now descends with magnificent grace from the highest spiritual heavens down to the terrestrial realm of earth, combining the logical, contiguous thoughts found in verse seven, verse eight, verse nine, and verse ten. Praise the Lord from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths, fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey him, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all livestock, small scurrying creatures and flying birds. Having summoned the celestial choir, the psalmist turns his face toward the earth, calling upon the creatures of the ocean depths, the fire, hail, snow, storm clouds, obedience-rendering winds, majestic mountains, fruit trees, wild beasts, livestock, scurrying creatures, and soaring birds to join the song of praise. Notice how beautifully this section connects with what we studied in Psalm One Hundred Forty-Seven! In our previous episode, we marveled at how God hurls hail like stones and sends snow like white wool. Here in Psalm One Hundred Forty-Eight, those exact weather elements—fire, hail, snow, clouds, and stormy winds—are described as active servants that directly “obey him.” Even the wild, chaotic forces of creation are obedient ministers of His sovereign will! Look, too, at who leads the earthly praise: “you creatures of the ocean depths.” In ancient Near Eastern mythology, the deep oceans and great sea dragons—the tanninim—were viewed as terrifying, chaotic monsters that threatened to destroy cosmic order. But in the biblical worldview, these sea creatures are merely playful, awe-inspiring creations of Yahweh, positioned in the deepest oceanic trenches to offer Him silent, profound worship! From the massive mountain peaks down to the smallest scurrying creature In the forest brush, all of nature functions as an unblemished, living sanctuary of praise. The third segment is: The Human Chorus: Monarchs, Elders, and Youth The psalmist now brings the focus of creation's praise directly to humanity, grouping together the logical thoughts found in verse eleven and verse twelve. Kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the world, young men and young women, old people and children. The call to worship reaches its human climax, urging kings of the earth, all people, global rulers, judges, young men, young women, senior citizens, and little children to lift their voices together in unity. Consider the radical, revolutionary egalitarianism of these two verses! In the ancient world—and indeed in many societies today—humanity was deeply fractured by social class, political power, gender, and age. Earthly kings and judges sat on opulent thrones, claiming divine authority and demanding that lesser subjects bow before them. But when Yahweh steps into the room, all human artificial hierarchies completely collapse! The earthly king stands on the exact same ground as the young child; the powerful judge stands alongside the young maiden; the elderly citizen stands next to the energetic youth. Why? Because before the infinite, unsearchable majesty of the Creator, every human being is equally a dust-creature, made in the divine image, and called to offer worship. No earthly ruler possesses ultimate sovereignty. All political authority on earth is subject to the Supreme Court of Heaven, and every human heart—regardless of age, status, or title—finds its true dignity when bowing before the Lord of all. The fourth segment is: The Towering Name and the Horn of the Covenant The psalmist brings this breathtaking, universal symphony to its ultimate, triumphant crescendo, weaving together the contiguous thoughts in verse thirteen and verse fourteen. Let them all praise the name of the Lord. For his name is very great; his glory towers over the earth and heaven! He has made his people strong, honoring his faithful ones— the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the Lord! With a triumphant shout, the...
In Luke 11:24 through 32 Jesus speaks of the futility of self-reformation. Now this is different than spiritual regeneration. Self-reformation still leaves one empty while spiritual regeneration fills one with Christ himself by the Holy Spirit.Jesus then goes on to say how blessed are those who hear the word of God and do it. Blessing comes from the obedience of hearing.He then speaks of the sign of Jonah to this wicked generation who are asking for a sign and Jesus went on to say that he himself is this sign to this generation.Our Lord is a greater than Jonah! Our Lord Jesus both died and was buried and rose again and appeared to witnesses. And we believe in a living Savior seated at the right hand of God who also intercedes for us.Let's join Dr. Mitchell here on the Unchanging Word Bible Broadcast, Luke chapter 11:21.
In this episode of the Third Eye Awakening podcast, I'm sharing part two of my Lion's Gate Activation series.In this Activation, I dive into:-grid work, earth energies, and scientific support for their existence-strong feelings to travel to specific places and honoring those callings-Amy's personal stewardship of grid work and her connection to her specific location-examples of grid work and grid workers as pollinators of energetic information-the internet as a "pocket alternate reality" that prevents in-person contact and telepathic network rebuilding-financial and practical barriers to travel and how to build a relationship with your specific location calling using simple practices-grid workers as people who soften and dissolve the false matrix and artificial grids to support earth's restoration…and so much more!LINKS MENTIONEDJoin my FREE private FB group Soul SpaceFollow me on Instagram
Home. Family. Belonging. Love. What does it mean to have a healthy marriage, a healthy family? Gerry Crete and Theresa Robinson join us to explore that question: “What does a thriving marriage and flourishing in family life look like? We bring in Internal Family Systems, attachment theory, perfectionism, the importance of family members delighting in each other, parents' vows and scripts, how loving children involves more than the will, and the importance of “being with” each other. Check out Theresa Robinson's practice, Greenhouse Counselling, here: https://www.greenhousecounselling.com/ And Dr. Gerry Crete's practice, Transfiguration, is here: https://www.transfiguration.co/ Episode 85 is all about perfectionism: https://youtu.be/bw-zUp2h_TA Check out our Resilient Catholics Community – the RCC offers structured programming to help orthodox Catholic flourish in life by working on our human formation: https://members.soulsandhearts.com/rcc If you are a Catholic therapist, coach, spiritual director, priest, or in another role where you accompany others in their human formation, consider the Formation for Formators Community (FFF). The FFF is all about the personal, human formation of the formator, so that you can better receive and give love in how you accompany others. More here: https://members.soulsandhearts.com/fff And our daily sister podcast, Scripture for Your Inner Outcasts is all about helping our listeners integrate inside, heal from emotional burdens, and grow to flourish in accepting being loved and loving yourself in an ordered way. https://www.youtube.com/@ScriptureForYourInnerOutcasts Key moments: 0:00 The home and family as a human treasure and source of joy4:30 The core question for this podcast series11:10 What does it mean to have a healthy marriage and family?13:30 The importance of the family, the “domestic church”21:00 Parts' expectations for family life – flourishing does not equal perfection25:00 Dr. Peter was a great parent right out of the gate, but then things got much more real. 25:56 Perfectionism in family life – how “the best is the enemy of the good.” Attachment needs and integrity needs in family life. Dr. Gerry wanted to provide his children everything so that they would be happy. 29:41 Eudaimonia is about a life well-lived, not perfection, a place where children can rest in the security of love33:30 Unconditional love in the family vs. a focus on “achievement”36:20 What is flourishing in marriages and family life? 40:42 The importance of joy and delighting in children45:45 How mothers and fathers can parents from a position of self-protection; the importance of pausing49:15 Parents' vows and scripts are often reactions to their experience of their own parents50:53 Parents often take too much responsibility for their children's behavior57:25 Balancing wanting the best for our kids with the need to “let go”1:00:10 Even heroic acts of the will are not enough in loving children10:01:30 How understanding parts make family relationships much easier1:04:20 Self-led parenting1:05:19 Parts language and family life1:09:00 How parts work helps with forgiveness in family life1:18:40 Some reassurances about parenting: how earthy parents are not the primary parents of their children, God's providence is active1:19:20 “Being with children” is more important than solving their problems1:22:30 Reversal with children and identification/counter-identification with parents1:26:00 Earthly parents are secondary parents, redux. God has a plan for every miscue, every mistake. He's willing to rewrite the family symphony, to take on the bad notes and turn them into good notes in His Providence1:28:25 Flourishing in a family is about creating an ecology or environment of worth and delight1:30:20 For each mom to remember that she is a beloved little daughter of God.
Carlos Wallace quipped, “The funny thing about truth, everyone seems to have their own version.” Jesus said He was the truth (John 14:6), and that He always told the truth (John 8:45). But many who listened to Him had their own version of truth, so Jesus now begins a new way of teaching: the parable. As we read these parables, consider four characteristics of interacting with truth.I. Truth Is a Priority (vv. 1-2)II. Stories Bring Clarity (vv. 3-8)III. Listening Is a Necessity (v. 9)IV. Understanding Shows Sincerity (vv. 10-12)Learn Your Bible: Read Isaiah 6:9-10 and compare it to today's passage. What does Jesus' use of parables teach us about how God responds to the posture of our hearts?Love Your Neighbor: We're instructed in 1 John 3:18 to love in “deed and truth.” How can you show love in action and truth to those in your circle this week?Live in Freedom: Is there something holding you back from listening to and applying the truth of God's Word? What practical step can you take this week to make truth a priority, listen more carefully, and respond with sincerity?
The big idea of Colossians as a whole—is that there are an unlimited number of “Christ and” approaches to life and they are always eternally deadly. On the other hand, the “Christ over all” approach is the only path to eternal life.
What does genuine wisdom look like? In James 3:13–18, Scripture contrasts the selfish, destructive wisdom of the world with the pure and peaceable wisdom that comes from God.In this sermon, “The Fruits of Wisdom,” CJ Bohnen explains how true wisdom is revealed not merely through what we know, but through the humility, conduct, and spiritual fruit displayed in our lives. Earthly wisdom produces jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder, and every evil practice. Wisdom from above, however, is pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, merciful, impartial, and sincere.True wisdom bears visible fruit. Those who belong to Christ are called to reject selfish ambition, pursue peace, and demonstrate the character of God through lives of humble obedience.
