Podcasts about since john

Music by Ben Sound at www.bensound.com  Today's meditation comes from Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:22-26, Luke 22:14-23, and John 13:1-30 Introduction:  I found it rather difficult to synthesize the four versions of the Last Supper in the gospels, and particularly where Judas was, and where Satan was relative to Judas, at any given time. Matthew and Mark's gospels kept the story simple and short, moving directly from Jesus' mention that one of them would betray him into communion. There is no mention in those gospels that Judas left at all, or that Satan was present. They also both showed that Jesus started with the bread and then moved to the cup. There was no mention of anything Jesus told them afterwards, either; they just sang a hymn and then Jesus led his three closest disciples down to the Garden of Gethsemene. Judas clearly left at some point, because hours later he arrived in the Garden with soldiers; it just isn't mentioned when.    Luke went into more detail. He wrote in Luke 22:3 that Satan entered into Judas when he approached the chief priests and made a deal to betray Jesus. There was no mention that Satan departed Judas and entered into him again later, but perhaps he did, since John later makes mention that Satan entered into Judas after Jesus passed him the bread at the table (John 13:27). Also in Luke's version, the cup came first and then the bread (not that this really matters). Jesus didn't mention His betrayer until after communion in Luke's version, suggesting that Judas was there at the time. Perhaps he was, though Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:27 that whoever eats and drinks the Lord's supper in an unworthy manner is guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. I suppose this would not be any truer of anyone in history than of Judas that night.    John didn't actually describe the Last Supper in terms of the bread and the cup at all, but he alone recorded that Jesus washed the disciples' feet. John 13:2 says that the supper was ended, though apparently the Greek phrase could have also been translated “during supper”—so I interpreted this as meaning they had eaten the Passover lamb and herbs, but Jesus had not yet instituted communion. Jesus' comment that His betrayer was the one to whom He gave the bread after He had dipped it (John 13:26) is consistent with similar phrasing in Matthew 26:23 and Mark 14:20, just before Jesus institutes communion, suggesting this comment came first. Since John explicitly mentioned that Judas left right afterwards, and he was more specific about Judas' whereabouts than Luke, his was the interpretation I used in the retelling.    It also makes sense to me that Judas would not have been present for communion, for two reasons. First, Jesus hates hypocrisy (as evidenced by his many run-ins with the religious leaders), and he knew that Judas was not one of His, as He repeatedly said that night. If His betrayer were to take communion right before Him on the very night of His betrayal, it would have been the ultimate hypocrisy. Second, Jesus was always walking the fine line of trying to tell the disciples what was going to happen to Him in enigmas and riddles (Proverbs 1:6), but without spelling it all out until after He had already risen (Luke 24:13-49). There may have been many reasons for this, but one of them was surely that He didn't want Satan to understand His plan, or else he would never have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8). Jesus knew Satan was in the room as long as Judas was. I suspect this was another reason why He didn't want to explain about the body and the blood until after Judas had gone.    Passover was instituted the night the Israelites left slavery. It was from then on both a ritual of remembrance, and also a prophetic act. The Egyptians painted the blood of their Passover lamb over their door posts, which protected those inside from the destroyer (Exodus 12:23). This was a perfect symbol of the blood of Jesus, God's Passover Lamb, protecting believers from the destroyer. Here, Jesus took the last Passover meal with His disciples, and then instituted the new feast of communion on the eve of his crucifixion. Christians no longer celebrate the Jewish Passover feast, symbolic of the Old Covenant, but take communion instead, symbolic of the New Covenant.    Communion, too, is both an act of remembrance (Luke 22:19) and also a prophetic act of the marriage supper of the Lamb (Luke 22:18, Revelation 19:9), when Jesus will wed His bride: the Church. That will be its ultimate fulfillment.    Fictionalized Retelling:  I felt an almost physical oppression in my chest as I climbed the steps to that upper room. My legs felt like wood, resisting My every step.  This time tomorrow… but I stopped the thought right there. I had much yet to do between now and then.  John approached and touched My elbow as I crossed the threshold of the upper room. I turned to see him searching My face with a concerned expression. I gave him a tight smile that did not quite reach My eyes, and a tiny nod that I was all right—relatively speaking. The servants came in and began to set the evening meal on the low table: the Passover lamb, the bitter herbs, the unleavened bread, and the wine.  I could not stop staring at the lamb.  I settled on to a cushion at the head of the table. John sat beside me, still glancing often at My face. The other disciples chatted amongst themselves, though the atmosphere felt strained. It had already been an intense week, even for them. They all knew the religious leaders wanted Me dead, and feared that by extension, their lives were in danger too. I knew they also wondered why we were celebrating the Passover a day early, on the thirteenth instead of the fourteenth day of Nissan. I'd told them repeatedly as plainly as I could, but they still hadn't understood. Tonight I would be still more explicit. But not yet.  I watched Judas, who fidgeted in his seat constantly. I needed him out of the room before I spoke plainly. The disciples still wouldn't understand what I said until afterwards, but Satan might, if he heard it. If that happened, all would be lost.  When they had finished all but the last loaf of unleavened bread, I rose from the table, wordlessly laying aside My outer garment and tucking a towel around My waist. An empty basin sat by the threshold along with a pitcher of water. I poured the water into the basin and carried it to Matthew, who sat nearest Me. I set it down beside his cushion and gestured to him to swivel around and remove his sandals. He stared back at Me in astonishment.  “Master?”  I nodded and beckoned again with My fingers. Slowly he obeyed, though I could sense his acute embarrassment. The rest of the disciples watched in silence as I washed Matthew's feet, and then used the towel about My waist to dry them. Next I moved to Bartholomew beside him, who obeyed more readily now that he'd seen the precedent. None of them knew what to make of this.  Next I came to Judas. He removed his sandals and placed his feet in the basin at once, but he winced just slightly as his eyes met Mine. Up close, I could see his dilated pupils. He was nervous, not sure if I knew, or if I would publicly confront him for his treachery. As I washed his feet, I thought of Solomon's proverb, You will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.  Without a word, I moved on to James, and then to Peter, who recoiled from Me.  “Lord, are You washing my feet?”  “What I am doing, you do not realize right now, but you will understand later,” I assured him.  “Never shall You wash my feet!” If it were any other night, I might have smiled. Tonight, though, I just said wearily, “If I do not wash you, you have no place with Me.” Peter blinked as he absorbed this. Then he plunged his feet in the basin, leaning forward and spluttering, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!” This wrung a short laugh out of Me, even tonight. Good old Peter.  “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet; otherwise he is completely clean,” I answered. Then I said to the rest of them, “And you are clean—but not all of you.” I glanced at Judas as I said this, whose eyes shifted this way and that. Now he knew that I knew. He was itching to leave already, probably trying to think of an excuse.  When I'd finished washing all of the disciples' feet, I placed the basin back by the door, removed the towel and replaced My outer tunic before settling back at the head of the table. They all watched Me uncertainly, not sure what to do or say.  “Do you know what I have done for you?” I looked at each of them in turn, pausing to see if they had any reply. When they did not, I went on, “You call Me ‘Teacher' and ‘Lord'; and you are correct, for so I am. So if I, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I gave you an example, so that you also would do just as I did for you. Truly I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the One who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. I am not speaking about all of you,” I added, with a sidelong glance at Judas. “I know the ones whom I have chosen; but this is happening so that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.'” Judas squirmed again. How much more direct would I need to be? “From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it does happen, you may believe that I am He. Truly I say to you, the one who receives anyone I send, receives Me; and the one who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” Still no one spoke, and still Judas remained at the table. The oppression in My chest grew.  I needed him to leave before I did what needed to be done next. Time to just come right out and say it. “One of you is going to betray me.”  Shock rippled around the table, and the disciples began to murmur amongst themselves—all except Judas, whose eyes darted this way and that, his breathing short and shallow. But the other disciples were so focused on themselves that they did not even notice.  “It isn't me, is it?” asked Peter first, loudly. Before I could reply, James cut in, “Surely, not I?” at the same time Philip and Bartholomew talked over each other. “Is it me, Master?”  Instead of replying, I rose and took the last loaf of unleavened bread in My hands. I saw Peter make eye contact with John, and gesture at Me with his head in silent communication. When I sat back down again, John reclined against Me with his head on My chest and whispered, “Lord, who is it?”  “It is he to whom I give this bread once I have dipped it.” I broke a piece of bread from the end of the loaf, and rose again to dip the bread in the dish of oil. Then I handed it across the table to Judas, and our eyes locked. The others at last noticed this, looking from Judas to me.  “It isn't me, is it, Rabbi?” Judas asked at last, his voice even.  “You have said it yourself,” I replied. The others looked at one another, their expressions a mixture of alarm and confusion. Judas took the bread from Me, and put it in his mouth. At that moment, though I did not see it with My natural eyes, I knew that Satan had entered into him. I could sense it.  “What you do, do quickly,” I told him in a low tone.  Judas rose from the table as soon as I said this and sped out of the room without looking back. As I watched him go, I felt an unexpected pang of pity for the suffering I knew he would yet endure. Once Satan had used him for his own purposes, I knew that Judas would come back to himself and would despair for what he was about to do to Me. He would be dead before I was. But he had made his choice long ago, and was beyond My help. There was nothing more I could do for him. “Is… he going to make a purchase for the meal?” asked Peter, suspicious. Judas was our treasurer and had often gone on such errands in the past. “Or to offer alms to the poor, perhaps?”  I met Peter's questioning gaze, but did not answer. He would understand all too soon, and I had more important business to attend to at the moment. I took what remained of the last loaf of unleavened bread, and poured some wine into the simple chalice before me. Then I looked up to Heaven. “Thank You, Father, for Your provision,” I prayed, “of this bread and wine, and also of the Passover Lamb it represents.” I saw the look of confusion that passed among the disciples at this. Surely, they were thinking, the Passover lamb we just ate represented itself? I went on, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then I took the loaf and broke it right down the middle, flinching only a little. I passed half to John on one side, and to James on My other.  “Take and eat; this is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”  James gingerly held the half loaf I'd handed him, a look of horror on his face. But John broke himself a piece and passed it to Philip on his other side without comment. James finally followed his lead and did the same. They were all now remembering the comment I had made which had lost me some ninety percent of my disciples early in My ministry. I had announced that My followers must eat My flesh and drink My blood, or else they would have no life in them. This had so confused and revolted them that the vast majority had left, and I never had explained Myself to those who remained. How could I? None of them dared disobey Me now, though I knew they still did not understand.  Once they had all solemnly taken and eaten their piece of the bread, I passed around My chalice of wine.  “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it with you, new, in My Father's kingdom.”  Each man took a sip and passed the cup around in silence. When James finally handed it back to Me, I took the last swallow, savoring it in My mouth. Then I looked around the table, My heart burning as I looked into each man's eyes one by one. I saw not the fearful, uncertain men before Me now, but the firebrands they would become when they had received the Holy Spirit. I saw some of them as old men; others, I knew, would not live long enough to see old age. The Holy Spirit gave Me just a flash of their futures—glorious ones, all. I swallowed the lump in My throat before I could speak again.  “I am giving you a new commandment,” I managed, “that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another.”  I had so much I wanted to tell them, and these were My last few hours in which to do so. I prayed silently for guidance. I knew they would understand none of it now—and because they did not understand, they would have three days of utter hell ahead of them. If they could just hang on through those three days which would look like the end of all their hopes…  “Let not your hearts be troubled!” I almost begged them, praying as I said it that they would be able to hold onto My words in the the coming days, when they would need them most. “You believe in God; believe also in Me!”  I told them all I could that night: of the coming Holy Spirit, of peace, of their direct path through Me to the Father, of the tremendous power of prayer, and of their sorrow turning to joy. I could tell from the heaviness of their expressions that all they heard was goodbye. They did not understand the manner in which it would come, but they felt the significance of My speech.  I felt the same heaviness Myself. When I had finished, I ended the meal with a hymn: one of David's psalms set to music. The others joined in with Me, and all of our voices merged together in a beautiful, if halfhearted, cacophony. The noise of it had always made me smile, though today the finality of it wrung tears from My eyes.  I felt the pull in My spirit now. I desperately needed to withdraw and talk to My Father. I hadn't much time left.   

Let's see how John Mulaney's wife is handling all this Olivia Munn stuff. Yes I said Olivia Nun a few times, I am an idiiot.How Jim Belushi (cool guy) wound up on Saturday Night Live.You should watch Leatherkenny.

How were people in the Old Testament saved? What was the purpose of the Law? Does the word “believe” include the idea of performance and works? Today on Grace in Focus radio, we will be addressing these and many more questions. Bob and Shawn will be giving special attention to John 3:16 in the discussion.

Since John was the apostle that Jesus loved, why didn't the Lord address him more personally in Revelation? I don't understand, in Greek the word for fish is IXOYE and ICHTHYS. Is it spelled IXOYE (in Greek not English) but pronounced in English ICHTHYS? I've seen it written both ways, but both ways cant be correct, you don't write an English word in more ways than one. So which is correct? We are to forgive, not 7 times but 70 x 7, but will God never forgive those in hell? What does the Bible say about discernment and emotions? Are our emotions interfering with good discernment choices we make , how do we know?

This is a sort of apologetic episode, dealing with a common objection from non-Christians. Since John is considered to be the latest written gospel, and since his gospel is much more theological than Matthew, Mark and Luke, it is often argued that the early church, and the early gospels, didn't see Jesus as Divine, but this developed over time so that when John wrote decades later, it was the normal belief. Is this true? We consider some relevant points.

Two important questions today, one practical and one spiritual. Should Christians, according to the Bible pay taxes? Second question: Since John tells us that God will answer our prayers when we pray according to God's will, HOW can we know we are praying prayers that line up with His will?

Two important questions today, one practical and one spiritual. Should Christians, according to the Bible pay taxes? Second question: Since John tells us that God will answer our prayers when we pray according to God's will, HOW can we know we are praying prayers that line up with His will?

