Podcasts about surely god

April 25, 2025 - Equipped 2025 - Day 2 - 1:30PM Session   Bud leads a bible study reflecting on Isaiah. As an inspired profit of God, Isaiah would be aware of coming savior and the potential eternal punishment for those who have rejected God.   Isaiah 40-45 - God's People Are Comforted 40 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. 2 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the Lord's hand Double for all her sins.” 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; 5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 6 The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” 9 O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” 10 Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him. 11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young. 12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, Measured heaven with a span And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance? 13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, Or as His counselor has taught Him? 14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. 16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. 17 All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless. 18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? 19 The workman molds an image, The goldsmith overspreads it with gold, And the silversmith casts silver chains. 20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks for himself a skillful workman To prepare a carved image that will not totter. 21 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. 23 He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless. 24 Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble. 25 “To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, And my just claim is passed over by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Israel Assured of God's Help 41 “Keep silence before Me, O coastlands, And let the people renew their strength! Let them come near, then let them speak; Let us come near together for judgment. 2 “Who raised up one from the east? Who in righteousness called him to His feet? Who gave the nations before him, And made him rule over kings? Who gave them as the dust to his sword, As driven stubble to his bow? 3 Who pursued them, and passed safely By the way that he had not gone with his feet? 4 Who has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the Lord, am the first; And with the last I am He.' ” 5 The coastlands saw it and feared, The ends of the earth were afraid; They drew near and came. 6 Everyone helped his neighbor, And said to his brother, “Be of good courage!” 7 So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith; He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil, Saying, “It is ready for the soldering”; Then he fastened it with pegs, That it might not totter. 8 “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend. 9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: 10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.' 11 “Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish. 12 You shall seek them and not find them— Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing. 13 For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.' 14 “Fear not, you worm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you,” says the Lord And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 15 “Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, And make the hills like chaff. 16 You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away, And the whirlwind shall scatter them; You shall rejoice in the Lord, And glory in the Holy One of Israel. 17 “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 18 I will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water. 19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, The myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine And the box tree together, 20 That they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of the Lord has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it. The Futility of Idols 21 “Present your case,” says the Lord. “Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the King of Jacob. 22 “Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the former things, what they were, That we may consider them, And know the latter end of them; Or declare to us things to come. 23 Show the things that are to come hereafter, That we may know that you are gods; Yes, do good or do evil, That we may be dismayed and see it together. 24 Indeed you are nothing, And your work is nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination. 25 “I have raised up one from the north, And he shall come; From the rising of the sun he shall call on My name; And he shall come against princes as though mortar, As the potter treads clay. 26 Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know? And former times, that we may say, ‘He is righteous'? Surely there is no one who shows, Surely there is no one who declares, Surely there is no one who hears your words. 27 The first time I said to Zion, ‘Look, there they are!' And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings. 28 For I looked, and there was no man; I looked among them, but there was no counselor, Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word. 29 Indeed they are all worthless; Their works are nothing; Their molded images are wind and confusion. The Servant of the Lord 42 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. 4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” 5 Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, 7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. 8 I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images. 9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.” Praise to the Lord 10 Sing to the Lord a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them! 11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, The villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains. 12 Let them give glory to the Lord, And declare His praise in the coastlands. 13 The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies. Promise of the Lord's Help 14 “I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once. 15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills, And dry up all their vegetation; I will make the rivers coastlands, And I will dry up the pools. 16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them. 17 They shall be turned back, They shall be greatly ashamed, Who trust in carved images, Who say to the molded images, ‘You are our gods.' 18 “Hear, you deaf; And look, you blind, that you may see. 19 Who is blind but My servant, Or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he who is perfect, And blind as the Lord's servant? 20 Seeing many things, but you do not observe; Opening the ears, but he does not hear.” Israel's Obstinate Disobedience 21 The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness' sake; He will exalt the law and make it honorable. 22 But this is a people robbed and plundered; All of them are snared in holes, And they are hidden in prison houses; They are for prey, and no one delivers; For plunder, and no one says, “Restore!” 23 Who among you will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come? 24 Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the Lord, He against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in His ways, Nor were they obedient to His law. 25 Therefore He has poured on him the fury of His anger And the strength of battle; It has set him on fire all around, Yet he did not know; And it burned him, Yet he did not take it to heart. The Redeemer of Israel 43 But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. 4 Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life. 5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, And gather you from the west; 6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!' And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!' Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth— 7 Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.” 8 Bring out the blind people who have eyes, And the deaf who have ears. 9 Let all the nations be gathered together, And let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this, And show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; Or let them hear and say, “It is truth.” 10 “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. 11 I, even I, am the Lord, And besides Me there is no savior. 12 I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses,” Says the Lord, “that I am God. 13 Indeed before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?” 14 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “For your sake I will send to Babylon, And bring them all down as fugitives— The Chaldeans, who rejoice in their ships. 15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.” 16 Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea And a path through the mighty waters, 17 Who brings forth the chariot and horse, The army and the power (They shall lie down together, they shall not rise; They are extinguished, they are quenched like a wick): 18 “Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. 20 The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen. 21 This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise. Pleading with Unfaithful Israel 22 “But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob; And you have been weary of Me, O Israel. 23 You have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings, Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings, Nor wearied you with incense. 24 You have bought Me no sweet cane with money, Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; But you have burdened Me with your sins, You have wearied Me with your iniquities. 25 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins. 26 Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted. 27 Your first father sinned, And your mediators have transgressed against Me. 28 Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; I will give Jacob to the curse, And Israel to reproaches. God's Blessing on Israel 44 “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant, And Israel whom I have chosen. 2 Thus says the Lord who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you: ‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant; And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. 3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring; 4 They will spring up among the grass Like willows by the watercourses.' 5 One will say, ‘I am the Lord's'; Another will call himself by the name of Jacob; Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord's,' And name himself by the name of Israel. There Is No Other God 6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God. 7 And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, Since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, Let them show these to them. 8 Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.' ” Idolatry Is Foolishness 9 Those who make an image, all of them are useless, And their precious things shall not profit; They are their own witnesses; They neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed. 10 Who would form a god or mold an image That profits him nothing? 11 Surely all his companions would be ashamed; And the workmen, they are mere men. Let them all be gathered together, Let them stand up; Yet they shall fear, They shall be ashamed together. 12 The blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals, Fashions it with hammers, And works it with the strength of his arms. Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails; He drinks no water and is faint. 13 The craftsman stretches out his rule, He marks one out with chalk; He fashions it with a plane, He marks it out with the compass, And makes it like the figure of a man, According to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house. 14 He cuts down cedars for himself, And takes the cypress and the oak; He secures it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it shall be for a man to burn, For he will take some of it and warm himself; Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread; Indeed he makes a god and worships it; He makes it a carved image, and falls down to it. 16 He burns half of it in the fire; With this half he eats meat; He roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He even warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, His carved image. He falls down before it and worships it, Prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” 18 They do not know nor understand; For He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, And their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 And no one considers in his heart, Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire, Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals; I have roasted meat and eaten it; And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; A deceived heart has turned him aside; And he cannot deliver his soul, Nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” Israel Is Not Forgotten 21 “Remember these, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me! 22 I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” 23 Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, And glorified Himself in Israel. Judah Will Be Restored 24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself; 25 Who frustrates the signs of the babblers, And drives diviners mad; Who turns wise men backward, And makes their knowledge foolishness; 26 Who confirms the word of His servant, And performs the counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,' To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,' And I will raise up her waste places; 27 Who says to the deep, ‘Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers'; 28 Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ' Cyrus, God's Instrument 45 “Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held— To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut: 2 ‘I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. 4 For Jacob My servant's sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me. 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; 7 I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.' 8 “Rain down, you heavens, from above, And let the skies pour down righteousness; Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, And let righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, have created it. 9 “Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?' Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands'? 10 Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?' Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?' ” 11 Thus says the Lord, The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me. 12 I have made the earth, And created man on it. I—My hands—stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded. 13 I have raised him up in righteousness, And I will direct all his ways; He shall build My city And let My exiles go free, Not for price nor reward,” Says the Lord of hosts. The Lord, the Only Savior 14 Thus says the Lord: “The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush And of the Sabeans, men of stature, Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours; They shall walk behind you, They shall come over in chains; And they shall bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, ‘Surely God is in you, And there is no other; There is no other God.' ” 15 Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior! 16 They shall be ashamed And also disgraced, all of them; They shall go in confusion together, Who are makers of idols. 17 But Israel shall be saved by the Lord With an everlasting salvation; You shall not be ashamed or disgraced Forever and ever. 18 For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. 19 I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain'; I, the Lord, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right. 20 “Assemble yourselves and come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, Who carry the wood of their carved image, And pray to a god that cannot save. 21 Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me. 22 “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. 23 I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath. 24 He shall say, ‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, And all shall be ashamed Who are incensed against Him. 25 In the Lord all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, and shall glory.' ”   Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrvkBVo1Cd4 Duration 35:38

Welcome to Day 2635 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2635 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 68:21-27 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2635 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2635 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. In today's Wisdom Nugget, continue our journey through the dynamic and multifaceted Psalm 68 in the New Living Translation. We've already seen God revealed as the powerful Divine Warrior, the compassionate Defender of the vulnerable, and the faithful Leader who guided Israel through the wilderness to His dwelling place in Zion. Now, as we move into verses 21 through 27, the psalm focuses on God's decisive judgment against His enemies and the glorious, triumphant procession of His people entering His sanctuary. This section contains vivid and powerful language, reflecting the ancient Israelite understanding of divine justice and the consequences of opposing the Almighty. It's a stark reminder that while God is merciful and compassionate, He is also just and will deal with wickedness. Yet, amidst the pronouncements of judgment, there is also the promise of restoration and a beautiful picture of the unity of God's people in worship. Let's delve into Psalm 68, starting with verses 21 through 23: (Reads Psalm 68:21-23 NLT) Surely God will shatter the heads of his enemies, the hairy crowns of those who go on in their guilty deeds. The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan. I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, that your foot may crush them in blood, and the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies.”   Guthrie Chamberlain: The psalmist opens this section with a strong declaration of God's impending judgment: “Surely God will shatter the heads of his enemies, the hairy crowns of those who go on in their guilty deeds.” This is powerful, even confronting, language. In ancient warfare, striking the head symbolized a decisive and often fatal blow. The phrase “hairy crowns” might refer to the long, perhaps unkempt, hair of warriors from some enemy nations, or it could be a metaphor for their proud and untamed rebellion. Regardless of the specific imagery, the message is clear: God will utterly defeat those who are His adversaries, particularly those who “go on in their guilty deeds” – those who persistently and unrepentantly choose a path of wickedness and rebellion against Him. In the ancient Israelite worldview, God was seen as the ultimate source of justice. While they were called to seek justice in their own society, they also understood that there would be a time when God Himself would deal definitively with evil and those who actively opposed His righteous rule and harmed His people. This language, while strong, reflects that conviction – God will not allow wickedness to triumph indefinitely. Then, in verse 22, we hear a direct word from the Lord: “The Lord said, ‘I will bring them back from Bashan. I will bring them back from the depths of the sea.'” This verse is rich with symbolic meaning. Bashan, known for its formidable mountains and strong inhabitants, represented a place of strength and perhaps a...

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” (Psalm 90:2) Surely God’s transcendence is ... More...

Most of us by nature don't like to think of God's anger (or ‘wrath'). But sometimes we are forced to confront it, as in this passage from Lamentations. What is God's anger, and why is it important for us to think about in our lives as Christians?Understand the Bible is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Understand the Bible at utbible.substack.com/subscribe

Graham Parsons was preacher for this service. Isaiah 12:1-6: In that day you will say, “I will praise You, O Lord. Although You were angry with me, Your anger has turned away and You have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

Order of Service: - Unless a Grain of Wheat: Refrain: Unless a grain of wheat shall fall upon the ground and die, it remains but a single grain with no life. 1) If we have died with him, then we shall live with him; if we hold firm, we shall reign with him. 2) If anyone serves me, then they must follow me; wherever I am, my servants will be. 3) Make your home in me as I make mine in you; those who remain in me bear much fruit. 4) If you remain in me and my word lives in you, then you will be my disciples. 5) Those who love me are loved by my Father; we shall be with them and dwell in them. 6) Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; peace which the world cannot give is my gift. - Isaiah 12:1-6: In that day you will say, “I will praise You, O Lord. Although You were angry with me, Your anger has turned away and You have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.” - Devotion - Prayer - Hymn 306 - What Wondrous Love is This, O My Soul, O My Soul - Blessing - Postlude Service Participants: Graham Parsons (Preacher), Rev. Prof. Dennis Marzolf (Pianist), Simon Kovaciny (Soloist)

To whom do believers turn when the world seems against them? How should Christians respond when friends become traitors and enemies? David's own life experiences and prayers are instructive in answering these questions.----------------------------Please follow us on these platforms:Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JointhesearchPodcast: https://thesearch.buzzsprout.com/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jointhesearchInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jointhesearchtodayFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/jointhesearchtoday

Jacob said, “Surely God is in this place, and I didn't know it.” His story showed us that God will use our hardships to weave the covenant of grace that defines our life purpose. We don't have to be perfect by any means to fulfill our destiny. Our God given legacy is a message to our families and the world. Click https://bit.ly/m/Life-Journeys to find a list of your favorite platforms for this podcast!

Ronald Reagan led one of the most extraordinary lives of the 20th Century - a life which he sadly and progressively forgot in the last years of his life. His long battle with Alzheimer's Disease acted like a cruel eraser. It removed recollections of what he had done and even who he was. After Ronald Reagan's death, we learned a lot more about what happened during his long journey into darkness. Memory of his years in Hollywood just disappeared, and then he couldn't remember being Governor of California, and ultimately he lost all that had happened in his years of being President of the United States. But one memory stayed alive almost until the end. In the office that Nancy Reagan set up for him, there was a picture on the wall, it was a picture of the Rock River in Illinois. When visitors would ask him about it, after most of his life was there no more, he would brighten and he'd say, "Oh, that's where I was a lifeguard when I was 17. That's where I saved 77 lives!" I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Life's Most Memorable Legacy." After all was said and done, the one thing Ronald Reagan could remember about his life was the lives he saved. But then, there's nothing about your life that's more worth remembering. No matter how many or how few, no matter how large or how small your life accomplishments have been, that's your greatest legacy. There's nothing more heroic, there's nothing more meaningful than being someone's difference between life and death - especially if it's eternal life or death. Our word for today from the Word of God in Proverbs 11:30 tells us what the legacy of your life and mine ought to be. God says, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise." What you should have to show for the one life you've lived is a trail of life - people whose souls you have helped move from sin's death penalty to the eternal life that can only be found at Jesus' cross. There's a stretch of beach that God has assigned to each of us who belongs to Him. There's a stretch of beach where He's assigned you to be His lifeguard - the one who's responsible to do all you can to rescue the people around you who will die spiritually unless someone helps them get to Jesus. You may be looking around and saying, "Me? Surely God must have someone better than me to help these people get to heaven?" Stop looking around. You're the one He's put in their lives. Not some highly trained spiritual professional, not some professional God salesman, not someone with a more outgoing personality, not someone who's got it more together than you have. Your Savior decided you were the person they needed as their link to Him. Look, if you're like most of us, your fear has kept you from actively trying to introduce them to Jesus. Fear is actually from one thing: it's all about me. It's focusing on ourselves - how I'm going to look, what they'll think about me - instead of focusing on what might happen to them if we don't try to tell them. Maybe you've been preoccupied with goals and accomplishments that won't even last for your lifetime, let alone forever. But God says those who lead many to righteousness will "shine like the stars forever and ever" (Daniel 12:3). People in heaven because you cared - there's nothing you can do in this life that can even come close to that as a legacy. Lives saved forever. The place where you work, the activities you're involved in, the school you attend, the neighborhood you live in, the people who keep showing up in your life; they are the lives at stake on your stretch of the beach. Don't fail the Savior who died for them by letting them live and die without Him because of your silence. Don't fail them by not showing them the difference Jesus makes; by not telling them what Jesus did for them on the cross. See, you are their chance at Jesus. You're their chance at heaven.

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 12:2-6) Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 12:2-6 New Testament Reading: Thessalonians 5:1-24 12/15/24

BOOK III Psalms 73–89 Psalm 73 A psalm of Asaph. 1 Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. 3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.[a] 5 They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. 7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity[b]; their evil imaginations have no limits. 8 They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. 9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. 10 Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance.[c] 11 They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?” 12 This is what the wicked are like— always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. 13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. 14 All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments. 15 If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children. 16 When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply 17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. 18 Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. 19 How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! 20 They are like a dream when one awakes; when you arise, Lord, you will despise them as fantasies. 21 When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, 22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. 23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. 28 But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.

On Veterans Day, we're feeling deeply grateful for all the veterans who have dedicated themselves to our safety and freedom. For everyone who has served or has a loved one who has served, your sacrifices do not go unnoticed - thank you.Just like our servicemen and women provide for our nation's defense, the Bible reminds us of our ultimate security in Jesus. Isaiah 12 tells us, "Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord Himself, is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation." In the spirit of gratitude and joy, we're excited to share a special resource with you - KCBI's '30 Days of Joy' devotional. Get your free copy today and find daily inspiration to renew your spirit: https://kcbi.org/resources/30-days-of-joy

BALLISTIC MISSILE ALERT: Early this morning, a ballistic missile from Yemen was intercepted over Beit Shemesh, with alerts spanning a wide area, including Hebron. HEZBOLLAH ATTACK SUMMARY: Hezbollah reports 27 attacks against Israel, including 7 targeting civilian towns. Suicide drones were launched toward Haifa's navy base and Nimra base north of the Kinneret, along with rocket fire aimed at Sharga camp in the Golan Heights. Meanwhile, Shiite militias in Iraq claimed responsibility for 7 attacks on Israel in the past 30 hours, including 4 suicide drones sent toward the Dead Sea, Jerusalem, and Galilee last night. IDF jets on drone interception duty were seen flying low from Beit Shemesh to Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim. Yes, it was a busy night and morning here in Israel, defending against our enemies on seven fronts.Psalm 73 - Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. v16-17 When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. 28 But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.List of Urgent Needs:- F350 Truck and accessories: $50,000- Iridium Certus Thales MissionLINK x 2 plus network connection: $10,000- Fuel for mission distribution: $80 per daily mission- Aid supplies family support kits: $150- Ministry emergency fund goal: $30,000To give, use this link http://member.bulldozerfaith.com/givePayPal.me/bulldozerfaith https://cash.app/$bulldozerfaith Daily Devotional and teaching with Kenny Russell - Get connected with our Podcast Channelshttps://feeds.captivate.fm/what-then-shall-we-sayEmail kenny@bulldozerfaith.com

Mutual AffectionRomans 12:9-10 “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;  love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.”This was not the verse I thought I would be using today. I was planning on using the next two verses in this chapter. However, when I clicked on the whole chapter and read these two verses, the last part jumped out at me. Has that ever happened to you? When you are reading a verse, it just jumps off the page or sticks in your head. Honestly, it doesn't happen that often to me. This is how I knew the Lord was trying to talk to me about this specific verse today.What stood out to me was where it says, “Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.” I think this part jumped out at me because I have been really thinking a lot about how Tony and I interact, especially when other people are around. I have been noticing lately that he has changed. It used to be that the two of us were pretty sarcastic towards each other and would kinda give each other a hard time. We argued all the time. Sometimes, I think we argued just to argue because it was rarely over something important.I used to think that those who spent time with us must have wondered how long we would stay together. We love each other; I guess we just liked to argue, too. Anyway, lately, in the last several years, I have noticed that we don't argue as much over silly things. I have also noticed that Tony has changed the way he talks about me to others as well. For the most part, when he talks about me to others, he is very kind and loving. I noticed when I went out with Tony and the people from his work a month or so ago I was still very sarcastic, and it did not come out very lovingly.  The reason I am telling you all of this is because I doubt I am the only person who could speak nicer to my spouse or loved one. Maybe for you, it is not your spouse. Maybe you need to work on how you speak to your parents, your siblings, your co-workers, your children, or whoever it is in your life that you spend a lot of time with. The Lord has been putting this on my heart a lot lately, so I wanted to share it with you as well if you are struggling with this.Let's look at this verse and see what the Lord is telling us. It begins, “Let love be genuine.” This is harder than it may seem. In order to let love be genuine, we have to be our true selves. This means not hiding behind any facade that we may have put up to protect ourselves. This means being the real you with those you love, including God. Why do we try to hide things from the Lord? He already knows everything about us and loves us anyway. People can't genuinely love us if they don't truly know us. Genuine love also means that we are honest and truthful.The verse goes on to say, “Hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good.” This can be really hard. The world teaches us to love sin. It teaches us that what we want is good and that we can have all that we want, even if it is not according to what God wants. The Bible tells us differently. the Lord says to “hate what is evil.” Do we do this? Do we hate sin? Do we hate the things that the Lord says are wrong, or do we just accept them as good because the world tells us that they are good?The verse says to hold fast to what is good. What is good? God is good. The things He tells us are good. Loving the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind, and soul is good. Loving our neighbor as ourselves is good. There is a lot of good in the world; we just need to look for it. We need not be seduced by the evil in the world, and we need to look past it to see all of the good.Next it says, “ love one another with mutual affection.”Are we doing this? I know I talked about this one a bit earlier. I also want to say that this is not just talking about your spouse. God wants us to love everyone with mutual affection. The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Are we doing that? Are we loving our neighbor as we love ourselves?I think this commandment gets overlooked a lot. We love God, but we struggle to love Him with our whole hearts, minds, and souls. We also have to love our neighbor, but there are a lot of not nice people out there. How can God expect us to love them? Surely God doesn't mean I have to love my co-worker who is always throwing me under the bus? Surely, God doesn't mean I have to love my neighbor who is always stealing my paper and talking about me behind my back. Guess what? It says in Matthew 5:44, “ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” So, yes, God wants us to love everyone, even those we would consider our enemies. Can we love those we meet in life with mutual affection? Can we at least work on it? I am sure we all know a few people in our lives that we struggle to love. God is not asking for perfection. He is asking for progress. Can we at least try to be nicer to them even if we aren't quite ready to love them yet?The very last part of this verse says, “outdo one another in showing honor.” This is part of what struck me that I don't think I talked about earlier. What if we made it our goal to outdo one another in showing honor? What does this mean? What if we pointed out what people were doing that was right instead of all they were doing that was wrong? What if I stopped being sarcastic with Tony, especially in public, and instead talked about all the amazing things he does at home for the kids and me or at work for his employees? I give Tony a hard time but I know how lucky I am to have him. He does all of the outside lawn work, which I hate to do. He fixes our cars, not just the little things like changing oil, but he can fix pretty much anything on the cars. He works very hard to provide for this family. What if I honored him with my speech each time I talked about him?How are you? Who do you struggle to honor? What if we started honoring our friends and family? What if we started pointing out all they are doing right instead of what they are doing wrong? What if we told them how much we love them and how proud we are of them? You would be surprised how powerful those words are, “I am so proud of you.” Those words can go a long way in honoring someone. My challenge to you today is to begin to be more aware of your speech. Begin to ask yourself if your love is genuine. Ask yourself if you hate what is evil and hold fast to what is good. Ask yourself if you have a mutual affection for others and if you are outdoing others in showing honor. It would be great if we all spent some time pondering that today. I think for most of us the answers would be no, we aren't doing the best we can at this. If this is the case, ask yourself, “What is one thing I can do differently today to honor someone better, or to love in a more genuine way?” How can I honor those I love better today? If we start at home we can move on to our enemies once we have mastered loving our loved ones better! Mother Theresa said, “Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action.”Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all of those listening today. Lord, show us how to love others. Show us how to honor others. Show us where in our life we are falling short with this. Show us where in our lives we are not hating evil and loving what is good. Lord, this world has us all mixed up. It tells us what is bad is really good, and it can be hard to know what to believe. Help us turn to you. Help us listen only to your voice, Lord. Help your voice be louder than all the others. We love you Lord, you are amazing. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus's holy name, Amen!Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I know the world might seem like a scary place right now. This is why I decided the theme for mentoring this month would be “Be Not Afraid.” I invite you all to join me next Tuesday for the week #2 of this series. The recording of Week #1 is on my Facebook page. If you want to watch it to see what mentoring is all about, feel free to reach out and I will email you the link to watch week #1 ahead of time. If you want more information on mentoring, please click on the link below or go to my website walkboldlywithJesus.com and click on the mentoring tab. I look forward to seeing you again on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you, just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!Today's Word from the Lord was received in May 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today's Word from the Lord is, “I got the impression that we are each in our way a blessing. And there's certain things that he wants to use each one of us to bless others. But if we stay in our own little cocoon and we don't do anything, other people will not receive this blessing that God has given each one of us.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