Thursday, 30 July 2026 Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.' Matthew 21:37 “Afterward, also, he sent to them the ‘son, his', saying, ‘They will be in-turned of the ‘son, mine'.'” (CG) In the previous verse, Jesus continued the parable, noting that the housemaster sent other servants, greater than the first, and they treated those servants the same. With that noted, He next says, “Afterward, also, he sent to them the ‘son, his'.” The meaning of the words, at least to us, should be plain and obvious, even if the leaders don't immediately get what Jesus is saying. A succession of servants has been sent to receive the fruit of the vineyard, and they have been treated shamefully. These represented the messengers of God, the prophets and wise men, looking for fruit in the nation of Israel. Without success, God sent His Son into the nation, “saying, ‘They will be in-turned of the ‘son, mine'.'” A new word is seen, entrepó. It is derived from en, a fixed position usually translated as “in”, and tropé, a noun signifying “a turning” which is only found in James 1:17. Together, they give the idea of “in a state of turning,” as in turning “one's attention to in a riveted (‘locked in') way” (HELPS Word Studies). The word is used positively when turning in respect, but it is also used when feeling a state of shame. It is seen when there is no respect (as in Luke 18:2 and 18:4). In Hebrews 12:9, almost all translations say something like, “Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect [entrepó]” (NKJV). However, the verb is passive, and the word “them” is not in the text. Having said that, because of the difficulty, most take this as a passive with a middle force. This is done to justify the reading as “respect.” However, Thayer's Greek Lexicon notes the word in classical Greek signifies “properly, to turn about, so in passive even in Homer; τινα, properly, to turn one upon himself, i. e. to shame one.” Thus, if the passive is retained, the word would indicate a sense of personal shame, not respect. The entire paragraph in which Hebrews 12:9 exists is based on chastisement, either by God or by our fathers. As such, there is a sense of shame for wrongdoing, which is exactly what sin is and what it causes. We are chastised, and we are ashamed because of our actions. Without that shame because of a lack of correction, we would be unashamed and unrestrained. Something common in the world when there is no correction. Hebrews 12:9 continues, We had fathers who were instructors “... and we were in-turned, not much, also, more we will be subject to the ‘Father, the spirits', and we will live?” One can see the progression: 1) Earthly fathers discipline, 2) children respond, being in-turned (ashamed), 3) therefore, how much more should we be subject to God in humility? The same passive mood is found in the three synoptic gospels in regard to this parable. Because translations reject the passive voice in Matthew 21:37, stating it is to be rendered in the middle voice, it then causes scholars a true dilemma. The Pulpit Commentary, reflective of others, says – “God condescends to speak in human language, as hoping for a good result from this last effort for man's salvation. He, as it were, puts aside his foreknowledge, and gives scope to man's free will. Though the sad issue is known to him, he often acts towards men as if he had hope that they would still use the occasion profitably.” This makes no sense. Why would the housemaster assume or even hope for those in the vineyard to act appropriately? Why would he assume they could be trusted when they have already killed his servants? Such a thought is not in line with what we would consider concerning Jesus' portrayal of the omnipotent God in a parable. An in-turning concerning the son is much more fitting to the surrounding context. And it is exactly what happened to Jesus. Thus, Jesus is clearly saying that they will not accept the son. Rather, they will be ashamed of him. And this is what God the Father knew, in advance, concerning His Son. This is perfectly in line with what Jesus told the disciples just a few days before – “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, 19 and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.” Matthew 20:18, 19 It is a sentiment He had already stated to them twice before as well. The fact is that, despite knowing in advance, that Jesus would not be accepted, God sent His Son to Israel to offer them salvation. This demonstrates the immense love of God for those He created. It also shows the lengths God was willing to go to for those same creatures. Life application: If the word discussed above is intended to be translated as “respect,” it would demonstrate a naivete in God that does not exist. The only way to get around that is to deal with the words in the way the Pulpit Commentary did. But parables are not merely an inexact representation of what is going on. Nor are they an accommodation for our sensibilities. Rather, they are a type of speaking intended to convey actual meaning, even if veiled. Jesus was standing before the leaders, having just been hailed as the Messiah. If He is, then He is God's selected choice for that position. To say, “Maybe the leaders will respect Me” or “My Father thinks the leaders might respect Me” is completely out of the context of the situation in which He is speaking. The leaders were ashamed of Jesus, and He was rejected and crucified, just as God foreknew that He would be. This analysis fits the surrounding narrative. As such, leaving the translation as literal as possible allows for a resolution to the otherwise nonsensical idea that God would not know that His Son would not be respected. Lord God, what a wonderful delight it is to come to Your word and consider its contents. Help us to be diligent each day to pick it up and dive into it with enthusiasm and zeal. Thank You for this beautiful treasure that tells us of JESUS! Amen.
Send us Fan MailIn Matthew 6:19–21, Jesus challenges us to look closely at what we are building our lives around. Earthly treasure promises security, but everything we gather here remains vulnerable to loss, decay, and change.In this episode of Kingdom on Foot, we explore what Jesus means by storing treasure in heaven, why our hearts follow what we invest in, and how money, time, attention, and ambition quietly shape our desires. This is an invitation to hold the good things of life with open hands and discover a deeper security in the care of the Father.Support the show If you have any questions about the subjects covered in today's episode you can find us on Facebook at the links below or you can shoot me an email at joe@buddywalkwithjesus.com One Stop Shop for all the links Linktr.ee/happydeamedia
Send us Fan MailThe sermon explores the tragic departure of God's glory from the earthly temple due to the severe idolatry and abominations committed by the people of Israel. It traces the historical significance of the tabernacle and Solomon's temple as places where Yahweh dwelt in concentrated presence among His covenant people. The preacher contrasts this holy dwelling with the spiritual corruption that forced God to vacate Jerusalem, highlighting the seriousness of mixing pagan practices with true worship. Ultimately, the message points to Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the earthly temple and emphasizes the need for believers to approach God with reverence and holiness through the indwelling Holy Spirit.Bible Insights with Wayne ConradContact: 8441 Hunnicut Rd Dallas, Texas 75228email: Att. Bible Insights Wayne Conradgsccdallas@gmail.com (Good Shepherd Church) Donation https://gsccdallas.orghttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJTZX6qasIrPmC1wQpben9ghttps://www.facebook.com/waconrad or gscchttps://www.sermonaudio.com/gsccSpirit, Truth and Grace MinistriesPhone # 214-324-9915 leave message with number for call backPsalms 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
The effects of the Anointing of the Sick are numerous and deeply transformative. In times of great need and temptation, this sacrament brings us strength, courage, peace, and the forgiveness of sins. Fr. Mike explains that these effects aren't only for the individual recipient but for the whole ecclesial community. We learn that when a person approaches the threshold of death, joining this anointing with Reconciliation and the Eucharist as viaticum constitute “the sacraments that complete the earthly pilgrimage.” Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 1520-1525. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.
What kind of harvest is your life producing? In James 3:13-18, James reminds us that every life is growing something. Earthly wisdom produces jealousy, selfish ambition, and chaos. Heavenly wisdom produces purity, peace, gentleness, mercy, and a harvest of righteousness. This message invites us to stop evaluating our intentions and start examining our fruit, allowing Jesus to exchange the world's wisdom for His own. Support the show
Today we finish up our series, Who is King?, in 1 Samuel. In the final chapter of 1 Samuel, Saul and his sons die in a battle against the Philistines, as the prophet Samuel warned King Saul just a few chapters earlier. Pastor AJ highlights three points from the chapter: 1) Earthly kingships only end one way. 2) What we do affects others. 3) Our lives answer the question, “Who is King?”.
Email: info@lmbc.usLearn more about Lost Mountain here: http://www.lmbc.us/Stay connected with us Online:Lost Mountain FacebookLost Mountain InstagramLost Mountain YouTubeWe'd love for you to be a part of helping all kinds of people find and follow Jesus! If you'd like to support this ministry, you can GIVE HERE.How can we pray for you? Send your prayer needs to: prayer@lmbc.us!
“Love for our neighbors, then, like love for ourselves, involves something vastly more significant than the meeting of individual needs. It involves God's reaching out in us and through us to build a kingdom, a sphere of rulership, in which his will is done in the fallen world as it is in the sinless heavens; in which cruelty and disorder and the distortion caused by sin are supplanted by love, order, and righteousness. Loving obedience to God produces much more than individual goodness, respectability and the alleviation of suffering. It builds the kingdom of heaven.” -Richard Lovelace, Renewal as a Way of Life Earthly Wisdom vs Wisdom from Above (James 3:13-18) Rev. Bradley Barnes James 3:13-18
Earthly comfort without Christ is spiritual bankruptcy.
OPEN HEAVENSMATALA LE LAGI MO LE ASO GAFUA 27 IULAI 2026(tusia e Pastor EA Adeboye) Manatu Autu: Nofoaga i le lalolagi (Earthly home) Tauloto Tusi Paia: 2 Korinito 4:18 “O lo‘o matou lē mānatunatu i mea ‘ua va‘aia, a o mea e lē va‘aia; auā o mea ‘ua va‘aia e gata mai ia, a o mea e lē va‘aia e fa‘avavau ia.”Faitauga - Tusi Paia: Isaia 24:1-6E toatele tagata o loo ola i le olaga nei e pei o le lalolagi lo latou nofoaga e faavavau. O ia tagata e taulai le vaai i le tau o le faaputu o le oa i le lalolagi nei ma latou faamuamua ma tapuai i nei mea i le tino. Mo i latou, o mea o loo latou vaai atu iai ma umia e sili atu na taua i lo seisi lava mea. E naunau e feoai i taavale pito taugata, nonofo i fale tetele, aai i meaai mananaia tele ma faaputu tupe e faaaoga ai soo se auala. E pau le tulaga e faamuamua, o nei mea lē aoga ma e leai seisi mea e taua iai latou. O loo ta'u mai iai tatou e le Iakopo 4:4 o lē fefa‘auōa‘i ma le lalolagi o le ita lea i le Atua. O lona uiga o soo se tagata e manao ma naunau i mea o le lalolagi nei e sili atu i lō seisi lava mea, ma naunau e faia soo se mea e maua ai le oa, o ia o sē ita i le Atua. O le fuaitau lava lea e tasi, e faatatau foi i le tagata faitaaga pe mulilua. Aua foi o tatou kerisiano, o le Atua o Lē na faia i tatou, o le tane iai tatou(Isaia 54:5) ma o Ia e ona i tatou. O lona uiga, afai e manumalo se tagata poo se mea e aveesea o tatou loto mai la tatou tane, o loo tatou faia le mulilua. Le au pele e, ou te manao e te faitauina lelei le tauloto mai le Tusi Paia o le asō ma ia e taulotoina. Ou te fiafia pe afai e te faaaogaina o se Upu e taitaia oe aua foi e taua lou iloa, o mea uma o loo e vaai atu iai, e lē tumau, e gata. Mo se faataitaiga, o taavale sa feilafi ma taua i le 10 tausaga talu ai ua lē taulia i nei aso. E faapena foi le telefoni i tausaga e sefulu tausaga talu ai. O mea o le lalolagi nei e nā o sina taimi ma e leai sona aoga i le ola e faavavau. Peitai e faaaoga e le tiapolo nei mea o se mailei e faalavelave i tagata mai le faia o mea e aoga ma maua ai taui i le ola e faavavau. Mo se faataitaiga, o nisi e tamaitai talavou ua maileia atu e le faitaaga ona o le mananao i telefoni ma ofu taugata. Ua latou fesuiai lo latou teine muli ia maua ni mea ma oloa, ma e lē toe maua mai. Ua manatu o mea uma ua maua mai e aogā peitai e mafai ona leiloa aua e gata.Afafine poo le atalii o le Atua, faalogo lelei i upu a Iesu i le Mareko 8:36-37. E leai se mea i le lalolagi i le asō e taua atu i lou agaga, ma e leai se mea e sili ona taua ae leiloa ai lou agaga i seoli. Aua nei e talitonu i pepelo a le tiapolo, faamuamua ma taulai lau vaai i le Atua ma lona malo ae lē o mea o le lalolagi. O le lalolagi e lē o sou nofoaga moni, ua nā o se nofoga o loo e ui atu ai. TataloTamā, faamolemole fesoasoani mai ia te a'u ia taulai lau vaai ia tau o oe lava, ae lē o mea o le lalolagi nei, i le suafa o Iesu, Amene.