This week, Good One celebrates its 100th episode! Well, its 100th Classic Good One Longform Interview (the 100th C.G.O.L.I!). And who better to celebrate with than Good One veteran, stand-up John Mulaney! Since John’s first appearance on the show, he’s hosted SNL three times, had an unbelievable broadway run with Oh, Hello, and sold out seven nights at Radio City Music Hall on his Kid Gorgeous tour (oh, and did we mention he won an Emmy for that special?) With all that industry clout, John knew what he wanted to do next: a throwback children’s musical variety show for Netflix called John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch. In this episode, he chats with host Jesse David Fox about some of his favorite scenes from his two-time Emmy-nominated special, like the kids movie focus group where John plays a movie producer getting a group of kids’ opinions on the next big animated blockbuster. You can watch John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch on Netflix. You can find John Mulaney on Twitter and Instagram, too. Follow Jesse David Fox on Twitter and Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Title: Illustrative Summarization Text: III John 9-15 FCF: We often struggle placing too much on our part in sanctification. Prop: God changes His people to be more like His Son, so we must be sure we are of God. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to III John. Today we say goodbye to another book. This time it hits a little harder because in saying goodbye to another book, we say goodbye to a series, and even a human author. Next week Tim Parker will bring a message from Psalm 73 for us. And the following week we will begin another series of 3 books. We will begin a study on the pastoral epistles which include First and Second Timothy and Titus. John left off last week in commending exhortation to Gaius. He commended him for being a man who rightly cared for traveling preachers and teachers who went out for the sake on the name of Christ and did not accept money from pagans. But in his commendation, he also expressed his desire for Gaius to continue this practice. Now last week we wondered perhaps why John exhorted Gaius to do what he is already doing. Certainly, the apostle does not NEED a reason to do this. But the text goes on to give us insight. There were some things happening in the church at that time that prompted John to make sure Gaius continued doing what he was doing. And today, John will elaborate on that. Today’s passage is also providentially an encapsulation of all John has been saying in these three epistles. What we see is an illustration of the general principles we have labored with John to see over the last several weeks. John will bring up a negative and positive example of all that we have been learning since we started I John. Thus, these last 7 verses of III John provide the perfect Series finale for us as we close out the Epistles of John. Let’s read in III John starting in verse 9. I’ll be reading again from the NET. You can follow along in the pew bible on page 1378 or the version you have in front of you. If you don’t have a bible of your own feel free to take a pew bible home with you. Transition: As we close out the series, let’s look to what John has for Gaius and for us. I.) Those who clamor to be first show signs that they are not of God, so we must be sure we are of God. (9-11) a. [Slide 2] 9 – I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, i. So right of the bat we have to ask ourselves which church John is talking about. ii. So far, John has only spoken of his own church overtly. When the traveling preachers came back from Gaius and gave a report on his love for them. iii. It is obvious that this church is not his own since he is writing to it and does not include himself in these statements iv. Is Diotrephes from Gaius’ church though? It is difficult to know whether or not this is true and there are several layers to this problem. 1. Diotrephes loves to be first among them (3rd person plural) which would seem to indicate that this is another church than Gaius’. 2. However, if Gaius is not in any form of church leadership and Diotrephes is, it is possible that John is talking about Diotrephes loving to be first among the Elders and leaders of Gaius’ church. Although this would require a subject that John does not supply. 3. Similarly, it could be Diotrephes likes to be first among them as in those who are part of Gaius’ church but of a particular theological or social faction. v. Since John uses the third person and the nearest subject is the church, it makes most sense that Gaius is not part of the church Diotrephes is controlling, but is at least aware of Diotrephes and his church. vi. Diotrephes desiring to be first among the church or the elders within the church – either way – there is no first in the church. There is Christ and then those in Christ. vii. That is not to say that there is not an authority structure or a hierarchy of sorts. But Jesus’ words predict how that authority structure operates – let he who desires to be first be last. 1. The Elder is the servant leader of the church. Although he inherits authority, that authority is not based on his title, but rather who he has been made to be. 2. A servant of the body, one that strives for its protection and holiness, this is one who will be recognized and appointed to the watch care role of Elder. 3. Thus, in a sense, abuse of power as an Elder is actually not possible. The only way a person is qualified to wield the Eldership authority is when they are submitted to the Word of God and selflessly serving the body of Christ. The moment they purposefully cease to obey God’s word or purposefully cease to be servants of others and decide to serve themselves, the Elder is disqualified and should be removed from office. viii. So Diotrephes, elder or not, desiring to be first among them is an act of arrogance and idolatry. This alone would disqualify him from leadership – and his desire was to control or lord over the church. ix. But a further expression of arrogance is that he… b. [Slide 3] Does not acknowledge us. i. Since we know that John had written to the church there and by extension, to Diotrephes himself, we can start to understand what John means by this statement. ii. This verb normally means to receive into one’s presence. Almost like a King would grant permission for someone to approach the throne. iii. It is perhaps not this sharp of a meaning, but we do get the idea that John is essentially saying that Diotrephes did not accept the authority of John to speak on the matter at hand, or perhaps, any matter at all. iv. The authority of John as an Elder let alone an apostle was being disregarded and going unrecognized by this man. This is a FURTHER expression of his arrogance and idolatry. v. If he wants to be first, and lord his authority over the assembly in his church, he cannot possibly heed the advice or wisdom of someone outside his church. Especially not one who could be perceived as having authority over him. This would only make him look weak, and call into question whether he really had the authority he was exercising. vi. So, although the issue at hand is very much the reception of traveling preachers and teachers – really, we find that this is merely the flower of the weed. The flower is connected to the stem of a rejection of church authority, which is connected to the root of pride which is idolatry. vii. John intends to act upon this when he is able. c. [Slide 4] 10 – Therefore, If I come, I will call attention to the deeds he is doing – bringing of unjustified charges against us with evil words! i. John could be expressing uncertainty on whether or not he will be able to come to address the situation, but more likely he is saying when he comes rather than if. ii. His plan was to expose Diotrephes’ deeds to the church he is in and perhaps surrounding churches as well. John intended to bring church discipline upon Diotrephes. iii. Then John cites other expressions of his pride and idolatry. Other flowers connected to his failure to submit to church authority. iv. The first is his words against John. v. Another tell tale sign of pride and failure to submit to church authority is to lash out with words against the leaders themselves. Anything to bring doubt into the minds of others or even to mask or justify their pride and excuse their lack of submission. vi. They might say “How can I submit to a church leader who would Lord over me in this way?” or “How could I submit to a church leader who was so unloving to impose his viewpoints upon the assembly I have been given to shepherd.” Or “How could I submit to a church leader who would write this uncompassionate letter telling me to stop what I am doing. I mean when was the last time John was even here! Does he even know my flock and what we need?” vii. Now we have no way of knowing what these unjustified charges were against John, and what evil words he said about John’s character. But hopefully this illustration of mine brings it out of the realm of theoretical and into the realm of the practical. viii. I can tell you that these kinds of statements are uttered by assembly members in the visible church all the time about their leadership. Sometimes these accusations are justified – but most of the time they are not. And certainly, none of these accusations, even when true, would justify blatant disrespect and lack of submission. There is a way to address the sin of an Elder, but this is simply not it. ix. And John plans to correct that, publicly. As he should. x. Sadly, this is not the end of what Diotrephes was doing. There are more flowers to this weed. d. [Slide 5] And not being content with that, he not only refuses to welcome the brothers himself, but hinders the people who want to do so and throws them out of the church! i. As a further expression of his idolatrous pride and disrespect for church authority, Diotrephes not only had unjustified and evil words for John, but he also refused to submit to him. ii. This expressed itself in two ways. iii. First, was to disregard the request of John, which was to accept the traveling preachers and teachers into his home in hospitality and affiliation. Not only forbidding them from being affiliated with his church, but refusing to show the common decency to put them up for a night. iv. Now why would he do this? Springing from the root of self-worship and shot forth from the stem of disrespect and lack of submission to church authority, it manifests in despising not only the instruction of the authority but even those who are associated with that authority. Everyone with John is against Diotrephes. Which leads us to the second expression of lack of submission which is v. That he hinders others who want to welcome these preachers – to the point that he actually excommunicates them from the church for welcoming them. If he has so built this root of self-worship – masked as piety, And that has manifested itself in some holy war against John’s authority, he could now easily see himself as robin hood fighting against the oppressor. And if he sees himself this way, of course he would conclude that any who betray him to follow the oppressor is sinning and ought to be cast out. vi. What I am trying desperately to communicate to you – is that even though we read the description of Diotrephes in disbelief, wondering how he got there, in reality it is not only believable but friends… it is EASY to become Diotrephes. vii. It is only a series of steps. It is only a little idolatry here, and a little selfishness there – and before you know it – you are opposing an Apostle of Jesus Christ. viii. The horror story of Diotrephes for us is not that we watch out for such people… ix. Rather it is that we are careful not to BECOME such people. x. And just in case you think that isn’t what John is getting at, read with me verse 11. e. [Slide 6] 11 – Dear friend, do not imitate what is bad but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does what is bad has not seen God. i. John doesn’t tell Gaius to watch out for Diotrephes. He tells Gaius not to become Diotrephes. ii. But lest we think this is another instance in scripture where the scriptures seem to suggest that we can by works either forfeit or earn our salvation, John clarifies and assures Gaius with an axiom. A truth statement etched in stone. iii. The one who does good IS OF GOD. His identity is where his action flows out of. He IS, therefore he acts. But the opposite is also true. iv. The one who does what is bad HAS NOT SEEN (at any time) God. You can’t be His child, having never approached His throne. v. If I can translate the thought of John it would be this… vi. Gaius… my friend… do not be like Diotrephes! But fret not, if you are a true child of God, you won’t. So, since God has enabled you to do good, go and do good! vii. I and II John were full of these kinds of statements. John tells us what actions will flow from someone who is born of God, but then commands that his readers go do them. In this, there is no contradiction… in fact, there is great assurance. viii. Those who are truly God’s are destined for good works… which gives us confidence to go do them f. [Slide 7] Passage Truth: So John to Gaius warns and illustrates the power of self-love and desiring to be first. Such idolatry is devastating to the church and ultimately will leave one in ruin and rebuke. g. Passage Application: So John tells Gaius not to imitate what is bad but to imitate what is good. John has another example that he is going to give to Gaius very shortly, but in brief, we could see the antithesis of Diotrephes as a good start on a template to follow. h. [Slide 8] Broader Biblical Truth: Zooming out from III John, the idol of self has been around since the garden of Eden. Where Eve and then Adam were tempted to turn their hearts in on themselves and seek power and knowledge without God. The ripples of this root (which some say is the core of all sin) have many flowers. And lack of submission to church authority and even lording over people and excommunicating people for not agreeing with you would be expressions of that idolatrous heart. In truth we all long to sit on the throne of our hearts. [Slide 9] John Stott says it well “Self-love vitiates all relationships. Diotrephes slandered John, cold shouldered the missionaries and excommunicated the loyal believers – all because he loved himself and wanted to have the preeminence. Personal vanity still lies at the root of most dissensions in every local church today.” Pg 235 stott. i. [Slide 10] Broader Biblical Application: So for us the application is the same as to Gaius. Watch out! Not that some of these men may creep in among you. Although that certainly could be one aspect of this. But primarily John says to watch out so that you too do not become another Diotrephes. Selfless, submissive, love is the true fruit of those born of God. Lacking that, is evidence that you may not be Fathered of God at all. Transition: [Slide 11 (blank)] My points are vastly uneven in this message. The first point is far larger than the others. My seminary professors would not be amused. Well – they aren’t here are they.

Today, June 28, 2020 marks two years since five Capital Gazette employees were killed in a mass shooting at their Annapolis office. Help It's the Miami Knight Show- Grief Talk honor their lives by creating awareness of irresponsible gun ownership and how we can make a difference through story sharing and advocacy. Andrea Chamblee's husband of 33 years, John McNamara, was killed in the mass shooting at the Annapolis Capitol on June 28th 2018. She finished John's fourth book-his life's work a 300 page love letter, called a Capital of Basketball, on 100 years of DC High School hoops. Andrea’s day job is a government lawyer with the food and drug administration. Andrea’s a survivor fellow with Everytown Survivor Network for gun safety and a volunteer with Mom's Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. In her advocacy she has pushed Maryland lawmakers to close the gap by requiring background checks for all rifles and shotguns. John McNamara loved covering sports. He was a master of statistics and rankings. In Capital of Basketball, John discusses the trends and evolution of the game, John built beautiful relationships with coaches, teaches and the players. McNamara also uncovers the turmoil in the lives of the players and area residents as they dealt with prejudice, educational inequities, politics, and the ways the area has changed through the years. Today, June 28, 2020 marks two years since five Capital Gazette employees were killed when a gunman opened fire at the Annapolis office. A memorial to honor John and four pillars named The Guardians of Free Speech is set to be unveiled in Newman Park in June 2021. Since John’s death Andrea has become a Gun Violence Prevention Advocate sharing her story with an array of audiences. She’s been featured on CBS Evening News, Montgomery Talks Podcast, Gaithersburg Book Festival, WUSA9, Ignite Annapolis, Great Day Washington, WTOP News, STJohnsNorwood Forum, USA Today sports, Washington Post, CNN Live and now It’s the Miami Knight Show Grief Talk. Let’s welcome her. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wNQoLt5mTI

John Lavin joined us from the Safety 3rd Motorsports racing team for a great discussion of his racing and team history, including how his background in racing snowmobiles, motorcycles, and snowboarding has led to and helped with his racing cars.  His team started with an initial car that was intended for Lemons but ended up being a second gen Supra that was better fitting into an episode of Better Call Saul and ended up in ChampCar and started with the usual issues and tremendous stories as his team grew.  The team is currently running in several ChampCar events each year, as well as several other organizations in multiple divisions.  We are hoping to talk John into letting us attend one of their upcoming races to learn more, if they will have us.  Please follow them on Instagram at Safety3rdMotorsports.  In our Dominating with Dawson segment, we go into racing in the rain and while some complain, it’s really actually better in many ways for learning and definitely should not be skipped or avoided. We hope you enjoy the episode! Best regards, Bill, Vicki, Jennifer, and Alan Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast and team members in the GHiT Immature Endurance Racing Team Highlights from the episode include: 1)  Sharing the pain of herding cats as the team manager’s primary role. 2)  It appears John's path is similar to Bill’s, just executed much better. 3)  VIR gets another big endorsement, and it wasn’t from Ben this time. 4)  First race stories for the team, a true 24-hour race at VIR. 5)  Why they eventually switched from a Supra to a BMW to the annoyance of all the Fast and Furious fans. 6)  Racing is really a situation of management by crisis, we agree and couldn’t have said it any better. 7)  Several discussions on the differences and benefits of a racing school, as compared to HPDE’s and track days. 8)  A comparison of ChampCar and the Lemons series, with a bit about AER as well. 9)  How the teams racing philosophy has changed as they have become faster and a bit more competitive. 10)  A very good discussion on transitioning a team from having run racing a car to racing to compete.  A challenge our team is likely approaching. 11)  We offer our excellent BBQ rub and BBQ sauce for some of their secret sauce, so far to no avail, lol. 12)  Practicing at track days vs learning from an instructor and several other benefits of instruction. 13)  A discussion on the various aspects of car control, what it is and several techniques that can be used to improve it. 14)  The everlasting rumor of Lime Rock closing has reached Vicki for the first time. 15)  John even sneaks in a discussion of the modern style racing line for Lime Rock. 16)  Since John’s team races an E36, we can't help but discuss some of his thoughts on the E36 setups and even more importantly how to evaluate and develop them for yourself or when using a shop to assist. 17)  We even went into more depth around tire temperature and tire pressure and tire selection. 18)  A dual team meetup is preliminarily in the works and sounds like it will be great fun!  Still working on the Baja road trip invitation though.  Lol. 19)  Bill tries to talk John into lowering his standards and joining us for a race or for weekend racing fun.  Still TBD to see if John is capable of making a decision that bad. 20)   John was even gracious in acknowledging our difficulty with the rear hub bearing a few weeks back.  We may even be able to replace the control arm Bill broke after our quarantine ends. 21)  Towards the end, we even went into team HPDE and team bonding ideology that are helpful to all levels of teams.