Longing for a moment of rest and renewal? Today's episode of Be Still and Be Loved is your invitation to quiet your heart and mind, reconnect with God, and dream with Him. In this gentle biblical meditation, you'll find a space to rest, breathe deeply, and experience God's presence. Take this time for yourself anytime you need it, whether to recharge during a busy day or wind down before sleep. Let this meditation be a soothing balm for your soul as you draw closer to the One who loves you deeply. Helpful Links: Today's scripture: Genesis 28:10-17 Check out our Bedtime Meditations! New episodes are available each month in RW+ Membership. Become a Donor  Get connected: revelationwellness.org | Instagram | YouTube Please consider following this show (and sharing it with a friend), leaving a review, and telling us what you think with a voice message! Follow | Leave a Review | Send a Voice Message

Longing for a moment of rest and renewal? Today's episode of Be Still and Be Loved is your invitation to quiet your heart and mind, reconnect with God, and dream with Him. In this gentle biblical meditation, you'll find a space to rest, breathe deeply, and experience God's presence. Take this time for yourself anytime you need it, whether to recharge during a busy day or wind down before sleep. Let this meditation be a soothing balm for your soul as you draw closer to the One who loves you deeply. Helpful Links: Today's scripture: Genesis 28:10-17 Check out our Bedtime Meditations! New episodes are available each month in RW+ Membership. Become a Donor  Get connected: revelationwellness.org | Instagram | YouTube Please consider following this show (and sharing it with a friend), leaving a review, and telling us what you think with a voice message! Follow | Leave a Review | Send a Voice Message

Surely God had a hand in cementing the friendship of two former Framingham State University baseball players when the two teammates became dads on the very same day!   AND   Cruel comments flooded his lighthearted viral video, and Shane Burcaw is now speaking out.   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates! https://www.godupdates.com/baseball-teammates-become-dads-twins-same-day/  https://www.godupdates.com/shane-burcaw-speaks-out/  Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

The Solid Rock August 4, 2024 Elwyn Johnston Psalm 73 Verse of the Week: “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26 1. Faith stumbles when you focus on people “I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.” Psalm 73:2 “I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness” Psalm 73:3 “They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong. They don't have troubles like other people; they're not plagued with problems like everyone else.” Psalm 73:4 & 5 “These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for….Look at these wicked people—enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.” Psalm 73:7 & 12 “Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?” Psalm 73:13 2. Faith is strengthened when you focus on God Be honest with yourself and with God. Know your God 1. God will be with you. “how good it is to be near God!” Psalm 73:28 “I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. It was too painful for me—until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I finally understood” Psalm 73:16 & 17 “God has taken hold of my right hand.” Psalm 73:23 2. God will guide you “God guides me with His counsel” Psalm 73:24 3. God will satisfy you “Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.” Psalm 73:25 4. God will strengthen you “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart. He is mine forever.” Psalm 73:26 5. God will protect you “I have made the Lord God my refuge and I will tell about the wonderful things You do.” Psalm 73:28 6. God will be good to you! “Surely God is good to __________” Psalm 73:1

Today's Promise: Proverbs 15:8 Did you know God delights in your prayers? He is excited for you to come into His presence. So many Christians are reluctant to come to God in prayer. They feel unworthy to lift their voice and may even think, "Surely God has more to do with His time than to listen to my prayers." They don't realize that God actually delights in their prayer. Did you know that God loves it when you spend time with Him in prayer? When you pray, God listens. He not only listens, but he is delighted to hear your prayers. God delights in hearing you today. He wants you to come before Him bringing your needs, prayers, and concerns.

Father Jimmy Fights his carnal desires.By GrushaVashnadze. Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories. "Oh yeah, cunt!" he muttered under his breath."Yeah, hot fucking cunt!" he continued, ogling the juicy specimen of beauty displaying herself to his lustful eyes. Her pussy was indeed beautiful -- pink and delicate, with a finely-crafted blond landing-strip, held open by a pair of painted fingers, so that he could gaze into its hot, wet, steamy depths. He stroked his cock in anticipation, feeling his shaft stiffen and grow, and feeling that exquisite yearning sensation spread outwards, filling his body with testosterone-fuelled bliss.The owner of said cunt looked at him seductively, the tip of her tongue gently tracing the outline of her lips, her eyes cheekily inviting, one hand kneading her huge, perfect, surgically-enhanced breasts, as the other continued to hold her fuck-lips wide."Oh, yeah, baby, I'm gonna fuck that cunt so hard," he continued. "I'm gonna ram my fucking cock deep in your hot pussy, I'm gonna feel your juicy cunt around my cock, and then I'm gonna fucking come inside you, I'm gonna spurt all my fucking cum deep in your hot fuck-hole till you scream in pleasure. You want that, baby, you want that?"But there was no answer from the buxom blonde beauty. For she was but a centrefold in a magazine, lying open before him on his bed. One picture among many, actually, for his eiderdown was covered with a selection of his collected periodicals, open to his favourite pages, featuring a variety of nude beauties, all displaying themselves -- he liked to think -- purely for his pleasure.His cock throbbed as he stroked it, thumb and two fingers gently rubbing the glans while the palm of his hand wrapped itself around the shaft. He admired his carefully-ordered "cunt collage" -- as he liked to call it. The buxom blond ("Jenny", according to the caption) occupied pride of place in the centre of his bed. Surrounding her were half a dozen other centrefolds: "Sabrina" -- dark-haired, with huge natural flowing boobs, left hand holding her pussy open whilst one delicate finger of the right curled knuckle-deep into her arsehole; "Brea" -- blonde and skinny, with pert breasts, irresistibly smouldering eyes, and a shaven pussy; "Elsa" -- bleached blond hair, sweet "next-door-girl" smile, hairy blonde cunt with -- "oh fuck!" he muttered, as he felt his cock twitch and jerk in delight -- gorgeous flappy cunt-lips which dangled, glistening with little beads of pussy-juice...He paused his cock-stroking, looking away and upwards at the ceiling, in order to calm himself down: he didn't want to come too soon. Not yet.Just in time, the phone rang. Nervously he scrabbled for the receiver."Hi Jimmyyy!" came the sultry voice he was expecting. "It's Bea here, wiv yer fantasy call.""Bea, how are you?""Oh, Jimmy, I'm feeling so fuckin' horny this evening, I'm been so looking forward to our call.""Talk to me, Bea," said Jimmy, as he resumed slowly massaging his dick."Oh, you know me, Jimmy, I just can't get enough fuckin'. I'm sitting here on my bed, and I'm wearin' this skimpy negligee, and I've shaved my pussy just for you -- and it's so fuckin' wet, Jimmy, I just can't wait for you to ram yer big cock in there. D'ya wanna do that, Jimmyyy?" Bea's voice was warm and breathy -- something she had practised and honed over the months she had been calling him. Jimmy knew that, these days, he could instead be watching a video online, or a camgirl -- but he was a man of habit and tradition, and he loved the way things used to be when he was younger, when porn was always magazines, and audio invariably meant the telephone. And so he sat at the head of his bed, stroking his cock, listening to Bea's breathy seductive personalised filth, whilst he continued to ogle his favourite magazine nudes.As Bea spoke, his eyes continued to roam the pages spread open on the bed: "Codi" -- a ridiculously slender blonde with big fake tits, pouting lips drooling slightly at the sight of her own shaven cunt, spread wide with two delicate hands; "Emma" -- on all fours, so her pussy peeped cheekily out from between her buttocks, crowned by a tight puckered arsehole...Bea was very good too: she knew, after some six months of weekly Friday evening calls to Jimmy, just how he liked it. Jimmy wasn't interested in toys, or blowjobs, or titfucks, or anal, or any other kinks. He liked cunt. He loved cunt. And he adored it when Bea talked cunt: "Jimmyyy..." she breathed, "my pussy's feelin' so hot tonight. Will ya put yer dick in there, Jimmyyy?""It's all for you, Bea," muttered Jimmy, in a half-hearted attempt to play along with the fantasy. Actually, he wasn't much interested in the role-play aspect of things: it was, after all, pure fakery -- but he liked hearing Bea talk dirty, and so he said the minimum required to let her know that she was on the right track, and then revelled in the glorious obscenity of her wall-to-wall aural filth."Oh yeah, that feels so fucking good!" she lied. "Your cock's so fuckin' hard, Jimmy -- I can feel it deep in my cunt, fillin' me up. Go on, Jimmy, slide that huge fuckin' cock in and out of my wet cunt; can ya feel my pussy all hot and juicy for ya?" Jimmy listened, his eyes roving across the collage spread out on the bed before him, imagining what Bea's cunt might be like. Deliberately, he had never asked her, preferring to make it a new cunt each week: last week's choice had been "Cecilia" -- black, shaven, lips teased apart just enough to reveal her juicy pink haven inside; this week, it would be "Jenny".Jimmy loved Bea's voice -- "chavvy South London", he called it, oozing squalor; in his more lucid moments he imagined her as a single mum on the dole in some squalid high-rise council flat in Tooting -- a ne'er-do-well scraping together a living using the only pathetic skill she had. But now she was his tart, his whore, his plaything, his fantasy: she could be anything and everything he imagined. He liked playing this game, as he continued to stroke his dick to ecstasy whilst revelling in Bea's increasingly filthy ongoing monologue. Bea, for her part, was the consummate professional, sensing from Jimmy's pants and grunts just how far he was on his journey to release. And when Jimmy muttered, "Say my favourite things, Bea," she knew just what he meant."You know, Jimmy, I'm a dir'y, filfy, cuntfuckin' whore... That's what I am, Jimmy -- just a cuntfuckin' whore." Jimmy loved those words, and Bea's grimy accent was the icing on the cake: his cock jerked and bucked in response, stiffening even further. "I'm a whore, Jimmyyy. And you like dir'y fuckin' whores, don'tcha? You wanna fuck my filfy cunt wiv 'at big cock?" Jimmy was in ecstasy.Soon Bea had progressed to "My cunt's so fuckin' wet, Jimmy: that's what you do to me, babe. You're gonna make me fuckin' come, Jimmy, 'coz I'm a dir'y, filfy, cuntfuckin' whore, and I'm gonna fuckin' come all over your big cock!" Jimmy took the cue, fixing his eyes on "Jenny's" pussy -- still, of course, reliably wide open and glistening for him -- drinking in its beauty, and gradually ramping up the rhythm of his stroking so as to time his own orgasm to match Bea's ersatz one. And when Bea got to "I'm gonna fuckin' come, Jimmy, here it is baby, come all over ya dir'y filfy cuntfuckin' whore -- oh yeah oh FUUUUUCK!!!" Jimmy did exactly that. He felt the tell-tale boiling sensation in his balls, felt his cum surge and rise through his shaft and explode from his bucking, twitching cockhead."Jenny" was the chosen recipient of Jimmy's cum this evening, six or seven thick ropes of semen splattering over her picture. Jimmy aimed at her cunt, and watched as the likeness of her vulva disappeared under a gloopy coating of semen. Bea was continuing to moan and squeal down the telephone line: "Oh yeah, Jimmy, are ya comin' for me? Does 'at feel good, babe?" as the last few dribbles of sperm landed on "Jenny's" tits and face."Was 'at nice, Jimmyyy?" breathed Bea in her customary breathy tones. "D'ya like comin' in my dir'y hot cunt, Jimmyyy?"Jimmy panted incoherently in reply, his imagination desperately clinging on as long as he could to the illusion of sexual fulfillment. But it was always too short-lived. Even before his cock was flaccid, the illusion was fading and Bea was in business mode: "Same time next week still good for ya, babe? Take it off yer card, yeah?"Jimmy muttered a "Yeah, thanks, Bea," before hanging up and surveying the mess. It never looked as good afterwards as he hoped it would before. Sperm-soiled magazine "Jenny" looked, frankly, ridiculous and tawdry now -- a far cry from the seductive perfection she had exuded when pristine on the page. And wrapping up and disposing of semen-soaked magazine pages was anything but sexy. But Jimmy did so with his customary goal-oriented efficiency, trying to -- and largely succeeding in -- staunching his creeping feeling of shame, until the job was done, his penis was wiped clean, and he had put on his clothes again.Then his collar.And then his cassock.And then Father James Wright knelt on the floor of his bedroom and wept bitterly.~~~~~"Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -- by the Divine Power of God -- cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of... oh fuck..."Father Jim's voice tailed off. He had performed his morning ablutions, had his breakfast, and said his Office, and was preparing himself by examination of conscience for his weekly two-birds-with-one-stone excursion to the Cathedral -- first to confession, followed by his weekly exorcism training seminar. He usually dressed in civvies for these visits, not wanting to draw attention to himself on public transport -- but he never missed his hebdomadal chance to unburden his soul, and timing it for Saturday mornings made sense. Apart from anything else, this way, he felt less guilty saying the Eucharist over the weekend than if he were to have his Friday evening sins hanging on his conscience.But this morning Father Jim's voice gave up mid-supplication, as the thought impinged upon his intercessions:Am I a hypocrite? Actually, this was a thought which frequently went through his mind. The answer, of course, was yes: regularly, deliberately, and with full foreknowledge, every Friday night -- and he knew it. For hypocrite though he was, he was neither stupid nor deluded. He had learnt to corral his fleshly weakness into one weekly episode, and it would soon be,gratias Deo, effaced from his soul by the Sacrament of Reconciliation -- after which he could continue to pursue his presbyterial vocation with confidence. Until next Friday.Today, though, he felt somewhat less confident than normal, less spiritually bullish, more vulnerable than usual. Perhaps it was the weather -- dull and grey like many an English spring morning -- but it was almost as if he felt that the hosts of Satan were genuinely massing on the horizon, and that he might truly need the intercession of an archangel to forestall the ruin of his soul. In short, Father Jim's carefully calibrated balancing act between spiritual propriety and sexual concupiscence was feeling unaccountably precarious this morning.He was just letting himself out of the presbytery when a young woman came dashing round the corner, her heels clicking unevenly on the pavement. "Father Jim! Father Jim! Oh, I'mso glad I caught you. Please would you hear my confession?" Behind the urgency of her request Jim descried a pleasingly upper middle-class voice ("so" came out a bit like "say") -- but ever so slightly Estuary ("t" in "caught" barely noticeable), as was common with the younger generation.Father Jim thought, but did not say:Oh fuck. He tried not to think swear words between Saturday morning confession and the end of mass on Sunday evening. But he had not been to confession yet, and therefore made the split-second judgment that he may as well, for now, think obscenities. After all, he liked them; he liked the sound of them: "fuck" -- beautiful, he thought. And this young lady was, he thought to himself,"fucking hot". She was slender and small, almost a waif -- and yet her pencil skirt was just a touch too tight, and her blouse ever so slightly translucent, so that the shape of her nipples, puffy and rounded but not huge, made two soft tents in the front of her top.Oops -- he thought, as he felt his penis begin to stir inside his rather ill-fitting trousers. No, it would not do to be groping his cock out of the way in front of a parishioner, so he banished "fucking hot" from his brain with a quick piece of well-practiced spiritual legerdemain, and switched into concerned parish priest mode. He vaguely recognised the girl -- from the back row of the 10:30, perhaps? -- but wasn't sure if they had ever exchanged words. He felt within his rights to say, "I'm actually on my way out now, er..." as he looked at her quizzically with that I've-forgotten-your-name look customarily used by parish priests."Bernadette -- call me Bernie," said the woman, pronouncing the "r" softly but clearly.OK, thought Father Jim.Typical second-generation immigrant. Tries to keep up the religious traditions of the home country, but talks like a Sloane except when asserting her identity. Clearly done well for herself, been to uni. But -- Jim groaned inwardly -- she wasn't taking the hint."Oh please, Father, I really need you to hear my confession, I... I..." Father Jim looked into her eyes for the first time -- and there was that look of moral desperation he was used to seeing in some people. Some could live in their sins for long periods of time before emotional need drove them back to the Church; others, like this girl, presumably, were made of less stern stuff. Her eyes glistened with barely held-back tears, as she continued: "I think I may be under a curse, or a hex, and I... I know you are training to be an exorcist, aren't you?" Her lower lip trembled, as her damp eyes pleaded with him.In the silence of his heart, Father Jim thought to himself:Oh fuck. But he took no pleasure in this particular iteration of his favourite obscenity. He had met this kind of woman before: excessively impressionable, with an inclination to see spiritual warfare lurking under every pebble, when her only problem might a temporary imbalance of hormones.Exorcism? Bullshit. But Jim was, despite his cynicism, a kind man, and so he said, "All right, Bernie. Of course. Let's go in," as he ushered her through his front door. "Face-to-face, or in the box?""Oh, I prefer the old-fashioned way, if that's all right, Father?" she replied sheepishly.He gestured her down the corridor towards the church, and then up the long nave -- pleasantly illumined by the shifting colours which filtered dully through the great east window. As she walked ahead of him, he watched her bottom jiggle gently from side to side, red heels clicking on the stone floor, her medium-length ponytail of light brown hair swishing behind her. Fuck, he thought -- and this time revelled in the thought.Fuck yeah... he muttered silently, his mind's eye briefly, secretly, undressing her from behind."Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned," said the girl, once they had both settled into their respective halves of the confessional."How long has --""Oh, over a year, Father." interrupted Bernie. "I've got a lot of catching up to do."Fuck, thought Father Jim. But, because he was basically a kind-hearted man, he instead said: "Well, take your time. It is good that God has called you back to the Sacrament now.""Thank you, Father." He heard Bernie take a deep breath. "I... I'm married..." she ventured cautiously. "But I've not been strictly... faithful..." There was a long pause.Ho ho, I knew it, thought Jim.Another pretty young slut, got hitched too soon, screwing around behind her husband's back. Two a penny. Had one just last week, didn't I? But instead he said, "And how long have you been having this affair?""Oh, it's not an affair, Father," said the girl. "It's kind of a weird binge, a bit... perverted, if you know what I mean. On the rebound, I guess, because I walked in on my husband, you know -- with someone else..."Oh shit, thought Father Jim.This'll take all morning. Web of adultery -- seen it all before. One fucks around, the other goes off the rails, and soon they're all crotch-deep in moral turpitude. Why do they even bother to get married if they've got no continence? Should try and be celibate -- then they'll learn how lucky they are... All that passed through his mind in an instant, but of course he voiced none of it."You see," continued Bernie, "we were married a year ago -- here, before you came: Father Peter married us -- and, well, I thought it was going so well. We... we were really good in bed, you know... I mean, we really liked the sex and everything."Too much information! thought Jim to himself. But he did not say that either."You know, I was a virgin when we got married. I'd saved myself up for this. And the first time, it was wonderful. You know, for some girls it hurts? But for me it was bliss. He just slid in, and I loved it. And we loved it -- just like that, in and out, you know?"Father Jim felt his cock begin to stir. It was the inevitable involuntary reaction to a sexual confession which was becoming just a touch too detailed.Fuck, girl, why are you telling me all this? he thought. But Bernie continued to jabber, exuding, though unseen, an air of wide-eyed innocence from behind her latticed screen."But then Giles started wanting me to do things I didn't want to -- you know, oral, and anal, and stuff -- and I really wasn't comfortable with it, so we had a few arguments about that. "I mean, when he wanted me to give him a blowjob, you know, he'd just pull down his trousers and waggle the thing in front of my face..."Too much fucking information! Jim screeched in the silence of his own heart. But he couldn't stop himself imagining the husband's cock, stiff and huge, waggling back and forth in front of Bernie's pretty face, her narrow mouth opening wider, wider, her tongue extending to lick pre-cum off the frenulum before her lips softly enclosed the...Fuck, Jim, pull yourself together, man! he thought, as he felt his cock begin to make an uncomfortable tent in his trousers. He stammered out loud, "Er... sister, you don't need to tell me all that, you know, just stick to...""Oh, but it's important, Father," came Bernie's voice. "Because that's what led to it. I told him I didn't like sucking him off, but he kept trying to persuade me, and I kept saying no..." Father Jim imagined he detected the faintest hint of a smirk in her tone -- but of course it was impossible to tell..."And then," continued Bernie, "there was the anal. Sometimes when we were making love he'd wet his finger with... well, you know... and then he'd reach round and try to stick it in there. I really didn't like it -- and of course he never forced me; I mean, he's a kind man, he'd never do anything nasty -- but it was clear he was disappointed..."Oh Jesus motherfucking Christ, thought Father Jim. His cock was stiff now, and he could feel his own pre-cum beginning to leak slowly from his glans. He reached down to adjust his cock inside his trousers, and inevitably his hand lingered just a bit too long, grasping his own erect shaft through the fabric and squeezing it gently. That familiar thrill of pleasure surged through him -- but he made himself let go, telling himself: Later, Jim, later. Just get this girl through her confession for now..."But the strangest thing of all, Father," Bernie continued unabated, "was when he'd want me to talk dirty to him, you know?"Are you kidding? thought Jim incredulously. Do you think that just because I'm a priest I don't have male blood boiling in my veins? What are you on about, girl?!Bernie seemed oblivious to her confessor's discomfort. Either that, or she was deliberately winding him up -- he couldn't tell for sure. "See, Father," she continued, "he'd ask me to say dirty words, like... 'tits'... and 'pussy'... and..." -- her voice lingered a while on the first consonant -- "'ffffuck'."In an instant, Father Jim's resistance crumbled. That word was his favourite, a glorious fillip to all that was unholy and self-indulgent in the deepest recesses of his mind, and it banished all his residual will-power to the four winds. He quietly but swiftly unzipped his fly, removed his stiff sweaty cock from its prison, pulled back the damp pre-cum-lubricated foreskin, and began to slowly wank his shaft up and down, his lips trembling, his breath coming in ragged bursts. This was wrong. This was so wrong -- he knew it, of course. But he was going to do it anyway. This girl could not possibly be for real. This was no sacrament, this was an ambush. The Evil One was tempting him, and he was succumbing. And he fucking loved it..."See, Father Jim, it must be something about men, they all like those dirty words so much. My husband did: he wanted me to say things like" -- Bernie lowered her voice conspiratorially -- "'Ram your fucking cock in my pussy, baby!' and 'Fuck my hot cunt with that big dick!' Things like that... Do you like hearing things like that, Father?" Bernie's voice was hot and breathy now. Her prey was in her grasp, and she was playing with him: Jim knew it -- but, though he had no idea why this woman had chosen to ambush him in this manner, he knew it was too late. He groaned, as he felt his cock stiffen further in his sweaty palm, felt his heart pound faster with excitement."I'm sure we could have worked things out, Father. You know, I got quite used to the dirty talk -- that was quite fun actually. But the oral, and the anal -- no way. He'd show me videos on the internet, you know -- porn? Girls getting fucked in the arse, and taking cocks down their throats -- and it just looked so horrible and painful and disgusting. And then he'd show me videos of group sex, and asked if I'd ever like to do stuff like that -- and I said no! And then, to show him I really loved him, I'd let him fuck me. I mean, I really loved it when he fucked me: when his cock was all huge and stiff, and then he'd lie me on my back and fuck me all deep and squelchy. Sometimes he'd lie flat on me and grind the base of his cock against my clit to make me come. Sometimes he'd shift down, so his cockhead found my G-spot. Sometimes he'd flip me over and do me doggy. Sometimes I'd go on top and drive him wild, teasing him with my wet pussy lips before plunging down onto this cock. And I loved all that, Father, I did, truly. Cock in cunt -- that's the way it's meant to be, isn't it? I mean, that's the way God made us, isn't it?"Father Jim groaned at the absurdity of his situation. Here was a young girl giving him lessons in Saint John Paul's Theology of the Body, while he stroked his cock in the confessional -- what the fuck was going on?! But he couldn't stop now. His cock was raging, his balls were aching, and his thoughts were in mindfuck mode. Here was a girl after his own heart, one who loved being fucked in the cunt, and who loved to talk filthy. "Oh yeah, oh fuck, oh God..." he muttered incoherently in his ecstasy."You OK in there, Father Jim?" giggled the girl. "I'm sorry for being so explicit, but -- I kind of have to, you'll see why soon, I'll explain..."You don't have to explain, thought Father Jim -- as far as he was capable of thinking anything at all, for he was past thinking now. His mind was now fixed firmly on cunt, on fucking cunt, just like this girl was saying: cock slip-sliding in and out, grinding against engorged clit-flesh. It didn't matter whose cunt: his years of fake fantasy sex, week after week of dirty pictures -- "Jenny" or "Codi" or "Elsa" or whoever the fuck they were; or of listening to "Bea" recycling her mind-banked fuck-fantasies for his delectation -- all this had inured him to the sheer fakery of being a sex-obsessed celibate. It didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered now, except the filth-filled moment.