Main point: The life you lead reveals the wisdom you follow. 1. Prove it (13) 2. Earthly wisdom produces disorder (14-16) 3. Wisdom from above produces peace (17-18)
Read OnlineDrinking Christ's ChaliceThe mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.” Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” Matthew 20:20–22Among the Twelve Apostles, two were named James: James the Greater, son of Zebedee, and James the Lesser, son of Alpheus. James the Greater, whom we honor today, was likely called “greater” due to his prominence in the Gospel narrative. He was the brother of John the Evangelist, and tradition holds that their mother was Salome, possibly the sister of the Blessed Virgin Mary—making James and John cousins of Jesus.In today's Gospel, the mother of James and John expresses her natural affection and ambition for her sons by approaching Jesus with a bold request: that they might sit, one at His right and the other at His left, in His Kingdom. While her petition reveals faith in Jesus and love for her sons, it also highlights a misunderstanding of the nature of Christ's kingship. Earthly rulers may reign with power, honor, and prestige, but the Kingdom of God is not built on worldly glory; it is built on humble, self-giving love.Jesus responds with a gentle yet penetrating question: “Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” The “chalice” refers to His suffering—His Passion and Death. It is filled not with comfort or honor, but with humiliation and sacrifice. James and John respond with confident simplicity: “We can.” Their answer, though likely offered without full understanding, reveals a spark of heroic love and loyalty that would, in time, be tested and fulfilled.Jesus affirms, “My chalice you will indeed drink.” Saint James would become the first of the Apostles to suffer martyrdom, as recorded in Acts 12:2, when he was beheaded by the sword under Herod Agrippa. Herod sought to strike at the newly developing Church and to appease the Jews who opposed Jesus and His followers.James truly shared in the Passion of Christ, offering his life in union with his Master. His martyrdom was followed by the arrest of Peter, likewise intended to please those persecuting the Church. Yet while Peter was miraculously freed by an angel, James was not. Why?Like James and Peter, each of us has a unique mission in life. Some, like Peter, are raised to prominence and leadership. Others, like James, are called to a more hidden and radical sacrifice. Both vocations are precious in the eyes of God. James' early martyrdom was not a failure but a fulfillment—a witness to the glory of drinking deeply from the chalice of Christ.As we honor Saint James, reflect today on his zeal, faith, and desire to be an active member of Christ's Kingdom. Though he misunderstood what that entailed at first, he remained faithful until the end. Reflect on your own desire for status or recognition. Do you seek honor among others, whether in the Church or society? If so, turn to Saint James, who ultimately embraced the true mission of discipleship. We, too, must drink Christ's chalice of selfless and sacrificial love, willingly laying down our lives in countless ways. Resolve to embrace whatever mission God entrusts to you. If He opens the door to leadership and prominence, walk through it humbly. If He leads you through the door of sacrifice and holy suffering, do not hesitate. God has a unique and glorious mission for each of us—different from one another, yet equally glorious when accepted with love and fidelity.My sacrificial Lord, You freely and completely offered Your life on the Cross and invite me to follow in Your footsteps. Saint James responded with courage, drinking the chalice You gave him, even to the shedding of his blood. Reveal to me, Lord, the mission You have entrusted to my life, and grant me the strength to embrace it with all my heart. May I, like Saint James, share in the glory of Your Kingdom through a life of faithful love and sacrifice. Jesus, I trust in You. Image: St James the Apostle, by Peter Paul RubensSource: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.
Watch the Devotion Based on Colossians 3:1,2 Greater Wealth I read a recent news article that outlined the discussions between the Senate Armed Services Committee, House Appropriations Committee and Congress and how they are looking at a proposed tiered military pay raise. In my honest opinion I don’t think you are paid enough for what you do, especially knowing how food insecurity can be an issue especially among junior enlisted, barracks conditions, housing affordability, issues with BAH and BAS, costs with PCS moves and quality of life challenges. I know that Congress has been trying to address these issues. The current disagreement is whether pay increases should focus on those facing the greatest financial challenges—which are junior enlisted—or should be distributed evenly. I don’t know the answer. What I do know is that a lot of you did not join our nation’s military to become wealthy. Some of you joined because you want to serve. Others joined for the ability to pay for continuing education later in life. Still others joined to learn skills in a vocation that would transition well into the civilian world. Even though you didn’t join the military to become wealthy, you can still fall into one of these two ditches when it comes to money and wealth. The one ditch is that you trust too much in your wealth, when you look to your wealth as your security. The other ditch is despair when it appears that you are not receiving your daily bread. This is why Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer, specifically the fourth petition. When we pray, “Give us today our daily bread,” we trust our Father to do just that: Father, give us what you promise! And we will rest content with what he so graciously provides us. Part of that petition includes prayers for your government, which provides your housing and food, and so we pray for wisdom for our leaders. Out of all the temptations Jesus warns us about, he focuses the most on wealth and money, because he knows what a trap the love of money can be for his people. Today, he calls us to repent, and then to look to Christ who never fell into either ditch. He rested perfectly contented in his Father's ability to provide. This is your true treasure, your true wealth: Christ Jesus. Earthly wealth comes and goes, but forgiveness—the cancellation of all your debt to God—the resurrection from the dead, life eternal, the strength to continue here on this earth until that day comes, that is priceless. Listen to the Apostle Paul's encouragement in Colossians 3:1,2, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ. . . set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Keep Christ in your hearts as your most prized possession. Prayer: Father, you provide all that we need for our bodies. Help us to trust you to do what you promise us. Move us to seek the greater treasures you pour out on us in your Word, our baptisms, your Holy Supper, so that we might obtain Christ, our greatest wealth. Provide for our service members so that they are never in want. Grant wisdom to our Congress and our president as they work on a budget that will adequately support all ranks of war fighters in our nation's military. We trust in you, through Jesus. Amen. Written and recorded by Rev. Paul Horn, WELS National Civilian Chaplain to the Military, San Diego, California. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. Note: Scripture reading footnotes are clickable only in the web version.
Imagine, lying around not just for days on end, but for months! And while lounging the months away, you get leaner and more muscular. The bear's lifestyle sounds like a couch potato's dream.Such a lifestyle would cause our bones to become weak and smaller, and make the calcium level of our blood high enough to kill us. Apart from losing bone, we would also lose muscle and gain fat, lying around all day. We all know what happens to couch potatoes. But bears, they are different and scientists have been puzzled to learn that bears don't suffer bone loss, and don't lose muscle during their winter rests -- they don't really sleep all winter, but they do rest a lot. Moreover, they don't eat, drink, or use the bathroom all winter – a routine that would kill most creatures in less than a week.Researchers believe that they have found the chemical in a bear's blood that prevents bone loss during long inactivity. The chemical is under study for possible use in treating human osteoporosis. Bears avoid bathroom visits by chemically changing their own wastes back into proteins. The fact that scientists study how things in the creation work to improve how we do things is a tribute to the workmanship of the Creator, even if scientists refuse to admit His existence and activity.Ephesians 2:10"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath beforehand ordained, that we should walk in them.”Prayer: Dear Father, give strength and wisdom to those who study how You have made the creation to improve how we do things, not only for our Earthly benefit, but also that, seeing Your Hand, they would come to You through Jesus Christ. In His Name. Amen.Ref: Ingrid Wickelgren, “Bone Loss and the Three Bears: A circulating secret of skeletal stability,” Science News. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1232/29?v=20251111
Elizabeth Neumann, author of "Kingdom of Rage," joins to talk about how to deal with hate online and how media should be used to help you use your voice, not for violence. Jackie Baker also joins to discuss her new book, "Messy Mourning," and how to grieve the loss of a child. When your earthly circumstances feel shattered, know that God is with you, and you can cling to Him through it all. The Reconnect with Carmen and all Faith Radio are made possible by your support. Give now: Click here
Are You Ready for Your Earthly Death? Is Your Salvation Sure? If Not, Make Yourself Ready Now Through God's Grace and the Gospel MESSAGE SUMMARY: Be ready for the end of your earthly life and the return of the Lord. In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2, Paul writes to the Christians at the church in Thessalonica: “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So, then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.”. Are you ready? Are you sure in your Salvation? If not, make yourself ready and keep ready! God's Grace and the Gospel of Jesus prepare you for your earthly death while providing the means for your Eternal Life! TODAY'S PRAYER: Lord, you know how difficult it is for me to be in silence before you. At times it feels almost impossible, given the demands, distractions, and noise all around me. I invite you to lead me to a quiet, silent place before you — to a place where I can hear you as Elijah did. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 123). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Hatred Rather, I will abide in the Lord's Love. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 10:37-39; 1 Corinthians 9:12-23; James 3:13-18; Hebrews 4:15-16; Psalms 65:1-13. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Following Jesus – Jesus Calls Us to Follow Him Without Reservations”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Have you ever woken up and wondered why? This episode explores the deeper question of why we're here and challenges the idea that work, wealth, and status alone can deliver a meaningful life. We reflect on how modern culture keeps people busy and striving, often without pausing to consider whether they're building the life they were truly made for.Drawing on Psalm 127, we distinguish between labor driven by worldly validation and work rooted in faith and purpose. The central message: ambition and responsibility aren't the problem, but they need to be directed toward serving God rather than constructing our own significance.Key Moments:0:00 Opening and the central question. Why did you wake up today?1:12 The pace of modern life and how busyness keeps people from their purpose1:43 The pressure of status, wealth, and work2:27 How the pattern begins early: school schedules, debt, and adult responsibility3:32 Work is not the enemy, but it becomes empty when disconnected from purpose4:03 Questioning the promise of happiness5:05 Accumulation versus communion5:39 The fading version of the dream7:21 Psalm 127 and labor in vain8:30 Earthly status versus heavenly status9:30 Reframing action and ambition11:11 Practical reflection for the week12:23 Closing encouragement
Summary In this sermon from 1 Peter 1:3–5, Dr. Michael Easley reminds believers that their confidence rests not in their circumstances but in God's finished work. Writing to Christians scattered by persecution, Peter calls them to remember two unshakable truths: what God has done and what God has given. God, according to His great mercy, caused believers to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Salvation is not something we achieve or earn. It begins with God's initiative, His mercy, and His sovereign grace. Because Christ conquered death, Christians possess a hope that is certain, alive, and anchored in eternity. Peter then points to the believer's inheritance. Unlike earthly possessions that rust, fade, or lose value, the inheritance waiting for God's children is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven and guarded by God's own power. Nothing can diminish what God has prepared for those who belong to Him. While life in this world often includes suffering, uncertainty, and disappointment, believers can live with confidence because their future is secure. Christians are not defined by temporary trials but by an eternal inheritance purchased through Christ. Remembering God's mercy, living hope, and promised inheritance produces gratitude, perseverance, and unwavering confidence in every season. Takeaways Salvation begins with God's mercy, not human effort or personal achievement. Because Christ rose from the dead, believers have a living hope that cannot be shaken. The Christian's inheritance is eternal, imperishable, undefiled, and reserved in heaven. God not only secures our salvation but also guards our future by His power. Earthly possessions lose value, but the inheritance found in Christ lasts forever. Remembering what God has done and what He has promised gives believers confidence to endure suffering. To read 1 Peter, click here. Click here for other Michael Easley Sermons.