This week on the pod, Zach and John talk about the commercialization of the nearest part of the Final Frontier: Low Earth Orbit! First, off, we discuss how we get there, and just how deep your pockets need to be to pay for a trip. Really, is it even worth it? Since John and I weren't asked to comment (for some reason) NASA instead consulted investment and aerospace firms alike to ponder that question. And finally, once we get to LEO, what kinds of dangers to we need to look out for?

If you know cars... you know GarageGoals.Official! Today my neighbor John Soria joins me and let's us take a look at what's in his garage! Since John was young he had a passion for cars in all forms, his father got him into them and he would attend all car shows and NASCAR races he could so it was embedded into him. Even at a young age John was a 1%er. He was never handed anything and knew if he wanted something he would have to work for it. He was hustling from a young age to make money, taking on any job that he could because he knew the life he wanted to obtain would not come easy. Can you believe becoming a Millionaire by age 19? Well that was the outcome of Johns Hustle! Wanna find out how he did it? Make sure you catch this short Podcast! Much Love, Dr. Sam Bakhtiar

In this episode I chat with MotoAmerica Twins Cup motorcycle racer Chris Bays and listener John Gardiner who won the MotoAmerica weekend pass that Chris and I make available via the recent give-a-way. As of this recording, John had not yet used the ticket, but was going to see the races in Pittsburgh, PA the following weekend. Since John had never seen any form of racing before, he had a lot of questions to ask about motorcycle racing and this get together was the perfect opportunity for Chris and I to answer them…Chris as the MotoAmerica racer…and me as the MotoAmerica fan. John did see the Championship of Pittsburgh and got to meet Chris in person. John had a great time at the races and sent me lots of photos and video while he was there. Without a doubt we now have a new motorcycle racing fan in our midst…which is a big win for Chris and I, and anyone else who wants to see the sport of motorcycle racing continue to grow! Episode Links MotoAmerica (https://motoamerica.com/) Chris Bays Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/chrisbays621) Chris Bays Racing 621 on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/chrisbays621/) Bays Racing 621 on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiSBLlKIvqSodZeaWTYTaRw) RBoM Racing on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/RBoMracing/) John Gardiner IV on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AstroG4) Chris Ulrich (http://www.teamhammer.com/team/bios/ulrich/) Team Hammer (http://www.teamhammer.com/) M4 Ecstar Suzuki Road Racing Team (http://suzukicycles.com/Racing/Road%20Racing/TeamSuzuki/Team%20M4%20Suzuki.aspx) M4 Exhaust (https://m4exhaust.com/) Ecstar Suzuki Genuine Oil (https://store.suzukicycles.com/content/ECSTARR9000/1220.0.1.1) Team Suzuki (https://www.suzuki-racing.com/) Dunlop Racing Tires (https://www.dunlopracing.com/) Dunlop Tires (https://www.dunloptires.com/) Road Racing World Magazine (https://www.roadracingworld.com/) MotoGP (http://www.motogp.com/) World Superbike (WorldSBK) (http://www.worldsbk.com/) British Superbikes (BSB) (https://www.britishsuperbike.com/) Autralian Superbike Championship (ASBK) (https://www.asbk.com.au/) Australian Superbike Championship (https://www.asbk.com.au/) German Superbike (https://www.superbike-idm.de/) Spain World Superike (https://www.cyclenews.com/2019/06/article/2019-spain-world-superbike-results/) Isle of Man TT (IOMTT) (https://www.iomttraces.com) Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race 2019 (https://www.fimewc.com/event/suzuka-8-hours-2019/) American Flat Track (AFT) (https://www.americanflattrack.com/) Western Eastern Roadracing Association (WERA) (http://wera.com/) Barber Motorsports Park (https://barberracingevents.com/) Definition of "homologation" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homologation) The Woman Revving Motorcycles like Music in Japan ("Cutting Calls") (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6Y2uDkbxDI) Discussing the Two Seater Experience on the Throttled Podcast (https://youtu.be/lb2GAczPs0s?t=04m30s) Throttled Motorcycle Podcast (http://www.throttledpodcast.com) Episode 008: Interview with New Rider and New Motorcycle Owner "G4" (https://soyouwanttoride.fireside.fm/008) Episode 014: First Update from New Rider "G4" (https://www.soyouwanttorideamotorcycle.com/014) Episode 023: MotoAmerica Twins Cup Racer Chris Bays (https://www.soyouwanttorideamotorcycle.com/023) Contact Me * Donate to support the podcast (https://paypal.me/christophergeiss?locale.x=en_US) * Email: soyouwanttoride@yahoo.com * Twitter: @soyouwanttoride (https://twitter.com/soyouwanttoride) * Instagram: so.you.want.to.ride (https://www.instagram.com/so.you.want.to.ride/) * Facebook: @so.you.want.to.ride (https://www.facebook.com/so.you.want.to.ride) * Podcast Web Site (http://www.soyouwanttorideamotorcycle.com) * Podcast YouTube Channel (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UClDjOlGOdK-SK8WB6jRdZ4Q) * Old Man Slacker on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/oldmanslacker/) * Old Man Slacker on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/oldmanslacker/) Special Guests: Chris Bays and John Gardiner IV (G4).

This week on the Worst. Comic. Podcast. EVER!, you only get two hosts, but you still get a full episode of nerdy goodness. Cullen and Jerry are back in the studio to talk about: Comic shops visited in the past week. The end of The Walking Dead comic book series. The end of Vertigo Comics & MAD. Seeing Spider-Man: Far From Home. (Don't worry -- no spoilers!) Our Pick 3 choices for next Wednesday, July 17. Since John was not with us this week, we made his pick for him. Listen in and let us know if we made the right pick for him. We would love to hear your comments on the show. Let us know what you've been reading or watching this week. Contact us on our website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or by email. We want to hear from you! As always, we are the Worst. Comic. Podcast. EVER! and we hope you enjoy the show. The Worst. Comic. Podcast. EVER! is proudly sponsored by Clint’s Comics. Clint’s is located at 3941 Main in Kansas City, Missouri, and is open Monday through Saturday. Whether it is new comics, trade paperbacks, action figures, statues, posters, or T-shirts, the friendly and knowledgeable staff can help you find whatever it is that you need. You should also know that Clint’s has the most extensive collection of back issues in the metro area. If you need to find a particular book to finish the run of a title, head on down to Clint’s or check out their website at clintscomics.com. Tell them that the Worst. Comic. Podcast. EVER! sent you.

Dave Dameshek is joined in Studio 66 by John Gonzalez of The Ringer! The duo starts out joking about Shek not kicking out John's boss, Bill Simmons, out of their fantasy football league (4:50). Since John is from Philly they then get into the Eagles moving on from Nick Foles and the pressure Carson Wentz may have on him (9:56). Next, John breaks down the big Anthony Davis to the Lakers trade and who else potentially may join Davis in LA (29:25). They also get into why the Toronto Raptors championship is an outlier in the age of super teams (45:07). Finally, they round out the show talking about the great success of John's wife, Colleen Wolfe (1:11:13).

Dave Dameshek is joined in Studio 66 by John Gonzalez of The Ringer! The duo starts out joking about Shek not kicking out John's boss, Bill Simmons, out of their fantasy football league (4:50). Since John is from Philly they then get into the Eagles moving on from Nick Foles and the pressure Carson Wentz may have on him (9:56). Next, John breaks down the big Anthony Davis to the Lakers trade and who else potentially may join Davis in LA (29:25). They also get into why the Toronto Raptors championship is an outlier in the age of super teams (45:07). Finally, they round out the show talking about the great success of John's wife, Colleen Wolfe (1:11:13).

Since John shared his Dead Bambi story as a comedy piece a couple shows back, we're dedicating an entire show to stories that relate in some way to Death. LULZ!

Since John shared his Dead Bambi story as a comedy piece a couple shows back, we're dedicating an entire show to stories that relate in some way to Death. LULZ!