Message from Pastor Peter Dunn, entitled "Surely God Was In This Place." For more information, visit sntandrews.org. © St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church.

What about betrayal?

Psalms 54: An Analysis Context and Background: Psalm 54 is one of the many psalms attributed to David. It is traditionally believed to have been written during a time when David was being pursued by King Saul. Specifically, the superscription notes that this psalm was penned when the Ziphites had betrayed David to Saul, revealing his location. This psalm is a poignant reflection of David's reliance on God in times of distress and danger. Text of Psalm 54: 1.Save me, O God, by your name; vindicate me by your might. 2.Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth. 3.Arrogant foes are attacking me; ruthless people are trying to kill me—people without regard for God. 4.Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. 5.Let evil recoil on those who slander me; in your faithfulness destroy them. 6.I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good. 7.You have delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes. Analysis: 1.Verses 1-2: A Plea for Help •David begins with a direct plea to God, asking for salvation and vindication. He invokes God's name and might, emphasizing his belief in God's power and righteousness. The appeal for God to “hear my prayer” and “listen to the words of my mouth” signifies David's earnest and desperate situation. 2.Verses 3: Description of the Enemies •David describes his enemies as arrogant and ruthless, with no regard for God. This characterization highlights the severity of his predicament and the godlessness of his adversaries. It also implicitly contrasts their wickedness with David's faithfulness. 3.Verse 4: Declaration of Faith •Despite the dire circumstances, David expresses his unwavering faith in God's support. He confidently states that “God is my help” and “the Lord is the one who sustains me.” This verse serves as a powerful affirmation of trust in God's providence. 4.Verse 5: Call for Justice •David prays for divine retribution against his enemies. He asks God to let evil “recoil on those who slander me” and to destroy them in His faithfulness. This verse reflects the biblical theme of divine justice and the belief that God will right the wrongs committed against the faithful. 5.Verses 6-7: Promise of Praise and Gratitude •In the concluding verses, David promises to offer a freewill sacrifice and to praise God's name. He acknowledges God's past deliverance from troubles and looks forward to future triumph over his foes. The freewill offering signifies his gratitude and recognition of God's goodness. Themes and Lessons: •Reliance on God: Psalm 54 underscores the importance of seeking God's help in times of trouble. David's reliance on divine intervention is a central theme. •Faith in Divine Justice: The psalm reflects a belief in God's justice, where the righteous are vindicated, and the wicked face consequences. •Praise and Gratitude: Despite adversity, David commits to praising God and offering sacrifices, highlighting the importance of gratitude and worship. Application: •In contemporary contexts, Psalm 54 can serve as a reminder of the power of prayer and faith during challenging times. It encourages believers to trust in God's ability to provide support and deliverance, regardless of the severity of their circumstances. •The psalm also teaches the value of maintaining a spirit of praise and gratitude, even when facing adversity, and trusting in God's justice. Psalm 54 remains a profound testament to the enduring faith and resilience of David, offering timeless insights into the nature of divine support and justice.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sendme-radio--732966/support.

Psalm 52 is a psalm attributed to David, written in response to the actions of Doeg the Edomite, who reported to King Saul that David had visited the priest Ahimelech. This betrayal led to the massacre of the priests of Nob. The psalm contrasts the wickedness of those who trust in their power and wealth with the righteousness of those who trust in God's steadfast love.  Here's a breakdown of Psalm 52: Verses 1-4: Condemnation of the Wicked The psalm begins with David addressing the wicked man, Doeg, questioning why he boasts of evil and deceit. David describes the wicked person's tongue as a “sharp razor” that plots destruction and loves evil more than good. This imagery emphasizes the power of words and the destructiveness of deceit and malice. • Verse 1: “Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?” • Verse 2: “Your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, you who practice deceit.” • Verse 3: “You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth.” • Verse 4: “You love every harmful word, you deceitful tongue!” Verses 5-7: The Fate of the Wicked David prophesies the downfall of the wicked. God will bring them to ruin, uproot them from their homes, and eliminate their influence. The righteous will see this and recognize it as a demonstration of God's justice, leading to a deeper reverence for God. • Verse 5: “Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living.” • Verse 6: “The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at you, saying,” • Verse 7: “‘Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!'” Verses 8-9: The Trust of the Righteous In contrast to the wicked, David expresses his trust in God's unfailing love. He likens himself to a green olive tree in the house of God, symbolizing fruitfulness, stability, and flourishing under God's care. David commits to praising God forever and putting his hope in God's name, which is good. • Verse 8: “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love forever and ever.” • Verse 9: “For what You have done I will always praise You in the presence of Your faithful people. And I will hope in Your name, for Your name is good.” Themes and Lessons from Psalm 52 - 1. The Power of Words: The psalm highlights the destructive power of deceitful speech and the moral corruption of those who use their words for evil purposes. 2. Divine Justice: It underscores the certainty of divine justice. The wicked may seem to prosper temporarily, but their ultimate fate is ruin. 3. Trust in God: David's trust in God's steadfast love serves as a model for the righteous. Despite facing betrayal and danger, he finds security and hope in God. 4. Contrast Between the Wicked and the Righteous: The psalm draws a clear distinction between the wicked, who rely on their wealth and power, and the righteous, who rely on God's faithfulness. - Psalm 52 encourages believers to maintain their faith in God's justice and to live righteously, trusting in His steadfast love rather than in their own strength or resources.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sendme-radio--732966/support.

Do you need help today? Our God is a friend to the weak and a refuge for those in need. If you know God, you are in good hands. He has compassion toward those who call out to Him for help. He is the God who is with us – who is willing and able to help. In Psalm 54 we read: “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.” That is a truth I have known for years and have experienced very vividly on several occasions. There was the plane crash I and my family were in. The plane broke into three parts, but not a single person died. And there have been times of grief, most recently when my father died last year. There have been misunderstandings in close relationships, hurt feelings, parenting pressures. In all the struggles and choices and pain, I know that God is my help. He will sustain me. I invite you to get to know this wonderful God today. radio.hopewithgod.com

When we have problems in life - sometimes they loom so large, they make God look small - at least from where we???re standing. Surely God won???t help me?! Join Berni Dymet - as he looks at God???s amazing escape plan, from A Different Perspective.Support the show: https://christianityworks.com/channels/adp/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's edition of Family Talk, Gary Bauer and the Hon. Michele Bachmann conclude their discussion on the continued war in Israel. Now is the time for all Americans to stand united in prayer against the enemy who seeks to destroy the nation of Israel. Isaiah 12:2 says, Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord Himself, is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/707/29

Questions Covered: 06:21 – I’m a United Methodist minister. What more resources do you recommend in my exploration of Catholicism? 20:01 – Surely God hears the prayers and offers signs to people outside of Christianity. How do we make sense of these signs that might offer people in their faith outside of Christ? 31:01 – What do Catholics believe in what’s going to get them into heaven? I’m Catholic, but some say it’s good works; but I keep saying it’s through Jesus Christ 37:11 – My Catholic cousin is not going to get married in a church. Can I attend? 45:37 – I'm reading a book that claims that the Catholic doctrine of atonement has changed since Trent to Vatican II. Is this true? 51:43 – You mention a lot the appeal to natural law. Why should we live according to our nature? …

Audio Download Questions Covered: 06:21 – I'm a United Methodist minister. What more resources do you recommend in my exploration of Catholicism? 20:01 – Surely God hears the prayers and offers signs to people outside of Christianity. How do we make sense of these signs that might offer people in their faith outside of Christ? […]

If we know that God forgives us, why do we need confession? Surely God just knows? The truth is, there is freedom in confession. (James 5:13-16) ABOUT THIS SERIES: Having a growth mindset is nothing new. People say we should move up the ladder. Our children need to grow up. We even tell people who are immature that they need to “step it up.”  “Up and to the right” is what every person hopes the graph of their life looks like; but, do we hope the same for our faith? Are we working on growing in the adventure we are forging a lifelong reliance on  God? This series will take a look at all the tools we can use to make sure that our faith is going “up and to the right " day by day.  ABOUT THE FOUNDRY:   The Foundry is a non-denominational Christian church in Burke, VA.  "Guiding people to forge a lifelong reliance on God." Find out more about us at TheFoundryChurch.com Join us Sundays @ 10:30 AM EST in person or online. Find out more about us at TheFoundryChurch.com or find us on social media:  Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheFoundryBurke Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thefoundryburke/ Tiktok www.tiktok.com/@thefoundryburke YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@thefoundryburke NEXT STEPS: Have you made the decision to follow Jesus? You may be wondering what's next on your journey. We want to help you take your next steps in your walk with Christ! https://www.thefoundrychurch.com/nextsteps