Welcome to Wellspring Church!If God offered to grant you one request, what would you ask for? In this message, Pastor Billy Waters explores Solomon's surprising request for wisdom and shows why true wisdom is essential for every area of life.Looking at James 3, we discover the difference between earthly wisdom and wisdom from heaven. Earthly wisdom places self at the center, producing envy, pride, anxiety, and disorder. Heavenly wisdom places God at the center, shaping a life marked by humility, purity, peace, mercy, sincerity, and love for others.
Trinity 7 2026Genesis 2:7-17; Romans 6:19-23; Mark 8:1-9
Email: info@lmbc.usLearn more about Lost Mountain here: http://www.lmbc.us/Stay connected with us Online:Lost Mountain FacebookLost Mountain InstagramLost Mountain YouTubeWe'd love for you to be a part of helping all kinds of people find and follow Jesus! If you'd like to support this ministry, you can GIVE HERE.How can we pray for you? Send your prayer needs to: prayer@lmbc.us!
This episode we are taking a quick break from our overall story of Uno no Sarara (aka Jito Tenno) and we are focusing on Ise Shrine and Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess. There is a lot, for a bit more, check out our podcast blogpost at: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-153 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua, and this is Episode 153: Ise and the Sun Goddess. In the newly built hall of the Fujiwara Palace, the nobles of the court were gathered for a grand banquet. Snow-white walls were off-set by bright crimson pillars and trim, highlighted by bright green windows. The nobles themselves were a rainbow of colors, arranged as they were by rank. At the head of it all, on a dais, sat the Queen herself, Uno no Sarara. However, the attention was no longer on her. Instead, it was on another figure, standing in front of the assembled audience. A quiet spread throughout the hall, the court listening as Hieda no Are began to tell the story of the Sun Goddess in the Plain of High Heaven. They listened to the story of her and Susano'o, and of the backward flayed horse. They heard the tale of the Heavenly Rock Cave, and of all that came after, including the sending of the August Grandchild, Ninigi. They listened to the story—the story of Yamato. Last episode, we talked in more detail about Uno No Sarara—starting from her early years as the daughter of Naka no Ohoe, granddaughter of Soga no Kurayamada, and child-bride to her uncle, Ohoama. I'll admit we didn't look too hard at that last bit, and I don't have enough information to confirm what exactly "marriage" entailed in that context, but it is still something that I find tremendously creepy and, unfortunately, anything but unique. So I'm not going to dive too much further into it right now but… ew. We talked about how she gave birth to her son, Kusakabe, in Kyushu, during the war on the continent, and how she eventually left for Yoshino with her husband when he retired from court, presumably to outsmart his court rivals, who were positioning him to be taken out. She also is said to have played a part in the planning and execution of the resulting Jinshin no Ran, later helping her husband govern the realm. And now, she was on the throne, overseeing the completion of many of the projects started in the reign of her husband. This included the completion of the Kiyomihara code, the Fujiwara palace, and the support given to the institution of Ise Grand Shrine. This episode, I want to dive into that last topic: the emphasis in Uno no Sarara's reign on Ise Shrine and its focus, the Great God, Amaterasu no Ohokami. Although the Chronicles talk about Amaterasu as one of the founding deities of the Yamato royal line, there is plenty of evidence that this story was grafted into the tales at a later date, and that worship of Amaterasu, at least as anything more than a minor deity, likely also started relatively late. Some have even suggested that Ise Shrine itself wasn't even built until the late 7th century. So, all of this focus on Ise and Amaterasu appears to be part of the larger effort to structure the physical, cultural, and spiritual landscape of the new Yamato state. Last episode we mentioned how, according to the Nihon Shoki, Ohoama turned to worship towards Ise. Well, specifically, he worshipped Amaterasu Ohokami. So let's take a moment and talk about what we know of the history of this Great God of Heavenly Brightness. Unfortunately, most of that history is based on what we know of the kami from works like the Nihon Shoki, the Kojiki, and the Sendai Kuji Hongi, all of which came out in the 8th century or so. As such, it can be hard to know what things were actually like, earlier on, as opposed to what was added or removed later. Much of what I'm going to be talking about, today, I'm going to be pulling from a book written in 2017 by Mark Teeuvwen [Tayvin?] and John Breen titled "A Social History of the Ise Shrines", as well as Michael Como's work "Weaving and Binding: Immigrant Gods and Female Immortals in Ancient Japan", published in 2009, along with other sources. In their book, Breen and Teeuwen point out that for those who do not take the events of the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki at face value, there are two primary theories for the origin of the worship of Amaterasu: an early theory and a late theory. The early theory places the development of the worship of Amaterasu in the 5th and 6th centuries, during the reigns of such figures as Wakatakeru no Ohokimi, aka Yuuryaku Tennou. The Late Theory places the development in the 7th century, largely at the feet of such figures as Ohoama and Uno no Sarara herself. We'll take a look at the evidence and see what it says. I would note that compared to the official history, both of these would be very late theories. According to Ise Grand Shrine even today, Amaterasu arrived in Ise in the 26th year of Ikume Iribiko, aka Suinin Tennou, as stated in the Nihon Shoki, which corresponds to 4 BCE if you take the dating of the Nihon Shoki to be accurate. Of course, we've already spent plenty of time talking about the problems with the Nihon Shoki prior to the 6th century CE, as well as how the political nature of the text affected what it contained. So to kick things off, let's address the biggest question of all: why don't we believe that Amaterasu no Ohokami was always the primary deity of the pantheon of Yamato, at the very least, if not all of the Wa people of the archipelago? After all, isn't she a sun goddess, and isn't sun worship fairly well documented among the ancient Japanese? Just take a look at words like "Hiko" and "Hime", referring to rulers as sun man and sun woman. Also note that early on, worship seems to have centered around places such as mountaintops, which focused worship towards the sky and the highest point. In fact, as wet rice paddy agriculture became the dominant economic factor driving the engine of the archipelago in the Yayoi and early kofun period, early shrines were very likely about bringing the spirit of the mountain from the mountaintop and giving them a home amongst the rice fields.. And then we have the stories. Don't the ancient stories all tell about Amaterasu as the ruler of Takama no Hara, the Heavenly Plain? And isn't it her grandchild that then descends to the earth to pacify the Land of the Reed Plains—aka the Japanese archipelago? Well let's take a look at those same stories, which we've covered in earlier episodes of the podcast. The first deities mentioned in the Chronicles are deities like Ama no Minaka Nushi, Lord of the August Middle of Heaven; Takami Musubi, High August Growth; and Kami Musubi, Divine August Growth. There are other deities, like Kuni Toko Tachi, but they are barely mentioned again. Later we get Izanagi and Izanami, the masculine and feminine, who create the world and give birth to numerous deities from that point on. Among the children of Izanagi are said to be Amaterasu, Tsukiyomi, and Susano'o. Amaterasu, Heaven's Brightness, represents the sun while Tsukiyomi represents the dark of the moon. Susano'o is then the god of the storms and seas, and was sent to the Nether Land, the Ne no Kuni. Right away we see that there are numerous different stories listed in the Nihon Shoki for just about everything. Only the Kojiki gives everything as a single, coherent narrative, but surely the readers in the 8th century would have known some of these other stories, and thus the Nihon Shoki gives the alternates as well. Now the main narrative of the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki tells us that Ama-terasu no Oho-kami was born to rule over everything. In the Nihon Shoki, Izanagi and Izanami specifically mention that divine destiny in Amaterasu's creation—although actually, in that part of the text, the deity they are creating is named Oho-hiru-me no Muchi; the Great Sun Female Holder. And in the next entry they call Amaterasu: Ama-terasu Oho-hiru-me. Tsukiyomi, the deity of the moon, is made to be her consort, and they are supposedly sent to rule the plain of Heaven, Takama no Hara. The problem is that there are other entries that suggest that Takama no Hara already had a ruler: Taka-mi-Musubi. Reading the sections on Taka-mi-Musubi, we see a deity who is said to have produced 1500 children, himself—no mention of Izanagi and Izanami. Some of his children are mentioned as Omohi-kane: the Thought-Combining deity, and Sukuna-bikona: the Little-Prince-Named deity. Amatsu Hiko Hiko Ho Ninigi no Mikoto, the August Heavenly Prince, Prince Ho-ninigi, is not just a grandson of Amaterasu no Ohokami, but also a grandchild of Taka-mi Musubi. In at least one story, Takami Musubi is the one who wants Ninigi no Mikoto to become the ruler of the Central Land of the Reed Plains. Towards that end, he gathers the various kami and chooses someone to go down and prepare the way—Ama-ho-hi no Mikoto—who was to quote-unquote "expel and subdue" the evil gods of that land. We covered this story in episode 21 and 22. When that doesn't work, he gathers them again, sending others to try and do the same. Eventually he sends Takemikazuchi and Futsunushi down. All of this sounds like Taka-mi Musubi, whose name appears to refer to being the "high" deity, was the one in charge. In addition, we have the court ritual from sources like the Engi Shiki, which illustrates the deities that were invoked for the protection of the palace and the royal family. These were: Kami-musubi, Takami-musubi, Iku-musubi, Taru-musubi, Tamatsume-musubi, Oomiya-no-me, Oomiketsu-no-kami and Kotoshironushi. One might notice a lot of the "musubi" names among the deities, and a distinct lack of appeal to Amaterasu. If Amaterasu were the central deity and ancestral deity of the royal family, why is she not invoked in the rituals of the court itself? The thought, here, is that these rituals are likely much older than the worship of Amaterasu, and while Amaterasu would come to prominence in the stories that the court would tell, it was much more difficult for them to rearrange the traditional rituals to put her front and center. Those rituals were maintained by ritualist families like the Nakatomi, and they weren't likely to change the rituals willy-nilly, even for a sovereign. That was playing with supernatural fire, after all—if you changed the rituals, would they still even be effective? Granted, rituals do change, so it isn't a perfect argument; perhaps it was just not considered to be important enough to make the change since it was not something that anyone except the court ritualists needed to worry themselves over. Either way, it appears that we do have a list of deities that may have been the deities of the ruling elite prior to the rise of Amaterasu and Ise shrine more generally. We have a few other clues of what was going on in the narrative. For instance, we see the story from the reign of Mimaki Iribiko, aka Sujin Tennou, also called the First Sovereign of Yamato, despite the legendary figures inserted prior to his reign. It is in this chapter that we see a note that Ama-terasu no Oho-kami and Yamato no Oho-kuni-dama, which is to say the Spirit of the Country of Yamato, were both worshipped together in the hall—that is in the royal palace itself. And yet apparently Mimaki Iribiko feared these deities residing with him in the palace, and he had their worship moved to locations outside of the palace. Amaterasu's worship was given to Toyosuki-iri-bime, one of Mimaki Iribiko's daughters, and established in the district of Shiki, in