Podcasts about your father

Read OnlineJesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:46–49And with that, the earthly mission of Jesus was completed and He ascended into Heaven. Or was it? Was His mission completed? Yes, but only in the sense that our Lord's work of destroying death and offering new life was accomplished by His life, death and resurrection. Human nature was now invited to share in a new life of grace.Prayerfully imagine standing on the mountain of the Ascension with our Lord. As you gaze upon Him, imagine that you were also present with Him throughout His public ministry. Imagine witnessing His many miracles, the way that He converted the hardest of hearts, the authority with which He spoke, His arrest, torture, death and then His Resurrection. Imagine seeing His hands and feet, once pierced, now radiating glory from those wounds. As you see our Lord in this way, imagine Him looking at you with love and saying to you that He has chosen to send you forth to the world to be a witness to Him and to all that you have seen and encountered. You are to go forth sharing the Good News of His life, death and resurrection with all whom you come in contact with. First, our Lord has, indeed, shared His entire life with you. By reading the Gospels, you become a firsthand witness to all that Jesus did and accomplished. His Word is alive, and it reveals His very Person to you, just as it did to His first followers. Second, Jesus does call you to go forth and to share this living Gospel with the world. Therefore, it is important to ponder how you can do such a thing. How can you give witness to the Resurrection of Christ? How can you change lives? How can you continue the mission of Jesus Himself?The promise given by our Lord to the disciples on the mountain of the Ascension is also a promise given to you. He is promising to send the Holy Spirit upon you so as to clothe you “with power from on high.” Only by receiving that power and using it fully will you be able to accomplish the mission that our Lord has given to you. Therefore, will you open yourself to the Holy Spirit and commit yourself to the continuation of Christ's mission?If we were to fully understand the mission we have received from Jesus, it would fill us with a holy fear. But too often the realization of what God wants of us fills us with an unholy fear instead. We think about evangelizing others, sharing our faith, witnessing to the truth by our actions, loving our enemies and living for the Gospel alone, and it can appear overwhelming. If that is the case with you, then know that this form of unholy fear can be dispelled so that the gift of holy fear can take its place. Holy fear is a gift of the Holy Spirit that inspires us to sense the awesomeness of God and the mission we are given by encountering it firsthand. It motivates us, encourages us and leaves us with wonder and awe. From there, this and every other gift of the Holy Spirit enables us to fulfill the unending mission of Christ. Reflect, today, upon the particular mission that God has given to you. Prayerfully look at Jesus as He stands on the mountain of the Ascension and looks at you. As He does, let Him reveal to you not only His very Person but also your particular sharing in His ongoing mission of sharing the Good News to the ends of the earth. Receive that mission with courage, joy and holy fear. Reverence it, savor it, ponder it and accept it. Commit yourself to this glorious sharing in the life of Christ by committing yourself to become a witness to Christ until the end of your life on earth. My ascended Lord, as You entered body and soul into the full and glorious presence of Your Father, You handed on to your disciples the duty of completing Your mission on earth. I hear Your call in my life, dear Lord, and commit myself to the glorious task of continuing that mission on earth. Please use me as You will and fill me with power from on high so that I may help share Your saving Word to the ends of the earth. Jesus, I trust in You.  Window: workshop of Franz Borgias Mayer (1848–1926); Photo: Andreas Praefcke, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsSource of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Read OnlineJesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:46–49And with that, the earthly mission of Jesus was completed and He ascended into Heaven. Or was it? Was His mission completed? Yes, but only in the sense that our Lord's work of destroying death and offering new life was accomplished by His life, death and resurrection. Human nature was now invited to share in a new life of grace.Prayerfully imagine standing on the mountain of the Ascension with our Lord. As you gaze upon Him, imagine that you were also present with Him throughout His public ministry. Imagine witnessing His many miracles, the way that He converted the hardest of hearts, the authority with which He spoke, His arrest, torture, death and then His Resurrection. Imagine seeing His hands and feet, once pierced, now radiating glory from those wounds. As you see our Lord in this way, imagine Him looking at you with love and saying to you that He has chosen to send you forth to the world to be a witness to Him and to all