Father Jim Reconciles his two separate lifestyles. Did God ever ask him to remain celebate for life?By GrushaVashnadze. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.“Oh yeah, cunt!” he muttered under his breath.“Yeah, hot fucking cunt!” he continued, ogling the juicy specimen of beauty displaying herself to his lustful eyes. Her pussy was indeed beautiful, pink and delicate, with a finely-crafted blond landing-strip, held open by a pair of painted fingers, so that he could gaze into its hot, wet, steamy depths. He stroked his cock in anticipation, feeling his shaft stiffen and grow, and feeling that exquisite yearning sensation spread outwards, filling his body with testosterone-fuelled bliss.The owner of said cunt looked at him seductively, the tip of her tongue gently tracing the outline of her lips, her eyes cheekily inviting, one hand kneading her huge, perfect, surgically-enhanced breasts, as the other continued to hold her fuck-lips wide.“Oh, yeah, baby, I'm gonna fuck that cunt so hard,” he continued. “I'm gonna ram my fucking cock deep in your hot pussy, I'm gonna feel your juicy cunt around my cock, and then I'm gonna fucking come inside you, I'm gonna spurt all my fucking cum deep in your hot fuck-hole till you scream in pleasure. You want that, baby, you want that?”But there was no answer from the buxom blonde beauty. For she was but a centrefold in a magazine, lying open before him on his bed. One picture among many, actually, for his eiderdown was covered with a selection of his collected periodicals, open to his favourite pages, featuring a variety of nude beauties, all displaying themselves, he liked to think, purely for his pleasure.His cock throbbed as he stroked it, thumb and two fingers gently rubbing the glans while the palm of his hand wrapped itself around the shaft. He admired his carefully-ordered “cunt collage” as he liked to call it. The buxom blond (“Jenny”, according to the caption) occupied pride of place in the centre of his bed. Surrounding her were half a dozen other centrefolds: “Sabrina”; dark-haired, with huge natural flowing boobs, left hand holding her pussy open whilst one delicate finger of the right curled knuckle-deep into her arsehole; “Brea”; blonde and skinny, with pert breasts, irresistibly smouldering eyes, and a shaven pussy; “Elsa” bleached blond hair, sweet “next-door-girl” smile, hairy blonde cunt with' “oh fuck!” he muttered, as he felt his cock twitch and jerk in delight, gorgeous flappy cunt-lips which dangled, glistening with little beads of pussy-juice…He paused his cock-stroking, looking away and upwards at the ceiling, in order to calm himself down: he didn't want to come too soon. Not yet.Just in time, the phone rang. Nervously he scrabbled for the receiver.“Hi Jimmy!”It was the sultry voice he was expecting. “It's Beattie here, wiff yer fantasy call.”“ Beattie, how are you?”“Oh, Jimmy, I'm feeling so fuckin' horny this evening, I'm been so looking forward to our call.”“Talk to me, Beattie,” said Jimmy, as he resumed slowly massaging his dick.“Oh, you know me, Jimmy, I just can't get enough fuckin'. I'm sitting here on my bed, and I'm wearin' this skimpy negligee, and I've shaved my pussy just for you, and it's so fuckin' wet, Jimmy, I just can't wait for you to ram yer big cock in there. D'ye wanna do that, Jimmy?”Beattie's voice was warm and breathy, something she had practised and honed over the months she had been calling him. Jimmy knew that, these days, he could instead be watching a video online, or a camgirl, but he was a man of habit and tradition, and he loved the way things used to be when he was younger, when porn was always magazines, and audio invariably meant the telephone. And so he sat at the head of his bed, stroking his cock, listening to Beattie's breathy seductive personalised filth, whilst he continued to ogle his favourite magazine nudes.As Beattie spoke, his eyes continued to roam the pages spread open on the bed: “Codi”, a ridiculously slender blonde with big fake tits, pouting lips drooling slightly at the sight of her own shaven cunt, spread wide with two delicate hands; “Emma”, on all fours, so her pussy peeped cheekily out from between her buttocks, crowned by a tight puckered arsehole…Beattie was very good too: she knew, after some six months of weekly Friday evening calls to Jimmy, just how he liked it. Jimmy wasn't interested in toys, or blowjobs, or titfucks, or anal, or any other kinks. He liked cunt. He loved cunt. And he adored it when Beattie talked cunt: “Jimmy…” “my pussy's feelin' so hot tonight. Will ye put yer dick in there, Jimmy?”“It's all for you, Beattie,” muttered Jimmy, in a half-hearted attempt to play along with the fantasy. Actually, he wasn't much interested in the role-play aspect of things: it was, after all, pure fakery, but he liked hearing Beattie talk dirty, and so he said the minimum required to let her know that she was on the right track, and then revelled in the glorious obscenity of her wall-to-wall aural filth.“Oh yeah, that feels so fucking good!” “Your cock's so fuckin' hard, Jimmy. I can feel it deep in my cunt, fillin' me up. Go on, Jimmy, slide that huge fuckin' cock in and out of my wet cunt; can ye feel my pussy all hot and juicy for ye?“Jimmy listened, his eyes roving across the collage spread out on the bed before him, imagining what Beattie's cunt might be like. Deliberately, he had never asked her, preferring to make it a new cunt each week: last week's choice had been “Cecilia”, black, shaven, lips teased apart just enough to reveal her juicy pink haven inside; this week, it would be “Jenny”.Jimmy loved Beattie's voice, “chavvy South London”, he called it, oozing squalor; in his more lucid moments he imagined her as a single mum on the dole in some squalid high-rise council flat in Tooting, a ne'er-do-well scraping together a living using the only pathetic skill she had. But now she was his tart, his whore, his plaything, his fantasy: she could be anything and everything he imagined. He liked playing this game, as he continued to stroke his dick to ecstasy whilst revelling in Beattie's increasingly filthy ongoing monologue. Beattie, for her part, was the consummate professional, sensing from Jimmy's pants and grunts just how far he was on his journey to release. And when Jimmy muttered, “Say my favourite things, Beattie,” she knew just what he meant.“You know, Jimmy, I'm a dirdy, filfy, cuntfuckin' whore… That's what I am, Jimmy, just a cuntfuckin' whore.”Jimmy loved those words, and Beattie's grimy accent was the icing on the cake: his cock jerked and bucked in response, stiffening even further.“I'm a whore, Jimmy. And you like dirdy fuckin' whores, don't cha? You wanna fuck my filfy cunt wiv ‘at big cock?”Jimmy was in ecstasy. Soon Beattie had progressed to “My cunt's so fuckin' wet, Jimmy: that's what you do to me, babe. You're gonna make me fuckin' come, Jimmy, ‘coz I'm a dirdy, filfy, cuntfuckin' whore, and I'm gonna fuckin' come all over your big cock!”Jimmy took the cue, fixing his eyes on “Jenny's” pussy, still, of course, reliably wide open and glistening for him, drinking in its beauty, and gradually ramping up the rhythm of his stroking so as to time his own orgasm to match Beattie's ersatz one. And when Beattie got to;“I'm gonna fuckin' come, Jimmy, here it is baby, come all over ye dirdy filfy cuntfuckin' whore, oh yeah oh Fuck!” Jimmy did exactly that. He felt the tell-tale boiling sensation in his balls, felt his cum surge and rise through his shaft and explode from his bucking, twitching cockhead.“Jenny” was the chosen recipient of Jimmy's cum this evening, six or seven thick ropes of semen splattering over her picture. Jimmy aimed at her cunt, and watched as the likeness of her vulva disappeared under a gloopy coating of semen. Beattie was continuing to moan and squeal down the telephone line: “Oh yeah, Jimmy, are ye comin' for me? Does ‘at feel good, babe?”as the last few dribbles of sperm landed on “Jenny's” tits and face. Beattie's voice turned breathy and softer;“Was 'at nice, Jimmy?” "Do ye like comin' in my dirdy hot cunt, Jimmy?“Jimmy panted incoherently in reply, his imagination desperately clinging on as long as he could to the illusion of sexual fulfillment. But it was always too short-lived. Even before his cock was flaccid, the illusion was fading and Beattie was in business mode: "Same time next week still good for ye, babe? Take it off yer card, yeah?”Jimmy muttered a “Yeah, thanks, Beattie,” before hanging up and surveying the mess. It never looked as good afterwards as he hoped it would before. Sperm-soiled magazine “Jenny” looked, frankly, ridiculous and tawdry now, a far cry from the seductive perfection she had exuded when pristine on the page. And wrapping up and disposing of semen-soaked magazine pages was anything but sexy. But Jimmy did so with his customary goal-oriented efficiency, trying to, and largely succeeding in, staunching his creeping feeling of shame, until the job was done, his penis was wiped clean, and he had put on his clothes again.Then his collar.And then his cassock.And then Father James Wright knelt on the floor of his bedroom and wept bitterly.“Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Divine Power of God; cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of… oh fuck…”Father Jim's voice tailed off. He had performed his morning ablutions, had his breakfast, and said his Office, and was preparing himself by examination of conscience for his weekly two-birds-with-one-stone excursion to the Cathedral, first to confession, followed by his weekly exorcism training seminar. He usually dressed in civvies for these visits, not wanting to draw attention to himself on public transport, but he never missed his hebdomadal chance to unburden his soul, and timing it for Saturday mornings made sense. Apart from anything else, this way, he felt less guilty saying the Eucharist over the weekend than if he were to have his Friday evening sins hanging on his conscience.But this morning Father Jim's voice gave up mid-supplication, as the thought impinged upon his intercessions: Am I a hypocrite? Actually, this was a thought which frequently went through his mind. The answer, of course, was yes: regularly, deliberately, and with full foreknowledge, every Friday night, and he knew it. For hypocrite though he was, he was neither stupid nor deluded. He had learnt to corral his fleshly weakness into one weekly episode, and it would soon be, gratias Deo, effaced from his soul by the Sacrament of Reconciliation, after which he could continue to pursue his presbyterial vocation with confidence. Until next Friday.Today, though, he felt somewhat less confident than normal, less spiritually bullish, more vulnerable than usual. Perhaps it was the weather, dull and grey like many an English spring morning, but it was almost as if he felt that the hosts of Satan were genuinely massing on the horizon, and that he might truly need the intercession of an archangel to forestall the ruin of his soul. In short, Father Jim's carefully calibrated balancing act between spiritual propriety and sexual concupiscence was feeling unaccountably precarious this morning.He was just letting himself out of the presbytery when a young woman came dashing round the corner, her heels clicking unevenly on the pavement. “Father Jim! Father Jim! Oh, I'm so glad I caught you. Please would you hear my confession?” Behind the urgency of her request Jim descried a pleasingly upper middle-class voice (“so” came out a bit like “say”), but ever so slightly Estuary (“t” in “caught” barely noticeable), as was common with the younger generation.Father Jim thought, but did not say: Oh fuck. He tried not to think swear words between Saturday morning confession and the end of mass on Sunday evening. But he had not been to confession yet, and therefore made the split-second judgment that he may as well, for now, think obscenities. After all, he liked them; he liked the sound of them: “fuck”, beautiful, he thought. And this young lady was, he thought to himself, “fucking hot”. She was slender and small, almost a waif, and yet her pencil skirt was just a touch too tight, and her blouse ever so slightly translucent, so that the shape of her nipples, puffy and rounded but not huge, made two soft tents in the front of her top.Oops, he thought, as he felt his penis begin to stir inside his rather ill-fitting trousers. No, it would not do to be groping his cock out of the way in front of a parishioner, so he banished “fucking hot” from his brain with a quick piece of well-practiced spiritual legerdemain, and switched into concerned parish priest mode. He vaguely recognised the girl, from the back row of the 10:30, perhaps? but wasn't sure if they had ever exchanged words. He felt within his rights to say, “I'm actually on my way out now, er…” as he looked at her quizzically with that I've-forgotten-your-name look customarily used by parish priests.“Bernadette, call me Bernie,” said the woman, pronouncing the “r” softly but clearly.OK, thought Father Jim. Typical second-generation immigrant. Tries to keep up the religious traditions of the home country, but talks like a Sloane except when asserting her identity. Clearly done well for herself, been to uni. But, Jim groaned inwardly, she wasn't taking the hint.“Oh please, Father, I really need you to hear my confession, I… I…”Father Jim looked into her eyes for the first time, and there was that look of moral desperation he was used to seeing in some people. Some could live in their sins for long periods of time before emotional need drove them back to the Church; others, like this girl, presumably, were made of less stern stuff. Her eyes glistened with barely held-back tears, as she continued: “I think I may be under a curse, or a hex, and I… I know you are training to be an exorcist, aren't you?” Her lower lip trembled, as her damp eyes pleaded with him.In the silence of his heart, Father Jim thought to himself: Oh fuck. But he took no pleasure in this particular iteration of his favourite obscenity. He had met this kind of woman before: excessively impressionable, with an inclination to see spiritual warfare lurking under every pebble, when her only problem might a temporary imbalance of hormones. Exorcism? Bullshit. But Jim was, despite his cynicism, a kind man, and so he said, “All right, Bernie. Of course. Let's go in,” as he ushered her through his front door. “Face-to-face, or in the box?”“Oh, I prefer the old-fashioned way, if that's all right, Father?” she replied sheepishly.He gestured her down the corridor towards the church, and then up the long nave, pleasantly illumined by the shifting colours which filtered dully through the great east window. As she walked ahead of him, he watched her bottom jiggle gently from side to side, red heels clicking on the stone floor, her medium-length ponytail of light brown hair swishing behind her. Fuck, he thought, and this time revelled in the thought. Fuck yeah… he muttered silently, his mind's eye briefly, secretly, undressing her from behind.“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned,” said the girl, once they had both settled into their respective halves of the confessional.“How long has,”“Oh, over a year, Father. I've got a lot of catching up to do.”Fuck, thought Father Jim. But, because he was basically a kind-hearted man, he instead said: “Well, take your time. It is good that God has called you back to the Sacrament now.”“Thank you, Father.” “I… I'm married…” "But I've not been strictly… faithful…“ There was a long pause.Ho ho, I knew it, thought Jim. Another pretty young slut, got hitched too soon, screwing around behind her husband's back. Two a penny. Had one just last week, didn't I? But instead he said, "And how long have you been having this affair?”“Oh, it's not an affair, Father,” "It's kind of a weird binge, a bit… perverted, if you know what I mean. On the rebound, I guess, because I walked in on my husband, you know, with someone else…“Oh shit, thought Father Jim. This'll take all morning. Web of adultery, seen it all before. One fucks around, the other goes off the rails, and soon they're all crotch-deep in moral turpitude. Why do they even bother to get married if they've got no continence? Should try and be celibate, then they'll learn how lucky they are… All that passed through his mind in an instant, but of course he voiced none of it."You see,” “we were married a year ago, here, before you came: Father Peter married us, and, well, I thought it was going so well. We… we were really good in bed, you know… I mean, we really liked the sex and everything.”Too much information! thought Jim to himself. But he did not say that either.“You know, I was a virgin when we got married. I'd saved myself up for this. And the first time, it was wonderful. You know, for some girls it hurts? But for me it was bliss. He just slid in, and I loved it. And we loved it, just like that, in and out, you know?”Father Jim felt his cock begin to stir. It was the inevitable involuntary reaction to a sexual confession which was becoming just a touch too detailed. Fuck, girl, why are you telling me all this? he thought. But Bernie continued to jabber, exuding, though unseen, an air of wide-eyed innocence from behind her latticed screen.“But then Giles started wanting me to do things I didn't want to, you know, oral, and anal, and stuff, and I really wasn't comfortable with it, so we had a few arguments about that. "I mean, when he wanted me to give him a blowjob, you know, he'd just pull down his trousers and waggle the thing in front of my face…”Too much fucking information! Jim screeched in the silence of his own heart. But he couldn't stop himself imagining the husband's cock, stiff and huge, waggling back and forth in front of Bernie's pretty face, her narrow mouth opening wider, wider, her tongue extending to lick pre-cum off the frenulum before her lips softly enclosed the… Fuck, Jim, pull yourself together, man! he thought, as he felt his cock begin to make an uncomfortable tent in his trousers. He stammered out loud, “Er… sister, you don't need to tell me all that, you know, just stick to…”“Oh, but it's important, Father,” “Because that's what led to it. I told him I didn't like sucking him off, but he kept trying to persuade me, and I kept saying no…” Father Jim imagined he detected the faintest hint of a smirk in her tone, but of course it was impossible to tell…“And then,” "there was the anal. Sometimes when we were making love he'd wet his finger with… well, you know… and then he'd reach round and try to stick it in there. I really didn't like it, and of course he never forced me; I mean, he's a kind man, he'd never do anything nasty, but it was clear he was disappointed…“Oh Jesus motherfucking Christ, thought Father Jim. His cock was stiff now, and he could feel his own pre-cum beginning to leak slowly from his glans. He reached down to adjust his cock inside his trousers, and inevitably his hand lingered just a bit too long, grasping his own erect shaft through the fabric and squeezing it gently. That familiar thrill of pleasure surged through him, but he made himself let go, telling himself: Later, Jim, later. Just get this girl through her confession for now…"But the strangest thing of all, Father,” "was when he'd want me to talk dirty to him, you know?“Are you kidding? thought Jim incredulously. Do you think that just because I'm a priest I don't have male blood boiling in my veins? What are you on about, girl?!Bernie seemed oblivious to her confessor's discomfort. Either that, or she was deliberately winding him up, he couldn't tell for sure. "See, Father,” "he'd ask me to say dirty words, like… 'tits'… and 'pussy'… and…“ , her voice lingered a while on the first consonant, "fuck”In an instant, Father Jim's resistance crumbled. That word was his favourite, a glorious fillip to all that was unholy and self-indulgent in the deepest recesses of his mind, and it banished all his residual will-power to the four winds. He quietly but swiftly unzipped his fly, removed his stiff sweaty cock from its prison, pulled back the damp pre-cum-lubricated foreskin, and began to slowly wank his shaft up and down, his lips trembling, his breath coming in ragged bursts. This was wrong. This was so wrong , he knew it, of course. But he was going to do it anyway. This girl could not possibly be for real. This was no sacrament, this was an ambush. The Evil One was tempting him, and he was succumbing. And he fucking loved it…“See, Father Jim, it must be something about men, they all like those dirty words so much. My husband did: he wanted me to say things like” Bernie lowered her voice conspiratorially;“'Ram your fucking cock in my pussy, baby!' and 'Fuck my hot cunt with that big dick!' Things like that… Do you like hearing things like that, Father?” Bernie's voice was hot and breathy now. Her prey was in her grasp, and she was playing with him: Jim knew it, but, though he had no idea why this woman had chosen to ambush him in this manner, he knew it was too late. He groaned, as he felt his cock stiffen further in his sweaty palm, felt his heart pound faster with excitement.“I'm sure we could have worked things out, Father. You know, I got quite used to the dirty talk, that was quite fun actually. But the oral, and the anal; no way. He'd show me videos on the internet, you know; porn? Girls getting fucked in the arse, and taking cocks down their throats; and it just looked so horrible and painful and disgusting. And then he'd show me videos of group sex, and asked if I'd ever like to do stuff like that; and I said no! And then, to show him I really loved him, I'd let him fuck me. I mean, I really loved it when he fucked me: when his cock was all huge and stiff, and then he'd lie me on my back and fuck me all deep and squelchy. Sometimes he'd lie flat on me and grind the base of his cock against my clit to make me come. Sometimes he'd shift down, so his cockhead found my G-spot. Sometimes he'd flip me over and do me doggy. Sometimes I'd go on top and drive him wild, teasing him with my wet pussy lips before plunging down onto this cock. And I loved all that, Father, I did, truly. Cock in cunt that's the way it's meant to be, isn't it? I mean, that's the way God made us, isn't it?”Father Jim groaned at the absurdity of his situation. Here was a young girl giving him lessons in Saint John Paul's Theology of the Body, while he stroked his cock in the confessional, what the fuck was going on?! But he couldn't stop now. His cock was raging, his balls were aching, and his thoughts were in mindfuck mode. Here was a girl after his own heart, one who loved being fucked in the cunt, and who loved to talk filthy. “Oh yeah, oh fuck, oh God…” he muttered incoherently in his ecstasy.“You Okay in there, Father Jim?” "I'm sorry for being so explicit, but ; I kind of have to, you'll see why soon, I'll explain…“You don't have to explain, thought Father Jim' as far as he was capable of thinking anything at all, for he was past thinking now. His mind was now fixed firmly on cunt, on fucking cunt, just like this girl was saying: cock slip-sliding in and out, grinding against engorged clit-flesh. It didn't matter whose cunt: his years of fake fantasy sex, week after week of dirty pictures; "Jenny” or “Codi” or “Elsa” or whoever the fuck they were; or of listening to “ Beattie” recycling her mind-banked fuck-fantasies for his delectation; all this had inured him to the sheer fakery of being a sex-obsessed celibate. It didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered now, except the filth-filled moment.“But then,” “one day, about six months ago, I came home early from work, and… and I heard voices from the bedroom upstairs. I was about to walk in, but then, through the door, I heard things like, 'Oh yeah, suck that cock, baby. I'm gonna fuck your pretty slut-face with my big dick…' ; you know, things like that?” Jim heard a nervous giggle from behind the lattice. “And there was the sound of squealing and gagging, like some girl was getting their throat fucked… So then I thought maybe he was watching porn…? But this was too real; and when I realised what must be going on… Oh God, Father, it hurt so much…”For the first time, Father Jim paused stroking his cock. The girl was sobbing softly now. Father Jim felt sorry; and guilty. “I'm so sorry,” he said quietly, as his cock began to soften, and he began to recognise the reality of his own situation. And so his “I'm so sorry” became, retrospectively, not just an expression of sympathy for Bernie, but also an admission of his own culpability. What was he doing sitting in the half-light, pre-cum smeared over his hand, jerking off while listening to a vulnerable, disturbed young woman telling him about the moment she found her husband cheating on her? Shame on you, Jim, he told himself silently.But Bernie had not finished.“And so I opened the door,” “and there they were: Giles standing there shirtless, his big cock stuck out through his fly, ropes of spit dangling from the shaft and dribbling all over the face and tits of my best friend Vicky; you know Vicky: Victoria Berry, she runs the First Holy Communion programme here…? Anyway, she was saying, 'Oh yeah, babe, I fucking love it when you choke me with that big cock, go on, ram that cock down my throat again…'"And then she saw me, before he did. At first she paused in shock. Then she screamed. And then she retreated to the corner of the bedroom, desperately trying to cover up her big tits and wipe the spit off her face. 'Oh God, Bernie, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!' But she wasn't sorry; and I knew it."Giles didn't even pretend. He just stood there, spit dribbling from his cock, smirking. He even said, 'Wanna join us, Dette? Come here and I'll fuck your cunt just the way you like it, while Vicky licks my balls…'"And I… well, I had no idea what to say. So I just screamed at him, '"Just the way I like it” ; sorry?! You're nothing but a fucking pervert, with all your porn, and your anal and your throatfucking. And now this?! How dare you treat me this way; your wife?! What's wrong with you?!!' And then… I didn't know what to do: I wanted so much to hurt him, to make him suffer, standing there all smug with his dick dribbling all over our carpet. But more than that, I wanted to protect myself, to purify myself of the horror and degradation of it all. I wanted to show him I was better than all his filth, to save myself from where he was wanting to take me. So I shouted, 'You'll never fuck me again, you bastard! No man will ever fuck me again. I swear, as God is my witness'; and I know I shouldn't have sworn, Father: I shouldn't have said anything like that, but, God forgive me, I did; 'I swear that no man will ever fuck this cunt again -or may God strike me dead!' And then I ran out. And I never went back.“So now what do I do, Father? I mean, I've called a curse down on myself. May God strike me dead if I break my vow! that's what I said! And, you know, I've stuck with it, Father. I've kept my vow. Ever since then, I've not been fucked. And that was six months ago; probably just before you came to this parish, wasn't it?”Bernie paused. And Father Jim sat in the half-light, bewildered, confused, and scared. This woman must be unstable, he thought. Stark raving mad, actually. Why else would she come to the confessional to tell him, in the filthiest language imaginable; what exactly? that she had caught her husband in flagrante delicto and had now, on the rebound, forsworn sex?“Bernie… Bernie…” Jim fumbled for the right words. “What can I do for you? You have committed no mortal sin. You don't need exorcism – or even confession. But do you want help? Counselling? We have a wonderful ministry here for separated and divorced Catholics: let me put you in touch with the leader, she could help you…”“No, Father,” interrupted Bernie firmly, “you don't understand. I swore that I if am ever fucked again, God must strike me dead. I am under a curse, Father and I need to be released. And you are an exorcist, are you not?”Father Jim sat in the semi-darkness, his flaccid cock dangling out of his fly, a little droplet of pre-cum still glimmering on his glans, and he took a deep breath. “I have been receiving training, yes; but you don't need exorcism. Your words were spoken in haste, in an understandable excess of emotion: God will not hold that against you. You need to rebuild your life, not live in fear of an imagined curse that…”“Father,” Bernie interrupted again, even more firmly that before, “Pray over me now: release me from my curse. The Evil One has my cunt in his grasp. After all…”Beattie paused, then spoke very slowly and clearly;“I am a dirty, filthy, cuntfucking whore.”Father Jim's heart skipped a beat. “What did you say?” he gasped.“I said, 'I am dirty, filthy, cuntfucking whore.' Or, would you prefer it like this:'I'm a dirdy, filfy, cuntfucking whore, Jimmy!Father Jim leapt up; terrified. Now he knew he was in trouble. Who was this girl? Who was she pretending to be? Who was pretending to be whom? And what was she after? And why was she playing with him like this? What it a trap? All these thoughts raced through his mind, but he did not have time to voice any of them before Bernie's voice (or was it Beattie's?), cold as steel despite the muffling effect of the latticed confessional screen, said: "Don't put yer cock away, Jimmy. Leave it danglin' like the good li'l wanker you are, and join me in front of the Sacrament.” He heard the door on Bernie's side of the confessional open, and her heels click-clicking across the stone floor in the direction of the altar.Obediently, though trembling in terror, Father Jim opened his door; and gasped. For Bernie's tiny waif-like figure was naked now, apart from her red high heels, her tight bottom wiggling and swaying as she walked ahead of him, the wispy outline of her pubic hair just visible between her soft buttocks. “Do 'ye like it, Jimmy?” smirked Bernie, as she looked back over her shoulder to watch his cock, still dangling awkwardly out of his fly, begin to stiffen again. “This is whatcha wanted ta see when you followed me in here, wasn't it? Because ye like cunt, don't ye, Jimmy? Nuffink better than the sight of a hot cunt peeping out from between Beattie's arse-cheeks, eh? Ye wanna fuck my cunt, Jimmy? 'Coz you can…”She reached the sanctuary steps, and turned to point one accusing finger at Jim as she bellowed;“After you fucking excercise it!”Beattie's demented scream echoed off the stone walls of the church, as she backed up the three steps to the sanctuary and lifted her bottom onto the altar, carelessly scattering crucifix, sacramentary and candle-stands onto the floor. She spread her legs wide and leant back on her elbows, pert puffy tits and lightly thatched pussy-gape shamelessly displayed. Father Jim stood, horrified and transfixed in equal measure. The detritus of Beattie's blasphemy lay scattered on the floor; but he couldn't keep his eyes off her. Oh yeah, cunt! he thought, despite himself. Yeah, hot fucking cunt!Beattie knew what he was thinking.“Do 'ye like it, Jimmy?” she breathed. “If ye wanna fuck it, get yer prayer book, and fuckin' remove my curse!” Beattie began to slide one finger into her pussy, wetting it with her fuck-slime and gently rubbing her clit. Father Jim hesitated, rooted to the spot in terror, until Beattie screamed again,“Get yer fucking prayer book and pray my curse away, Jimmy!”Father Jim scrabbled through a pile of books on the front pew, retrieved a copy of Prayers Against the Powers of Darkness, and raised his right palm towards Beattie, who was now panting in ecstasy as she rubbed her clit with one hand, two fingers of the other plunging in and out of her sodden pussy.“Lo… Lord Jesus Christ,” stammered the priest, “I place my sister at the foot of Your cross and ask You to cover her with Your Precious Blood which pours forth from Your Most Sacred Heart and Your Most Holy Wounds. Cleanse her, my Jesus, in the living water that flows from Your Heart. I ask You to surround her, Lord Jesus, with Your Holy Light.”“Oh yeah, amen!”screamed Beattie , as a spasm went through her body; whether of spiritual battle or sexual pleasure Father did not know, but no longer cared. His words were those of prayer; but his mind was fixed on cunt.Cunt… oh yeah, cunt! he moaned in the silence of his heart, even as he continued to stammer: “In… in… in the… Holy Name of Jesus, I break and dissolve any and all curses, spiritual influences, evil wishes, evil desires, and every dysfunction and disease from any source including your mistakes and sins. In Jesus' Name, I sever the transmission of any and all vows, pacts, spiritual bonds and satanic works.”“Fuck yeah!”screamed the girl, as another spasm passed through her body. Three slimy fingers were now pounding in and out of her cunt, as the other hand rubbed frantically at her clit.Father Jim's cock was stiff and throbbing again; but with one hand holding his prayer book and the other extended towards Bernie, he could not touch it, but continued to read with a trembling voice: “In the Name of Jesus, I lift this curse. I thank You, Jesus, for setting my sister free. Fill her with charity, compassion, faith, gentleness, hope, humility, modesty, tranquillity, truth, understanding, and wisdom. Help her to walk in Your Light and Truth, illuminated by the Holy Spirit so that she may praise, honour, and glorify Our Father in time and in eternity.”“Fuck yeah, Jesus!”;screamed Bernie, as her whole body shook from head to toe, four fingers now forming a blur as they pounded in and out of her cunt.“Free me, Jesus! Free my fucking cunt! Oh fuck! “Father Jim's cock was sticking horizontally out of his fly, throbbing with wild desperation. Pre-cum dribbled down his shaft; but still he did not touch, as he continued to stretch out his right hand in prayer: "For You, Lord Jesus, are the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, and You have come that we might have life, and have it to the full.”Bernie's whole fist was now pounding in and out of her cunt, her fuck-lips stretched wide in agony and ecstasy as she screamed, “Depart from me, Satan! Oh, I'm cumming! Oh yeah!” Juice squirted from her cunt, across the floor and down the stone altar steps, splattering Father Jim's shoes and trouser-legs.“Surely God is my salvation,” intoned the priest, lips and hands trembling but his cock throbbing nevertheless. “I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he is my salvation.”“Amen… Amen…”whispered Bernie as she slowly withdrew her slimy hand from her cunt, her fuck-lips stretching wide, leaving her pussy gaping, her pink flesh glistening in front of Father Jim's face. The priest lowered his right hand, then stood, staring, bewildered, drained; but his cock still stiff and dribbling.Bernie, had a wild deranged smile spreading across her face.“I'm free, Father,” "Jesus has set me free from my curse!“Jim stared in horror. Bernie's face was luminescent, demented. But her cunt shone with a different kind of gleam; and Jim could not tear his eyes away from it."I can fuck again, Father,” "My cunt is free again: look!“She spread her pussy-lips wide, so that Jim could stare into her pink gloopy bubbling depths. And then she said the inevitable: "Now fuck me, Jimmy…”Father Jim gripped his cock with his right hand, even as his left held his prayer book tight. He was scared; terrified of what he had just done, and of what this deranged troubled girl was now telling him to do. He knew this was all wrong. But the scent of frigged-out cunt, the sight of that glistening pink fuck-flesh, and the sound of her sultry voice breathing at him, were too much to withstand. “Fuck me, Jimmy,” “Fuck my hot cunt. 'Coz I'm a dirdy, filfy, cuntfuckin' whore. And you like dirdy fuckin' whores, don'tcha? You wanna fuck my filfy cunt wiv yer big cock?”Father Jim nodded, mutely, his right hand gripping his shaft. His prayer book slipped subconsciously from his left hand, landing in a little puddle of pussy-squirt on the stone floor.“Come on Jimmy,” breathed Beattie. “Don't be scared. My cunt's all safe now. No curse no more. And I've been waitin' for this for so long, Jimmy. Every fuckin' Friday night I've had my fingers up my cunt, rubbing myself off for ye, listening to ye spurt your hot cum all over yer wank-mags. Now it's time for you to fuck my cunt for real, Jimmy!”“Wh… who are you?” stammered Father Jim. “Why me?”Beattie spread her cunt-lips again. “Later, Jimmy, later,” "Now fuck me.“Trembling, Father Jim walked up the three stone steps to the edge of the altar, where Beattie sat, her legs spread wide, still adorned by her red high heels, her cunt pungent, oozing, inviting. He nudged his bulging cockhead against her cunt-lips, and pushed."Oh God!” He could not resist calling out; for here, now, for the first time ever, was something he had fantasised about all his life. He felt Beattie's soft moist velvety depths yield and engulf him, felt her juices gently coat the length of his shaft, felt her inner cunt muscles squeezing, caressing. And then he started to fuck; slowly at first, relishing the heavenly-hellish feeling of her slip-slimy walls stroking the full length of his shaft as it slid all the way out, then in, and then again, and again, each new thrust taking his cock to a new level of pleasure, and his mind closer and closer to ecstasy.“Is 'at good for ye, Jimmy?” “You lifted my curse, Jimmy. I knew you could, Mister Father James Wright! From the first time I saw yer card details I knew you were the one to save me. Giles and Vicky can go fuck themselves: 'coz I got a priest to set my cunt free!”Jimmy knew deep down that this girl was mad, that he had been trapped, and that this meant the end of everything he had ever truly valued: his vocation, his career, his friendships, his reputation. But… cunt. Cunt. This was not like jerking off over his magazines on Friday night. This cunt was real; and truly, he saw that it was good. Beattie was now talking to him the way he could never resist:“Feel how fuckin' wet my cunt is, Jimmy? That's what you do to me, babe. You're gonna make me come, Jimmy, 'coz I'm a dirdy, filfy, cuntfuckin' whore, and I'm gonna fuckin' come all over your big cock!”By GrushaVashnadze for Literotica.