Yamato. Yamato no Ohokunidama, on the other hand, was given over to Nunaki-iri-bime no Mikoto, another daughter through a different wife. but we are told that she was lean, and her hair was falling out, and so she couldn't perform the rites. Turning our attention back to Ama-terasu—in the reign of Ikume-Iribiko, aka Suinin Tennou, son and heir of Mimaki Iribiko, the worship of Ama-terasu would pass from Mimaki Iribiko's daughter, Nunaki Iri Bime to Ikume Iribiko's daughter, Yamato Hime. She would move the worship site from Shiki to Uda, in the shadow of Mt. Miwa, and then proceed over to the upper banks, or Kawakami, of Isuzu, in the district of Watarai. Here, in one of the alternate stories about this episode, we get the Great God of Yamato—Ohoyamato no Ohokami—speaking through a medium to warn the sovereign that he had better be careful. Mimaki Iribiko had not been quite thorough enough in his worship, so he had not had a long life, and if Ikume Iribiko didn't do the same, he would suffer a similar fate. And so, in a record eerily similar to what we see in the previous reign, the worship of the "Great God of Yamato", the Oho-Yamato no Oho-kami, is given to Nunaki-waka-hime—as opposed to Nunaki-Iri-bime—who also fails in the task because of her emaciated body. This also introduces Fukayu nushi, an ancestor of the Nakatomi, who was the one who divined what should be done. There is so much to unpack in these stories. For one, the kami bring power, but also danger. One can try to placate the kami, but it isn't like a ritual will always work, and the story is of the sovereign being actively afraid of what they might do, so they were removed from the palace. Then there is the fact that we see two seemingly similar names—Ohoyamato no Ohokami and Yamato no Kunidama both seem like we are talking about the same spirit of Yamato, though some would point out that one is the spirit of the country and one is the great kami of the country, so, clearly different. Both are also being given to someone named "Nunaki—something-something—Hime", and in both cases Nunaki seems to fail in her task because she is apparently not hot enough for the kami. She's described as too thin and emaciated or balding. We aren't given the lineage of Nunaki Waka Hime, but Nunaki Iri Bime is connected with the land of Owari. Nunaki Iri-bime is said to be the daughter of Mimaki Iribiko and Ohoama Hime, ancestor of the Owari no Muraji. Owari was the land that supported Ohoama during the Jinshin no Ran. Finally, in both cases, we see the worship of the spirit of Yamato being given over to someone name "Nagochi", later identified as Nagochi no Sukune, ancestor of the Yamato no Atahe. One more note—closely on the heels of moving these two kami out of the palace, we see that the court brings in the worship of Oho-mono-nushi, the god of Mt. Miwa, under Ohotataneko, the ancestor of the Miwa clan. So the stories here account for Ama-terasu being moved to Watarai and why she isn't worshipped in the palace. It also places Oho-mono-nushi at the center of worship in Yamato. Oho-mono-nushi and Miwa continue to dominate the narrative from here on out, with a few notable exceptions, such as with Okinaga Tarashi Hime, aka Jingu Tennou and her mythical conquest of the Korean peninsula. I'm sure that had no political implications at all given everything that had happened with Baekje, Silla, and the Tang dynasty in the latter half of the 7th century. Other than scenes like that, however, the Miwa clan and worship of the Miwa deity appear frequently in the narrative. It is clear that Mt. Miwa, and its deity, were important, and when Breen and Teeuwen hypothesize that when Naka no Ohoe, which is to say Tenji Tennou, took the drastic step of moving the capital up to Ohotsu, in the land of Afumi, he also brought the Miwa deity with him. Those Afumi court rituals were conducted under the auspices of the Nakatomi, and particularly the auspices of Nakatomi no Kane, who would become one of the chief opponents of Ohoama during the Jinshin no Ran in 672. After that conflict, Ohoama and his wife, Uno no Sarara, were building new traditions using Ise and constructing new legends. Legends that would be under their control and influence and which would further bolster their rule from the city that they had designed to fit inside of this newly constructed cosmological framework. And yet this also brings up what seems like an obvious question. If Ise Shrine and the worship of Amaterasu were so central to Ohoama and Uno's plans, then why would they put it so far away? Proponents of the "early" theory of the development of Amaterasu and Ise Shrine suggest that the answer lies in the text of the Chronicles. That there is some truth to the idea that there was worship in Yamato and that, for various reasons, it moved out to Watarai district early on and developed into Ise Shrine. Those who hold to the "late" theory of development see all of those stories as later inserts meant to explain away why Ise Shrine was so far away—and perhaps why Amaterasu was not included in the cool-kami club of court ritual. Teeuwen and Breen mention a few of the theories, from Naoki Koujiro stressing Ise as a strategic gateway between Yamato and Eastern Japan to Tanaka Takashi proposing that the movement of Amaterasu to Ise is actually a stand-in for one or more military campaigns to that area to bring it under Yamato control. And before we move too much further in the narrative, let's talk about how Ise is physically and geographically situated. Ise is part of modern Mie prefecture, on the eastern edge of the Ki peninsula. It is at the southern end of a series of adjoining alluvial plains that follow the coastline north to the modern prefectures of Aichi and Gifu—the ancient provinces of Owari and Mino. The capital of Ise Province used to be in Suzuka, near the the two Tsubaki shrines which both lay claim to the title of Ise no Ichinomiya, the First shrine of the land of Ise, and the pass that served as one of three major routes from eastern Japan into the Home Provinces and beyond. This puts Ise about as far away as you can get from the capital of the province without going over the mountains, themselves. It also puts it a good deal south of most major travel routes. If you are going to Ise shrine then it is pretty clear you were going to Ise shrine, as there isn't a lot of evidence for anything else in the area. The Shrine itself is actually made up of two primary shrine complexes. There is the Naiku, the inner shrine, and the Geku, or outer shrine. The Naiku, or inner shrine, is probably the area most people think about. It is at the foot of the mountains where the Shimamichi River joins the Isuzu River and both flow out of the mountains. The Naiku contains the shrine to Amaterasu no Ohokami, and is famous for its layout, where there are actually two shrine enclosures, one next to the other. The main shrine is then rebuilt in the empty enclosure every 20 years, at which point the worship is moved to the new shrine, the old shrine is torn down, and the cycle is started once again. The Outer Shrine, or Geku, is further north, and probably not as well known to foreigners. The Geku is said to enshrine the spirit of Toyouke-bime, a kami dedicated to food. According to the traditions of the Geku itself, Toyouke-bime was enshrined in the Geku at the command of Wakatakiru no Ohokimi, aka Yuuryaku Tennou, based on a dream. Regarding the history of why the Shrines—both Inner and Outer—are located here, archaeological evidence doesn't give us a lot to suggest that these might be the case. Despite the presence of the Miya River near Ise Shrine, we haven't found evidence of a large harbor or port, like we might expect if it was the jumping off point for crossing Ise Bay—or even the center of another large polity. Instead, the areas to the north—around Fujikata and Matokata inlets, for instance—show much more evidence of occupation and, presumably, use. Heck, the modern district of Fujikata is in the town of "Tsu", which literally means "port". And the capital area of Suzuaka and the Ichinomiya of Tsubaki Grand Shrine is even farther north, still. So who, if anybody, was living down in the area of Ise Shrine? If we look at the progression of tomb mounds in the area in previous centuries, we see that they start in the Matokata region in the 5th century and work their way down towards the south, with late 5th century tombs found in the district of Taki, the district bordering on Watarai and modern Ise City to the northwest. It is also where you can find the Saikuu, the site of the old purification palace for the Shrine Princesses. Grave goods seem to show close ties with Yamato, in the Nara basin. While the tombs expanded to the south through the 5th century, they appear to have stopped altogether in the 6th century—or at least we haven't found any. This may indicate that the political situation had changed and there was no group in the area that could organize the labor for such an undertaking. Whether that was because Yamato was taking it as corvee labor or just that population had dwindled due to war, famine, or something else, I don't know that we could say. Around the year 600, at the opening of the 7th century, we do see a large grave mound erected in the core area of what would later become Ise Shrine, on the east side of the Miya River, overlooking what would become the Geku, the Outer Shrine of the Ise complex. For those who aren't aware, Ise Grand Shrine is a large complex of shrines, and it is divided into two main areas. The "inner shrine", or Naiku, is where most people go, and it is the site of the famous shrine building that is supposed to be rebuilt every 20 years. The Geku is the "outer shrine" complex, technically dedicated to Toyouke hime, a kami of agriculture. The kofun overlooking the outer shrine is known as the Takakurayama kofun. This is a round kofun, about 35 to 40 meters in diameter, with a horizontal stone chamber. It is the largest in the Ise region. It has been mentioned in records going back to at least the Kamakura era, and even though most of the grave goods are gone, there is evidence that it was richly appointed. Given its shape and location, there were even those in later centuries who connected it with the Heavenly Rock Cave in which Amaterasu hid according to the ancient stories. The fact that there was nothing around this area and suddenly we see a giant tomb mound is pretty puzzling. Why was it built here? Is it connected to the founding of the Outer Shrine in some way, or is that just coincidental? Teeuwen and Breen point out that it is pretty rare for a large tomb mound to be build in the precincts of an active shrine, which suggests that whatever was happening there, that area was not part of the shrine grounds. That said, I have to wonder if the ritual worship at the kofun might not have later been transformed or coopted into something else. There also is no other indication that the Outer Shrine area was used for ritual purposes any earlier than the kofun would have been built. In contrast, around the Inner Shrine area, several kilometers away, there are caches of beads dated to the 5th, 6th, and 7th centuries in a small valley where a brook runs down from Mt. Asama, not too far from the current shrine complex. Teeuwen and Breen suggest that this may relate to the "upper reaches of the Isuzu River", mentioned in the Chronicles, and that it may have had to do with rituals related to water supply—hence being found at the point where the water was coming down from the mountains. And yet, despite these finds, there really aren't any large scale archaeological remains that have been discovered east of the Miya river, though there are modest signs of dwelling and habitation, and some minor burials mounds. Compare this to Tsubaki shrine, the home of Saruta Hiko no Kami, and the main shrine of Ise, situated in the ancient capital of Ise no Kuni. Downstream from there are numerous tomb mounds and indications of habitation. So this was probably the center for early sun worship in the region. Teeuwen and Breen conclude that all of this indicates that the region of Taki and areas east of the Miya river were probably more of an outpost—no major powerful chieftains or large polity had set up in the region. In the late 6th century, some power had to move in to build Takakurayama kofun, but that was an outlier. Maybe this area just largely fell under Yamato hegemony. And perhaps that was the key. Perhaps initially this wasn't a place to center power and authority, but