that you have seen and encountered. You are to go forth sharing the Good News of His life, death and resurrection with all whom you come in contact with.First, our Lord has, indeed, shared His entire life with you. By reading the Gospels, you become a firsthand witness to all that Jesus did and accomplished. His Word is alive, and it reveals His very Person to you, just as it did to His first followers. Second, Jesus does call you to go forth and to share this living Gospel with the world. Therefore, it is important to ponder how you can do such a thing. How can you give witness to the Resurrection of Christ? How can you change lives? How can you continue the mission of Jesus Himself?The promise given by our Lord to the disciples on the mountain of the Ascension is also a promise given to you. He is promising to send the Holy Spirit upon you so as to clothe you “with power from on high.” Only by receiving that power and using it fully will you be able to accomplish the mission that our Lord has given to you. Therefore, will you open yourself to the Holy Spirit and commit yourself to the continuation of Christ's mission?If we were to fully understand the mission we have received from Jesus, it would fill us with a holy fear. But too often the realization of what God wants of us fills us with an unholy fear instead. We think about evangelizing others, sharing our faith, witnessing to the truth by our actions, loving our enemies and living for the Gospel alone, and it can appear overwhelming. If that is the case with you, then know that this form of unholy fear can be dispelled so that the gift of holy fear can take its place. Holy fear is a gift of the Holy Spirit that inspires us to sense the awesomeness of God and the mission we are given by encountering it firsthand. It motivates us, encourages us and leaves us with wonder and awe. From there, this and every other gift of the Holy Spirit enables us to fulfill the unending mission of Christ.Reflect, today, upon the particular mission that God has given to you. Prayerfully look at Jesus as He stands on the mountain of the Ascension and looks at you. As He does, let Him reveal to you not only His very Person but also your particular sharing in His ongoing mission of sharing the Good News to the ends of the earth. Receive that mission with courage, joy and holy fear. Reverence it, savor it, ponder it and accept it. Commit yourself to this glorious sharing in the life of Christ by committing yourself to become a witness to Christ until the end of your life on earth. My ascended Lord, as You entered body and soul into the full and glorious presence of Your Father, You handed on to your disciples the duty of completing Your mission on earth. I hear Your call in my life, dear Lord, and commit myself to the glorious task of continuing that mission on earth. Please use me as You will and fill me with power from on high so that I may help share Your saving Word to the ends of the earth. Jesus, I trust in You.  Image: Paolo Veronese, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsSource of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

"Living as a Servant in the House of Your Father" | Rev. Josh Winkler | 5.25.25 by ARC of Carson City, NV

Read Online“If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love.” John 15:10When Jesus spoke the line above, He followed it by saying, “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.” These two lines, taken side by side, provide a helpful unity of Jesus' teaching regarding holy obedience to Him.First, Jesus speaks of the necessity of keeping His commandments. To some, such a statement, when taken by itself, can seem burdensome, dictatorial, oppressive and confining. But is it? The answer is found clearly as we read on.The next thing Jesus teaches is that the effect of keeping His commandments is that we “remain in His love.” He further explains that He is not asking us to do anything that He Himself was not willing to do. He was obedient to the will of the Father, keeping the commandments of the Father to perfection. Therefore, we should hear His command as a dictate flowing from His own freely lived choice to be obedient. As the Incarnate Son of God, He perfectly obeyed the Father in His human nature. The result was that He remained perfectly filled with the love of the Father. But that's not all. Joy is also experienced in a “complete” way when we imitate Jesus' perfect obedience.In light of the teaching from our Lord, how do you view holy obedience to the will of God? Take, for example, each of the Ten Commandments. Do you struggle with unwavering obedience to them? Do you experience them as oppressive and imposed limitations rather than what they truly are? When understood correctly, the Ten Commandments, and every other dictate of the will of God, are exactly what we need and, even more so, exactly what we deeply desire in life. We want interior order rather than chaos. We want integrity rather than fragility. We want joy rather than sadness. And we want unity with the love of God rather than the loss of God. The path to the life we so deeply desire is obedience to the commands of the will of God in all things. Reflect, today, upon your immediate