Good morning! If you are visiting with us today, I want to welcome you once again to Grace Bible Fellowship Church. It’s an honor to be worshiping with you today. We are back in First John where John is going to highlight what it means to be discerning. He told us at the end of chapter three that we can be assured of our salvation, and today he is going to help us to be discerning about teachers we listen to as well as provide some practical tests for us. In 1 John 4:1-6, John says… 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. INTRODUCTION Have you ever been tricked or fooled by someone or something? You thought it was true or real but you found out it wasn’t. That was the case for many who thought they were going to strike it rich during the California Gold Rush. During the gold rush of the mid-1800s, the word “Eureka!” was an exclamation used by many who had struck it rich. Eureka means “I have found it!” This word summed up every treasure hunter’s dream and expressed the thrill of striking real pay dirt. The term eureka also meant instant riches, early retirement, and a life of carefree ease. However, many prospectors quickly learned that not everything that appeared to be gold actually was. They were fooled! Some riverbeds and rock quarries sparkled with golden specks that seemed like a eureka moment. However, it was nothing more than iron pyrite, commonly known as “fool’s gold.” Miners had to be very discerning and careful to distinguish this fool’s gold from the real thing. Most experienced miners could usually distinguish pyrite from gold simply by looking at it. However, in some cases, the distinction was not quite so clear. As a result, they developed tests to discern genuine gold from fool’s gold. One test involved biting the rock in question since real gold is softer than the human tooth whereas fool’s gold is harder. That must have resulted in a lot of broken teeth for those gold miners. There were other tests developed, however the ultimate point is miners had to rely on these test to authenticate real gold from fake gold. Just looking at it wasn’t enough. Spiritually speaking, Christians often find themselves in a similar position to these gold miners. When confronted with various doctrines and religious teachings, all of which claim to be true and seem to have a bit of truth sprinkled in, believers must be able to discern those that are biblically sound from those that are not. Let’s face it, just because something glitters doesn’t mean it’s good. Christians need to be equally wary of spiritual “fool’s gold.” We must not accept something as true without first testing it to see if it meets God’s standard. If it fails the test, Christians should discard it as false and warn others about it. But if it meets the test in keeping with the truth of God’s Word, believers can embrace it and endorse it wholeheartedly. John is saying here in this passage to be discerning and test what we see and hear. So John tells us that we need to first… LEARN TO LIVE DISCERNINGLY Spiritual “fool’s gold” and “false teachers” are nothing new. In fact, the old and new testaments are filled with warnings about false teachers: Isaiah 8:19 When they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.” Matthew 24:4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.” We are also warned about the counterfeit doctrines that these false teachers spread. In 1 Timothy chapter one, Paul tells young Timothy: 1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, 4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. 5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, 7 wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. And 2 Peter chapter two says: 2 Peter 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Therefore, we must be discerning or, as Ephesians 4:14 says, we will be “children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.” First Thessalonians 5:21-22 says that it is crucial that we “examine everything carefully” in order to “hold fast to that which is good [and] abstain from every form of evil.” Otherwise, we increase our vulnerability to Satan’s deceptive attacks and manipulative perversions. Let’s take a look at Satan’s approach. Satan’s basic strategy for attacking truth was first highlighted in the Garden of Eden. The first thing he tried was he cast doubt on what God had said about eating the fruit of the tree of life when he said, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat?’” If Satan can get you to just start questioning what God has said, you have opened the door for further criticism. Secondly, Satan denied outright what God had said to Adam when he said, “You surely will not die!” Now Satan calls God a liar! That is truly an insane step to take but Satan is desperate to take everyone down with him. And finally, he distorted what God had specifically told Adam when he said, “you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Satan and his demonic forces have used this same approach of casting doubt, outright denial and distortion of truth as they have waged a relentless, non-stop campaign against the truth of God’s Word and those who are followers of Jesus Christ. Scripture contains many references to the long struggle for knowing, upholding, and obeying the truth. In the old testament, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Elijah, and the prophets continually called God’s people back to the truth from false doctrine and idolatry. And in the new testament, Jesus Himself warned of false prophets as did Paul, John, and Jude. Today, there are many so-called pastors, teachers and evangelists that continue spewing false and perverted doctrine in an attempt to destroy you. Just like in the Garden of Eden, the source of error can always be traced back to satanic roots. That is why Paul told Timothy: 1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron. Let’s make it really clear: Any ideology, philosophy, opinion, or religion other than God’s truth fits into Satan’s agenda. That is why it is so important for us to recognize the difference. If we fail to be discerning, we will not only be confused and unable to discern error for ourselves, we will also be unable to accurately convey the truth to others. So we must do three things, 1) guard the truth by knowing it, 2) hold it as a firm conviction, and 3) distinguish it from what is false. By being faithful to sound doctrine, we will be able to teach others. John knew that his readers were under attack from false teachers so he commanded them to test those who claim to teach the truth. He gave them reasons why such testing is crucial and guidelines for how it should be conducted. So John is going to lay out a strategy that all Christians can use for distinguishing between God’s true spiritual riches and Satan’s “fool’s gold.” John starts by saying that there is… A COMMAND TO TEST 1 John 4:1a Beloved, do not believe every spirit… John just discussed the abiding work of the Holy Spirit in true believers at the end of chapter three, now he transitions to the work of unholy, evil spirits in false teachers and their false teachings. Because these supernatural spirits are experts in deception, Christians must be careful to closely examine every spiritual message they encounter. As I mentioned earlier, 1 Thessalonians 5:21–22, tells us to, “...examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” John is literally saying to “stop believing” false doctrines. Due to the present tense of the word “believe,” John’s phrasing indicates that the action is already under way and that believers are to stop believing these spirits. If any of his readers were accepting the message of false teachers, they were to stop doing so immediately. They needed to exercise some biblical discernment just like the Bereans of whom Luke wrote in Acts 17:11 when he said, “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Unbelievers, whose understanding has been darkened according to Ephesians 4:18, have no basis on which to evaluate false teachings that claim divine origin. According to 1 Corinthians 2:14, “…a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” Therefore, they are highly susceptible to false doctrine and can easily be led astray into error. But believers, who have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit living within them, must test what they hear with what they know to be true, as revealed in God’s Word. John tells us there is a commandment to be discerning and test every spirit and now he says… THERE IS A REASON TO TEST 1 John 4:1b …but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. The term translated “test” is used to refer to a metallurgist’s assaying of metals to test their purity and value. Since John uses the present tense of the term “test” it indicates that believers are to continually test the spirits “to see whether they are from God.” Christians are to continually evaluate what they see, hear, and read to determine if it originated from the Spirit of God or, alternatively, from Satan. Of course the only reliable way to test any teaching is to measure it against what God has revealed in His infallible, written Word. 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. As the perfect standard of truth, the Word of God provides believers with their primary defense against error. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. God’s Word is able to divide truth from lies and to know the reality of what is going on in our hearts. John says there are not just a few false prophets, he says “many false prophets have gone out into the world.” We need to realize that Satan does not merely want to oppose the church, he wants to deceive and destroy every single person he can. Satan, with his deceitful schemes, with support from his demons, has infiltrated denominations, institutions, churches, schools, and organizations, resulting in compromise and ultimately error. There are many false prophets that Satan is using to deceive those inside and outside church. Satan not only develops lies that directly deny biblical truth, but he is also very subtle, often mixing some truth with some error. After all, some truth mixed with error is usually far more effective and far more destructive than a direct contradiction of the truth. Those who believe everything they read from the Christian bookstore or what they hear on Christian radio or what they see on Christian television shows are prime targets for doctrinal deception. Think about it for a minute, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.” So Satan masquerades his lies as truth. He does not have to always wage war openly against the truth. He is much more likely to attack the truth by infiltrating the church with subtle error. He uses the “Trojan Horse” approach by placing his false teachers in the church where they can selectively and secretly introduce destructive heresies. Satan puts his lies in the mouth of someone who claims to speak truth from God’s Word. That way, Satan disguises error as truth and makes evil look like it is good. For this reason, Jesus Himself warned of false prophets in Matthew 7 where He says: Matthew 7:15 Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. Christians who ignore the Lord’s warning are living a very risky life. It is absolutely imperative that believers practice biblical discernment. John now goes on to highlight the… GUIDELINES ON HOW TO TEST 1 John 4:2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. John sets forth three familiar tests for determining whether a teacher and his message reflect the Spirit of God or the spirit of Satan. Here are the three tests: 1) Does the person confess Jesus Christ is from God? 2) Does the person manifest evidence of the fruit of righteousness? And lastly, 3) Is the person committed to the Word of God? Therefore, true teachers are characterized by a confession that Jesus Christ is from God and is God, a possession of a righteous life, and a profession that God’s Word is the divine law. Those who fail to exhibit these traits prove that they are not from God. Let’s take the first test… CONFESSION OF JESUS CHRIST AS GOD 1 John 4:2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. The first test is a theological test although more specifically it is a Christological test. The question is, “Does this person confess and teach that Jesus Christ is from God?” The word “confesses” in this passage means “to say the same thing.” Every teacher who agrees with scripture that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, confesses a truth taught by the Holy Spirit—that Jesus Christ is God incarnate. If you will recall, John is just echoing a very clear Christological statement that he made when he opened this letter. All the way back in 1 John 1:1-3, he said: 1 John 1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came from God the Father as the living Word of God who became flesh: John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus is one with the Father and is manifested to us as the second person of the Trinity – the Son of God. According to God’s plan, Jesus came in the flesh to die a substitutionary death for all who believe in Him as Lord and Savior. John continues to emphasize the deity of Christ and teaches that no one can honor the Father without honoring the Son because they are one. For an individual to be saved, one must believe that Jesus is eternal deity who became a man. Jesus is not a created being! However, many ancient false teachers and some current day religions such as the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus is just a man which implies he was created and specifically denies that He is God. Even for those who have an intellectual belief of the truth that Jesus is God, it will not save them. James 2:19 says that even the demons believe and shutter. To be saved one must acknowledge Jesus as Lord. According to Romans chapter 10: Romans 10:9 …if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. A person’s understanding and acceptance of Jesus’ identity as the Son of God is the ultimate litmus test of the legitimacy of his professed faith. In today’s politically correct world it is becoming increasingly popular to affirm that all monotheistic religions worship the same God. But the fact is, they do not! Jesus made this point very clear in Luke 10:16 when He said, “The one who listens to you (referring to the disciples) listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.” Jesus also said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” Every spirit propagating any religion or philosophy that does not confess Jesus, is absolutely not from God. This type of teaching is both erroneous, heretical and ultimately a rejection of Christ. John emphasizes the spirit of the antichrist several times through this epistle. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 and 8-9, all believers have heard that the final Antichrist is coming, but John is telling us that the spirit of the antichrist is already in the world. This spirit of the antichrist is evident in false religions and their deviant doctrine. The true nature of Jesus Christ is predictably denied by false teachers and the religious systems they promote. However, those teachers who rightly understand Jesus Christ as God and portray Him and His work on the Cross prove they possess the Spirit of truth. The second test for determining whether a teacher and his message reflect the Spirit of God or the spirit of Satan is whether the person is… MANIFESTING EVIDENCE OF A RIGHTEOUS GOD-LIKE LIFE 1 John 4:4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. When Jesus came to earth, God became a partaker of human nature. Philippians 2:7-8 says “but [He] emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Although God became a partaker of human nature through incarnation, it is through salvation that believers become partakers of the divine nature. According to 2 Peter 1:4, Peter says, “For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature…” In John’s statement where he says, “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world,” he is primarily affirming the believer’s security against the false teachers. Peter highlights that all true Christians possess an incorruptible seed of eternal life that means no satanic deception can take them out of God’s saving hand. Those who have been truly born again have been given a supernatural insight into the Truth and a discernment that protects them from false doctrine and those who teach it. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul summaries this point very well when he says: 1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. 14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. Believers may be unsure of some peripheral matters but should never be unsure about the foundational truths of the gospel, such as the person and work of Jesus Christ. True believers will not be fooled when false teachers invariably attempt to change the fundamental work of Christ by advocating some form of salvation by works or any other means to be reconciled to God. Contrary to God’s Word, false teachers and their followers cling to worldly ideas. They do this because “they are from the world; therefore, they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.” Although it is not always obvious, false teachers demonstrate that they are anything but genuine servants of Christ through what they say and how they live. On the other hand, true believers, resist worldly ideas because they have overcome the world. The last test for determining if a teacher and his message reflect the Spirit of God or the spirit of Satan is whether there is a … TRUE PROFESSION OF THE DIVINE LAW 1 John 4:6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. In contrast to the false teachers, Truth teachers proclaim God’s revealed Word as the source of all truth. All Truth teachers accurately proclaim the Word of God, and the person who knows God listens to these true teachers. However, anyone who is not from God does not listen to their teachings. The Canon, comprising both the old and new testaments, is therefore the sole authority by which Christians must test all spiritual teachings. God’s Word is absolutely reliable and more sure than human experiences or senses. It is trustworthy in every jot and tittle. It is unchanging and eternal. In fact, in Matthew 24:34, Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” According to John 17:17, it is the truth standard and by that standard, along with the help of the Holy Spirit, believers know the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error. APPLICATION/CLOSING Today, John has reminded us that we are commanded to live discerning lives and to test all things we see and hear against the truth of Scripture. We are to also test those who claim to be true teachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are to test them to see if they profess Jesus Christ is God incarnate in the flesh and that God the Father sent Him to become Savior. We are to test them to see if these teachers manifest a righteous, God-like life. And lastly we are test them to see if they proclaim God’s Word as the divine law. In a world predominantly infiltrated with demonic false teaching, believers must constantly test the spirits, the false teachings of others, to discern what is from God and what is not. Using the tests that John has outlined here, we can discern true spiritual gems from doctrinal “fool’s gold.” Like the noble Bereans, we are called to compare every spiritual message we encounter to the revealed standard of Scripture. Only then can we obey Jude’s admonition in verse 3 to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” By faithfully guarding the truth in the present, believers will preserve it both for themselves and for future generations. John says… 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Let’s pray.

For anyone who has suffered a serious illness, whether personally or with a child; anyone facing the challenges of autoimmune disease; and any medical professionals who have worked to help them, Allison Greene has walked in these shoes. I met Allison in 2013 while working on a story for the South Carolina Hospital Association advocating for the South Carolina’s Legislature to consider expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Her son's story became a central focus of the story, one of heart, soul, trials and tribulations. Allison has worked in healthcare communications for more than twenty-five years and currently works for a large healthcare system in the upstate of South Carolina. Allison's story has so many intersections intertwined with one basic narrative, her son John almost died. Since that moment, she has spent many years fighting and navigating a system that has employed her; not only fighting for John's life and care, but also fighting a healthcare delivery system entangled with bureaucratic and political dilemmas that a seasoned healthcare communicator can barely unwind. Since John Got Sick: A Quest for Survival and Faith is the story of a young man’s heroic battle to survive both the initial onslaught and the ongoing assault of a traumatic autoimmune disease and its ensuing consequences (including dialysis, disability, transplant, depression, opioid dependence, and post-traumatic stress disorder). Simultaneously, it is the story of a mother’s love and strength against daunting odds, including donating a kidney. Check Out Links Below: [Book] Since John Got Sick: A Quest for Survival and Faith [Video] South Carolina's Uninsured: The Need for Medicaid Expansion (2013) [Facebook Page] Since John Got Sick

Summary: Our podcast made an impression on some judges in Detroit as we were finalists in the mother of all journalist comps—the Golden Quills. Didn't win but scored an interview with Lexi Belfulfine, founder of the Incline, and Trib Total Media mastermind Bobby Cherry. Plus we amp up for our charitable porch tour and collect items for Zachary's Mission Zack Packs while we listen to Mall at Robinson neighbor's sales pitches.   Episode Music: Pittsburgh Band, Shin Guard, “Flubline” from their EP “Five Songs.” Follow and download their music! 02:00 Opening.. oh.. we have a fake cook out going on.  And, J&D Waterproofing is our sponsor again this year for the Summer Porch Tour but… this year we are going to build Zack Packs for Zachary's Mission at each stop! What was on the blog this week? A full salute to EMS with heartfelt stories and kudos to those who impact lives every day.  QUESTION OF THE DAY: What is your “go to” side dish to bring to picnics and parties?  SPONSOR:  Total Sports Enterprises at the Mall at Robinson is an auction haven.  Stop in to select items to enhance your event, gala, golf outing and more.  From 16x20 signed memorabilia to photo seatbacks, canvases and more, TSE is your auction option.  Contact one of us or visit tseshop.com for more information on how you can create revenue for your company, business or organization with the help of items from TSE where every day is game day.   04:01 Neil from Full Body Balance, negative ion store, the oasis in The Mall at Robinson, talks about natural and essential oils and the healing properties of Himalayan Salt and their salt room! 18:10 Lexi Belculfine, Founding Editor, The Incline.com, a vibrant, sharp-witted on-line Pittsburgh publication won 2 golden quills and then we hung out!  Our interview with her from the Rivers Casino party. 27:44 Since John screwed up the recording device while interviewing the Trib/Sewickley Herald Editor, Bobby Cherry, he came to visit us at the mall!  Ntawww.. how nice is he? Where does he see journalism today and where is it going?  47:29   Closing.. security is chasing us out!  But don't forget about the J&D Waterproofing Summer Porch Tour… and building Zack Packs! SPONSOR:  Total Sports Enterprises at the Mall at Robinson is an auction haven.  Stop in to select items to enhance your event, gala, golf outing and more.  From 16x20 signed memorabilia to photo seatbacks, canvases and more, TSE is your auction option.  Contact one of us or visit tseshop.com for more information on how you can create revenue for your company, business or organization with the help of items from TSE where every day is game day.   Find daily #Jagoffs posts at www.YaJagoff.com   How to Listen Regularly: All shows are free and available to listen 24/7/365 nationwide. Audio-On-Demand in-your-hand, on smartphone, tablet, laptop and desktop computers.  – Available to APPLE users on the iTunes and Podcast app.  – Available to ANDROID users on Google Play Music,  – Available to ALL users via YaJagoff.com, Stitcher, or tunein * SEARCH: YaJagoff Podcast * • iTunes • Google Play Music • tunein • RSS • Libsyn • YaJagoff Website   Thanks, To: • Photo Credits: Hannah Lapiska• Production: Hannah Lapiska   How to Follow Everyone on Twitter:  • Total Sports Enterprises @TotalSportsEnt  • John Chamberlin @YaJagoff  • Rachael Rennebeck @RachaelRennebe3 • Shin Guard (band) @ShinGuardPgh • Negative Ion Store @AlkalinePGH • Lexi Belculfine @LexiBelc • The Incline @TheInclinePGH • Bobby Cherry @GoBobbo • Sewickley Herald @SewickleyHerald  • Zachary's Mission @ZacharysMission  See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John wasn't able to make it to our recording session this week due to work commitments, and after he complained about us being too negative last week we decided to be positive for a change. On this new episode we talk about some of the things we've been enjoying recently — anything from trivia apps to pro wrestling and smoothies, and a bunch of other stuff in between. You can call us now at 304-627-1889 and leave us a voicemail. Keep an eye out for future call-in topics to keep the conversation going. Send us an email at phoningitinpodcast@gmail.com or tweet us @PhoningItInPod or talk to us on Facebook if you have any comments or anything you want us to talk about on the show. Download the episode and subscribe to our show on iTunes, Spotify or in the Google Play store. Be sure to rate and comment on the show and spread the word if you enjoy it!