rather it was more like a prison. It was a place far away from the court, where a deity that was more of a threat could be kept away from the palace and the sovereign. Perhaps Amaterasu, or whoever the kami was at the time, was placed out here because of the threat they posed, much as the Chronicle seems to suggest—just not necessarily at the time that is suggested. One of the aspects of the mythmaking that we see in the Chronicles appears to be the stress on the Amatsu kami and Kunitsu Kami—the Heavenly deities and the Earthly deities. The Heavenly deities are those in Takama no Hara, and they are the progenitors of the royal line. On the other hand are the earthly kami, the Kunitsu Kami, those dwelling on the earthly plane. In the stories that were recorded in the Nihon Shoki, before the August Grandchild of Takami Musubi and Ama Terasu descended to take control of the Central Land of the Reed Plain, they sent down heavenly kami as warriors to subdue the earthly kami. On the one hand, this may have been driven by some kind of deep memory of early conquests of the archipelago by various forces. However, these legends also served another purpose, in that they set up the royal family's right to rule, and appear to establish a de facto hierarchy between those families descended from the Heavenly Kami and those descended from the earthly Kami. Another thing that Teeuwen and Breen point out and that is that Amaterasu is not necessarily a female deity, to start with. In fact, Amaterasu was probably easily overlain atop the worship of Oho-mono-nushi of Mt. Miwa, at least early on. To that point, they note stories where Oho-mono-nushi and other deities were commonly depicted as arrows, snakes, or similarly phallic imagery finding or even penetrating women who were thought to have a connection with them. This suggests a context of these priestesses being married to the kami, and even fits in with early descriptions of individuals like the famous Queen Himiko being a spiritual leader as well as a political one. If the original Amaterasu was conceived of as a male deity, then this could also explain the tradition of the Saigu, the consecrated shrine princess. We only see a few royal princesses designated to the position up to this point in the narrative, and, beyond Tokosuki Iri bime and Yamato hime, we don't necessarily learn much more. One wonders if there weren't other royal princesses likewise sent elsewhere to serve other deities. We know about Nunaki Iri Hime, and presumably Nunaki Waka Hime. There was also Yamato Totohi Momoso Hime, who was married to Oho-mono-nushi. Presumably there were others who just never ended up in the stories that were passed down. The idea of a kami taking a "wife" and connecting that to the idea of women holding these priestly positions seems to fall in line with much of what we see, though, as I said, we only hear occasionally about the appointment of royal princesses to the position until the reign of Ohoama. That's when we see specifics about appointments, the purification palace in Hase, and other arrangements. It makes you wonder more than a little bit if Royal Princess Ohoku was, perhaps, the first royal princess to actually be appointed. It would have been easy enough to add in previous "shrine princesses" into the lineage, especially far enough back that nobody could really fact check it. We also see Royal Princess Taki journey to Ise with her companions, Princess Yamashiro no Hime and Lady Ishikawa. It is intriguing that this practice was temporarily interrupted during the reign of Uno no Sarara, as I mentioned last episode. Could this have something to do with a female ruler on the throne and a corresponding lack of urgency about having a female representative at Ise? And in stories about Amaterasu, she is frequently shown with certain masculine qualities. When she confronts her younger brother, Susano'wo, she is concerned that he might try to take her authority from her, so she meets him decked out in armor, her hair tied up in a typical male fashion, with a bow, ready for a fight. It would be just as easy to imagine that Amaterasu and Susano'wo were brothers, contending over rulership. Add to all of that the idea that kami were often personifications of various natural phenomena or ideas, and Japanese is not a naturally gendered language, and there are those that believe that the stories of Amaterasu were not necessarily about a female deity in the beginning, but a male deity, similar to Ohomono Nushi and others, who then took on a feminine persona. On the other hand there are passages in the old stories recounted in the Chronicles that clearly make Amaterasu out to be a woman. To start with the activities she is associated with, such as weaving, are often associated with women as something they do in the home. This is a tradition carried over from the continent, along with silk and the techniques to weave it. In the lands where silk production started, there are silkworm goddesses and the gendered nature of silk production and weaving appears to have come over to Japan as well. There is also the fact that Amaterasu is said to have another name: Oho-hiru-me no muchi. In this case, it would seem to mean something like Great Noontime Female Possessor. And in the weaving hall it is sometimes Amaterasu that is weaving and sometimes Waka Hirume. "Hirume" certainly feels like a feminine name. There is the distinct possibility that the stories of Amaterasu as recorded were actually about two or more different kami, so Amaterasu and Ohohirume could have been separate deities having to do with the sun that were rolled into a single kami. As mentioned before, it is also possible that Amaterasu ended up with some stolen valor taken from the other Ise deity worshiped at Tsubaki, Saruta-hiko no Kami. Teeuwen and Breen also note that the name "Amaterasu" is hardly unique, noting at least ten other shrines with a kami called "Amateru" or "Amaterasu", mostly in Yamato, but some as far away as Kyushu and Tsushima. Nine of those shrines were dedicated to Ame no Hoakari, an ancestor deity of the Owari lineage who was also closely tied to metalworking. It is worth remembering that it was Owari who helped support Ohoama during the Jinshin no Ran, and who may have even fostered Ohoama for a while when he was just a young prince. All that to say there may have been several different traditions that were all contributing different elements to the story. And then there is the connection between Amaterasu and Uno no Sarara. Herman Ooms, in his book: "Imperial Politics and Sybmolics in Ancient Japan", notes the similarities between Amaterasu and Uno no Sarara, talking about the differences between the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, both of which had events that mirrored Uno no Sarara's own life. According to Ooms, "The Kojiki's Amaterasu is a transparent double of the female tennou Jitou". He points out that Uno no Sarara, besides her posthumous title of Jitou Tennou, also had a title making reference to Takamanohara: Takama no Hara Hirono no Hime—the Princess High-Heaven-Plain. But beyond that, we also see other linkages between the stories. For instance, it isn't Amaterasu's son, Ame no Oshihomimi who is given the realm, but rather her grandchild, Ninigi. This parallels the way that Uno no Sarara's son, Kusakabe, didn't ascend to the throne, but instead Uno no Sarara was holding the seat for his son, her grandson. So one sees how Uno no Sarara could be seen as Amaterasu, and her grandson, Prince Karu, could be seen as Ninigi, the August grandchild. Teeuwen and Breen also note that during this same time, we see the rise of a new institution: the Jingikan. Again, we touched on this last episode, so just a quick recap: The Jingikan was a government organization set up specifically to oversee the shrines, rituals, ceremonies, and other such things pertaining to the kami matters. It does not appear in the initial stand-up of the new, bureaucratic government, wherein is created the bureaus, ministries, or departments, depending on your chosen vernacular, which make up the Dajokan, the Great Council of State. Instead, the Jingikan is a separate organization, specifically organized around kami matters. The term "Jingi" is also a shorthand for "Ama-tsu-kami, Kuni-tsu-kami", or the kami of Heaven and the Kami of the earth. "Ama-tsu-kami", meaning Kami of Heaven, was written with two characters meaning "Heaven" and "Kami", pronounced "Tenjin". "Kuni-tsu-kami", or the Kami of the Earth, was written as "Earth" and "Earth Spirit", which was then pronounced "Chigi". By taking the last character of each compound Tenjin-Chigi becomes just Jingi, for short. Throughout the Chronicles, this term, "Jingi" is thrown around when they want to quickly note all the kami, together, though sometimes it is fully written out as "Tenjin Chigi", as well. Interestingly, "Tenjin" or "Ama tsu Kami", sometimes appears alone, especially in the chapters on the Age of the Gods. However, "Chigi" seems to only be used in the whole phrase. There are a few instances, however, of "Chijin" being used, but they are few. That said, the term "Jingikan", also read as "Kami Tsukasa" or even "Kan Zukasa", doesn't appear until 690, in the reign of Uno no Sarara. This probably means that it was part of the reforms encompassed by the Kiyomihara codes. The head of the Jingikan is known as the Jingihaku or "Kan-zukasa no Kami". This term actually shows up well in advance of the Jingikan itself, initially referring to an unnamed official or officials in charge of kami worship at the court. Nakatomi no Kamatari is said to have been offered the position in the first reign of Takara, aka Kougyoku Tennou, though the first confirmed individual appears to be Nakatomi no Ohoshima, during the reign of Uno no Sarara. This appears to be a distinctly Yamato invention in the bureaucratic system. It leverages the language and structure of the Tang dynasty, but in its own way. There was a Tang department of shrines, but it was described differently, as befits a different spiritual environment focused on ancestor worship and Confucian and Taoist ideas. The Jingikan system seems to have been a deliberate re-organization of the indigenous kami worship, incorporating what was probably traditional roles into the new bureaucratic system. In so doing, however, it also gave the court greater control, and given that this was happening at the same time as the establishment of various stories and myths around Ise and the foundation more generally, it appears to be part of a concerted and deliberate effort to construct a new narrative. All of this points to them architecting much of what was going on, from the stories to the landscape. Ohoama likely built the inner shrine as we know it. If it really was an obscure, out-of-the-way shrine, perhaps that also meant that there weren't any other powerful court factions that were enhanced by it. And then, over time, the Ise shrine and the deity there could be better incorporated into the overall myths and stories that surrounded the formation of Yamato. A new Yamato, one that would soon enough be referring to itself as the origin of the Sun: Nippon, a name often attributed to Ohoama and Uno no Sarara, though not found in the record of their reigns in the Chronicles. Another aspect to all of this, however, is what happened immediately after Uno no Sarara's reign, and into the 8th and early 9th centuries. In the 8th century—the Nara period—Buddhism started to merge with a lot of the local practices. This was not uncommon. Buddhism had been born in a land with myriad deities and styles of worship, and it had the means to incorporate local deities into its cosmological worldview. Kami were just other beings, stuck in the cycle of rebirth, who, as sentient beings, could equally benefit from the Buddha's teachings. They became guardians of Buddhist institutions, and the lines between shrines and temples were often blurred. At the same time, kami worship was also taking on various concepts from continental worship, such that even today we find a lot of what we might consider Taoist practices influencing Shinto worship. Had this continued, worship of the kami may have been completely subsumed into the Buddhist ritual practices, but there were areas where kami worship remained distinct. One of these was at Ise. Early on, there was an attempt to build a temple at Ise, but it didn't last long. The temple was eventually moved out of the shrine complex, and then eventually it was removed