Have you ever misjudged someone? Many years ago, I started a job as a high school teacher. When I went in to organize my classroom, the school janitor saw me and sternly warned me that students should not be in the school building yet. He escorted me off the premises, refusing to believe that I was a teacher. (I looked a lot younger then!) Abimelek, the king of Gerar probably felt misjudged. In Genesis 20, Abraham acted on assumptions he made about the Canaanite king. We can understand why. Abraham was still not living in his homeland and was vulnerable to abuse and attack. He had also just discovered that there were not even ten righteous people living in Sodom (Gen. 18:32). Abraham pulled the same deception he had done before and passed off his wife Sarah as his sister (Gen. 12:10–20). Abimelek called for Sarah to become one of his wives. Yet, before the marriage was official, Abimelek was warned by God not to touch Sarah. He obeyed, and asked Abraham to explain himself. Why did Abraham continue to doubt God's protection? He knew God had promised to bless and preserve him and Sarah (Gen. 12:3; 15:1). God had promised to provide a son for Abraham through Sarah (Gen. 17:19). Surely God would not allow them to be killed before that promise was fulfilled. The fact that Abraham was not perfect reassures us. We see that the fulfillment of God's promises does not depend on our ability, talent, or reliability of His people. God chose Abraham not based on his merit, but because of grace. The same is true for us today. God sent the Lord Jesus to die for us, even though we did not deserve it. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Go Deeper Why did Abraham and Sarah continue to doubt God's promise and protection? What mistakes did they make?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Support Common Prayer Daily @ PatreonVisit our Website for more www.commonprayerdaily.com_______________EpiphanyAnd nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.Isaiah 60:3 ConfessionOfficiant: Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God.People: Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your holy laws.We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and apart from your grace, there is no health in us. O Lord, have mercy upon us. Spare all those who confess their faults. Restore all those who are penitent, according to your promises declared to all people in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may now live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of your holy Name. Amen.Officiant: Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen. The Lord's PrayerOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. Invitatory & PsalmsOfficiant: O God, make speed to save us. People: O Lord, make haste to help us. Officiant & People: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. O Gracious Light Phos hilaronO gracious Light, pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven, O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!Now as we come to the setting of the sun, and our eyes behold the vesper light, we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices, O Son of God, O Giver of life,and to be glorified through all the worlds. Psalm 27 Dominus illuminatio1The Lord is my light and my salvation;whom then shall I fear? *the Lord is the strength of my life;of whom then shall I be afraid?2When evildoers came upon me to eat up my flesh, *it was they, my foes and my adversaries, who stumbled and fell.3Though an army should encamp against me, *yet my heart shall not be afraid;4And though war should rise up against me, *yet will I put my trust in him.5One thing have I asked of the Lord;one thing I seek; *that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life;6To behold the fair beauty of the Lord *and to seek him in his temple.7For in the day of trouble he shall keep me safe in his shelter; *he shall hide me in the secrecy of his dwellingand set me high upon a rock.8Even now he lifts up my head *above my enemies round about me.9Therefore I will offer in his dwelling an oblationwith sounds of great gladness; *I will sing and make music to the Lord.10Hearken to my voice, O Lord, when I call; *have mercy on me and answer me.11You speak in my heart and say, “Seek my face.” *Your face, Lord, will I seek.12Hide not your face from me, *nor turn away your servant in displeasure.13You have been my helper;cast me not away; *do not forsake me, O God of my salvation.14Though my father and my mother forsake me, *the Lord will sustain me.15Show me your way, O Lord; *lead me on a level path, because of my enemies.16Deliver me not into the hand of my adversaries, *for false witnesses have risen up against me,and also those who speak malice.17What if I had not believedthat I should see the goodness of the Lord *in the land of the living!18O tarry and await the Lord's pleasure;be strong, and he shall comfort your heart; *wait patiently for the Lord. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The LessonsIsaiah 45:1-15 English Standard Version45 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,    whose right hand I have grasped,to subdue nations before him    and to loose the belts of kings,to open doors before him    that gates may not be closed:2 “I will go before you    and level the exalted places,I will break in pieces the doors of bronze    and cut through the bars of iron,3 I will give you the treasures of darkness    and the hoards in secret places,that you may know that it is I, the Lord,    the God of Israel, who call you by your name.4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,    and Israel my chosen,I call you by your name,    I name you, though you do not know me.5 I am the Lord, and there is no other,    besides me there is no God;    I equip you, though you do not know me,6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun    and from the west, that there is none besides me;    I am the Lord, and there is no other.7 I form light and create darkness;    I make well-being and create calamity;    I am the Lord, who does all these things.8 “Shower, O heavens, from above,    and let the clouds rain down righteousness;let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;    let the earth cause them both to sprout;    I the Lord have created it.9 “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,    a pot among earthen pots!Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?'    or ‘Your work has no handles'?10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?'    or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?'”11 Thus says the Lord,    the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:“Ask me of things to come;    will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?12 I made the earth    and created man on it;it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,    and I commanded all their host.13 I have stirred him up in righteousness,    and I will make all his ways level;he shall build my city    and set my exiles free,not for price or reward,”    says the Lord of hosts.14 Thus says the Lord:“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,    and the Sabeans, men of stature,shall come over to you and be yours;    they shall follow you;    they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.They will plead with you, saying:    ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,    no god besides him.'”15 Truly, you are a God who hides himself,    O God of Israel, the Savior.Officiant: The Word of the LordPeople: Thanks be to God. The Song of Mary - MagnificatMy soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; * for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant From this day all generations will call me blessed: * the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him * in every generation.He has shown the strength of his arm, * he has scattered the proud in their conceit.He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, * and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, * and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel, * for he has remembered his promise of mercy, The promise he made to our fathers, * to Abraham and his children for ever.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as It was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Romans 9:14-26 English Standard Version14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,'    and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.'”26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,'    there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.'”Officiant: The Word of the LordPeople: Thanks be to God. The Song of Simeon - Nunc dimittisLord, you now have set your servant free * to go in peace as you have promised; For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, * whom you have prepared for all the world to see: A Light to enlighten the nations, * and the glory of your people Israel.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: * as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersOfficiant: The Lord be with you.People: And also with you.Officiant: Let us pray The SuffragesThat this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful, We entreat you, O Lord.That your holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and goodwill, We entreat you, O Lord.That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offenses, We entreat you, O Lord.That there may be peace to your Church and to the whole world, We entreat you, O Lord.That we may depart this life in your faith and fear, and not be condemned before the great judgment seat of Christ, We entreat you, O Lord.That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit in the communion of all your saints, entrusting one another and all our life to Christ, We entreat you, O Lord.Take a moment at this time to reflect and pray for the needs of others. Epiphany 2ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, you who rule over all things in heaven and earth: Mercifully hear the prayers of your people, and grant us your peace all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our LORD. Amen.A Collect for PeaceMost holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen.A Collect for Aid against PerilsBe our light in the darkness, O Lord, and in your great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of your only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.For MissionKeep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen. ThanksgivingsThe General ThanksgivingAlmighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.A Prayer of St. ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. ConclusionMay the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. - Romans 15:13

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 145 Psalm 145 (Listen) Great Is the Lord 1 A Song of Praise. Of David. 145   I will extol you, my God and King,    and bless your name forever and ever.2   Every day I will bless you    and praise your name forever and ever.3   Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,    and his greatness is unsearchable. 4   One generation shall commend your works to another,    and shall declare your mighty acts.5   On the glorious splendor of your majesty,    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.6   They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,    and I will declare your greatness.7   They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 8   The LORD is gracious and merciful,    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.9   The LORD is good to all,    and his mercy is over all that he has made. 10   All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,    and all your saints shall bless you!11   They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom    and tell of your power,12   to make known to the children of man your2 mighty deeds,    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.13   Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.   [The LORD is faithful in all his words    and kind in all his works.]314   The LORD upholds all who are falling    and raises up all who are bowed down.15   The eyes of all look to you,    and you give them their food in due season.16   You open your hand;    you satisfy the desire of every living thing.17   The LORD is righteous in all his ways    and kind in all his works.18   The LORD is near to all who call on him,    to all who call on him in truth.19   He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;    he also hears their cry and saves them.20   The LORD preserves all who love him,    but all the wicked he will destroy. 21   My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,    and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever. Footnotes [1] 145:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet [2] 145:12 Hebrew his; also next line [3] 145:13 These two lines are supplied by one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac (compare Dead Sea Scroll) (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 34–35 Job 34–35 (Listen) Elihu Asserts God's Justice 34 Then Elihu answered and said: 2   “Hear my words, you wise men,    and give ear to me, you who know;3   for the ear tests words    as the palate tastes food.4   Let us choose what is right;    let us know among ourselves what is good.5   For Job has said, ‘I am in the right,    and God has taken away my right;6   in spite of my right I am counted a liar;    my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.'7   What man is like Job,    who drinks up scoffing like water,8   who travels in company with evildoers    and walks with wicked men?9   For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing    that he should take delight in God.' 10   “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding:    far be it from God that he should do wickedness,    and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.11   For according to the work of a man he will repay him,    and according to his ways he will make it befall him.12   Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,    and the Almighty will not pervert justice.13   Who gave him charge over the earth,    and who laid on him1 the whole world?14   If he should set his heart to it    and gather to himself his spirit and his breath,15   all flesh would perish together,    and man would return to dust. 16   “If you have understanding, hear this;    listen to what I say.17   Shall one who hates justice govern?    Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,18   who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,'    and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,'19   who shows no partiality to princes,    nor regards the rich more than the poor,    for they are all the work of his hands?20   In a moment they die;    at midnight the people are shaken and pass away,    and the mighty are taken away by no human hand. 21   “For his eyes are on the ways of a man,    and he sees all his steps.22   There is no gloom or deep darkness    where evildoers may hide themselves.23   For God2 has no need to consider a man further,    that he should go before God in judgment.24   He shatters the mighty without investigation    and sets others in their place.25   Thus, knowing their works,    he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.26   He strikes them for their wickedness    in a place for all to see,27   because they turned aside from following him    and had no regard for any of his ways,28   so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him,    and he heard the cry of the afflicted—29   When he is quiet, who can condemn?    When he hides his face, who can behold him,    whether it be a nation or a man?—30   that a godless man should not reign,    that he should not ensnare the people. 31   “For has anyone said to God,    ‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more;32   teach me what I do not see;    if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more'?33   Will he then make repayment to suit you,    because you reject it?  For you must choose, and not I;    therefore declare what you know.334   Men of understanding will say to me,    and the wise man who hears me will say:35   ‘Job speaks without knowledge;    his words are without insight.'36   Would that Job were tried to the end,    because he answers like wicked men.37   For he adds rebellion to his sin;    he claps his hands among us    and multiplies his words against God.” Elihu Condemns Job 35 And Elihu answered and said: 2   “Do you think this to be just?    Do you say, ‘It is my right before God,'3   that you ask, ‘What advantage have I?    How am I better off than if I had sinned?'4   I will answer you    and your friends with you.5   Look at the heavens, and see;    and behold the clouds, which are higher than you.6   If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him?    And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?7   If you are righteous, what do you give to him?    Or what does he receive from your hand?8   Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself,    and your righteousness a son of man. 9   “Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out;    they call for help because of the arm of the mighty.410   But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker,    who gives songs in the night,11   who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth    and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?'12   There they cry out, but he does not answer,    because of the pride of evil men.13   Surely God does not hear an empty cry,    nor does the Almighty regard it.14   How much less when you say that you do not see him,    that the case is before him, and you are waiting for him!15   And now, because his anger does not punish,    and he does not take much note of transgression,516   Job opens his mouth in empty talk;    he multiplies words without knowledge.” Footnotes [1] 34:13 Hebrew lacks on him [2] 34:23 Hebrew he [3] 34:33 The meaning of the Hebrew in verses 29–33 is uncertain [4] 35:9 Or the many [5] 35:15 Theodotion, Symmachus (compare Vulgate); the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 58 Isaiah 58 (Listen) True and False Fasting 58   “Cry aloud; do not hold back;    lift up your voice like a trumpet;  declare to my people their transgression,    to the house of Jacob their sins.2   Yet they seek me daily    and delight to know my ways,  as if they were a nation that did righteousness    and did not forsake the judgment of their God;  they ask of me righteous judgments;    they delight to draw near to God.3   ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?    Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?'  Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,1    and oppress all your workers.4   Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight    and to hit with a wicked fist.  Fasting like yours this day    will not make your voice to be heard on high.5   Is such the fast that I choose,    a day for a person to humble himself?  Is it to bow down his head like a reed,    and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?  Will you call this a fast,    and a day acceptable to the LORD? 6   “Is not this the fast that I choose:    to loose the bonds of wickedness,    to undo the straps of the yoke,  to let the oppressed2 go free,    and to break every yoke?7   Is it not to share your bread with the hungry    and bring the homeless poor into your house;  when you see the naked, to cover him,    and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?8   Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,    and your healing shall spring up speedily;  your righteousness shall go before you;    the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.9   Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;    you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.'  If you take away the yoke from your midst,    the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,10   if you pour yourself out for the hungry    and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,  then shall your light rise in the darkness    and your gloom be as the noonday.11   And the LORD will guide you continually    and satisfy your desire in scorched places    and make your bones strong;  and you shall be like a watered garden,    like a spring of water,    whose waters do not fail.12   And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;    you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;  you shall be called the repairer of the breach,    the restorer of streets to dwell in. 13   “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,    from doing your pleasure3 on my holy day,  and call the Sabbath a delight    and the holy day of the LORD honorable;  if you honor it, not going your own ways,    or seeking your own pleasure,4 or talking idly;514   then you shall take delight in the LORD,    and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;6  I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,    for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Footnotes [1] 58:3 Or pursue your own business [2] 58:6 Or bruised [3] 58:13 Or business [4] 58:13 Or pursuing your own business [5] 58:13 Hebrew or speaking a word [6] 58:14 Or of the land (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 16 Revelation 16 (Listen) The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath 16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” 2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. 3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. 4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 136 Psalm 136 (Listen) His Steadfast Love Endures Forever 136   Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,    for his steadfast love endures forever.2   Give thanks to the God of gods,    for his steadfast love endures forever.3   Give thanks to the Lord of lords,    for his steadfast love endures forever; 4   to him who alone does great wonders,    for his steadfast love endures forever;5   to him who by understanding made the heavens,    for his steadfast love endures forever;6   to him who spread out the earth above the waters,    for his steadfast love endures forever;7   to him who made the great lights,    for his steadfast love endures forever;8   the sun to rule over the day,    for his steadfast love endures forever;9   the moon and stars to rule over the night,    for his steadfast love endures forever; 10   to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,    for his steadfast love endures forever;11   and brought Israel out from among them,    for his steadfast love endures forever;12   with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,    for his steadfast love endures forever;13   to him who divided the Red Sea in two,    for his steadfast love endures forever;14   and made Israel pass through the midst of it,    for his steadfast love endures forever;15   but overthrew1 Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,    for his steadfast love endures forever;16   to him who led his people through the wilderness,    for his steadfast love endures forever; 17   to him who struck down great kings,    for his steadfast love endures forever;18   and killed mighty kings,    for his steadfast love endures forever;19   Sihon, king of the Amorites,    for his steadfast love endures forever;20   and Og, king of Bashan,    for his steadfast love endures forever;21   and gave their land as a heritage,    for his steadfast love endures forever;22   a heritage to Israel his servant,    for his steadfast love endures forever. 23   It is he who remembered us in our low estate,    for his steadfast love endures forever;24   and rescued us from our foes,    for his steadfast love endures forever;25   he who gives food to all flesh,    for his steadfast love endures forever. 26   Give thanks to the God of heaven,    for his steadfast love endures forever. Footnotes [1] 136:15 Hebrew shook off (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 23–24 Job 23–24 (Listen) Job Replies: Where Is God? 23 Then Job answered and said: 2   “Today also my complaint is bitter;1    my hand is heavy on account of my groaning.3   Oh, that I knew where I might find him,    that I might come even to his seat!4   I would lay my case before him    and fill my mouth with arguments.5   I would know what he would answer me    and understand what he would say to me.6   Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?    No; he would pay attention to me.7   There an upright man could argue with him,    and I would be acquitted forever by my judge. 8   “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there,    and backward, but I do not perceive him;9   on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;    he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.10   But he knows the way that I take;    when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.11   My foot has held fast to his steps;    I have kept his way and have not turned aside.12   I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;    I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.13   But he is unchangeable,2 and who can turn him back?    What he desires, that he does.14   For he will complete what he appoints for me,    and many such things are in his mind.15   Therefore I am terrified at his presence;    when I consider, I am in dread of him.16   God has made my heart faint;    the Almighty has terrified me;17   yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,    nor because thick darkness covers my face. 24   “Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty,    and why do those who know him never see his days?2   Some move landmarks;    they seize flocks and pasture them.3   They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;    they take the widow's ox for a pledge.4   They thrust the poor off the road;    the poor of the earth all hide themselves.5   Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert    the poor3 go out to their toil, seeking game;    the wasteland yields food for their children.6   They gather their4 fodder in the field,    and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.7   They lie all night naked, without clothing,    and have no covering in the cold.8   They are wet with the rain of the mountains    and cling to the rock for lack of shelter.9   (There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast,    and they take a pledge against the poor.)10   They go about naked, without clothing;    hungry, they carry the sheaves;11   among the olive rows of the wicked5 they make oil;    they tread the winepresses, but suffer thirst.12   From out of the city the dying6 groan,    and the soul of the wounded cries for help;    yet God charges no one with wrong. 13   “There are those who rebel against the light,    who are not acquainted with its ways,    and do not stay in its paths.14   The murderer rises before it is light,    that he may kill the poor and needy,    and in the night he is like a thief.15   The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight,    saying, ‘No eye will see me';    and he veils his face.16   In the dark they dig through houses;    by day they shut themselves up;    they do not know the light.17   For deep darkness is morning to all of them;    for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness. 18   “You say, ‘Swift are they on the face of the waters;    their portion is cursed in the land;    no treader turns toward their vineyards.19   Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;    so does Sheol those who have sinned.20   The womb forgets them;    the worm finds them sweet;  they are no longer remembered,    so wickedness is broken like a tree.' 21   “They wrong the barren, childless woman,    and do no good to the widow.22   Yet God7 prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;    they rise up when they despair of life.23   He gives them security, and they are supported,    and his eyes are upon their ways.24   They are exalted a little while, and then are gone;    they are brought low and gathered up like all others;    they are cut off like the heads of grain.25   If it is not so, who will prove me a liar    and show that there is nothing in what I say?” Footnotes [1] 23:2 Or defiant [2] 23:13 Or one [3] 24:5 Hebrew they [4] 24:6 Hebrew his [5] 24:11 Hebrew their olive rows [6] 24:12 Or the men [7] 24:22 Hebrew he (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 45 Isaiah 45 (Listen) Cyrus, God's Instrument 45   Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus,    whose right hand I have grasped,  to subdue nations before him    and to loose the belts of kings,  to open doors before him    that gates may not be closed:2   “I will go before you    and level the exalted places,1  I will break in pieces the doors of bronze    and cut through the bars of iron,3   I will give you the treasures of darkness    and the hoards in secret places,  that you may know that it is I, the LORD,    the God of Israel, who call you by your name.4   For the sake of my servant Jacob,    and Israel my chosen,  I call you by your name,    I name you, though you do not know me.5   I am the LORD, and there is no other,    besides me there is no God;    I equip you, though you do not know me,6   that people may know, from the rising of the sun    and from the west, that there is none besides me;    I am the LORD, and there is no other.7   I form light and create darkness;    I make well-being and create calamity;    I am the LORD, who does all these things. 8   “Shower, O heavens, from above,    and let the clouds rain down righteousness;  let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;    let the earth cause them both to sprout;    I the LORD have created it. 9   “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,    a pot among earthen pots!  Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?'    or ‘Your work has no handles'?10   Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?'    or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?'” 11   Thus says the LORD,    the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:  “Ask me of things to come;    will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?212   I made the earth    and created man on it;  it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,    and I commanded all their host.13   I have stirred him up in righteousness,    and I will make all his ways level;  he shall build my city    and set my exiles free,  not for price or reward,”    says the LORD of hosts. The Lord, the Only Savior 14   Thus says the LORD:  “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,    and the Sabeans, men of stature,  shall come over to you and be yours;    they shall follow you;    they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.  They will plead with you, saying:    ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,    no god besides him.'” 15   Truly, you are a God who hides himself,    O God of Israel, the Savior.16   All of them are put to shame and confounded;    the makers of idols go in confusion together.17   But Israel is saved by the LORD    with everlasting salvation;  you shall not be put to shame or confounded    to all eternity. 18   For thus says the LORD,  who created the heavens    (he is God!),  who formed the earth and made it    (he established it;  he did not create it empty,    he formed it to be inhabited!):  “I am the LORD, and there is no other.19   I did not speak in secret,    in a land of darkness;  I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,    ‘Seek me in vain.'3  I the LORD speak the truth;    I declare what is right. 20   “Assemble yourselves and come;    draw near together,    you survivors of the nations!  They have no knowledge    who carry about their wooden idols,  and keep on praying to a god    that cannot save.21   Declare and present your case;    let them take counsel together!  Who told this long ago?    Who declared it of old?  Was it not I, the LORD?    And there is no other god besides me,  a righteous God and a Savior;    there is none besides me. 22   “Turn to me and be saved,    all the ends of the earth!    For I am God, and there is no other.