interior reaction to holy obedience. If you do find yourself resistant in any way to this teaching of Jesus, then that is a good sign that you need this teaching more than you may know. Try to look at obedience in the light of truth. Try to see that, deep down, your soul yearns for obedience and the interior order it brings. Examine, especially, any areas of obedience you struggle with and firmly recommit yourself to unwavering obedience to each and every command of our Lord. My obedient Lord, You obeyed the will of Your Father in Heaven to perfection. Through this obedience, You not only experienced the full love and joy of the Father in Your human nature, You also set for us a perfect example and model for holiness. Help me to see the areas of my life in which I need to be more obedient, so that I, too, will share in Your holy life and that of the Father's. Jesus, I trust in You.I Come to Fulfill the Law by Lawrence OP, license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Pastor Jeremy | BFBC-Glendive | Sunday Rom 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ● The world needs to be taught to receive Jesus ● The church needs to be taught to receive the Holy Spirit Acts 13:52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. 1Cor 2:4-5 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. We will not be frozen out by formality, we will not be scared out by fanaticism. Psalm 100:1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. ● I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle Psalm 27 ● Sacrifice is an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy. CS Lewis said “Joy is the serious business of heaven” Joy is a demonstration of: ● The triumph of Christ ● Satan is defeated ● Your Father is greater than all Acts 26:2 “I think myself happy” ● He could have said: ○ “I am a lonely man” ○ “I am a broken man” ○ “I am a tired man” ● I'm standing in the place that Jesus said I would be 20 years ago, witnessing to the most important people in the Roman Empire that Jesus is Lord!! Man couldn't stop me, the devil couldn't stop me, shipwrecks can't stop me. You're better looking when you're happy...some of you should consider that. Really smart people at ORU did a study and found that chemicals and endorphins are released when you laugh...voluntarily or involuntarily. 192 times NKJV we see the word joy 127OT 65NT Joy is accompanied with: ● Singing - a bunch ● Shouting - a bunch ● Dancing - 1 Chron 15 ● Giving - 1 Chron 29 ● Celebrating - Ezra 6 ● Noise - Their joy could be heard afar off Neh 12 ● “See his face of joy” Job 33 ● Laughter - Psalm 126 ● Leaping - Luke 1 ● Rejoicing - a bunch Your demonstration can be out of: ● Appreciation ○ Psalm 150:2 Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! ● Expectation ○ Josh 6:16 And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city! ● Desperation ○ 2 Chron 20

Read OnlineWhen Judas had left them, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and God will glorify him at once.” John 13:31–32If the life we live here and now is all we will ever have, then it makes sense to believe that death is our worst enemy. But as we know, this life is but a grain of sand in the ocean in comparison to eternity. For that reason, we must see death as our passing into the glories that await. The death of a loved one is difficult for sure. And when we face our own death, there are many temptations we might experience toward fear of the unknown. But if the Son of God chose to endure death itself, then we must work to see death differently.Today's Gospel passage speaks of Jesus' coming death as His glorification. “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” Jesus spoke these words right after Judas left the Last Supper to betray Him. From an earthly perspective, it is unlikely that anyone would consider their betrayal and brutal death as the moment when God is glorified. But from a heavenly and eternal perspective, Jesus' death was the greatest glorification He could offer to the Father. This only makes sense when we put on the mind of God. As we continue to celebrate our Easter Season, we look beyond the suffering of Christ to see the fruit of His suffering. We see that death was defeated and that Jesus will now forever live in His glorified and resurrected body in Heaven. He will forever carry the marks in His hands, feet and side, and those marks will forever glorify the Father. The Resurrection of Christ changes everything, including death. For that reason, we must continually work to put on the mind of God and see our human lives as He sees them.What is it that you live for in this life? What are your goals and ambitions? If you find that you focus excessively upon immediate pleasures, material wealth, selfish objectives and passing ambitions, then it is time to ponder the lesson of Jesus' glorification. By facing His own death as an opportunity to glorify the Father, Jesus made it possible for us to do the same. And though there will always be a healthy sorrow associated with the passing of a loved one, the hope of Heaven and eternal glory must become the lens through which we see all things in this life.When you look at your life, it is essential to see the cross that God