The Twelve Apostles 139:0.1 (1548.1) IT IS an eloquent testimony to the charm and righteousness of Jesus’ earth life that, although he repeatedly dashed to pieces the hopes of his apostles and tore to shreds their every ambition for personal exaltation, only one deserted him. 139:0.2 (1548.2) The apostles learned from Jesus about the kingdom of heaven, and Jesus learned much from them about the kingdom of men, human nature as it lives on Urantia and on the other evolutionary worlds of time and space. These twelve men represented many different types of human temperament, and they had not been made alike by schooling. Many of these Galilean fishermen carried heavy strains of gentile blood as a result of the forcible conversion of the gentile population of Galilee one hundred years previously. 139:0.3 (1548.3) Do not make the mistake of regarding the apostles as being altogether ignorant and unlearned. All of them, except the Alpheus twins, were graduates of the synagogue schools, having been thoroughly trained in the Hebrew scriptures and in much of the current knowledge of that day. Seven were graduates of the Capernaum synagogue schools, and there were no better Jewish schools in all Galilee. 139:0.4 (1548.4) When your records refer to these messengers of the kingdom as being “ignorant and unlearned,” it was intended to convey the idea that they were laymen, unlearned in the lore of the rabbis and untrained in the methods of rabbinical interpretation of the Scriptures. They were lacking in so-called higher education. In modern times they would certainly be considered uneducated, and in some circles of society even uncultured. One thing is certain: They had not all been put through the same rigid and stereotyped educational curriculum. From adolescence on they had enjoyed separate experiences of learning how to live. 1. Andrew, the First Chosen 139:1.1 (1548.5) Andrew, chairman of the apostolic corps of the kingdom, was born in Capernaum. He was the oldest child in a family of five — himself, his brother Simon, and three sisters. His father, now dead, had been a partner of Zebedee in the fish-drying business at Bethsaida, the fishing harbor of Capernaum. When he became an apostle, Andrew was unmarried but made his home with his married brother, Simon Peter. Both were fishermen and partners of James and John the sons of Zebedee. 139:1.2 (1548.6) In A.D. 26, the year he was chosen as an apostle, Andrew was 33, a full year older than Jesus and the oldest of the apostles. He sprang from an excellent line of ancestors and was the ablest man of the twelve. Excepting oratory, he was the peer of his associates in almost every imaginable ability. Jesus never gave Andrew a nickname, a fraternal designation. But even as the apostles soon began to call Jesus Master, so they also designated Andrew by a term the equivalent of Chief. 139:1.3 (1549.1) Andrew was a good organizer but a better administrator. He was one of the inner circle of four apostles, but his appointment by Jesus as the head of the apostolic group made it necessary for him to remain on duty with his brethren while the other three enjoyed very close communion with the Master. To the very end Andrew remained dean of the apostolic corps. 139:1.4 (1549.2) Although Andrew was never an effective preacher, he was an efficient personal worker, being the pioneer missionary of the kingdom in that, as the first chosen apostle, he immediately brought to Jesus his brother, Simon, who subsequently became one of the greatest preachers of the kingdom. Andrew was the chief supporter of Jesus’ policy of utilizing the program of personal work as a means of training the twelve as messengers of the kingdom. 139:1.5 (1549.3) Whether Jesus privately taught the apostles or preached to the multitude, Andrew was usually conversant with what was going on; he was an understanding executive and an efficient administrator. He rendered a prompt decision on every matter brought to his notice unless he deemed the problem one beyond the domain of his authority, in which event he would take it straight to Jesus. 139:1.6 (1549.4) Andrew and Peter were very unlike in character and temperament, but it must be recorded everlastingly to their credit that they got along together splendidly. Andrew was never jealous of Peter’s oratorical ability. Not often will an older man of Andrew’s type be observed exerting such a profound influence over a younger and talented brother. Andrew and Peter never seemed to be in the least jealous of each other’s abilities or achievements. Late on the evening of the day of Pentecost, when, largely through the energetic and inspiring preaching of Peter, two thousand souls were added to the kingdom, Andrew said to his brother: “I could not do that, but I am glad I have a brother who could.” To which Peter replied: “And but for your bringing me to the Master and by your steadfastness keeping me with him, I should not have been here to do this.” Andrew and Peter were the exceptions to the rule, proving that even brothers can live together peaceably and work together effectively. 139:1.7 (1549.5) After Pentecost Peter was famous, but it never irritated the older Andrew to spend the rest of his life being introduced as “Simon Peter’s brother.” 139:1.8 (1549.6) Of all the apostles, Andrew was the best judge of men. He knew that trouble was brewing in the heart of Judas Iscariot even when none of the others suspected that anything was wrong with their treasurer; but he told none of them his fears. Andrew’s great service to the kingdom was in advising Peter, James, and John concerning the choice of the first missionaries who were sent out to proclaim the gospel, and also in counseling these early leaders about the organization of the administrative affairs of the kingdom. Andrew had a great gift for discovering the hidden resources and latent talents of young people. 139:1.9 (1549.7) Very soon after Jesus’ ascension on high, Andrew began the writing of a personal record of many of the sayings and doings of his departed Master. After Andrew’s death other copies of this private record were made and circulated freely among the early teachers of the Christian church. These informal notes of Andrew’s were subsequently edited, amended, altered, and added to until they made up a fairly consecutive narrative of the Master’s life on earth. The last of these few altered and amended copies was destroyed by fire at Alexandria about one hundred years after the original was written by the first chosen of the twelve apostles. 139:1.10 (1550.1) Andrew was a man of clear insight, logical thought, and firm decision, whose great strength of character consisted in his superb stability. His temperamental handicap was his lack of enthusiasm; he many times failed to encourage his associates by judicious commendation. And this reticence to praise the worthy accomplishments of his friends grew out of his abhorrence of flattery and insincerity. Andrew was one of those all-round, even-tempered, self-made, and successful men of modest affairs. 139:1.11 (1550.2) Every one of the apostles loved Jesus, but it remains true that each of the twelve was drawn toward him because of some certain trait of personality which made a special appeal to the individual apostle. Andrew admired Jesus because of his consistent sincerity, his unaffected dignity. When men once knew Jesus, they were possessed with the urge to share him with their friends; they really wanted all the world to know him. 139:1.12 (1550.3) When the later persecutions finally scattered the apostles from Jerusalem, Andrew journeyed through Armenia, Asia Minor, and Macedonia and, after bringing many thousands into the kingdom, was finally apprehended and crucified in Patrae in Achaia. It was two full days before this robust man expired on the cross, and throughout these tragic hours he continued effectively to proclaim the glad tidings of the salvation of the kingdom of heaven. 2. Simon Peter 139:2.1 (1550.4) When Simon joined the apostles, he was thirty years of age. He was married, had three children, and lived at Bethsaida, near Capernaum. His brother, Andrew, and his wife’s mother lived with him. Both Peter and Andrew were fisher partners of the sons of Zebedee. 139:2.2 (1550.5) The Master had known Simon for some time before Andrew presented him as the second of the apostles. When Jesus gave Simon the name Peter, he did it with a smile; it was to be a sort of nickname. Simon was well known to all his friends as an erratic and impulsive fellow. True, later on, Jesus did attach a new and significant import to this lightly bestowed nickname. 139:2.3 (1550.6) Simon Peter was a man of impulse, an optimist. He had grown up permitting himself freely to indulge strong feelings; he was constantly getting into difficulties because he persisted in speaking without thinking. This sort of thoughtlessness also made incessant trouble for all of his friends and associates and was the cause of his receiving many mild rebukes from his Master. The only reason Peter did not get into more trouble because of his thoughtless speaking was that he very early learned to talk over many of his plans and schemes with his brother, Andrew, before he ventured to make public proposals. 139:2.4 (1550.7) Peter was a fluent speaker, eloquent and dramatic. He was also a natural and inspirational leader of men, a quick thinker but not a deep reasoner. He asked many questions, more than all the apostles put together, and while the majority of these questions were good and relevant, many of them were thoughtless and foolish. Peter did not have a deep mind, but he knew his mind fairly well. He was therefore a man of quick decision and sudden action. While others talked in their astonishment at seeing Jesus on the beach, Peter jumped in and swam ashore to meet the Master. 139:2.5 (1551.1) The one trait which Peter most admired in Jesus was his supernal tenderness. Peter never grew weary of contemplating Jesus’ forbearance. He never forgot the lesson about forgiving the wrongdoer, not only seven times but seventy times and seven. He thought much about these impressions of the Master’s forgiving character during those dark and dismal days immediately following his thoughtless and unintended denial of Jesus in the high priest’s courtyard. 139:2.6 (1551.2) Simon Peter was distressingly vacillating; he would suddenly swing from one extreme to the other. First he refused to let Jesus wash his feet and then, on hearing the Master’s reply, begged to be washed all over. But, after all, Jesus knew that Peter’s faults were of the head and not of the heart. He was one of the most inexplicable combinations of courage and cowardice that ever lived on earth. His great strength of character was loyalty, friendship. Peter really and truly loved Jesus. And yet despite this towering strength of devotion he was so unstable and inconstant that he permitted a servant girl to tease him into denying his Lord and Master. Peter could withstand persecution and any other form of direct assault, but he withered and shrank before ridicule. He was a brave soldier when facing a frontal attack, but he was a fear-cringing coward when surprised with an assault from the rear. 139:2.7 (1551.3) Peter was the first of Jesus’ apostles to come forward to defend the work of Philip among the Samaritans and Paul among the gentiles; yet later on at Antioch he reversed himself when confronted by ridiculing Judaizers, temporarily withdrawing from the gentiles only to bring down upon his head the fearless denunciation of Paul. 139:2.8 (1551.4) He was the first one of the apostles to make wholehearted confession of Jesus’ combined humanity and divinity and the first — save Judas — to deny him. Peter was not so much of a dreamer, but he disliked to descend from the clouds of ecstasy and the enthusiasm of dramatic indulgence to the plain and matter-of-fact world of reality. 139:2.9 (1551.5) In following Jesus, literally and figuratively, he was either leading the procession or else trailing behind — “following afar off.” But he was the outstanding preacher of the twelve; he did more than any other one man, aside from Paul, to establish the kingdom and send its messengers to the four corners of the earth in one generation. 139:2.10 (1551.6) After his rash denials of the Master he found himself, and with Andrew’s sympathetic and understanding guidance he again led the way back to the fish nets while the apostles tarried to find out what was to happen after the crucifixion. When he was fully assured that Jesus had forgiven him and knew he had been received back into the Master’s fold, the fires of the kingdom burned so brightly within his soul that he became a great and saving light to thousands who sat in darkness. 139:2.11 (1551.7) After leaving Jerusalem and before Paul became the leading spirit among the gentile Christian churches, Peter traveled extensively, visiting all the churches from Babylon to Corinth. He even visited and ministered to many of the churches which had been raised up by Paul. Although Peter and Paul differed much in temperament and education, even in theology, they worked together harmoniously for the upbuilding of the churches during their later years. 139:2.12 (1552.1) Something of Peter’s style and teaching is shown in the sermons partially recorded by Luke and in the Gospel of Mark. His vigorous style was better shown in his letter known as the First Epistle of Peter; at least this was true before it was subsequently altered by a disciple of Paul. 139:2.13 (1552.2) But Peter persisted in making the mistake of trying to convince the Jews that Jesus was, after all, really and truly the Jewish Messiah. Right up to the day of his death, Simon Peter continued to suffer confusion in his mind between the concepts of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, Christ as the world’s redeemer, and the Son of Man as the revelation of God, the loving Father of all mankind. 139:2.14 (1552.3) Peter’s wife was a very able woman. For years she labored acceptably as a member of the women’s corps, and when Peter was driven out of Jerusalem, she accompanied him upon all his journeys to the churches as well as on all his missionary excursions. And the day her illustrious husband yielded up his life, she was thrown to the wild beasts in the arena at Rome. 139:2.15 (1552.4) And so this man Peter, an intimate of Jesus, one of the inner circle, went forth from Jerusalem proclaiming the glad tidings of the kingdom with power and glory until the fullness of his ministry had been accomplished; and he regarded himself as the recipient of high honors when his captors informed him that he must die as his Master had died — on the cross. And thus was Simon Peter crucified in Rome. 3. James Zebedee 139:3.1 (1552.5) James, the older of the two apostle sons of Zebedee, whom Jesus nicknamed “sons of thunder,” was thirty years old when he became an apostle. He was married, had four children, and lived near his parents in the outskirts of Capernaum, Bethsaida. He was a fisherman, plying his calling in company with his younger brother John and in association with Andrew and Simon. James and his brother John enjoyed the advantage of having known Jesus longer than any of the other apostles. 139:3.2 (1552.6) This able apostle was a temperamental contradiction; he seemed really to possess two natures, both of which were actuated by strong feelings. He was particularly vehement when his indignation was once fully aroused. He had a fiery temper when once it was adequately provoked, and when the storm was over, he was always wont to justify and excuse his anger under the pretense that it was wholly a manifestation of righteous indignation. Except for these periodic upheavals of wrath, James’s personality was much like that of Andrew. He did not have Andrew’s discretion or insight into human nature, but he was a much better public speaker. Next to Peter, unless it was Matthew, James was the best public orator among the twelve. 139:3.3 (1552.7) Though James was in no sense moody, he could be quiet and taciturn one day and a very good talker and storyteller the next. He usually talked freely with Jesus, but among the twelve, for days at a time he was the silent man. His one great weakness was these spells of unaccountable silence. 139:3.4 (1552.8) The outstanding feature of James’s personality was his ability to see all sides of a proposition. Of all the twelve, he came the nearest to grasping the real import and significance of Jesus’ teaching. He, too, was slow at first to comprehend the Master’s meaning, but ere they had finished their training, he had acquired a superior concept of Jesus’ message. James was able to understand a wide range of human nature; he got along well with the versatile Andrew, the impetuous Peter, and his self-contained brother John. 139:3.5 (1553.1) Though James and John had their troubles trying to work together, it was inspiring to observe how well they got along. They did not succeed quite so well as Andrew and Peter, but they did much better than would ordinarily be expected of two brothers, especially such headstrong and determined brothers. But, strange as it may seem, these two sons of Zebedee were much more tolerant of each other than they were of strangers. They had great affection for one another; they had always been happy playmates. It was these “sons of thunder” who wanted to call fire down from heaven to destroy the Samaritans who presumed to show disrespect for their Master. But the untimely death of James greatly modified the vehement temperament of his younger brother John. 139:3.6 (1553.2) That characteristic of Jesus which James most admired was the Master’s sympathetic affection. Jesus’ understanding interest in the small and the great, the rich and the poor, made a great appeal to him. 139:3.7 (1553.3) James Zebedee was a well-balanced thinker and planner. Along with Andrew, he was one of the more level-headed of the apostolic group. He was a vigorous individual but was never in a hurry. He was an excellent balance wheel for Peter. 139:3.8 (1553.4) He was modest and undramatic, a daily server, an unpretentious worker, seeking no special reward when he once grasped something of the real meaning of the kingdom. And even in the story about the mother of James and John, who asked that her sons be granted places on the right hand and the left hand of Jesus, it should be remembered that it was the mother who made this request. And when they signified that they were ready to assume such responsibilities, it should be recognized that they were cognizant of the dangers accompanying the Master’s supposed revolt against the Roman power, and that they were also willing to pay the price. When Jesus asked if they were ready to drink the cup, they replied that they were. And as concerns James, it was literally true — he did drink the cup with the Master, seeing that he was the first of the apostles to experience martyrdom, being early put to death with the sword by Herod Agrippa. James was thus the first of the twelve to sacrifice his life upon the new battle line of the kingdom. Herod Agrippa feared James above all the other apostles. He was indeed often quiet and silent, but he was brave and determined when his convictions were aroused and challenged. 139:3.9 (1553.5) James lived his life to the full, and when the end came, he bore himself with such grace and fortitude that even his accuser and informer, who attended his trial and execution, was so touched that he rushed away from the scene of James’s death to join himself to the disciples of Jesus. 4. John Zebedee 139:4.1 (1553.6) When he became an apostle, John was twenty-four years old and was the youngest of the twelve. He was unmarried and lived with his parents at Bethsaida; he was a fisherman and worked with his brother James in partnership with Andrew and Peter. Both before and after becoming an apostle, John functioned as the personal agent of Jesus in dealing with the Master’s family, and he continued to bear this responsibility as long as Mary the mother of Jesus lived. 139:4.2 (1553.7) Since John was the youngest of the twelve and so closely associated with Jesus in his family affairs, he was very dear to the Master, but it cannot be truthfully said that he was “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” You would hardly suspect such a magnanimous personality as Jesus to be guilty of showing favoritism, of loving one of his apostles more than the others. The fact that John was one of the three personal aides of Jesus lent further color to this mistaken idea, not to mention that John, along with his brother James, had known Jesus longer than the others. 139:4.3 (1554.1) Peter, James, and John were assigned as personal aides to Jesus soon after they became apostles. Shortly after the selection of the twelve and at the time Jesus appointed Andrew to act as director of the group, he said to him: “And now I desire that you assign two or three of your associates to be with me and to remain by my side, to comfort me and to minister to my daily needs.” And Andrew thought best to select for this special duty the next three first-chosen apostles. He would have liked to volunteer for such a blessed service himself, but the Master had already given him his commission; so he immediately directed that Peter, James, and John attach themselves to Jesus. 139:4.4 (1554.2) John Zebedee had many lovely traits of character, but one which was not so lovely was his inordinate but usually well-concealed conceit. His long association with Jesus made many and great changes in his character. This conceit was greatly lessened, but after growing old and becoming more or less childish, this self-esteem reappeared to a certain extent, so that, when engaged in directing Nathan in the writing of the Gospel which now bears his name, the aged apostle did not hesitate repeatedly to refer to himself as the “disciple whom Jesus loved.” In view of the fact that John came nearer to being the chum of Jesus than any other earth mortal, that he was his chosen personal representative in so many matters, it is not strange that he should have come to regard himself as the “disciple whom Jesus loved” since he most certainly knew he was the disciple whom Jesus so frequently trusted. 139:4.5 (1554.3) The strongest trait in John’s character was his dependability; he was prompt and courageous, faithful and devoted. His greatest weakness was this characteristic conceit. He was the youngest member of his father’s family and the youngest of the apostolic group. Perhaps he was just a bit spoiled; maybe he had been humored slightly too much. But the John of after years was a very different type of person than the self-admiring and arbitrary young man who joined the ranks of Jesus’ apostles when he was twenty-four. 139:4.6 (1554.4) Those characteristics of Jesus which John most appreciated were the Master’s love and unselfishness; these traits made such an impression on him that his whole subsequent life became dominated by the sentiment of love and brotherly devotion. He talked about love and wrote about love. This “son of thunder” became the “apostle of love”; and at Ephesus, when the aged bishop was no longer able to stand in the pulpit and preach but had to be carried to church in a chair, and when at the close of the service he was asked to say a few words to the believers, for years his only utterance was, “My little children, love one another.” 139:4.7 (1554.5) John was a man of few words except when his temper was aroused. He thought much but said little. As he grew older, his temper became more subdued, better controlled, but he never overcame his disinclination to talk; he never fully mastered this reticence. But he was gifted with a remarkable and creative imagination. 139:4.8 (1555.1) There was another side to John that one would not expect to find in this quiet and introspective type. He was somewhat bigoted and inordinately intolerant. In this respect he and James were much alike — they both wanted to call down fire from heaven on the heads of the disrespectful Samaritans. When John encountered some strangers teaching in Jesus’ name, he promptly forbade them. But he was not the only one of the twelve who was tainted with this kind of self-esteem and superiority consciousness. 139:4.9 (1555.2) John’s life was tremendously influenced by the sight of Jesus’ going about without a home as he knew how faithfully he had made provision for the care of his mother and family. John also deeply sympathized with Jesus because of his family’s failure to understand him, being aware that they were gradually withdrawing from him. This entire situation, together with Jesus’ ever deferring his slightest wish to the will of the Father in heaven and his daily life of implicit trust, made such a profound impression on John that it produced marked and permanent changes in his character, changes which manifested themselves throughout his entire subsequent life. 139:4.10 (1555.3) John had a cool and daring courage which few of the other apostles possessed. He was the one apostle who followed right along with Jesus the night of his arrest and dared to accompany his Master into the very jaws of death. He was present and near at hand right up to the last earthly hour and was found faithfully carrying out his trust with regard to Jesus’ mother and ready to receive such additional instructions as might be given during the last moments of the Master’s mortal existence. One thing is certain, John was thoroughly dependable. John usually sat on Jesus’ right hand when the twelve were at meat. He was the first of the twelve really and fully to believe in the resurrection, and he was the first to recognize the Master when he came to them on the seashore after his resurrection. 139:4.11 (1555.4) This son of Zebedee was very closely associated with Peter in the early activities of the Christian movement, becoming one of the chief supporters of the Jerusalem church. He was the right-hand support of Peter on the day of Pentecost. 139:4.12 (1555.5) Several years after the martyrdom of James, John married his brother’s widow. The last twenty years of his life he was cared for by a loving granddaughter. 139:4.13 (1555.6) John was in prison several times and was banished to the Isle of Patmos for a period of four years until another emperor came to power in Rome. Had not John been tactful and sagacious, he would undoubtedly have been killed as was his more outspoken brother James. As the years passed, John, together with James the Lord’s brother, learned to practice wise conciliation when they appeared before the civil magistrates. They found that a “soft answer turns away wrath.” They also learned to represent the church as a “spiritual brotherhood devoted to the social service of mankind” rather than as “the kingdom of heaven.” They taught loving service rather than ruling power — kingdom and king. 139:4.14 (1555.7) When in temporary exile on Patmos, John wrote the Book of Revelation, which you now have in greatly abridged and distorted form. This Book of Revelation contains the surviving fragments of a great revelation, large portions of which were lost, other portions of which were removed, subsequent to John’s writing. It is preserved in only fragmentary and adulterated form. 139:4.15 (1555.8) John traveled much, labored incessantly, and after becoming bishop of the Asia churches, settled down at Ephesus. He directed his associate, Nathan, in the writing of the so-called “Gospel according to John,” at Ephesus, when he was ninety-nine years old. Of all the twelve apostles, John Zebedee eventually became the outstanding theologian. He died a natural death at Ephesus in A.D. 103 when he was one hundred and one years of age. 5. Philip the Curious 139:5.1 (1556.1) Philip was the fifth apostle to be chosen, being called when Jesus and his first four apostles were on their way from John’s rendezvous on the Jordan to Cana of Galilee. Since he lived at Bethsaida, Philip had for some time known of Jesus, but it had not occurred to him that Jesus was a really great man until that day in the Jordan valley when he said, “Follow me.” Philip was also somewhat influenced by the fact that Andrew, Peter, James, and John had accepted Jesus as the Deliverer. 139:5.2 (1556.2) Philip was twenty-seven years of age when he joined the apostles; he had recently been married, but he had no children at this time. The nickname which the apostles gave him signified “curiosity.” Philip was always wanting to be shown. He never seemed to see very far into any proposition. He was not necessarily dull, but he lacked imagination. This lack of imagination was the great weakness of his character. He was a commonplace and matter-of-fact individual. 139:5.3 (1556.3) When the apostles were organized for service, Philip was made steward; it was his duty to see that they were at all times supplied with provisions. And he was a good steward. His strongest characteristic was his methodical thoroughness; he was both mathematical and systematic. 139:5.4 (1556.4) Philip came from a family of seven, three boys and four girls. He was next to the oldest, and after the resurrection he baptized his entire family into the kingdom. Philip’s people were fisherfolk. His father was a very able man, a deep thinker, but his mother was of a very mediocre family. Philip was not a man who could be expected to do big things, but he was a man who could do little things in a big way, do them well and acceptably. Only a few times in four years did he fail to have food on hand to satisfy the needs of all. Even the many emergency demands attendant upon the life they lived seldom found him unprepared. The commissary department of the apostolic family was intelligently and efficiently managed. 139:5.5 (1556.5) The strong point about Philip was his methodical reliability; the weak point in his make-up was his utter lack of imagination, the absence of the ability to put two and two together to obtain four. He was mathematical in the abstract but not constructive in his imagination. He was almost entirely lacking in certain types of imagination. He was the typical everyday and commonplace average man. There were a great many such men and women among the multitudes who came to hear Jesus teach and preach, and they derived great comfort from observing one like themselves elevated to an honored position in the councils of the Master; they derived courage from the fact that one like themselves had already found a high place in the affairs of the kingdom. And Jesus learned much about the way some human minds function as he so patiently listened to Philip’s foolish questions and so many times complied with his steward’s request to “be shown.” 139:5.6 (1556.6) The one quality about Jesus which Philip so continuously admired was the Master’s unfailing generosity. Never could Philip find anything in Jesus which was small, niggardly, or stingy, and he worshiped this ever-present and unfailing liberality. 139:5.7 (1557.1) There was little about Philip’s personality that was impressive. He was often spoken of as “Philip of Bethsaida, the town where Andrew and Peter live.” He was almost without discerning vision; he was unable to grasp the dramatic possibilities of a given situation. He was not pessimistic; he was simply prosaic. He was also greatly lacking in spiritual insight. He would not hesitate to interrupt Jesus in the midst of one of the Master’s most profound discourses to ask an apparently foolish question. But Jesus never reprimanded him for such thoughtlessness; he was patient with him and considerate of his inability to grasp the deeper meanings of the teaching. Jesus well knew that, if he once rebuked Philip for asking these annoying questions, he would not only wound this honest soul, but such a reprimand would so hurt Philip that he would never again feel free to ask questions. Jesus knew that on his worlds of space there were untold billions of similar slow-thinking mortals, and he wanted to encourage them all to look to him and always to feel free to come to him with their questions and problems. After all, Jesus was really more interested in Philip’s foolish questions than in the sermon he might be preaching. Jesus was supremely interested in men, all kinds of men. 139:5.8 (1557.2) The apostolic steward was not a good public speaker, but he was a very persuasive and