Old Testament: Isaiah 44–45 Isaiah 44–45 (Listen) Israel the Lord's Chosen 44   “But now hear, O Jacob my servant,    Israel whom I have chosen!2   Thus says the LORD who made you,    who formed you from the womb and will help you:  Fear not, O Jacob my servant,    Jeshurun whom I have chosen.3   For I will pour water on the thirsty land,    and streams on the dry ground;  I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,    and my blessing on your descendants.4   They shall spring up among the grass    like willows by flowing streams.5   This one will say, ‘I am the LORD's,'    another will call on the name of Jacob,  and another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD's,'    and name himself by the name of Israel.” Besides Me There Is No God 6   Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel    and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:  “I am the first and I am the last;    besides me there is no god.7   Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.1    Let him declare and set it before me,  since I appointed an ancient people.    Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.8   Fear not, nor be afraid;    have I not told you from of old and declared it?    And you are my witnesses!  Is there a God besides me?    There is no Rock; I know not any.” The Folly of Idolatry 9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together. 12 The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil.2 He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” 18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” The Lord Redeems Israel 21   Remember these things, O Jacob,    and Israel, for you are my servant;  I formed you; you are my servant;    O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.22   I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud    and your sins like mist;  return to me, for I have redeemed you. 23   Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it;    shout, O depths of the earth;  break forth into singing, O mountains,    O forest, and every tree in it!  For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,    and will be glorified3 in Israel. 24   Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,    who formed you from the womb:  “I am the LORD, who made all things,    who alone stretched out the heavens,    who spread out the earth by myself,25   who frustrates the signs of liars    and makes fools of diviners,  who turns wise men back    and makes their knowledge foolish,26   who confirms the word of his servant    and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,  who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,'    and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,    and I will raise up their ruins';27   who says to the deep, ‘Be dry;    I will dry up your rivers';28   who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,    and he shall fulfill all my purpose';  saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,'    and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.'” Cyrus, God's Instrument 45   Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus,    whose right hand I have grasped,  to subdue nations before him    and to loose the belts of kings,  to open doors before him    that gates may not be closed:2   “I will go before you    and level the exalted places,4  I will break in pieces the doors of bronze    and cut through the bars of iron,3   I will give you the treasures of darkness    and the hoards in secret places,  that you may know that it is I, the LORD,    the God of Israel, who call you by your name.4   For the sake of my servant Jacob,    and Israel my chosen,  I call you by your name,    I name you, though you do not know me.5   I am the LORD, and there is no other,    besides me there is no God;    I equip you, though you do not know me,6   that people may know, from the rising of the sun    and from the west, that there is none besides me;    I am the LORD, and there is no other.7   I form light and create darkness;    I make well-being and create calamity;    I am the LORD, who does all these things. 8   “Shower, O heavens, from above,    and let the clouds rain down righteousness;  let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;    let the earth cause them both to sprout;    I the LORD have created it. 9   “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,    a pot among earthen pots!  Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?'    or ‘Your work has no handles'?10   Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?'    or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?'” 11   Thus says the LORD,    the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:  “Ask me of things to come;    will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?512   I made the earth    and created man on it;  it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,    and I commanded all their host.13   I have stirred him up in righteousness,    and I will make all his ways level;  he shall build my city    and set my exiles free,  not for price or reward,”    says the LORD of hosts. The Lord, the Only Savior 14   Thus says the LORD:  “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,    and the Sabeans, men of stature,  shall come over to you and be yours;    they shall follow you;    they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.  They will plead with you, saying:    ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,    no god besides him.'” 15   Truly, you are a God who hides himself,    O God of Israel, the Savior.16   All of them are put to shame and confounded;    the makers of idols go in confusion together.17   But Israel is saved by the LORD    with everlasting salvation;  you shall not be put to shame or confounded    to all eternity. 18   For thus says the LORD,  who created the heavens    (he is God!),  who formed the earth and made it    (he established it;  he did not create it empty,    he formed it to be inhabited!):  “I am the LORD, and there is no other.19   I did not speak in secret,    in a land of darkness;  I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,    ‘Seek me in vain.'6  I the LORD speak the truth;    I declare what is right. 20   “Assemble yourselves and come;    draw near together,    you survivors of the nations!  They have no knowledge    who carry about their wooden idols,  and keep on praying to a god    that cannot save.21   Declare and present your case;    let them take counsel together!  Who told this long ago?    Who declared it of old?  Was it not I, the LORD?    And there is no other god besides me,  a righteous God and a Savior;    there is none besides me. 22   “Turn to me and be saved,    all the ends of the earth!    For I am God, and there is no other.23   By myself I have sworn;    from my mouth has gone out in righteousness    a word that shall not return:  ‘To me every knee shall bow,    every tongue shall swear allegiance.'7 24   “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me,    are righteousness and strength;  to him shall come and be ashamed    all who were incensed against him.25   In the LORD all the offspring of Israel    shall be justified and shall glory.” Footnotes [1] 44:7 Or Who like me can proclaim it? [2] 44:13 Hebrew stylus [3] 44:23 Or will display his beauty [4] 45:2 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint level the mountains [5] 45:11 A slight emendation yields will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands? [6] 45:19 Hebrew in emptiness [7] 45:23 Septuagint every tongue shall confess to God (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 96 Psalm 96 (Listen) Worship in the Splendor of Holiness 96   Oh sing to the LORD a new song;    sing to the LORD, all the earth!2   Sing to the LORD, bless his name;    tell of his salvation from day to day.3   Declare his glory among the nations,    his marvelous works among all the peoples!4   For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;    he is to be feared above all gods.5   For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,    but the LORD made the heavens.6   Splendor and majesty are before him;    strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7   Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,    ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!8   Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;    bring an offering, and come into his courts!9   Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;1    tremble before him, all the earth! 10   Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!    Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;    he will judge the peoples with equity.” 11   Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;    let the sea roar, and all that fills it;12     let the field exult, and everything in it!  Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy13     before the LORD, for he comes,    for he comes to judge the earth.  He will judge the world in righteousness,    and the peoples in his faithfulness. Footnotes [1] 96:9 Or in holy attire (ESV) New Testament: Acts 20 Acts 20 (Listen) Paul in Macedonia and Greece 20 After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. 3 There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews1 as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. 5 These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas, 6 but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days. Eutychus Raised from the Dead 7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. 9 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” 11 And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. 12 And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted. 13 But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 15 And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and2 the day after that we went to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. Paul Speaks to the Ephesian Elders 17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.3 22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by

Old Testament: Isaiah 44–45 Isaiah 44–45 (Listen) Israel the Lord's Chosen 44   “But now hear, O Jacob my servant,    Israel whom I have chosen!2   Thus says the LORD who made you,    who formed you from the womb and will help you:  Fear not, O Jacob my servant,    Jeshurun whom I have chosen.3   For I will pour water on the thirsty land,    and streams on the dry ground;  I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,    and my blessing on your descendants.4   They shall spring up among the grass    like willows by flowing streams.5   This one will say, ‘I am the LORD's,'    another will call on the name of Jacob,  and another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD's,'    and name himself by the name of Israel.” Besides Me There Is No God 6   Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel    and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:  “I am the first and I am the last;    besides me there is no god.7   Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.1    Let him declare and set it before me,  since I appointed an ancient people.    Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.8   Fear not, nor be afraid;    have I not told you from of old and declared it?    And you are my witnesses!  Is there a God besides me?    There is no Rock; I know not any.” The Folly of Idolatry 9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together. 12 The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil.2 He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” 18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” The Lord Redeems Israel 21   Remember these things, O Jacob,    and Israel, for you are my servant;  I formed you; you are my servant;    O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.22   I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud    and your sins like mist;  return to me, for I have redeemed you. 23   Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it;    shout, O depths of the earth;  break forth into singing, O mountains,    O forest, and every tree in it!  For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,    and will be glorified3 in Israel. 24   Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,    who formed you from the womb:  “I am the LORD, who made all things,    who alone stretched out the heavens,    who spread out the earth by myself,25   who frustrates the signs of liars    and makes fools of diviners,  who turns wise men back    and makes their knowledge foolish,26   who confirms the word of his servant    and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,  who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,'    and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,    and I will raise up their ruins';27   who says to the deep, ‘Be dry;    I will dry up your rivers';28   who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,    and he shall fulfill all my purpose';  saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,'    and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.'” Cyrus, God's Instrument 45   Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus,    whose right hand I have grasped,  to subdue nations before him    and to loose the belts of kings,  to open doors before him    that gates may not be closed:2   “I will go before you    and level the exalted places,4  I will break in pieces the doors of bronze    and cut through the bars of iron,3   I will give you the treasures of darkness    and the hoards in secret places,  that you may know that it is I, the LORD,    the God of Israel, who call you by your name.4   For the sake of my servant Jacob,    and Israel my chosen,  I call you by your name,    I name you, though you do not know me.5   I am the LORD, and there is no other,    besides me there is no God;    I equip you, though you do not know me,6   that people may know, from the rising of the sun    and from the west, that there is none besides me;    I am the LORD, and there is no other.7   I form light and create darkness;    I make well-being and create calamity;    I am the LORD, who does all these things. 8   “Shower, O heavens, from above,    and let the clouds rain down righteousness;  let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;    let the earth cause them both to sprout;    I the LORD have created it. 9   “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,    a pot among earthen pots!  Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?'    or ‘Your work has no handles'?10   Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?'    or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?'” 11   Thus says the LORD,    the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:  “Ask me of things to come;    will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?512   I made the earth    and created man on it;  it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,    and I commanded all their host.13   I have stirred him up in righteousness,    and I will make all his ways level;  he shall build my city    and set my exiles free,  not for price or reward,”    says the LORD of hosts. The Lord, the Only Savior 14   Thus says the LORD:  “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,    and the Sabeans, men of stature,  shall come over to you and be yours;    they shall follow you;    they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.  They will plead with you, saying:    ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,    no god besides him.'” 15   Truly, you are a God who hides himself,    O God of Israel, the Savior.16   All of them are put to shame and confounded;    the makers of idols go in confusion together.17   But Israel is saved by the LORD    with everlasting salvation;  you shall not be put to shame or confounded    to all eternity. 18   For thus says the LORD,  who created the heavens    (he is God!),  who formed the earth and made it    (he established it;  he did not create it empty,    he formed it to be inhabited!):  “I am the LORD, and there is no other.19   I did not speak in secret,    in a land of darkness;  I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,    ‘Seek me in vain.'6  I the LORD speak the truth;    I declare what is right. 20   “Assemble yourselves and come;    draw near together,    you survivors of the nations!  They have no knowledge    who carry about their wooden idols,  and keep on praying to a god    that cannot save.21   Declare and present your case;    let them take counsel together!  Who told this long ago?    Who declared it of old?  Was it not I, the LORD?    And there is no other god besides me,  a righteous God and a Savior;    there is none besides me. 22   “Turn to me and be saved,    all the ends of the earth!    For I am God, and there is no other.23   By myself I have sworn;    from my mouth has gone out in righteousness    a word that shall not return:  ‘To me every knee shall bow,    every tongue shall swear allegiance.'7 24   “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me,    are righteousness and strength;  to him shall come and be ashamed    all who were incensed against him.25   In the LORD all the offspring of Israel    shall be justified and shall glory.” Footnotes [1] 44:7 Or Who like me can proclaim it? [2] 44:13 Hebrew stylus [3] 44:23 Or will display his beauty [4] 45:2 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint level the mountains [5] 45:11 A slight emendation yields will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands? [6] 45:19 Hebrew in emptiness [7] 45:23 Septuagint every tongue shall confess to God (ESV) New Testament: James 3:1–12 James 3:1–12 (Listen) Taming the Tongue 3 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life,1 and set on fire by hell.2 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,3 these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Footnotes [1] 3:6 Or wheel of birth [2] 3:6 Greek Gehenna [3] 3:10 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 12 (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 96 Psalm 96 (Listen) Worship in the Splendor of Holiness 96   Oh sing to the LORD a new song;    sing to the LORD, all the earth!2   Sing to the LORD, bless his name;    tell of his salvation from day to day.3   Declare his glory among the nations,    his marvelous works among all the peoples!4   For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;    he is to be feared above all gods.5   For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,    but the LORD made the heavens.6   Splendor and majesty are before him;    strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7   Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,    ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!8   Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;    bring an offering, and come into his courts!9   Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;1    tremble before him, all the earth! 10   Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!    Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;    he will judge the peoples with equity.” 11   Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;    let the sea roar, and all that fills it;12     let the field exult, and everything in it!  Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy13     before the LORD, for he comes,    for he comes to judge the earth.  He will judge the world in righteousness,    and the peoples in his faithfulness. Footnotes [1] 96:9 Or in holy attire (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 25:20–22 Proverbs 25:20–22 (Listen) 20   Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart    is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,    and like vinegar on soda.21   If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,    and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,22   for you will heap burning coals on his head,    and the LORD will reward you. (

Morning: Isaiah 45–47 Isaiah 45–47 (Listen) Cyrus, God's Instrument 45   Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus,    whose right hand I have grasped,  to subdue nations before him    and to loose the belts of kings,  to open doors before him    that gates may not be closed:2   “I will go before you    and level the exalted places,1  I will break in pieces the doors of bronze    and cut through the bars of iron,3   I will give you the treasures of darkness    and the hoards in secret places,  that you may know that it is I, the LORD,    the God of Israel, who call you by your name.4   For the sake of my servant Jacob,    and Israel my chosen,  I call you by your name,    I name you, though you do not know me.5   I am the LORD, and there is no other,    besides me there is no God;    I equip you, though you do not know me,6   that people may know, from the rising of the sun    and from the west, that there is none besides me;    I am the LORD, and there is no other.7   I form light and create darkness;    I make well-being and create calamity;    I am the LORD, who does all these things. 8   “Shower, O heavens, from above,    and let the clouds rain down righteousness;  let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;    let the earth cause them both to sprout;    I the LORD have created it. 9   “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,    a pot among earthen pots!  Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?'    or ‘Your work has no handles'?10   Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?'    or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?'” 11   Thus says the LORD,    the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:  “Ask me of things to come;    will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?212   I made the earth    and created man on it;  it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,    and I commanded all their host.13   I have stirred him up in righteousness,    and I will make all his ways level;  he shall build my city    and set my exiles free,  not for price or reward,”    says the LORD of hosts. The Lord, the Only Savior 14   Thus says the LORD:  “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,    and the Sabeans, men of stature,  shall come over to you and be yours;    they shall follow you;    they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.  They will plead with you, saying:    ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,    no god besides him.'” 15   Truly, you are a God who hides himself,    O God of Israel, the Savior.16   All of them are put to shame and confounded;    the makers of idols go in confusion together.17   But Israel is saved by the LORD    with everlasting salvation;  you shall not be put to shame or confounded    to all eternity. 18   For thus says the LORD,  who created the heavens    (he is God!),  who formed the earth and made it    (he established it;  he did not create it empty,    he formed it to be inhabited!):  “I am the LORD, and there is no other.19   I did not speak in secret,    in a land of darkness;  I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,    ‘Seek me in vain.'3  I the LORD speak the truth;    I declare what is right. 20   “Assemble yourselves and come;    draw near together,    you survivors of the nations!  They have no knowledge    who carry about their wooden idols,  and keep on praying to a god    that cannot save.21   Declare and present your case;    let them take counsel together!  Who told this long ago?    Who declared it of old?  Was it not I, the LORD?    And there is no other god besides me,  a righteous God and a Savior;    there is none besides me. 22   “Turn to me and be saved,    all the ends of the earth!    For I am God, and there is no other.23   By myself I have sworn;    from my mouth has gone out in righteousness    a word that shall not return:  ‘To me every knee shall bow,    every tongue shall swear allegiance.'4 24   “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me,    are righteousness and strength;  to him shall come and be ashamed    all who were incensed against him.25   In the LORD all the offspring of Israel    shall be justified and shall glory.” The Idols of Babylon and the One True God 46   Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;    their idols are on beasts and livestock;  these things you carry are borne    as burdens on weary beasts.2   They stoop; they bow down together;    they cannot save the burden,    but themselves go into captivity. 3   “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,    all the remnant of the house of Israel,  who have been borne by me from before your birth,    carried from the womb;4   even to your old age I am he,    and to gray hairs I will carry you.  I have made, and I will bear;    I will carry and will save. 5   “To whom will you liken me and make me equal,    and compare me, that we may be alike?6   Those who lavish gold from the purse,    and weigh out silver in the scales,  hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;    then they fall down and worship!7   They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,    they set it in its place, and it stands there;    it cannot move from its place.  If one cries to it, it does not answer    or save him from his trouble. 8   “Remember this and stand firm,    recall it to mind, you transgressors,9     remember the former things of old;  for I am God, and there is no other;    I am God, and there is none like me,10   declaring the end from the beginning    and from ancient times things not yet done,  saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,    and I will accomplish all my purpose,'11   calling a bird of prey from the east,    the man of my counsel from a far country.  I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;    I have purposed, and I will do it. 12   “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,    you who are far from righteousness:13   I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,    and my salvation will not delay;  I will put salvation in Zion,    for Israel my glory.” The Humiliation of Babylon 47   Come down and sit in the dust,    O virgin daughter of Babylon;  sit on the ground without a throne,    O daughter of the Chaldeans!  For you shall no more be called    tender and delicate.2   Take the millstones and grind flour,    put off your veil,  strip off your robe, uncover your legs,    pass through the rivers.3   Your nakedness shall be uncovered,    and your disgrace shall be seen.  I will take vengeance,    and I will spare no one.4   Our Redeemer—the LORD of hosts is his name—    is the Holy One of Israel. 5   Sit in silence, and go into darkness,    O daughter of the Chaldeans;  for you shall no more be called    the mistress of kingdoms.6   I was angry with my people;    I profaned my heritage;  I gave them into your hand;    you showed them no mercy;  on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.7   You said, “I shall be mistress forever,”    so that you did not lay these things to heart    or remember their end. 8   Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures,    who sit securely,  who say in your heart,    “I am, and there is no one besides me;  I shall not sit as a widow    or know the loss of children”:9   These two things shall come to you    in a moment, in one day;  the loss of children and widowhood    shall come upon you in full measure,  in spite of your many sorceries    and the great power of your enchantments. 10   You felt secure in your wickedness;    you said, “No one sees me”;  your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray,  and you said in your heart,    “I am, and there is no one besides me.”11   But evil shall come upon you,    which you will not know how to charm away;  disaster shall fall upon you,    for which you will not be able to atone;  and ruin shall come upon you suddenly,    of which you know nothing. 12   Stand fast in your enchantments    and your many sorceries,    with which you have labored from your youth;  perhaps you may be able to succeed;    perhaps you may inspire terror.13   You are wearied with your many counsels;    let them stand forth and save you,  those who divide the heavens,    who gaze at the stars,  who at the new moons make known    what shall come upon you. 14   Behold, they are like stubble;    the fire consumes them;  they cannot deliver themselves    from the power of the flame.  No coal for warming oneself is this,    no fire to sit before!15   Such to you are those with whom you have labored,    who have done business with you from your youth;  they wander about, each in his own direction;    there is no one to save you. Footnotes [1] 45:2 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint level the mountains [2] 45:11 A slight emendation yields will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands? [3] 45:19 Hebrew in emptiness [4] 45:23 Septuagint every tongue shall confess to God (ESV) Evening: Colossians 3 Colossians 3 (Listen) Put On the New Self 3 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your1 life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:2 sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.3 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self4 with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,5 free; but Christ is all, and in all. 12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Rules for Christian Households 18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters,6 not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. Footnotes [1] 3:4 Some manuscripts our [2] 3:5 Greek therefore your members that are on the earth [3] 3:6 Some manuscripts add upon the sons of disobedience [4] 3:9 Greek man; also as supplied in verse 10 [5] 3:11 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; likewise for Bondservants in verse 22 [6] 3:22