has given to you. That is because your cross is the gateway to this eternal glory. Each person's cross will be different. A cross is not simply our suffering; it's our call to live sacrificially. This is love. It's the calling we are given to lay our lives down for others. To serve others. To forgive every wrong, to love every sinner, to show mercy and compassion toward those in need. And to do all of this in response to God's perfect will. The crosses in our lives are opportunities for love in its purest form. This is how Jesus saw His Cross and this is how we must see ours.Reflect, today, upon death, but try to look at it as a calling to give of yourself sacrificially out of love. The best way to prepare yourself for a glorious death is to live in the love of God here and now. To the extent that you can do that, God will be glorified as you share in the glory given to Christ. My loving Lord, You transformed death itself into the perfect means by which You gave glory to Your Father and were glorified Yourself. Please help me to enter into Your mind so that I can see my life as You see it and to live for that eternal glory to which I am called. Jesus, I trust in You.  Image via Adobe StockSource of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Read Online“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.” John 15:16After Judas betrayed our Lord, the Apostles gathered together to pick someone to succeed him. They decided it should be someone who had been with them from the beginning. They prayed for guidance and cast lots “and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the Eleven Apostles” (Acts 1:26).Little is known about the ministry of Saint Matthias. Being chosen as one of the Twelve makes him a bishop of the early Church. Various traditions state that he preached in the territory of either modern-day Ethiopia, Turkey or Georgia—perhaps all of these territories. He is thought to have been killed for his faith, either by stoning or by beheading or both, which is why he is today honored as a martyr.As we honor Saint Matthias, we honor more than just a man who became an Apostle and preached the Gospel with His life, we also honor the divine plan by which God has chosen to use weak and humble instruments to further His Kingdom. The Gospel passage above certainly applies to Saint Matthias, as well as to all of us to one extent or another. It was God who “chose” Saint Matthias, as well as each and every one of us, for the purpose of going forth to “bear fruit that will remain.” But this form of good fruit, the fruit that has eternal consequences, can only be produced when we ask for it from the Father in the name of His Son Jesus.Asking the Father to produce good fruit through us in the name of Jesus His Son does not mean that we get to choose what we ask of the Father. Rather, asking “in Jesus' name” must be understood to mean that we ask the Father only what the Son has asked. We choose to share in the one eternal prayer of the Son that the will of the Father be fulfilled. And in praying this way, we commit ourselves to unity with His holy will.Sometimes we can all find ourselves asking God for this favor or that. We can place before Him our preference and our will. But if we want to be used by God, to become an instrument of His grace so as to bear an abundance of good fruit, then we must humbly set aside our own will and allow God to be the one Who chooses our mission and appoints us to His holy task. Detachment from our own will and humble submission to the will of God is the only way to bring forth God's Kingdom.Reflect, today, upon God's choice to call you to share in His divine mission. How He calls is up to God, but you can be certain that He does call you and invites you to share in His mission. Be open to any way that God appoints you to bear good fruit and humbly seek to conform your will to the Father's plan as you pray in Jesus' holy name.Lord Jesus, You have perfectly fulfilled the will of the Father in all things, and You have chosen me and appointed me to share in Your divine mission. Help me to open my mind and will to all that You call me to do, so that I, too, may be an instrument of the Kingdom of Your Father in Heaven. I make this prayer in Your most holy name. Jesus, I trust in You.  Image: Robert van den Hoecke, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsSource of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Sermon Summary: Genesis 49 Andy's sermon focused on Genesis 49, the chapter where Jacob, nearing the end of his life at 147 years old, blesses his sons and prophesies about the future of their tribes. The sermon explored the themes of God's grace in using flawed individuals, the importance of looking to God for deliverance, and the significance of waiting patiently for God's timing. Andy began by reflecting on how words spoken to us, especially in our youth, can profoundly shape our lives. He connected this to the Genesis passage, where Jacob's words to his sons would define their destinies. He noted that while some blessings were influenced by past actions (Reuben, Simeon, and Levi), others, like Judah, contained prophetic statements about the coming Messiah. The sermon highlighted the contrast