 Hell Yes Lifers, I have created a special “JLD on HYL” Power Pack PDF, which includes a transcript of my interview, a list of key takeaways, and information on how to receive 10% off the price of JLD’s Mastery Journal. Download it now!John Lee Dumas of the Entrepreneur on Fire podcast is my special guest today. On his podcast, John interviews today’s most inspiring entrepreneurs seven days a week. Since John launched EOFire in 2012, he has put out over 1600 episodes and has interviewed today’s top entrepreneurs including Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Tim Ferriss.… Read more

Since John and Randy could not get their schedules in synch this week (John's fault this time) we dug deep into the archives of IM YEAR ONE/BACK OF PACK ENDURANCE and found a great episode with Chris Valenti that still seems relevant today. The Fat Slow Triathlete and Endurance for Everyone tribe is still relatively new, so hopefully this will not only be interesting to you all, but also shows how far we have come in this podcasting thing (especially John). The music this week is some serious 80's hair metal with Kix singing "Cold Blood" moving up a couple of decades for P!nk and her "Trouble" Remember to join the Fat Slow Triathlete blogs and Facebook pages. The Blog is at fatslowtriathlete.com and the two Facebook pages are FAT SLOW TRIATHLETE SHOW and ENDURANCE FOR EVERYONE.  Find your FST Shirts on Amazon by selecting this link or by searching for Fat Slow Triathlete on the site.  Special Thanks to Anna Vocino for re-recording the introduction originally used at Back of Pack Endurance, once again with NO CHARGE. You can also get RACE GEAR at Jakroo by going HERE Use code SHARE15 at TriSports.com for a 15% discount Use code FATSLOWTRI at Generation UCAN for 15% your order