I'm so glad you're here today because it could mean we are a lot alike in that we struggle with letting go of guilt and shame. It does the heart good, or at least it does my heart good to know that I'm not the only one struggling with this. I wanted to share this sweet reminder, that the Lord gave me. I love when the truth of what I know about God sinks in a little bit deeper into my heart. In this case it broke off some pride I had about forgiveness and not the forgiveness we typically think of first, that of forgiving others. This was about forgiving myself. I almost want to ask you to listen to this episode at a time when things are quiet and you're in a personal space so that you can actively respond to what a share but I know that everyone has a very busy life and therefore that's a hard request. Whether you listen now or whether you use my suggestion later to process with God, I'm hoping to create an opportunity for you to hear God's voice because I'm thinking you're like me in that you already know the truth of God's forgiveness and yet we still beat ourself up with guilt and shame. This proves there is some value in digging a little deeper, or simply lingering a little longer with focused concentration to discover freedom when it comes to forgiving ourself. Again, the quiet space is not mandatory because I was driving down the road when God spoke into my spirit. The sweetness of the Lord had me in tears. I don't want anything to happen to you should you be driving. Maybe pull over if the love of the Lord comes over you like it did me. What I have to share today will keep pointing us back to the cross, something you may feel is a bit overdone. Not overdone with the reverence we have for the cross but possibly overdone with regard to how familiar you are with the message of the cross. Stay with me please because I can't get to where I want to take us without going to the cross. And to be honest, as Christians it is always about the cross. It is the core of our faith. It's what makes our faith different. The fact that we have a relationship with the Living God. An alive, active, engaged relationship. We can know our God and hear His voice. There is the potential that some parts of what I'm going to delve into might feel a little abrasive because when God revealed my pride to me in the context of forgiving myself I hadn't thought of it as pride. Additionally, I'm well aware that when people get too close to the things that we are sensitive about it feels judgmental but when God exposes us He does it in love and He's inviting us into deeper relationship, where trust (in Him) is matured. I want this message to be done in love so that is why I'll be pointing you to God to have your conversation with Him. I want Him to reveal what He wants to set you free from. My goal is not to add condemnation to this conversation. That is satan's speciality. God convicts but He never condemns, two different things. I want this conversation to be done in the same gentle, kind way that God did it for me. He didn't call me out to embarrass me. He gently exposed my pride in order to set me free from it. It's times like that when He takes us back to the cross, not to harm us, but to heal us. I'm going to prompt you with an exercise and it's based on the times when the devil tries to drag us back to a place that reminds us of our shame, guilt and regret. I've worked through a lot of childhood trauma. I think everybody's pretty clear on the fact that our family of origin sets the pace for our adult life and so it impacts our decisions. Those experiences help craft the lens through which we see people and the world. We make a lot of assumptions because our experiences do not have a full understanding so now we're dealing with lies we believe, and it all creates the value system we live by. Because no family, no person, no relationship is perfect and sinless, this gives satan plenty of opportunity to try and take us back to painful memories or experiences. We can all find ourselves in these familiar places of thinking defeating thoughts because satan has his successful patterns that he runs on us. It will always be his goal to to steal the truth of God's word, because in truth there is freedom. Satan wants to kill our hope, faith, love, our relationships and at the very least destroy us from the inside out. In times when a situation activates one of our coping skills or in any way that we've created a self protection method, let it be an instant signal for us that God wants to engage our heart about what we're feeling. He'd love to hear your heart and be given the opportunity to speak His truth into whatever it is we're believing to be true. In moments like that, meet Him at the cross. The place where He won the full victory over all of life's failures and brokenness. The things that primarily cause us guilt and shame are structured around something that we've done, that we're responsible for. Our actions, our decisions, and our choices have brought us shame and regret. If we've repented for our sins then we can have assurance that we're forgiven (because of the cross) and yet we play the shameful memory of our actions over and over in our mind and in our heart. It's in this context of forgiven yet unable to let go that I want to create an opportunity for you to take a fresh look at the cross and reconsider something about God's heart for you. And real quick allow me to take a detour because I don't want to overlook this aspect of guilt and shame. With regard to feeling shame or guilt, I'm not referring to times when someone has violated/victimized you. If you're living with guilt and shame because you feel that what happened to you is somehow your fault, this message does not apply to your situation. I'll be talking about choices that we make and are solely responsible. If you find yourself dealing with guilt and shame over something someone did to you, there is a measure of trauma healing that needs to take place because you're not responsible for the actions of another person. In short, you can't own another person's choices. While you are not responsible for what happened to you, if there is any responsibility to be had on your part it would taking responsibility to flip the script on satan. Make every effort to find the healing you need. Make life giving decisions to get what you need and don't stop until you are free. Just so I don't drop you off cold in the middle of this episode, if you have a few minutes, disengage from your immediate To Do List and recline in the Lord, rest with Him. Just receive from Him. If you want to engage God, ask Him, Lord what step do you want me to take next so that I can process the guilt and shame I feel? Who do I need to talk to in order to find healing from these thoughts that are eating away at me on the inside. Also, I will put links in the show notes for a few past episodes and in a couple of weeks there is another one coming out on October 20th. These episodes all take a look at the various healing ministries available to believers. My guest Eileen Love and I talked about Emotion Code Healing - it was broken into 2 parts (Part 1 & Part 2). There's an episode on the Deliverance Ministry Healing with Karen King. Additionally, the episode on October 20th is on the Healing Prayer ministry with Frank Meadows. So remember to come back on or after the 20th to find that one. Coming back to our topic at hand, overcoming the guilt and shame that is based on our decisions and choices. Specifically the situation where we've repented for our sins but we are not able to forgive ourselves. Here's a suggestion, my intended exercise on how to engage the Lord: Find a place where you can be real with God. Intentionally invite him into your space, ask him to protect the conversation that you'll be having with him. He'll command His army to position themselves in the atmosphere so that you can say whatever is on your heart. God is going to protect your vulnerability. He never asks for a perfect conversation, He asks for a genuine one. Once you've intentionally invited God into your space and He has secured the atmosphere I want you to bring to the forefront of your mind the thing that taunts you with guilt and shame. Expose it by speaking it out loud to the Lord. Father, every time this thing (tell him what the thing is not because He doesn't know but He will only work on what you're willing to give Him. He will not force anything from you or on you). Father, every time this comes to mind I block it out. I feel disgusted…whatever it is you feel, think, believe etc., talk to God. Today could possibly be the first time that you've actually verbalized it. Maybe your shame and regret keeps you from talking about that thing that has left your heart battered and ragged, and exhausted. But you think about it. Your internal dialog beats you up over it when it surfaces. Maybe you've been talking with God about it but you keep returning to it, like you're still chained to it. Feeling like you have no control over it, no voice about it, no freedom from it? You just feel helpless to change it or make a difference. You did what you did or maybe you didn't do what you should have done. You said what you said or maybe you said nothing and you feel that you should have said something. Now you're left with the emotional baggage, potentially physical ailments not to mention the mental battle. The good news? All that has the potential to change if you're willing to be transparent with the Lord in the safety of the space He's protecting you in. Remember in Genesis 32 when God asked Jacob, “What is your name?” It was not that God didn't know Jacob's name but Jacob had a lot of trauma attached to his name. In Biblical times, a person's name was part of their identity. Jacob's name means deceiver and Jacob lived up to that. As a matter of fact, the reason Jacob is struggling with God in this verse is because he was getting ready to cross paths with his twin brother Esau and Jacob was responsible for not only stealing Esau's birth right but Jacob also stole the final blessing from their father that rightfully belonged to Esau. Jacob initially reaches out to Esau in an attempt to make peace with his brother. In response, he receives word that Esau is headed his way with 400 hundred of his men in tow. So now Jacob has come to God scared to death for his life and God asks Him, What is your name? It might seem like a strange question in such a desperate situation. God wasn't trying to shame Jacob. God was inviting Jacob into transparency, to be truthful with him. But why, you might ask? Because change only happens when we expose our fear, guilt, and shame. But not to just anyone but rather expose it to the One who defeated it. The One who can make a difference, the One who can turn it of your good. Guilt and shame left in the dark, bouncing off our heart and our mind, it only becomes bigger and bigger in our mind and emotions. I can't say this enough, when God calls us out of the dark places of our mind, he's not trying to expose us for the purpose of embarrassment or to beat us down reminding us who the Almighty God is. Without authentic transparency we can't connect to people. We'll have a surface relationship at best. And let me just say here, not everyone is trustworthy with our pain so you should guard you heart in this area. But the God of the Holy Bible wants real, life giving, life breathing relationship with us. We can't change what we don't acknowledge. Change only happens when we expose our fears to the origin of truth, the fountain head of truth. Nothing stands against God's truth. Because God will not push Himself on us, He was inviting Jacob into deeper relationship. He was saying, son, will you get real with me about what you're feeling/experiencing? Will you have the courage to expose your fear to me so that the thing you keep struggling with, that thing you keep running from, we can put on the table and we can talk about it and we can work through it together? And Jesus says to us, my precious daughter, will you give that thing to me? Will you trust me with your pain? Daughter, do you believe that I love you and I have good things to give you in exchange for your nightmares? When we take our pain to God and struggle well to discover His truths in the context of our deep questions He gives us the beauty of His presence and we are transformed by the revelation that accompanies His presence. Truth shows up every time God shows up and we don't have to wait for the spirit to move we can invite Him in and initiate an intimate exchange. God honors our authentic struggle because He knows that it takes courage to be transparent with Him, to step beyond our human understanding and experiences and accept His invitation into intimacy. So you've invited God into your space, and He has taken authority over the atmosphere, you've brought that thing into the Light of His presence and you're letting anxiety flow out of your mouth. As you verbally process this brings a measure of release to your mind and body. The next thing I want you to do is picture God with you. See His kind and caring manner. Maybe He's holding your hands, looking into your eyes with gentle affection. Maybe He's sitting at the table with you. I can guarantee you this, if he's sitting at the table with you He's sitting next to you and He's got His arm around you. In the safety and security of God, continue to purge your pain as long as you need to. Let Him know how you feel. What is your worst fear, your worst nightmare about that thing? Tell Him why you feel guilt and shame, or whatever emotion you feel. If you want, ask Him to show you where He was when this or that happened? He's never left you so He was present. He's not afraid of anything you share. You won't scare Him off. He won't reject you. This space of transparency and pain all tangled together in what can feel like a terrifying mess, this is His speciality and I'll tell you why. He doesn't extravagantly attend to us knowing that He WILL heal us, He's drawing us into the healing He's ALREADY provided. When we expose our fear and pain to him, healing and restoration begins not because a spontaneous healing happened in that He's decided to now alleviate your guilt in that moment. But because you pursued Him in this context, it was engaged and therefore applied in that moment. It was already purchased on the cross you just hadn't made it personal yet. Whatever you admit, confess or reveal, all the emotion, regret, shame, it doesn't have to be pretty, or nice or even godly. Real pain, deep pain is messy. After you've poured it all out and you've come to the end of yourself, I want you to hear your Father God's voice. He's calm, soft spoken, loving. He's saying, my precious precious daughter, I'll take that, and I'll take that, and that too and give me that one. Give it all to me. Let it go. I've already settled these things. Let me show you. Let Jesus lead you to the cross. Envision Christ scooping up all the emotion that you've been willing to expose and I want you to watch him lay your actions, choices, sins, onto His heart and then willingly lay on the wooden beams fashioned into a cross. Bear with me, this is the familiar part that may feel a little overdone. But this time, make it personal by seeing it through the eyes of knowing Jesus is taking your place. See the roman soldiers drive an iron peg through his left hand, and an iron peg his right hand, then another iron peg through his feet. Watch as they hoist the pole into the air and drop the foot of the cross down into the hole in the ground. It hits hard and the iron pegs tear His flesh. They'll pierce his side with a spear and the final drops of His atoning blood along with water, the living water of life, will spill onto the ground. I'm not reminding you of this historical account because I want you to feel sorry for Him. This is not about pity. Jesus was not victimized in the manner of the Romans taking his life, He willingly laid down His life. I'm not telling you this to compound any guilt or shame because the truth is, we have no authority, no input, and no point of reference with regard to God's plan on what the payment for sin will be and Jesus' agreement on how it will be settled. I'm reminding you of the cross because it's always about the cross. It's the intersection where God's truth and provision meets man's sin and human will. This question may still be be lingering in the air, How do we move from the knowledge of forgiveness to embracing this as truth in our life? How do we make this our core belief and understanding so that we operate and do life from the place of being forgiven? How do we make the leap from knowing in our head that we're forgiven to actually forgiving ourselves? Maybe our inability to forgive ourselves is twisted up with the cross. And it's the reason why we won't let ourselves off the hook. Because the truth is, it should have been me. It should have been you. Paying for what we've done. That was our debt. Our burden, our guilt, our shame, our choices, our actions. When it comes to realistically applying forgiveness, there is a portion of the process when we apply God's truth every time guilt and shame comes up in our mind. We interrupt the thought with truth, not allowing our mind to start running wild. While that can seem robotic, God's truth overwhelms every lie and is very effective. The point of forgiveness that I'm trying to examine are the times where we're checking all the Christian boxes of what makes a good Christian so that our good outweighs our bad. We're doing all the right things. We're praying, we're fasting, we're in church every Sunday all with the hope that we'll get God's approval and then He will supernaturally change the way we feel. I don't want to deny the practical part of applying God's word to our life, but what I want to dig down into is the pride part. Could it be that we've put ourself on the cross? Let's say we have. And yet we're STILL struggling to extend forgiveness to ourselves. On the one hand, we can't deny the truth of our guilt and on the other hand, somewhere down to the core of our DNA we also acknowledge that we are grossly under qualified (and that is putting it lightly) to carry the weight of the cross. Whatever the reason is, I do know that pride can blind us. It did me. If we don't humble our hearts we will find ourselves on the hamster wheel of guilt, shame, forgiveness, guilt, shame, forgiveness. It feels like a rat race but that's simply the world's value system. In God's value system, it's the intersection where God's truth and provision meets man's sin and human will. I'm reminded of a story that's been around as long as I can remember, I feel sure you've heard it. It's about the man who worked at a bridge with railroad tracks. He was responsible for opening and shutting the bridge for both the boats and the train. He'd taken his little boy to work one day and the youngster was playing on the tracks. To the father's surprise a train was approaching faster than he could get to his son but if he closed the bridge lowering the train track his son would be crushed. Not sure if it's a true story or not but it goes on to say that the man made the excruciatingly heart shattering decision to save all the people and their families that were on the train and he lowered the tracks crushing his little boy. The people on that train would go on living their life, never knowing what the father sacrificed nor what the precious son had afforded them. I often overlay that onto God's Fatherly heart because some believers will never grasp the fullness of freedom that has been paid for them. Surely God's heart must have broken because in the sin payment transaction God turned His face away from His beloved Son. Full payment for sin, the kind that saves us, translates to God the Father, being separated from His Son, Jesus. Some believers will go on living their life, entangled in shame, regret, never embracing what God ordained and what the blood of the Son afforded them. They'll maintain a distance between their head knowledge that God had a plan to pay their debt of sin and yet never embrace it in their heart what the precious son afforded them with His blood. This whole message, this episode started when I was in my car, driving down the road, talking with God, the image of Christ on the cross making the just and final payment for my sin came to my mind. I've seen this picture countless times in books, and all kinds of preaching material but this time, my heart responded to the immense sacrifice, I made it personal. I saw the intimacy of what Jesus was doing for me and it softened my heart in a different way. The kindness of Jesus overwhelmed me. Kindness can seem like such a weak word in the scale of this particular context. Romans 2:4 says, Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? What had me weeping was being overwhelmed with the goodness and kindness of God even though I was in a place of pride, despising the riches of His kindness, forbearance and patience. I wasn't letting the work of the cross, His Son's blood be enough. I was making it about me. I would not have made a direct connection with that way of thinking, none-the-less, it was playing out in my life, in my thought life. And when I saw how precious the Lord is to me even though I looked upon the cross with contempt/pride my heart become overwhelmed. If Jesus' blood satisfied my sovereign, holy God, why was I being prideful still making it about me? God hasn't abandoned us at Friday on the Cross. He gave us the Sunday resurrection. Our God is alive. Jesus is alive. Living breathing, fresh perspectives, new beginnings, the God of do overs. That's the power of the blood. I've said a lot to bring us to this one point. It's time to change our vision of the cross, our self imposed definition of what pays our debt. If you're still in a strangle hold by your past I want to know, when you look up at the cross do you see Jesus on it or is it empty? Do you see Jesus' work finished or unfinished? If we haven't allowed the blood to pay our debt we're as good as a dead (wo)man. We're physically alive but we're mentally/emotionally 6 feet under. And we'll stay stuck in that type of mental grave until we soften our hearts, humbly admit that we're not capable of paying our debt. Not now, not at our last breath, not at any time in between. Let's take ourself off the cross. It's not about us. Face it, we cannot pay for what we've have done or not done. We cannot fix what we said or did not say. If you agree with the atoning blood of Jesus and His finished work on the cross, you have been acquitted. The final words of Christ on the cross apply to us. It. Is. Finished. Tell your mind, YOU'RE FREE! Tell your heart, YOU'RE FREE! Tell your body, YOU'RE FREE! We don't have to wait for heaven to live in peace, joy, and freedom. Give God, give Jesus, your praise and gratitude. Take a moment to let Him embrace you with His presence. Soften your heart toward His love, make Him personal in your heart and mind. And then do Him the best honor of all, let the world see God in you! Get out there and... Live Loved and Thrive! Get Rid of Guilt and Shame: Invite God into a conversation. Ask Him to take control of the atmosphere. Bring to the forefront of your mind the thing that still causes you guilt and shame. Talk with God about how you feel. Give him all of your pain and questions - Purge all your beliefs that surround the pain. Picture God with you, listening in a loving way. Ask Him, who do you want to be for me in this? What do you want me to know about You in this context of my guilt and shame? Trust God with your pain. Tell God you do not despise His Son Jesus and the work of the cross. Lay your guilt and shame at the foot of the cross. Break any agreement you have made with the lies you have believed about your guilt and shame. Give God your praise and thanksgiving. It can be in tears, laughter, songs of worship, outright words of praise etc. in whatever way you want to worship Him and give Him His due honor. RESOURCES: Past Podcast Episodes: Emotion Code with Eileen Love: Part 1 - https://alifeofthrive.com/2023/06/07/emotion-code-therapy-part-1-with-eileen-love/ Part 2 - https://alifeofthrive.com/2023/06/22/emotion-code-therapy-with-eileen-love-part-2/ Deliverance Ministry with Karen King: https://alifeofthrive.com/2023/09/13/finding-freedom-through-the-deliverance-ministry/ October 20, 2023 - I'll add the link for the podcast on Healing Prayer Ministry with Frank Meadows. In the meantime you can check out his website: https://www.meadowshealingprayercenter.com/

#144//  As Christians, we know complaining "ain't it," right?Philippians 2:14-16 tells us to do all things without grumbling, disputing or complaining, but there seems to be this thing deep down inside of all of us that needs to feel heard and seen, and that we're not alone in difficult circumstances. And so, we give voice to the pain and suffering, and we're not always aware of the way we're doing it.But then our situations don't improve. Maybe we feel stuck, even. And we start to wonder, "Could it be the way I'm talking about my situation or experience? Surely God understands my need to process this pain and suffering, right?" How do we process out our negative thoughts and feelings around experiences and situations without reaping the negative consequences of grumbling and complaint? That's what we're getting into on this week's episode of the Positioned to Prosper podcast. Are you ready to dig in? Grab your Bible, your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!WOULD YOU LEAVE A REVIEW? Hey, would you do me a favor and leave a review on whatever podcast platform you're listening on? I'd love to have your feedback on how you've been experiencing this podcast . . . and it helps new listeners to know that this is a good place for them. Your words matter so be sure to share them! And it helps others who are considering listening, too. Can't wait to see what you have to say!

Old Testament: Job 35–36 Job 35–36 (Listen) Elihu Condemns Job 35 And Elihu answered and said: 2   “Do you think this to be just?    Do you say, ‘It is my right before God,'3   that you ask, ‘What advantage have I?    How am I better off than if I had sinned?'4   I will answer you    and your friends with you.5   Look at the heavens, and see;    and behold the clouds, which are higher than you.6   If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him?    And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?7   If you are righteous, what do you give to him?    Or what does he receive from your hand?8   Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself,    and your righteousness a son of man. 9   “Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out;    they call for help because of the arm of the mighty.110   But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker,    who gives songs in the night,11   who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth    and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?'12   There they cry out, but he does not answer,    because of the pride of evil men.13   Surely God does not hear an empty cry,    nor does the Almighty regard it.14   How much less when you say that you do not see him,    that the case is before him, and you are waiting for him!15   And now, because his anger does not punish,    and he does not take much note of transgression,216   Job opens his mouth in empty talk;    he multiplies words without knowledge.” Elihu Extols God's Greatness 36 And Elihu continued, and said: 2   “Bear with me a little, and I will show you,    for I have yet something to say on God's behalf.3   I will get my knowledge from afar    and ascribe righteousness to my Maker.4   For truly my words are not false;    one who is perfect in knowledge is with you. 5   “Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any;    he is mighty in strength of understanding.6   He does not keep the wicked alive,    but gives the afflicted their right.7   He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous,    but with kings on the throne    he sets them forever, and they are exalted.8   And if they are bound in chains    and caught in the cords of affliction,9   then he declares to them their work    and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.10   He opens their ears to instruction    and commands that they return from iniquity.11   If they listen and serve him,    they complete their days in prosperity,    and their years in pleasantness.12   But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword    and die without knowledge. 13   “The godless in heart cherish anger;    they do not cry for help when he binds them.14   They die in youth,    and their life ends among the cult prostitutes.15   He delivers the afflicted by their affliction    and opens their ear by adversity.16   He also allured you out of distress    into a broad place where there was no cramping,    and what was set on your table was full of fatness. 17   “But you are full of the judgment on the wicked;    judgment and justice seize you.18   Beware lest wrath entice you into scoffing,    and let not the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.19   Will your cry for help avail to keep you from distress,    or all the force of your strength?20   Do not long for the night,    when peoples vanish in their place.21   Take care; do not turn to iniquity,    for this you have chosen rather than affliction.22   Behold, God is exalted in his power;    who is a teacher like him?23   Who has prescribed for him his way,    or who can say, ‘You have done wrong'? 24   “Remember to extol his work,    of which men have sung.25   All mankind has looked on it;    man beholds it from afar.26   Behold, God is great, and we know him not;    the number of his years is unsearchable.27   For he draws up the drops of water;    they distill his mist in rain,28   which the skies pour down    and drop on mankind abundantly.29   Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds,    the thunderings of his pavilion?30   Behold, he scatters his lightning about him    and covers the roots of the sea.31   For by these he judges peoples;    he gives food in abundance.32   He covers his hands with the lightning    and commands it to strike the mark.33   Its crashing declares his presence;3    the cattle also declare that he rises. Footnotes [1] 35:9 Or the many [2] 35:15 Theodotion, Symmachus (compare Vulgate); the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [3] 36:33 Hebrew declares concerning him (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 59 Psalm 59 (Listen) Deliver Me from My Enemies To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam1 of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him. 59   Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;    protect me from those who rise up against me;2   deliver me from those who work evil,    and save me from bloodthirsty men. 3   For behold, they lie in wait for my life;    fierce men stir up strife against me.  For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD,4     for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.  Awake, come to meet me, and see!5     You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel.  Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;    spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah 6   Each evening they come back,    howling like dogs    and prowling about the city.7   There they are, bellowing with their mouths    with swords in their lips—    for “Who,” they think,2 “will hear us?” 8   But you, O LORD, laugh at them;    you hold all the nations in derision.9   O my Strength, I will watch for you,    for you, O God, are my fortress.10   My God in his steadfast love3 will meet me;    God will let me look in triumph on my enemies. 11   Kill them not, lest my people forget;    make them totter4 by your power and bring them down,    O Lord, our shield!12   For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,    let them be trapped in their pride.  For the cursing and lies that they utter,13     consume them in wrath;    consume them till they are no more,  that they may know that God rules over Jacob    to the ends of the earth. Selah 14   Each evening they come back,    howling like dogs    and prowling about the city.15   They wander about for food    and growl if they do not get their fill. 16   But I will sing of your strength;    I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.  For you have been to me a fortress    and a refuge in the day of my distress.17   O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,    for you, O God, are my fortress,    the God who shows me steadfast love. Footnotes [1] 59:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 59:7 Hebrew lacks they think [3] 59:10 Or The God who shows me steadfast love [4] 59:11 Or wander (ESV) New Testament: Luke 23 Luke 23 (Listen) Jesus Before Pilate 23 Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” 3 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” 5 But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.” Jesus Before Herod 6 When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 7 And when he learned that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. 9 So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. 10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11 And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. 12 And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. 13 Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. 15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. 16 I will therefore punish and release him.”1 Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified 18 But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”—19 a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. 20 Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, 21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” 23 But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will. The Crucifixion 26 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. 28 But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,' and to the hills, ‘Cover us.' 31 For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” 32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”2 And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him,3 “This is the King of the Jews.” 39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,4 saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” The Death of Jesus 44 It was now about the sixth hour,5 and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,6 45 while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. 49 And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. Jesus Is Buried 50 Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. 54 It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.7 55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. Footnotes [1] 23:16 Here, or after verse 19, some manuscripts add verse 17: Now he was obliged to release one man to them at the festival [2] 23:34 Some manuscripts omit the sentence And Jesus . . . what they do [3] 23:38 Some manuscripts add in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew [4] 23:39 Or blasphemed him [5] 23:44 That is, noon [6] 23:44 That is, 3 p.m. [7] 23:54 Greek was dawning (ESV)

Mama, do you feel overwhelmed? It's time you add Jesus to your "To-Do's" today! “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.” Psalm 54:4 NIV“The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.” Psalm 37: 23-24 NLT