altogether. Later writings from the Shrine would include certain Buddhist terms among the things that were taboo within the shrine grounds, considering Buddhism as something of a corrupting or polluting influence. Shrine Princeses, during their tenure, had to devote themselves to the kami, and though they might retire as nuns, later in life, during their appointment they were to be free of any Buddhist influences. In many ways this would make Ise a prime example of what would eventually be termed "Shinto", which gave it, and the worship of Amaterasu, a certain pride of place. Of course, it didn't hurt that it was also intertwined with the State and the founding myths of the nation. As such, Ise Shrine and its worship would become a template for many others to follow, helping to shape what we know as "Shinto" today. There are still a lot of questions. We don't exactly know what Uno no Sarara did on her trip to Ise Shrine, and we don't know how things surrounding the worship at Ise and of Amaterasu herself changed in the intervening years between when these events happened and when, about two to three decades later, the Chronicles were finalized and published. Certainly some of this seems tied to the Fujiwara capital, which was no longer populated at that point, the move to Heijo-kyo, in Nara, occurring between 708 and 710, two years before the Kojiki and a decade before the Nihon Shoki would come out. And yet, the three sacred mountains that were incorporated into the plan of the Fujiwara Capital, Mt. Kagu, Mt. Miminashi, and Mt. Unebi, seem to continue to be important. This is especially true of Mt. Kagu, whose heavenly counterpart, Ame no Kaguyama—literally Heavenly Mt. Kagu— continues to play a major role in the stories surrounding Amaterasu and the Heavenly Rock Cave. In addition,Mt. Unebi is closely tied to the story of Iware-biko, aka Jimmu, conquering and settling the land—perhaps to draw attention away from the stories about Mimaki and Ikume iribiko, aka Sujin and Suinin, who were both associated more with Mt. Mimoro, aka Mt. Miwa. So even though the physical presence was moved, by that point we know that foundation of many of these stories were likely laid down around the time that the Fujiwara capital was in operation. What does seem clear is that, just as there were clear efforts to set up the new State government, including the new capital, the court were also taking control of other levers of power and influence. We previously talked about how they had created National Temples and included government positions to oversee Buddhist affairs more generally. With Ise and the creation of the Jingikan, it appears as though that trend continued with the traditional kami worship. Many of the elite families still had connections to their own shrines, with their own kami. Through the stories collected and written down—with a few editorial additions to help place them in an approved context—they were able to construct a narrative from separate or divergent traditions. These traditions had already accreted to themselves various stories and culture-ways, some of them with clear links to the continent and others with overlapping portfolios. The kami, and the ability to intercede with them for their blessings or to avert their wrath, were a form of power that was being structured for the purpose of supporting the new State. A state now under the control of one Uno no Sarara. And we don't exactly have to wonder about this… the preface of the Kojiki all but says it. They put the words in the mouth of Ohoama, or, as they call him, the Sovereign of the Kiyomihara Palace. But the words are pretty clear: "I hear that the Imperial Records and Ancient Writing handed down by the various houses have come to differ from the truth and that many false hoods have been added to them. If these errors are not remedied at this time, their meaning will be lost before many years have passed. This is the framework of the state, the great foundation of the imperial influence. Therefore, recording the Imperial Records and examining the Old Writings, discarding the mistaken and establishing the true, I desire to hand them on to later generations." With that, 28 year old Hieda no Are was given the command to learn all the stories and presumably to recite them for the court. And several decades later, Oho no Yasumaro was given the task to take Are's stories and write them down. I imagine that Hieda no Are, or perhaps someone else who had learned the stories well enough, would be called into court or banquets to present some of the stories, or would be asked questions if there was any need for precedence. Thus creating a single source for truth, according to the administration. At the same time, the court had a problem. They couldn't control all of the sources of written material, with all of the various contradictions, so we also would eventually get the more comprehensive—but also less narratively direct—Nihon Shoki as well. After all, the game of propaganda was being played at many levels, and while the royal household had their motivations—primarily to support the legitimacy of their claim to power and the system within which that claim was validated— other families wanted to ensure that they were properly recorded as having connections to traditional nexuses of power—be that the ancient kami of Heaven or Earth, or their relationship to the royal family. This is because precedence was important, even as new traditions were being created. Like the way that the Mononobe and the Nakatomi played important roles in Uno no Sarara's ascension ceremony despite the actual individuals using new or different names, like Isonokami or Fujiwara. See Episode 151 for the explanation, there. And new traditions were much easier to justify if you could connect them with older traditions—whether those older traditions were truly ancient or newly made inventions. And all of this suggests that this was not an accident and it wasn't simply being imposed from the top down. One could be charitable and suggest that those involved felt that this got them closest to what the truth actually was, given that they had now been inculcated in a new worldview and they were trying to view the ancient stories through the interpretive lens of that worldview. On the other hand, they were ultimately doing it to structure power and authority that favored them and the government they had created. A government that they hoped would outlast them, and be passed on to their descendants. Next episode, we will continue our discussion of Uno no Sarara's life and reign and the incredible steps she took to ensure that her line would continue to rule Yamato for decades. Until then if you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts. If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website, SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page. You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com. Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now. Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.
She's been a member of two different Avengers teams over the last 40 years; she's the Earthly representative of an interdimensional race of cat people; and she might have the cutest child in the Marvel universe (come at me, Shogo fans...). Yet few people outside serious comic fans know the glory of Tigra! We're out to correct that error with this jam packed episode- don't miss it!
James 1:19 tells us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. In this message from the Words Matter series, Rev. Vicki Harrison opens James 1:19 and 3:13-18 to explore the contrast between earthly wisdom and the wisdom that comes from above. Earthly wisdom brings bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. Heavenly wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle, and full of mercy. This message calls us to examine not just what we say, but the wisdom that shapes it. Series: Words Matter Speaker: Rev. Vicki Harrison New Hope Church | Brandon, Florida — findnewhope.com Watch and listen to past messages: findnewhope.com/message-archive
Email: info@lmbc.usLearn more about Lost Mountain here: http://www.lmbc.us/Stay connected with us Online:Lost Mountain FacebookLost Mountain InstagramLost Mountain YouTubeWe'd love for you to be a part of helping all kinds of people find and follow Jesus! If you'd like to support this ministry, you can GIVE HERE.How can we pray for you? Send your prayer needs to: prayer@lmbc.us!
Read OnlineThe Generous Sower“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up…” Matthew 13:3–4In today's Gospel, the Parable of the Sower is delivered from a boat, as Jesus addresses a large crowd along the shoreline. Jesus uses the natural acoustics of the water to carry His voice to the eager multitude who came to hear Him. Their earnestness offers us an opportunity for self-examination: Am I among that crowd, attentively listening as God speaks to me today? Do I go out of my way to seek, listen, and respond to the Word of God?A parable is a method that both reveals and conceals. It reveals divine truth to those who are humble and receptive, and conceals that same truth from those whose hearts are closed. The truths of the Kingdom are not concepts that can be quickly grasped. They are divine mysteries that must enter the soul and be pondered and nourished. Only the spiritually docile can penetrate their depths and allow God's Word to transform their lives.The Sower is Christ. The seed is the Word of God, and the soil represents the human heart, in all its various conditions of readiness and receptivity. Some souls await God's Word like freshly tilled, moist, and fertilized soil. As soon as the seed enters, it begins to grow rapidly—until fully grown and producing good fruit.Other souls are less receptive. Like the path, some hearts are hardened, stubborn, refusing to receive divine truth. The Word is heard, but not truly received. The enemy snatches it away before it can penetrate.Hearts that are like rocky ground are those who initially receive the Word with joy but lack perseverance. When trials come, they fall away. They may attend Mass, read Scripture, or begin with fervor, but without deep interior conversion rooted in prayer, they cannot endure the heat of testing.The thorny heart is the divided heart, where the Word of God is mixed with anxieties, riches, and pleasures. The Gospel is heard—perhaps even cherished—but it is suffocated by worldly attachments, ambition, or fear. Earthly anxieties and the fascination of riches are thorns that smother the soul and prevent it from growing.The good news is that God, the Divine Sower, is not passive. He sows the seed Himself—personally, directly, and abundantly. He is not like a remote monarch seated on a distant throne, waiting for us to come to Him. No—God always takes the initiative. He goes forth like the sower, casting His seed upon us even before we ask.The seed comes to us in two essential ways: truth and grace. As truth, God's Word enlightens the intellect to know His eternal mysteries. As grace, God's Word strengthens the will to embrace and live those truths with faith and charity.The Divine Sower sows lavishly. He casts the seed everywhere—on the path, among the rocks, amidst thorns, and upon rich earth. This is not careless, but the work of Divine Mercy. God desires that all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Even where the ground seems hardened, shallow, or choked with thorns, He still sows. He never ceases to speak, to reach out, to invite. He sows even in places we might deem hopeless—until the final moment, when the time for sowing is ended.Reflect today on God's generous and continuous sowing in your soul. He never ceases speaking to you, calling to you, and planting His Word within you. How receptive are you? Which soil best describes your soul? It's never too late to respond in this life. God's Word can grow rapidly within us when our souls are fertile and receptive. Remove the rocks, cut down the thorns, and till the hardened path, so that the abundant seed will make its way into your heart.Divine Sower, You ceaselessly send forth Your truth and grace to enlighten and strengthen us in the mission of building Your Kingdom. Please till the soil of my heart and make it fertile, so that Your Word may take root in me, growing and producing an abundance of good fruit. Jesus, I trust in You. Image: Jules & Jenny from Lincoln, UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsSource: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.