John the Baptist 135:0.1 (1496.1) JOHN the Baptist was born March 25, 7 B.C., in accordance with the promise that Gabriel made to Elizabeth in June of the previous year. For five months Elizabeth kept secret Gabriel’s visitation; and when she told her husband, Zacharias, he was greatly troubled and fully believed her narrative only after he had an unusual dream about six weeks before the birth of John. Excepting the visit of Gabriel to Elizabeth and the dream of Zacharias, there was nothing unusual or supernatural connected with the birth of John the Baptist. 135:0.2 (1496.2) On the eighth day John was circumcised according to the Jewish custom. He grew up as an ordinary child, day by day and year by year, in the small village known in those days as the City of Judah, about four miles west of Jerusalem. 135:0.3 (1496.3) The most eventful occurrence in John’s early childhood was the visit, in company with his parents, to Jesus and the Nazareth family. This visit occurred in the month of June, 1 B.C., when he was a little over six years of age. 135:0.4 (1496.4) After their return from Nazareth John’s parents began the systematic education of the lad. There was no synagogue school in this little village; however, as he was a priest, Zacharias was fairly well educated, and Elizabeth was far better educated than the average Judean woman; she was also of the priesthood, being a descendant of the “daughters of Aaron.” Since John was an only child, they spent a great deal of time on his mental and spiritual training. Zacharias had only short periods of service at the temple in Jerusalem so that he devoted much of his time to teaching his son. 135:0.5 (1496.5) Zacharias and Elizabeth had a small farm on which they raised sheep. They hardly made a living on this land, but Zacharias received a regular allowance from the temple funds dedicated to the priesthood. 1. John Becomes a Nazarite 135:1.1 (1496.6) John had no school from which to graduate at the age of fourteen, but his parents had selected this as the appropriate year for him to take the formal Nazarite vow. Accordingly, Zacharias and Elizabeth took their son to Engedi, down by the Dead Sea. This was the southern headquarters of the Nazarite brotherhood, and there the lad was duly and solemnly inducted into this order for life. After these ceremonies and the making of the vows to abstain from all intoxicating drinks, to let the hair grow, and to refrain from touching the dead, the family proceeded to Jerusalem, where, before the temple, John completed the making of the offerings which were required of those taking Nazarite vows. 135:1.2 (1496.7) John took the same life vows that had been administered to his illustrious predecessors, Samson and the prophet Samuel. A life Nazarite was looked upon as a sanctified and holy personality. The Jews regarded a Nazarite with almost the respect and veneration accorded the high priest, and this was not strange since Nazarites of lifelong consecration were the only persons, except high priests, who were ever permitted to enter the holy of holies in the temple. 135:1.3 (1497.1) John returned home from Jerusalem to tend his father’s sheep and grew up to be a strong man with a noble character. 135:1.4 (1497.2) When sixteen years old, John, as a result of reading about Elijah, became greatly impressed with the prophet of Mount Carmel and decided to adopt his style of dress. From that day on John always wore a hairy garment with a leather girdle. At sixteen he was more than six feet tall and almost full grown. With his flowing hair and peculiar mode of dress he was indeed a picturesque youth. And his parents expected great things of this their only son, a child of promise and a Nazarite for life. 2. The Death of Zacharias 135:2.1 (1497.3) After an illness of several months Zacharias died in July, A.D. 12, when John was just past eighteen years of age. This was a time of great embarrassment to John since the Nazarite vow forbade contact with the dead, even in one’s own family. Although John had endeavored to comply with the restrictions of his vow regarding contamination by the dead, he doubted that he had been wholly obedient to the requirements of the Nazarite order; therefore, after his father’s burial he went to Jerusalem, where, in the Nazarite corner of the women’s court, he offered the sacrifices required for his cleansing. 135:2.2 (1497.4) In September of this year Elizabeth and John made a journey to Nazareth to visit Mary and Jesus. John had just about made up his mind to launch out in his lifework, but he was admonished, not only by Jesus’ words but also by his example, to return home, take care of his mother, and await the “coming of the Father’s hour.” After bidding Jesus and Mary good-bye at the end of this enjoyable visit, John did not again see Jesus until the event of his baptism in the Jordan. 135:2.3 (1497.5) John and Elizabeth returned to their home and began to lay plans for the future. Since John refused to accept the priest’s allowance due him from the temple funds, by the end of two years they had all but lost their home; so they decided to go south with the sheep herd. Accordingly, the summer that John was twenty years of age witnessed their removal to Hebron. In the so-called “wilderness of Judea” John tended his sheep along a brook that was tributary to a larger stream which entered the Dead Sea at Engedi. The Engedi colony included not only Nazarites of lifelong and time-period consecration but numerous other ascetic herdsmen who congregated in this region with their herds and fraternized with the Nazarite brotherhood. They supported themselves by sheep raising and from gifts which wealthy Jews made to the order. 135:2.4 (1497.6) As time passed, John returned less often to Hebron, while he made more frequent visits to Engedi. He was so entirely different from the majority of the Nazarites that he found it very difficult fully to fraternize with the brotherhood. But he was very fond of Abner, the acknowledged leader and head of the Engedi colony. 3. The Life of a Shepherd 135:3.1 (1497.7) Along the valley of this little brook John built no less than a dozen stone shelters and night corrals, consisting of piled-up stones, wherein he could watch over and safeguard his herds of sheep and goats. John’s life as a shepherd afforded him a great deal of time for thought. He talked much with Ezda, an orphan lad of Beth-zur, whom he had in a way adopted, and who cared for the herds when he made trips to Hebron to see his mother and to sell sheep, as well as when he went down to Engedi for Sabbath services. John and the lad lived very simply, subsisting on mutton, goat’s milk, wild honey, and the edible locusts of that region. This, their regular diet, was supplemented by provisions brought from Hebron and Engedi from time to time. 135:3.2 (1498.1) Elizabeth kept John posted about Palestinian and world affairs, and his conviction grew deeper and deeper that the time was fast approaching when the old order was to end; that he was to become the herald of the approach of a new age, “the kingdom of heaven.” This rugged shepherd was very partial to the writings of the Prophet Daniel. He read a thousand times Daniel’s description of the great image, which Zacharias had told him represented the history of the great kingdoms of the world, beginning with Babylon, then Persia, Greece, and finally Rome. John perceived that already was Rome composed of such polyglot peoples and races that it could never become a strongly cemented and firmly consolidated empire. He believed that Rome was even then divided, as Syria, Egypt, Palestine, and other provinces; and then he further read “in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And this kingdom shall not be left to other people but shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” “And there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom never shall be destroyed.” “And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” 135:3.3 (1498.2) John was never able completely to rise above the confusion produced by what he had heard from his parents concerning Jesus and by these passages which he read in the Scriptures. In Daniel he read: “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom.” But these words of the prophet did not harmonize with what his parents had taught him. Neither did his talk with Jesus, at the time of his visit when he was eighteen years old, correspond with these statements of the Scriptures. Notwithstanding this confusion, throughout all of his perplexity his mother assured him that his distant cousin, Jesus of Nazareth, was the true Messiah, that he had come to sit on the throne of David, and that he (John) was to become his advance herald and chief support. 135:3.4 (1498.3) From all John heard of the vice and wickedness of Rome and the dissoluteness and moral barrenness of the empire, from what he knew of the evil doings of Herod Antipas and the governors of Judea, he was minded to believe that the end of the age was impending. It seemed to this rugged and noble child of nature that the world was ripe for the end of the age of man and the dawn of the new and divine age — the kingdom of heaven. The feeling grew in John’s heart that he was to be the last of the old prophets and the first of the new. And he fairly vibrated with the mounting impulse to go forth and proclaim to all men: “Repent! Get right with God! Get ready for the end; prepare yourselves for the appearance of the new and eternal order of earth affairs, the kingdom of heaven.” 4. The Death of Elizabeth 135:4.1 (1499.1) On August 17, A.D. 22, when John was twenty-eight years of age, his mother suddenly passed away. Elizabeth’s friends, knowing of the Nazarite restrictions regarding contact with the dead, even in one’s own family, made all arrangements for the burial of Elizabeth before sending for John. When he received word of the death of his mother, he directed Ezda to drive his herds to Engedi and started for Hebron. 135:4.2 (1499.2) On returning to Engedi from his mother’s funeral, he presented his flocks to the brotherhood and for a season detached himself from the outside world while he fasted and prayed. John knew only of the old methods of approach to divinity; he knew only of the records of such as Elijah, Samuel, and Daniel. Elijah was his ideal of a prophet. Elijah was the first of the teachers of Israel to be regarded as a prophet, and John truly believed that he was to be the last of this long and illustrious line of the messengers of heaven. 135:4.3 (1499.3) For two and a half years John lived at Engedi, and he persuaded most of the brotherhood that “the end of the age was at hand”; that “the kingdom of heaven was about to appear.” And all his early teaching was based upon the current Jewish idea and concept of the Messiah as the promised deliverer of the Jewish nation from the domination of their gentile rulers. 135:4.4 (1499.4) Throughout this period John read much in the sacred writings which he found at the Engedi home of the Nazarites. He was especially impressed by Isaiah and by Malachi, the last of the prophets up to that time. He read and reread the last five chapters of Isaiah, and he believed these prophecies. Then he would read in Malachi: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers toward the children and the hearts of the children toward their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” And it was only this promise of Malachi that Elijah would return that deterred John from going forth to preach about the coming kingdom and to exhort his fellow Jews to flee from the wrath to come. John was ripe for the proclamation of the message of the coming kingdom, but this expectation of the coming of Elijah held him back for more than two years. He knew he was not Elijah. What did Malachi mean? Was the prophecy literal or figurative? How could he know the truth? He finally dared to think that, since the first of the prophets was called Elijah, so the last should be known, eventually, by the same name. Nevertheless, he had doubts, doubts sufficient to prevent his ever calling himself Elijah. 135:4.5 (1499.5) It was the influence of Elijah that caused John to adopt his methods of direct and blunt assault upon the sins and vices of his contemporaries. He sought to dress like Elijah, and he endeavored to talk like Elijah; in every outward aspect he was like the olden prophet. He was just such a stalwart and picturesque child of nature, just such a fearless and daring preacher of righteousness. John was not illiterate, he did well know the Jewish sacred writings, but he was hardly cultured. He was a clear thinker, a powerful speaker, and a fiery denunciator. He was hardly an example to his age, but he was an eloquent rebuke. 135:4.6 (1499.6) At last he thought out the method of proclaiming the new age, the kingdom of God; he settled that he was to become the herald of the Messiah; he swept aside all doubts and departed from Engedi one day in March of A.D. 25 to begin his short but brilliant career as a public preacher. 5. The Kingdom of God 135:5.1 (1500.1) In order to understand John’s message, account should be taken of the status of the Jewish people at the time he appeared upon the stage of action. For almost one hundred years all Israel had been in a quandary; they were at a loss to explain their continuous subjugation to gentile overlords. Had not Moses taught that righteousness was always rewarded with prosperity and power? Were they not God’s chosen people? Why was the throne of David desolate and vacant? In the light of the Mosaic doctrines and the precepts of the prophets the Jews found it difficult to explain their long-continued national desolation. 135:5.2 (1500.2) About one hundred years before the days of Jesus and John a new school of religious teachers arose in Palestine, the apocalyptists. These new teachers evolved a system of belief that accounted for the sufferings and humiliation of the Jews on the ground that they were paying the penalty for the nation’s sins. They fell back onto the well-known reasons assigned to explain the Babylonian and other captivities of former times. But, so taught the apocalyptists, Israel should take heart; the days of their affliction were almost over; the discipline of God’s chosen people was about finished; God’s patience with the gentile foreigners was about exhausted. The end of Roman rule was synonymous with the end of the age and, in a certain sense, with the end of the world. These new teachers leaned heavily on the predictions of Daniel, and they consistently taught that creation was about to pass into its final stage; the kingdoms of this world were about to become the kingdom of God. To the Jewish mind of that day this was the meaning of that phrase — the kingdom of heaven — which runs throughout the teachings of both John and Jesus. To the Jews of Palestine the phrase “kingdom of heaven” had but one meaning: an absolutely righteous state in which God (the Messiah) would rule the nations of earth in perfection of power just as he ruled in heaven — “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.” 135:5.3 (1500.3) In the days of John all Jews were expectantly asking, “How soon will the kingdom come?” There was a general feeling that the end of the rule of the gentile nations was drawing near. There was present throughout all Jewry a lively hope and a keen expectation that the consummation of the desire of the ages would occur during the lifetime of that generation. 135:5.4 (1500.4) While the Jews differed greatly in their estimates of the nature of the coming kingdom, they were alike in their belief that the event was impending, near at hand, even at the door. Many who read the Old Testament literally looked expectantly for a new king in Palestine, for a regenerated Jewish nation delivered from its enemies and presided over by the successor of King David, the Messiah who would quickly be acknowledged as the rightful and righteous ruler of all the world. Another, though smaller, group of devout Jews held a vastly different view of this kingdom of God. They taught that the coming kingdom was not of this world, that the world was approaching its certain end, and that “a new heaven and a new earth” were to usher in the establishment of the kingdom of God; that this kingdom was to be an everlasting dominion, that sin was to be ended, and that the citizens of the new kingdom were to become immortal in their enjoyment of this endless bliss. 135:5.5 (1500.5) All were agreed that some drastic purging or purifying discipline would of necessity precede the establishment of the new kingdom on earth. The literalists taught that a world-wide war would ensue which would destroy all unbelievers, while the faithful would sweep on to universal and eternal victory. The spiritists taught that the kingdom would be ushered in by the great judgment of God which would relegate the unrighteous to their well-deserved judgment of punishment and final destruction, at the same time elevating the believing saints of the chosen people to high seats of honor and authority with the Son of Man, who would rule over the redeemed nations in God’s name. And this latter group even believed that many devout gentiles might be admitted to the fellowship of the new kingdom. 135:5.6 (1501.1) Some of the Jews held to the opinion that God might possibly establish this new kingdom by direct and divine intervention, but the vast majority believed that he would interpose some representative intermediary, the Messiah. And that was the only possible meaning the term Messiah could have had in the minds of the Jews of the generation of John and Jesus. Messiah could not possibly refer to one who merely taught God’s will or proclaimed the necessity for righteous living. To all such holy persons the Jews gave the title of prophet. The Messiah was to be more than a prophet; the Messiah was to bring in the establishment of the new kingdom, the kingdom of God. No one who failed to do this could be the Messiah in the traditional Jewish sense. 135:5.7 (1501.2) Who would this Messiah be? Again the Jewish teachers differed. The older ones clung to the doctrine of the son of David. The newer taught that, since the new kingdom was a heavenly kingdom, the new ruler might also be a divine personality, one who had long sat at God’s right hand in heaven. And strange as it may appear, those who thus conceived of the ruler of the new kingdom looked upon him not as a human Messiah, not as a mere man, but as “the Son of Man” — a Son of God — a heavenly Prince, long held in waiting thus to assume the rulership of the earth made new. Such was the religious background of the Jewish world when John went forth proclaiming: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” 135:5.8 (1501.3) It becomes apparent, therefore, that John’s announcement of the coming kingdom had not less than half a dozen different meanings in the minds of those who listened to his impassioned preaching. But no matter what significance they attached to the phrases which John employed, each of these various groups of Jewish-kingdom expectants was intrigued by the proclamations of this sincere, enthusiastic, rough-and-ready preacher of righteousness and repentance, who so solemnly exhorted his hearers to “flee from the wrath to come.” 6. John Begins to Preach 135:6.1 (1501.4) Early in the month of March, A.D. 25, John journeyed around the western coast of the Dead Sea and up the river Jordan to opposite Jericho, the ancient ford over which Joshua and the children of Israel passed when they first entered the promised land; and crossing over to the other side of the river, he established himself near the entrance to the ford and began to preach to the people who passed by on their way back and forth across the river. This was the most frequented of all the Jordan crossings. 135:6.2 (1501.5) It was apparent to all who heard John that he was more than a preacher. The great majority of those who listened to this strange man who had come up from the Judean wilderness went away believing that they had heard the voice of a prophet. No wonder the souls of these weary and expectant Jews were deeply stirred by such a phenomenon. Never in all Jewish history had the devout children of Abraham so longed for the “consolation of Israel” or more ardently anticipated “the restoration of the kingdom.” Never in all Jewish history could John’s message, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” have made such a deep and universal appeal as at the very time he so mysteriously appeared on the bank of this southern crossing of the Jordan. 135:6.3 (1502.1) He came from the herdsmen, like Amos. He was dressed like Elijah of old, and he thundered his admonitions and poured forth his warnings in the “spirit and power of Elijah.” It is not surprising that this strange preacher created a mighty stir throughout all Palestine as the travelers carried abroad the news of his preaching along the Jordan. 135:6.4 (1502.2) There was still another and a new feature about the work of this Nazarite preacher: He baptized every one of his believers in the Jordan “for the remission of sins.” Although baptism was not a new ceremony among the Jews, they had never seen it employed as John now made use of it. It had long been the practice thus to baptize the gentile proselytes into the fellowship of the outer court of the temple, but never had the Jews themselves been asked to submit to the baptism of repentance. Only fifteen months intervened between the time John began to preach and baptize and his arrest and imprisonment at the instigation of Herod Antipas, but in this short time he baptized considerably over one hundred thousand penitents. 135:6.5 (1502.3) John preached four months at Bethany ford before starting north up the Jordan. Tens of thousands of listeners, some curious but many earnest and serious, came to hear him from all parts of Judea, Perea, and Samaria. Even a few came from Galilee. 135:6.6 (1502.4) In May of this year, while he still lingered at Bethany ford, the priests and Levites sent a delegation out to inquire of John whether he claimed to be the Messiah, and by whose authority he preached. John answered these questioners by saying: “Go tell your masters that you have heard ‘the voice of one crying in the wilderness,’ as spoken by the prophet, saying, ‘make ready the way of the Lord, make straight a highway for our God. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; the uneven ground shall become a plain, while the rough places shall become a smooth valley; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” 135:6.7 (1502.5) John was a heroic but tactless preacher. One day when he was preaching and baptizing on the west bank of the Jordan, a group of Pharisees and a number of Sadducees came forward and presented themselves for baptism. Before leading them down into the water, John, addressing them as a group said: “Who warned you to flee, as vipers before the fire, from the wrath to come? I will baptize you, but I warn you to bring forth fruit worthy of sincere repentance if you would receive the remission of your sins. Tell me not that Abraham is your father. I declare that God is able of these twelve stones here before you to raise up worthy children for Abraham. And even now is the ax laid to the very roots of the trees. Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is destined to be cut down and cast into the fire.” (The twelve stones to which he referred were the reputed memorial stones set up by Joshua to commemorate the crossing of the “twelve tribes” at this very point when they first entered the promised land.) 135:6.8 (1502.6) John conducted classes for his disciples, in the course of which he instructed them in the details of their new life and endeavored to answer their many questions. He counseled the teachers to instruct in the spirit as well as the letter of the law. He instructed the rich to feed the poor; to the tax gatherers he said: “Extort no more than that which is assigned you.” To the soldiers he said: “Do no violence and exact nothing wrongfully — be content with your wages.” While he counseled all: “Make ready for the end of the age — the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 7. John Journeys North 135:7.1 (1503.1) John still had confused ideas about the coming kingdom and its king. The longer he preached the more confused he became, but never did this intellectual uncertainty concerning the nature of the coming kingdom in the least lessen his conviction of the certainty of the kingdom’s immediate appearance. In mind John might be confused, but in spirit never. He was in no doubt about the coming kingdom, but he was far from certain as to whether or not Jesus was to be the ruler of that kingdom. As long as John held to the idea of the restoration of the throne of David, the teachings of his parents that Jesus, born in the City of David, was to be the long-expected deliverer, seemed consistent; but at those times when he leaned more toward the doctrine of a spiritual kingdom and the end of the temporal age on earth, he was sorely in doubt as to the part Jesus would play in such events. Sometimes he questioned everything, but not for long. He really wished he might talk it all over with his cousin, but that was contrary to their expressed agreement. 135:7.2 (1503.2) As John journeyed north, he thought much about Jesus. He paused at more than a dozen places as he traveled up the Jordan. It was at Adam that he first made reference to “another one who is to come after me” in answer to the direct question which his disciples asked him, “Are you the Messiah?” And he went on to say: “There will come after me one who is greater than I, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. And his shovel is in his hand thoroughly to cleanse his threshing floor; he will gather the wheat into his garner, but the chaff will he burn up with the judgment fire.” 135:7.3 (1503.3) In response to the questions of his disciples John continued to expand his teachings, from day to day adding more that was helpful and comforting compared with his early and cryptic message: “Repent and be baptized.” By this time throngs were arriving from Galilee and the Decapolis. Scores of earnest believers lingered with their adored teacher day after day. 8. Meeting of Jesus and John 135:8.1 (1503.4) By December of A.D. 25, when John reached the neighborhood of Pella in his journey up the Jordan, his fame had extended throughout all Palestine, and his work had become the chief topic of conversation in all the towns about the lake of Galilee. Jesus had spoken favorably of John’s message, and this had caused many from Capernaum to join John’s cult of repentance and baptism. James and John the fishermen sons of Zebedee had gone down in December, soon after John took up his preaching position near Pella, and had offered themselves for baptism. They went to see John once a week and brought back to Jesus fresh, firsthand reports of the evangelist’s work. * 135:8.2 (1503.5) Jesus’ brothers James and Jude had talked about going down to John for baptism; and now that Jude had come over to Capernaum for the Sabbath services, both he and James, after listening to Jesus’ discourse in the synagogue, decided to take counsel with him concerning their plans. This was on Saturday night, January 12, A.D. 26. Jesus requested that they postpone the discussion until the following day, when he would give them his answer. He slept very little that night, being in close communion with the Father in heaven. He had arranged to have noontime lunch with his brothers and to advise them concerning baptism by John. That Sunday morning Jesus was working as usual in the boatshop. James and Jude had arrived with the lunch and were waiting in the lumber room for him, as it was not yet time for the midday recess, and they knew that Jesus was very regular about such matters. 135:8.3 (1504.1) Just before the noon rest, Jesus laid down his tools, removed his work apron, and merely announced to the three workmen in the room with him, “My hour has come.” He went out to his brothers James and Jude, repeating, “My hour has come — let us go to John.” And they started immediately for Pella, eating their lunch as they journeyed. This was on Sunday, January 13. They tarried for the night in the Jordan valley and arrived on the scene of John’s baptizing about noon of the next day. 135:8.4 (1504.2) John had just begun baptizing the candidates for the day. Scores of repentants were standing in line awaiting their turn when Jesus and his two brothers took up their positions in this line of earnest men and women who had become believers in John’s preaching of the coming kingdom. John had been inquiring about Jesus of Zebedee’s sons. He had heard of Jesus’ remarks concerning his preaching, and he was day by day expecting to see him arrive on the scene, but he had not expected to greet him in the line of baptismal candidates. 135:8.5 (1504.3) Being engrossed with the details of rapidly baptizing such a large number of converts, John did not look up to see Jesus until the Son of Man stood in his immediate presence. When John recognized Jesus, the ceremonies were halted for a moment while he greeted his cousin in the flesh and asked, “But why do you come down into the water to greet me?” And Jesus answered, “To be subject to your baptism.” John replied: “But I have need to be baptized by you. Why do you come to me?” And Jesus whispered to John: “Bear with me now, for it becomes us to set this example for my brothers standing here with me, and that the people may know that my hour has come.” 135:8.6 (1504.4) There was a tone of finality and authority in Jesus’ voice. John was atremble with emotion as he made ready to baptize Jesus of Nazareth in the Jordan at noon on Monday, January 14, A.D. 26. Thus did John baptize Jesus and his two brothers James and Jude. And when John had baptized these three, he dismissed the others for the day, announcing that he would resume baptisms at noon the next day. As the people were departing, the four men still standing in the water heard a strange sound, and presently there appeared for a moment an apparition immediately over the head of Jesus, and they heard a voice saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” A great change came over the countenance of Jesus, and coming up out of the water in silence he took leave of them, going toward the hills to the east. And no man saw Jesus again for forty days. 135:8.7 (1504.5) John followed Jesus a sufficient distance to tell him the story of Gabriel’s visit to his mother ere either had been born, as he had heard it so many times from his mother’s lips. He allowed Jesus to continue on his way after he had said, “Now I know of a certainty that you are the Deliverer.” But Jesus made no reply. 9. Forty Days of Preaching 135:9.1 (1505.1) When John returned to his disciples (he now had some twenty-five or thirty who abode with him constantly), he found them in earnest conference, discussing what had just happened in connection with Jesus’ baptism. They were all the more astonished when John now made known to them the story of the Gabriel visitation to Mary before Jesus was born, and also that Jesus spoke no word to him even after he had told him about this. There was no rain that evening, and this group of thirty or more talked long into the starlit night. They wondered where Jesus had gone, and when they would see him again. 135:9.2 (1505.2) After the experience of this day the preaching of John took on new and certain notes of proclamation concerning the coming kingdom and the expected Messiah. It was a tense time, these forty days of tarrying, waiting for the return of Jesus. But Joh