Isaiah 44–48 Isaiah 44–48 (Listen) Israel the Lord's Chosen 44   “But now hear, O Jacob my servant,    Israel whom I have chosen!2   Thus says the LORD who made you,    who formed you from the womb and will help you:  Fear not, O Jacob my servant,    Jeshurun whom I have chosen.3   For I will pour water on the thirsty land,    and streams on the dry ground;  I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,    and my blessing on your descendants.4   They shall spring up among the grass    like willows by flowing streams.5   This one will say, ‘I am the LORD's,'    another will call on the name of Jacob,  and another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD's,'    and name himself by the name of Israel.” Besides Me There Is No God 6   Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel    and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:  “I am the first and I am the last;    besides me there is no god.7   Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.1    Let him declare and set it before me,  since I appointed an ancient people.    Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.8   Fear not, nor be afraid;    have I not told you from of old and declared it?    And you are my witnesses!  Is there a God besides me?    There is no Rock; I know not any.” The Folly of Idolatry 9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together. 12 The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil.2 He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” 18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” The Lord Redeems Israel 21   Remember these things, O Jacob,    and Israel, for you are my servant;  I formed you; you are my servant;    O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.22   I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud    and your sins like mist;  return to me, for I have redeemed you. 23   Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it;    shout, O depths of the earth;  break forth into singing, O mountains,    O forest, and every tree in it!  For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,    and will be glorified3 in Israel. 24   Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,    who formed you from the womb:  “I am the LORD, who made all things,    who alone stretched out the heavens,    who spread out the earth by myself,25   who frustrates the signs of liars    and makes fools of diviners,  who turns wise men back    and makes their knowledge foolish,26   who confirms the word of his servant    and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,  who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,'    and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,    and I will raise up their ruins';27   who says to the deep, ‘Be dry;    I will dry up your rivers';28   who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,    and he shall fulfill all my purpose';  saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,'    and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.'” Cyrus, God's Instrument 45   Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus,    whose right hand I have grasped,  to subdue nations before him    and to loose the belts of kings,  to open doors before him    that gates may not be closed:2   “I will go before you    and level the exalted places,4  I will break in pieces the doors of bronze    and cut through the bars of iron,3   I will give you the treasures of darkness    and the hoards in secret places,  that you may know that it is I, the LORD,    the God of Israel, who call you by your name.4   For the sake of my servant Jacob,    and Israel my chosen,  I call you by your name,    I name you, though you do not know me.5   I am the LORD, and there is no other,    besides me there is no God;    I equip you, though you do not know me,6   that people may know, from the rising of the sun    and from the west, that there is none besides me;    I am the LORD, and there is no other.7   I form light and create darkness;    I make well-being and create calamity;    I am the LORD, who does all these things. 8   “Shower, O heavens, from above,    and let the clouds rain down righteousness;  let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;    let the earth cause them both to sprout;    I the LORD have created it. 9   “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,    a pot among earthen pots!  Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?'    or ‘Your work has no handles'?10   Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?'    or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?'” 11   Thus says the LORD,    the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:  “Ask me of things to come;    will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?512   I made the earth    and created man on it;  it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,    and I commanded all their host.13   I have stirred him up in righteousness,    and I will make all his ways level;  he shall build my city    and set my exiles free,  not for price or reward,”    says the LORD of hosts. The Lord, the Only Savior 14   Thus says the LORD:  “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,    and the Sabeans, men of stature,  shall come over to you and be yours;    they shall follow you;    they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.  They will plead with you, saying:    ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,    no god besides him.'” 15   Truly, you are a God who hides himself,    O God of Israel, the Savior.16   All of them are put to shame and confounded;    the makers of idols go in confusion together.17   But Israel is saved by the LORD    with everlasting salvation;  you shall not be put to shame or confounded    to all eternity. 18   For thus says the LORD,  who created the heavens    (he is God!),  who formed the earth and made it    (he established it;  he did not create it empty,    he formed it to be inhabited!):  “I am the LORD, and there is no other.19   I did not speak in secret,    in a land of darkness;  I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,    ‘Seek me in vain.'6  I the LORD speak the truth;    I declare what is right. 20   “Assemble yourselves and come;    draw near together,    you survivors of the nations!  They have no knowledge    who carry about their wooden idols,  and keep on praying to a god    that cannot save.21   Declare and present your case;    let them take counsel together!  Who told this long ago?    Who declared it of old?  Was it not I, the LORD?    And there is no other god besides me,  a righteous God and a Savior;    there is none besides me. 22   “Turn to me and be saved,    all the ends of the earth!    For I am God, and there is no other.23   By myself I have sworn;    from my mouth has gone out in righteousness    a word that shall not return:  ‘To me every knee shall bow,    every tongue shall swear allegiance.'7 24   “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me,    are righteousness and strength;  to him shall come and be ashamed    all who were incensed against him.25   In the LORD all the offspring of Israel    shall be justified and shall glory.” The Idols of Babylon and the One True God 46   Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;    their idols are on beasts and livestock;  these things you carry are borne    as burdens on weary beasts.2   They stoop; they bow down together;    they cannot save the burden,    but themselves go into captivity. 3   “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,    all the remnant of the house of Israel,  who have been borne by me from before your birth,    carried from the womb;4   even to your old age I am he,    and to gray hairs I will carry you.  I have made, and I will bear;    I will carry and will save. 5   “To whom will you liken me and make me equal,    and compare me, that we may be alike?6   Those who lavish gold from the purse,    and weigh out silver in the scales,  hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;    then they fall down and worship!7   They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,    they set it in its place, and it stands there;    it cannot move from its place.  If one cries to it, it does not answer    or save him from his trouble. 8   “Remember this and stand firm,    recall it to mind, you transgressors,9     remember the former things of old;  for I am God, and there is no other;    I am God, and there is none like me,10   declaring the end from the beginning    and from ancient times things not yet done,  saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,    and I will accomplish all my purpose,'11   calling a bird of prey from the east,    the man of my counsel from a far country.  I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;    I have purposed, and I will do it. 12   “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,    you who are far from righteousness:13   I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,    and my salvation will not delay;  I will put salvation in Zion,    for Israel my glory.” The Humiliation of Babylon 47   Come down and sit in the dust,    O virgin daughter of Babylon;  sit on the ground without a throne,    O daughter of the Chaldeans!  For you shall no more be called    tender and delicate.2   Take the millstones and grind flour,    put off your veil,  strip off your robe, uncover your legs,    pass through the rivers.3   Your nakedness shall be uncovered,    and your disgrace shall be seen.  I will take vengeance,    and I will spare no one.4   Our Redeemer—the LORD of hosts is his name—    is the Holy One of Israel. 5   Sit in silence, and go into darkness,    O daughter of the Chaldeans;  for you shall no more be called    the mistress of kingdoms.6   I was angry with my people;    I profaned my heritage;  I gave them into your hand;    you showed them no mercy;  on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.7   You said, “I shall be mistress forever,”    so that you did not lay these things to heart    or remember their end. 8   Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures,    who sit securely,  who say in your heart,    “I am, and there is no one besides me;  I shall not sit as a widow    or know the loss of children”:9   These two things shall come to you    in a moment, in one day;  the loss of children and widowhood

Today's Promise: Proverbs 15:8 Did you know God delights in your prayers? He is excited for you to come into His presence. So many Christians are reluctant to come to God in prayer. They feel unworthy to lift their voice and may even think, "Surely God has more to do with His time than to listen to my prayers." They don't realize that God actually delights in their prayer. Did you know that God loves it when you spend time with Him in prayer? When you pray, God listens. He not only listens, but he is delighted to hear your prayers. God delights in hearing you today. He wants you to come before Him bringing your needs, prayers, and concerns.

Morning: Job 35–37 Job 35–37 (Listen) Elihu Condemns Job 35 And Elihu answered and said: 2   “Do you think this to be just?    Do you say, ‘It is my right before God,'3   that you ask, ‘What advantage have I?    How am I better off than if I had sinned?'4   I will answer you    and your friends with you.5   Look at the heavens, and see;    and behold the clouds, which are higher than you.6   If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him?    And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?7   If you are righteous, what do you give to him?    Or what does he receive from your hand?8   Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself,    and your righteousness a son of man. 9   “Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out;    they call for help because of the arm of the mighty.110   But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker,    who gives songs in the night,11   who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth    and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?'12   There they cry out, but he does not answer,    because of the pride of evil men.13   Surely God does not hear an empty cry,    nor does the Almighty regard it.14   How much less when you say that you do not see him,    that the case is before him, and you are waiting for him!15   And now, because his anger does not punish,    and he does not take much note of transgression,216   Job opens his mouth in empty talk;    he multiplies words without knowledge.” Elihu Extols God's Greatness 36 And Elihu continued, and said: 2   “Bear with me a little, and I will show you,    for I have yet something to say on God's behalf.3   I will get my knowledge from afar    and ascribe righteousness to my Maker.4   For truly my words are not false;    one who is perfect in knowledge is with you. 5   “Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any;    he is mighty in strength of understanding.6   He does not keep the wicked alive,    but gives the afflicted their right.7   He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous,    but with kings on the throne    he sets them forever, and they are exalted.8   And if they are bound in chains    and caught in the cords of affliction,9   then he declares to them their work    and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.10   He opens their ears to instruction    and commands that they return from iniquity.11   If they listen and serve him,    they complete their days in prosperity,    and their years in pleasantness.12   But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword    and die without knowledge. 13   “The godless in heart cherish anger;    they do not cry for help when he binds them.14   They die in youth,    and their life ends among the cult prostitutes.15   He delivers the afflicted by their affliction    and opens their ear by adversity.16   He also allured you out of distress    into a broad place where there was no cramping,    and what was set on your table was full of fatness. 17   “But you are full of the judgment on the wicked;    judgment and justice seize you.18   Beware lest wrath entice you into scoffing,    and let not the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.19   Will your cry for help avail to keep you from distress,    or all the force of your strength?20   Do not long for the night,    when peoples vanish in their place.21   Take care; do not turn to iniquity,    for this you have chosen rather than affliction.22   Behold, God is exalted in his power;    who is a teacher like him?23   Who has prescribed for him his way,    or who can say, ‘You have done wrong'? 24   “Remember to extol his work,    of which men have sung.25   All mankind has looked on it;    man beholds it from afar.26   Behold, God is great, and we know him not;    the number of his years is unsearchable.27   For he draws up the drops of water;    they distill his mist in rain,28   which the skies pour down    and drop on mankind abundantly.29   Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds,    the thunderings of his pavilion?30   Behold, he scatters his lightning about him    and covers the roots of the sea.31   For by these he judges peoples;    he gives food in abundance.32   He covers his hands with the lightning    and commands it to strike the mark.33   Its crashing declares his presence;3    the cattle also declare that he rises. Elihu Proclaims God's Majesty 37   “At this also my heart trembles    and leaps out of its place.2   Keep listening to the thunder of his voice    and the rumbling that comes from his mouth.3   Under the whole heaven he lets it go,    and his lightning to the corners of the earth.4   After it his voice roars;    he thunders with his majestic voice,    and he does not restrain the lightnings4 when his voice is heard.5   God thunders wondrously with his voice;    he does great things that we cannot comprehend.6   For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,'    likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour.7   He seals up the hand of every man,    that all men whom he made may know it.8   Then the beasts go into their lairs,    and remain in their dens.9   From its chamber comes the whirlwind,    and cold from the scattering winds.10   By the breath of God ice is given,    and the broad waters are frozen fast.11   He loads the thick cloud with moisture;    the clouds scatter his lightning.12   They turn around and around by his guidance,    to accomplish all that he commands them    on the face of the habitable world.13   Whether for correction or for his land    or for love, he causes it to happen. 14   “Hear this, O Job;    stop and consider the wondrous works of God.15   Do you know how God lays his command upon them    and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine?16   Do you know the balancings5 of the clouds,    the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge,17   you whose garments are hot    when the earth is still because of the south wind?18   Can you, like him, spread out the skies,    hard as a cast metal mirror?19   Teach us what we shall say to him;    we cannot draw up our case because of darkness.20   Shall it be told him that I would speak?    Did a man ever wish that he would be swallowed up? 21   “And now no one looks on the light    when it is bright in the skies,    when the wind has passed and cleared them.22   Out of the north comes golden splendor;    God is clothed with awesome majesty.23   The Almighty—we cannot find him;    he is great in power;    justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate.24   Therefore men fear him;    he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.”6 Footnotes [1] 35:9 Or the many [2] 35:15 Theodotion, Symmachus (compare Vulgate); the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [3] 36:33 Hebrew declares concerning him [4] 37:4 Hebrew them [5] 37:16 Or hoverings [6] 37:24 Hebrew in heart (ESV) Evening: Acts 14 Acts 14 (Listen) Paul and Barnabas at Iconium 14 Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.1 3 So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. 4 But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. 5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, 6 they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel. Paul and Barnabas at Lystra 8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well,2 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. 11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” 18 Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them. Paul Stoned at Lystra 19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria 24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, 26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. 27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they remained no little time with the disciples. Footnotes [1] 14:2 Or brothers and sisters [2] 14:9 Or be saved (ESV)

Biden is a proven traitor. Kevin McCarthy must impeach him or the Freedom Caucus must remove McCarthy. A Deep DiveIt's pass or fail for McCarthy AND the Freedom Caucus (we already know where McConnell stands -- with Biden's Crime Family). Either Kevin McCarthy and the House GOP vote to Impeach Biden or the Freedom Caucus votes to vacate the Speaker's Chair. Why?Massive election rigging. Obstruction of Justice.Taking bribes.Garland must be removed. Why?All the same reasons, plus lying to Congress. What does God's Word say? Psalm 52:1-7Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?2 You who practice deceit, your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor.3 You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth.[c]4 You love every harmful word, you deceitful tongue!5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living.6 The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at you, saying,7 “Here now is the man who did not make God his strongholdbut trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!”1 Corinthians 5:11 - (WNT means the Weymouth New Testament, known also as The New Testament in Modern Speech or The Modern Speech New Testament. It is a translation into "modern" English used in the nineteenth century from the base-text of The Resultant Greek Testament by Richard Francis Weymouth.)“But what I meant was that you were not to associate with any one bearing the name of "brother," if he was addicted to fornication or avarice or idol-worship or abusive language or hard-drinking or greed of gain. With such a man you ought not even to eat.”Episode 918 Links:Whistleblower Transcripts Show Deep-State Election Rigging For Biden Was Way Bigger Than A LaptopAG Garland promised the American people in public testimony the prosecutor handling Hunter Biden's case, U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss, could bring charges against Hunter Biden outside of Delaware.WaysandMeansGOP just voted to release 14 hours of transcribed interviews with 2 IRS whistleblowers. Their story of how the federal government handled an investigation into a “high-profile individual” is stunning. READ:Remember where this all started who who ran the op: Explosive New FBI Notes Confirm Obama Directed Anti-Flynn Operation, By: Sean Davis And Mollie Hemingway, June 24, 2020White House National Security Council Coordinator WALKS OUT after being asked about Hunter Biden's WhatsApp messages with China implicating President BidenIRS investigators wanted to search a Virginia storage unit controlled by Hunter Biden, where he stored files & documents. DOJ prosecutors went and tipped off Hunter's lawyers.Statement from IRS Agent Gary Shapley's legal team: "In an October 7, 2022, meeting at the Delaware U.S. Attorney's Office, U.S. Attorney David Weiss told six witnesses he did not have authority to charge in other districts and had thus requested special counsel status. Those six witnesses include Baltimore FBI Special Agent in Charge Tom Sobocinski and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ryeshia Holley, IRS Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Shapley and Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon, who also independently and contemporaneously corroborated Mr. Shapley's account in an email, now public as Exhibit 10, following p. 148 of his testimony transcript. Mr. Shapley would have no insight into why Mr. Weiss would make these statements at the October 7, 2022 meeting if they were false. That Mr. Weiss made these statements is easily corroborated, and it is up to him and the Justice Department to reconcile the evidence of his October 7, 2022 statements with contrary statements by Mr. Weiss and the Attorney General to Congress."Hunter's Attorney: “Hunter Biden attorney responds to IRS agent testimony - and refers to 2017 message suggesting Joe Biden proximity to China deal: "Any verifiable words or actions of my client, in the midst of a horrible addiction, are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family"Here is 3 minutes and 35 seconds of Karine Jean-Pierre refusing to answer any questions about Hunter Biden. "As it relates to anything related to Hunter Biden, I am just not going to respond to it from here."Garland: "Some have chosen to attack the integrity of the Justice Department by claiming that we do not treat cases alike. This constitutes an attack on an institution that is essential to American democracy... Nothing could be further from the truth."“Perspective on the Hunter Biden deal: I've reviewed data on 189,000 firearm possession cases by the DOJ. Not a single diversion. In fact, among all cases prosecuted by the DOJ less than 1% were resolved by a diversion.” - Brett L. Tolman, Executive Director of Right On Crime, Former US Attorney4Patriots https://4patriots.com Protect your family with Food kits, solar generators and more at 4Patriots. Use code TODD for 10% off your first purchase. Alan's Soaps https://alanssoaps.com/TODD Use coupon code ‘TODD' to save an additional 10% off the bundle price. BiOptimizers https://magbreakthrough.com/todd Use promo code TODD for 10% off your order. Bonefrog https://bonefrog.us Enter promo code TODD at checkout to receive 10% off your subscription. Bulwark Capital http://KnowYourRiskRadio.com Find out how Bulwark Capital Actively Manages risk. Call 866-779-RISK or visit KnowYourRiskRadio.com Patriot Mobile https://patriotmobile.com/herman Get free activation today with offer code HERMAN. Visit or call 878-PATRIOT. RuffGreens https://ruffgreens.com/todd Get your FREE Jumpstart Trial Bag of Ruff Greens, simply cover shipping. Visit or call 877-MYDOG-64. SOTA Weight Loss https://sotaweightloss.com SOTA Weight Loss is, say it with me now, STATE OF THE ART! Sound of Freedom https://angel.com/freedom Join the two million and see Sound of Freedom in theaters July 4th. GreenHaven Interactive https://greenhaveninteractive.com Digital Marketing including search engine optimization and website design.

With family: Deuteronomy 18; Psalm 105 Deuteronomy 18 (Listen) Provision for Priests and Levites 18 “The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the LORD's food offerings1 as their2 inheritance. 2 They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as he promised them. 3 And this shall be the priests' due from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether an ox or a sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. 4 The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. 5 For the LORD your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for all time. 6 “And if a Levite comes from any of your towns out of all Israel, where he lives—and he may come when he desires3—to the place that the LORD will choose, 7 and ministers in the name of the LORD his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand to minister there before the LORD, 8 then he may have equal portions to eat, besides what he receives from the sale of his patrimony.4 Abominable Practices 9 “When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering,5 anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, 14 for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this. A New Prophet like Moses 15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—16 just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.' 17 And the LORD said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or6 who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.' 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?'—22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him. Footnotes [1] 18:1 Or the offerings by fire to the Lord [2] 18:1 Hebrew his [3] 18:6 Or lives—if he comes enthusiastically [4] 18:8 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [5] 18:10 Hebrew makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire [6] 18:20 Or and (ESV) Psalm 105 (Listen) Tell of All His Wondrous Works 105   Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;    make known his deeds among the peoples!2   Sing to him, sing praises to him;    tell of all his wondrous works!3   Glory in his holy name;    let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!4   Seek the LORD and his strength;    seek his presence continually!5   Remember the wondrous works that he has done,    his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,6   O offspring of Abraham, his servant,    children of Jacob, his chosen ones! 7   He is the LORD our God;    his judgments are in all the earth.8   He remembers his covenant forever,    the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,9   the covenant that he made with Abraham,    his sworn promise to Isaac,10   which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,    to Israel as an everlasting covenant,11   saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan    as your portion for an inheritance.” 12   When they were few in number,    of little account, and sojourners in it,13   wandering from nation to nation,    from one kingdom to another people,14   he allowed no one to oppress them;    he rebuked kings on their account,15   saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,    do my prophets no harm!” 16   When he summoned a famine on the land    and broke all supply1 of bread,17   he had sent a man ahead of them,    Joseph, who was sold as a slave.18   His feet were hurt with fetters;    his neck was put in a collar of iron;19   until what he had said came to pass,    the word of the LORD tested him.20   The king sent and released him;    the ruler of the peoples set him free;21   he made him lord of his house    and ruler of all his possessions,22   to bind2 his princes at his pleasure    and to teach his elders wisdom. 23   Then Israel came to Egypt;    Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.24   And the LORD made his people very fruitful    and made them stronger than their foes.25   He turned their hearts to hate his people,    to deal craftily with his servants. 26   He sent Moses, his servant,    and Aaron, whom he had chosen.27   They performed his signs among them    and miracles in the land of Ham.28   He sent darkness, and made the land dark;    they did not rebel3 against his words.29   He turned their waters into blood    and caused their fish to die.30   Their land swarmed with frogs,    even in the chambers of their kings.31   He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,    and gnats throughout their country.32   He gave them hail for rain,    and fiery lightning bolts through their land.33   He struck down their vines and fig trees,    and shattered the trees of their country.34   He spoke, and the locusts came,    young locusts without number,35   which devoured all the vegetation in their land    and ate up the fruit of their ground.36   He struck down all the firstborn in their land,    the firstfruits of all their strength. 37   Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,    and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.38   Egypt was glad when they departed,    for dread of them had fallen upon it. 39   He spread a cloud for a covering,    and fire to give light by night.40   They asked, and he brought quail,    and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.41   He opened the rock, and water gushed out;    it flowed through the desert like a river.42   For he remembered his holy promise,    and Abraham, his servant. 43   So he brought his people out with joy,    his chosen ones with singing.44   And he gave them the lands of the nations,    and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,45   that they might keep his statutes    and observe his laws.  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 105:16 Hebrew staff [2] 105:22 Septuagint, Syriac, Jerome instruct [3] 105:28 Septuagint, Syriac omit not (ESV) In private: Isaiah 45; Revelation 15 Isaiah 45 (Listen) Cyrus, God's Instrument 45   Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus,    whose right hand I have grasped,  to subdue nations before him    and to loose the belts of kings,  to open doors before him    that gates may not be closed:2   “I will go before you    and level the exalted places,1  I will break in pieces the doors of bronze    and cut through the bars of iron,3   I will give you the treasures of darkness    and the hoards in secret places,  that you may know that it is I, the LORD,    the God of Israel, who call you by your name.4   For the sake of my servant Jacob,    and Israel my chosen,  I call you by your name,    I name you, though you do not know me.5   I am the LORD, and there is no other,    besides me there is no God;    I equip you, though you do not know me,6   that people may know, from the rising of the sun    and from the west, that there is none besides me;    I am the LORD, and there is no other.7   I form light and create darkness;    I make well-being and create calamity;    I am the LORD, who does all these things. 8   “Shower, O heavens, from above,    and let the clouds rain down righteousness;  let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;    let the earth cause them both to sprout;    I the LORD have created it. 9   “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,    a pot among earthen pots!  Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?'    or ‘Your work has no handles'?10   Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?'    or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?'” 11   Thus says the LORD,    the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:  “Ask me of things to come;    will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?212   I made the earth    and created man on it;  it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,    and I commanded all their host.13   I have stirred him up in righteousness,    and I will make all his ways level;  he shall build my city    and set my exiles free,  not for price or reward,”    says the LORD of hosts. The Lord, the Only Savior 14   Thus says the LORD:  “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,    and the Sabeans, men of stature,  shall come over to you and be yours;    they shall follow you;    they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.  They will plead with you, saying:    ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,    no god besides him.'” 15   Truly, you are a God who hides himself,    O God of Israel, the Savior.16   All of them are put to shame and confounded;    the makers of idols go in confusion together.17   But Israel is saved by the LORD    with everlasting salvation;  you shall not be put to shame or confounded    to all eternity. 18   For thus says the LORD,  who created the heavens    (he is God!),  who formed the earth and made it    (he established it;  he did not create it empty,    he formed it to be inhabited!):  “I am the LORD, and there is no other.19   I did not speak in secret,    in a land of darkness;  I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,    ‘Seek me in vain.'3  I the LORD speak the truth;    I declare what is right. 20   “Assemble yourselves and come;    draw near together,    you survivors of the nations!  They have no knowledge    who carry about their wooden idols,  and keep on praying to a god    that cannot save.21   Declare and present your case;    let them take counsel together!  Who told this long ago?    Who declared it of old?  Was it not I, the LORD?    And there is no other god besides me,  a righteous God and a Savior;    there is none besides me. 22   “Turn to me and be saved,    all the ends of the earth!    For I am God, and there is no other.23   By myself I have sworn;    from my mouth has gone out in righteousness    a word that shall not return:  ‘To me every knee shall bow,    every tongue shall swear allegiance.'4 24   “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me,    are righteousness and strength;  to him shall come and be ashamed    all who were incensed against him.25   In the LORD all the offspring of Israel    shall be justified and shall glory.” Footnotes [1] 45:2 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint level the mountains [2] 45:11 A slight emendation yields will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands? [3] 45:19 Hebrew in emptiness [4] 45:23 Septuagint every tongue shall confess to God (ESV) Revelation 15 (Listen) The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues 15 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. 2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,   “Great and amazing are your deeds,