I just got back from Las Vegas, and I'm sharing my favorite vegan food experiences from hidden local gems to restaurants that completely exceeded my expectations.In this episode I talk about incredible spots like Chef Kenny's, Earthly, Tacotarian, Daikon Sushi, Tarantino's, Crossroads, and the all-you-can-eat vegan Korean BBQ experience at Master Kim's. I also explain why I think some of the best vegan food in Vegas is found away from the Strip.In the second half of the episode, I respond to some recurring social media debates, including:• Is sugar vegan?• What does "may contain milk" really mean?• Where's the line between appreciating and appropriating food cultures?• How I approach vegan content while trying to honor the cuisines and creators who inspire me.Whether you're planning a trip to Las Vegas, looking for your next great vegan meal, or interested in thoughtful conversations about vegan food culture, I hope you enjoy the episode.If you like the podcast, don't forget to subscribe, leave a comment, and let me know what topic you'd like me to cover next!Send us Fan Mail
“For they {Earthly Parents} disciplined us for a short time . . . but he {God} disciplines us for our good, that we may share his {God's} holiness" (Hebrews 12:10) MESSAGE SUMMARY: The Lord disciplines his children; therefore, so should we. Our discipline can take many forms, for example: 1) teach children a lesson, even hard lessons; and 2) it is OK to take away children's privileges. The Lord's discipline is out of love; and our discipline, for our children, should, also, be out of our love. Nobody likes discipline -- we do not like it; our kids do not like it. However, discipline works to bring righteousness and peace, and discipline brings fruit to us and our children down the road. In Hebrews 12:7-10, the author of Hebrews succinctly describes the Biblical perspective regarding discipline: It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as {His} sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they {Earthly Parents} disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he {God} disciplines us for our good, that we may share his {God's} holiness.". TODAY'S PRAYER: Lord, help me to be still and to wait patiently for you in silence. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 125). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that, because I am in Jesus Christ, God is working His will in my life (Philippians 2:13). “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”. (Philippians 4:14). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): 2 Samuel. 7.13-15; 1 Corinthians. 11:32; Ephesians. 6.1-4; Psalms 42:1-11. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “And They Asked Jesus to Leave”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
-America's 250th birthday passed with a whimper compared to the 1976 bicentennial celebration. Woke isn't dead. Can we keep this republic? -The feminization of the West now has us watching British lady cops run to arrest a white boy after he was assaulted while the black assaulters walk away. Are we ready to tell women "no" yet? -A farewell to the once-beautiful city of Ithaca, New York, now a graveyard of reanimated meth zombies and gangbangers. Watch carefully, because this is coming to your "safe red city" too unless you stop it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We tend to trust ourselves or worldly power to satisfy our greatest need. We are spiritually hungry and helpless, and we put our trust in earthly kingdoms when there is only one king who can satisfy and save. Jesus is the compassionate and sovereign king who provides what sinful and broken people cannot provide for themselves. Earthly kings take life, but Jesus does more than just give life; he satisfies it. We can trust our king with all that we have, because his resources never fail.
For many decades, UFO researchers have obtained unusual samples alleged to be UAP materials recovered from crash events or other instances where physical traces of these anomalous aerial objects were present. In nearly every case where scientific analysis was undertaken, these unusual samples also revealed signatures that suggest Earthly origins. But should this necessarily mean they aren't worthy of further interest by UAP researchers? This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we examine a "cautionary tale" of alleged alien wreckage that turned out to have a down-to-Earth explanation, as well as the controversy surrounding materials allegedly recovered from the New Mexico desert in 1947, and what analysis by the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office and Oak Ridge National Lab revealed about them. We also examine why an analysis that reveals an Earthly provenance for some alleged UAP wreckage shouldn't preclude their possible relationship to understanding the broader mystery. Want to advertise/sponsor The Micah Hanks Program? We have partnered with the AdvertiseCast to handle our advertising/sponsorship requests. If you would like to advertise with The Micah Hanks Program, all you have to do is click the link below to get started: AdvertiseCast: Advertise with The Micah Hanks Program Show Notes Below are links to stories and other content featured in this episode: DISCLOSURE FORUM: UAP Disclosure Forum in DC: Key takeaways SCU EVENT: UFO conference lands in Canada as Trump administration continues to release documents ALIEN HONEYCOMB: John Pinkney – UFOs, "Alien Honeycomb" & the Australian Lord "Flying Saucerer" AARO: "Supplement to Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Analysis of a Metallic Specimen" OAK RIDGE: "Synopsis: Analysis of a Metallic Specimen" - ORNL FLASHBACK: "Operation Paperclip of the East" and the Roswell Controversy (MHP 08.06.24.) SZYDAGIS: Matthew Szydagis | University at Albany BECOME AN X SUBSCRIBER AND GET EVEN MORE GREAT PODCASTS AND MONTHLY SPECIALS FROM MICAH HANKS. Sign up today and get access to the entire back catalog of The Micah Hanks Program, as well as "classic" episodes, weekly "additional editions" of the subscriber-only X Podcast, the monthly Enigmas specials, and much more. Like us on Facebook Follow @MicahHanks on X. Keep up with Micah and his work at micahhanks.com.
We are reclaiming our cosmic powers right now at the cost of The Aquarium Age. Not so that we can create a new polarity, AI versus Earth, us versus them, but because we are bringing our Earthly and galactic wisdom to meet this moment and harmonize the energies, preaching multiple dimensions of reality for the conscious human. We are birthing. Diana Devine is joining us for this conversation. She is a soul guide, multidimensional channel, and galactic shaman devoted to the evolution of consciousness and the expansion of human potential. Join us for this powerful conversation! Diana Divine is the host and founder of The Soul Communication podcast. Diana is the founder of BeLight Quantum Academy where she teaches The Quantum Recode Method a transformational journey to help you break free from limiting patterns, regulate your nervous system, and align with your next reality. The Soul Code Mastery Course: Foundations and Source Light Activation is a self-paced course, created with Marion Elizabeth Grace for curious seekers drawn to higher realm frequencies, galactic star seat and ancient wisdom. And a Quantum Healing Practitioner Certification that is a six week immersive journey. Watch or listen to the show for practical tips to break free from limiting patterns and align with your next reality. You’re Invited! READ: Mastering Quantum Creation: Awaken the Phoenix Within, Manifest Your Reality, and Reclaim Your Cosmic Power https://www.amazon.com/MASTERING-QUANTUM-CREATION-Phoenix-Manifest-ebook/dp/B0F7GY2RYC/ LISTEN: Soul Communication Podcast https://podmatch.com/hostdetail/17307450289972627ff477b8a DIANA DIVINE BIO Diana (De-anna) MaAra Divine is a Soul Guide, Multidimensional Channel, and Galactic Shaman devoted to the evolution of consciousness and the expansion of human potential. She is a Metaphysical Activator and Educator who bridges quantum principles, shamanic practices, and psychological integration—guiding individuals to reconnect with their inner intelligence and create from alignment rather than force. Her work focuses on embodiment, energetic coherence, and the practical application of consciousness in real life. Diana is the founder of BeLight Quantum Academy, where she teaches others to access and express higher-dimensional communication through Light Language. She is the bestselling author of Mastering Quantum Creation: Awaken the Phoenix Within, Manifest Your Reality, and Reclaim Your Cosmic Power, a transformational guide to understanding how awareness, energy, and identity shape reality. She is the creator of the Quantum Ancient Codes Oracle Deck. She is also the host of the Soul Communication Podcast, where she explores consciousness, healing, and multidimensional awareness through conversations and transmissions designed to expand perception and deepen connection. LINKS Website: http://dianadivine.com/ Podcast: https://podmatch.com/hostdetail/17307450289972627ff477b8a YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dianamdivine Instagram: https://instagram.com/dianamdivine TikTok: https://tiktok.com/dianamdivine YOUR GUIDE TO SOUL NECTAR: KERRI HUMMINGBIRD Kerri Hummingbird, Medicine Woman, Mother and Mentor, is the Founder of Inner Medicine Training, a Mystery School that shares potent ancient traditions from the Andes and Himalayas for owning your wisdom and living your purpose. She is the #1 international best-selling author of “Inner Medicine: Becoming One with Mother Earth for the Survival of Humanity”, “Love Is Fierce: Healing the Mother Wound”, “The Second Wave: Transcending the Human Drama” (on the int'l bestseller charts for over 6 years) and the award-winning best-selling book “Awakening To Me: One Woman's Journey To Self Love” which describes the early years of her spiritual awakening. As the host of Soul Nectar Show, Ms. Hummingbird inspires people to lead their lives wide awake with an authenticity, passion and purpose that positively impacts others. As a healer and mentor, she catalyzes mind-shifts that transform life challenges into gifts of wisdom. If you are wondering what the heck is going on, the answer is simple. We are in the process of a massive shift in consciousness that can most aptly be described as the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly. As a medicine woman, I guide you to the next deepest understanding and embodiment of yourself as a spiritual being. Whether you receive a shamanic healing session, participate in the Reinvent Yourself Training program, or join us for Inner Medicine Training, one thing is certain: you will connect more deeply with your true self and learn to navigate the changes in your life from an empowered space within. SCHEDULE A FREE DISCOVERY SESSION: https://tinyurl.com/SoulNectarChat JOIN SOUL NECTAR TRIBE! https://kerrihummingbird.com/membership In Soul Nectar Tribe, we are joining forces to influence a new conversation on the planet…one that respects and honors all of life and looks forward seven generations to ensure the consequences of our actions are what we choose to create for our descendents. When we join our sparks together in community and comraderie, we become a powerful beacon of light and hope. FREE GIFTS! 1. Receive the free Reinvent Yourself ebook and guided meditations at http://www.kerrihummingbird.com/gift 2. Receive the Second Wave Guided Meditation Pack for free at http://www.thesecondwave.media LINKS FOR KERRI HUMMINGBIRD Website: www.kerrihummingbird.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kerri.hummingbird.sami Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kerri.hummingbird/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soulnectarshow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerrihummingbird/
Two tiny transforming robots landed on the moon! These baseball-sized bots accompanied Japan's first successful lunar lander. They rolled out of SLIM as balls and transformed into a rover. The bots cracked down the middle to reveal a little camera in the center. The halves then acted as spinning wheels that helped them waddle, bounce and roll over hard terrain as they explored. In this roundup of space news, we also get into the latest turn about how much the universe is expanding and the Earthly analogs NASA astronauts are using to prepare for the forthcoming Artemis mission.Interested in more space science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. It includes perks like bonus episodes, early access, archive access, curated playlists and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
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