Carmela catches up with legendary talent manager of John Farnham, Glenn Wheatley. With the 30 year anniversary of the release of John Farnham's Whispering Jack album

Carmela catches up with legendary talent manager of John Farnham, Glenn Wheatley. With the 30 year anniversary of the release of John Farnham's Whispering Jack album

Since John's computer is down he's forced to find an alternative way to record this weeks show . Nevertheless the show must go on. John reviews the 0-0 draw against FC Edmonton .Looks ahead to the upcoming matchup against Indy Eleven and touches on the future of the NASL. Twitter: @1teampod --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/first-team-podcast/message

We are teaching and traveling with the start of the semester. Since John has no solid cell phone signal at a conference in New Hampshire and Shannon is swimming in lecturing, we wanted to share one of our favorite interviews from this year! This week a special guest takes us to the moon by talking about lunar rocks and meteorites! The moon turns out to be a fascinating place, but probably won’t break up like in Seveneves. Brad’s Website Jim Papike Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Mars Exploration Rovers Apollo Lunar Rocks and Soils Collection Impact Basin Geology South Pole-Aitken Basin Yutu Rover Electron Microprobe Armalcolite (mineral) IDL ENVI Software ISIS Software ArcGIS ACT Zoomable Lunar Map Fun Paper Friday “Age Rules” from PSRD Borg, L. E., Gaffney, A. M., and Shearer, C. K. (2015) A Review of Lunar Chronology Revealing a Preponderance of 4.34–4.37 Ga Ages, Meteoritics & Planetary Science, v. 50, p. 715–732, doi: 10.1111/maps.12373. Contact us: Show - www.dontpanicgeocast.com - SWUNG Slack - @dontpanicgeo - show@dontpanicgeocast.com John Leeman - www.johnrleeman.com - @geo_leeman Shannon Dulin - @ShannonDulin  

S09E05 Of Live At 605: It's a throwback y'all as John hosts this week solo dolo! But don't worry Val calls in with a couple of her own remotes! This week we're road trippin' to Detroit Rock City for beers, baseball and a few more beers. Val and I recap the amazing film, Straight Outta Compton, we get nervous crossing the boarder and john address the subway controversy! Since John is Mr. Solo Dolo this week, he gives you a guide to his week as The Bachelor. It's a big week of dinners, baseball and alone time! But it's not all peaches as cream and John shares a deep dark secret! Plus, our band of the week is Eazy listening. All this and more on Live At 605! Follow John on twitter: www.twitter.com/malloncamp http://www.liveat605.podomatic.com http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=53123&refid=stpr https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/live-at-605/id600544120?mt=2 liveat605@gmail.com

Since John is on a very important mission we have a special guest that called in to be on the podcast. You may have heard us talk about him in the past and that man is....David Escamilla! Our really great friend is finally on the podcast and we chat a bit about the news of a female Thor in the Marvel Universe, PS4 sales, Microsoft Layoffs, the trailer for the new DOOM game and a whole lot of other interesting randomness. Website - CinemaDeviant.com Email - david@cinemadeviant.com Twitter - @CinemaDeviant Facebook - facebook.com/CinemaDeviant Instagram – CinemaDeviant --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/botsquad-podcast-network/support

This week, Gene and David present paranormal author and psychic researcher John Zaffis. Since John specializes in life-after-death and ghost-related encounters, you'll hear a wealth of information about investigative techniques and, of course, results.