between the initial blessings, which were shaped by past negative actions, and the later ones, which contained prophetic hope. Andy pointed out the prophetic statement about Judah: "The scepter will not depart from Judah nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his." He explained that this refers to Jesus and the future day when all nations will bow down to Him. He also noted the extensive blessings heaped upon Joseph, pondering if this indicated continued favoritism or recognition of Joseph's role in saving God's people. A central theme of the sermon emerged from Genesis 49:18: "I look for your deliverance, O Lord." Andy described this as a pivotal moment in the chapter, a prayer for times of desperation. He likened it to the simple, heartfelt prayer, "Oh God, oh God, oh God, help," emphasizing that such prayers are valid and necessary, especially when facing challenges and uncertainties. He stressed that Jacob, even while giving these grand pronouncements, recognized the future challenges and weaknesses of his descendants, and the need for God's intervention. Andy then elaborated on four key aspects of this phrase: A Prayer for Times of Desperation: Andy emphasized that this prayer is relevant to our current times. He encouraged the congregation to cry out to God for help, whether for personal struggles, the future of the church, or the well-being of their children and grandchildren. He reiterated that Christians are not "goody-goodies" but flawed individuals whom God uses. He stressed that the good news of Jesus is that God loves to use people who are "messed up" and "screw up". He stated that God has come to us, taking the initiative through Jesus' death and resurrection, and that our response is to acknowledge and rely on Him. A Foundation: Andy described this phrase as a bedrock statement that should undergird everything we do. He drew a parallel to Jesus' parable of the wise man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24-27), emphasizing the importance of putting God's words into practice. He urged the congregation to make "I look for your deliverance, O Lord" a central part of their lives, a constant reminder of their dependence on God, regardless of whether things are going well or poorly. He asked the congregation to consider what their driving force in life is, and to place this phrase at the center of their lives. Looking and Waiting: Andy acknowledged the difficulty of waiting, contrasting it with the instant gratification promoted by modern society. He reminded the congregation that God's timing is different from ours, referencing the story of Abraham and the long wait for his descendants. He challenged them to consider investing in things they might not see come to fruition in their lifetime, echoing Jacob's prophetic words about the Messiah, which he would not witness. He quoted several Psalms and a passage from Romans about waiting patiently for the Lord: Psalm 37:7 ("Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him"), Psalm 40:1 ("I waited patiently for the Lord"), and Romans 8:25 ("But if we hope for what we don't have, we wait for it patiently."). He warned against the pitfalls of trying to force things to happen or becoming discouraged and abandoning faith. He used the analogy of police horse training, where the horse is trained to stay focused and not be distracted, to illustrate the importance of building practices into our lives that keep us focused on God. He referenced Hebrews 12:2 ("Fix your eyes on Jesus"). All Points to Jesus: Andy concluded by emphasizing that Jesus is the ultimate source of deliverance and salvation. He reiterated that humanity is cut off from God due to sin, but Jesus came to pay the price and reconcile us to God. He stressed that Jesus delivers us not only from the consequences of our rebellion but also from the pain, hurt, trauma, and negative reactions that result from it. He called on those exploring Christianity to recognize Jesus' central role in salvation. In his closing prayer, Andy led the congregation in a time of reflection and confession. He invited them to consider areas in their lives where they needed God's deliverance, including healing, the effects of negative words, destructive behaviors, a lack of focus on God, and a desire for immediate results. He also prayed for those considering making a first-time commitment to Jesus. He concluded by asking God to "come and have your way" in their lives. Bible References: Genesis 49 Hebrews 11 Matthew 7:24-27 Psalm 37:7 Psalm 40:1 Romans 8:25 Hebrews 12:2 Transcript Freedom, freedom. Good morning everybody. Good morning. Good morning guys, 146. If you've got a Bible, if you want to turn to me to Genesis chapter 49, we've almost made it. Yay! 18 months now of working through Genesis and we've almost made it. I was chatting to Sheila on Thursday, Sheila Wingrove. So if you don't know, Sheila Wingrove has produced this amazing display in the foyer, right? I know we all rush into church because we want to be here, so we rush past it. But please take your time to study that and be amazed. It's a fantastic piece of work and we need to figure out how we keep it for posterity because it's such a beautiful thing. She was chatting to me on Thursday saying she's got no room left, so I'm not allowed to say anything this morning. Because there's no space to put anything. Good gospel here. But amazing, you know. So just two weeks left and then we're all itching to see how we're going to do services that only last an hour and a half. Two on a Sunday. I don't know how we're going to do that, but we'll see. Easy. Easy. So Genesis 49, I don't know about you, can you remember stuff that perhaps your mum or your dad said to you when you were younger? Anybody remember things they used to say? Good things? No hands. Bad things? A few hands. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We remember, don't we? I can remember. Is this me? Do I need to stand still? That would be good. I'll try and stand still. I can remember mum used to say, you know, when I was a lot younger, wait till your father gets home. Anybody have that? We're a generation, aren't we? My dad always used to say when I'd done something well, he'd always say, nine out of ten, because there's always room for improvement. And things like that. But perhaps a teacher, you know, you remember what your teachers used to say to you, you know, must try harder. Could do better. And things like that. And those words can kind of stick, can't they? Yeah, sorry about that. So those words stick with us, don't they? And they kind of can shape our lives. But, you know, most of us have had things spoken to us that did that type of thing. In fact, we had that fantastic Good Friday service that those guys did standing up here. And they talked about some of those things that had affected their lives. And they talked about, remember, they flipped those cards over and they talked about how Jesus was dealing with those things. In exactly the same way we've heard Evie describe the same thing this morning. In exactly the same way I responded to some of the stuff that my parents had said. You know, we don't want to be men and women who let those things restrict what God has in store for you and for me. And so here we are, we're reaching the end of Jacob's life. And as we've seen throughout Genesis, it's a significant moment when someone dies and they pass on this blessing to their children. We've seen it from Abraham to Isaac, Isaac to Jacob and Esau, remember all of that. And now here we are with Jacob himself doing it. And Cornelius taught us last week how he did it to his grandchildren first, Joseph's kids. And then we come to this chapter and he does it to the rest of his sons. So I'm just going to read it, if that's okay. I might read quite quickly because it is quite long. But I think it's good to read the Word of God at times. So Genesis 49. Then Jacob called for his sons and said, gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. Imagine your dad saying that to you. That would be an amazing moment. Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob, listen to your father Israel. Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength. Excelling in honor, excelling in power, turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel. For you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it. Simeon and Levi are brothers, their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly. For they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Cursed be their anger so fierce and their fury so cruel. I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel. Wow. Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons will bow down to you. You are a lion's cub, O Judah. You return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness. Who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine and his teeth whiter than milk. I'm not quite sure what that means. Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships. His border will extend towards Sidon. Issachar is a royal bone donkey lying down between two saddlebags. When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor. Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path. It bites the horse's heels so its riders tumble backwards and look for your deliverance, oh Lord. Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. Asher's food will be rich, he will provide delicacies fit for a king. Naftali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness, archers attacked him. They shot at him with hostility, but his bow remained steady. His strong arms stayed limber because of the hand of the mighty one of Jacob, because of the shepherd, the rock of Israel, because of your Father's God who helps you, because of the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and the womb. Your Father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-hold hills. Let all of these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning, he devours the prey. In the evening, he divides the plunder. All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him. Then he gave them these instructions. I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave of the field of Ephron the Hittite, the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite along with the field. There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. The field and the cave in it were brought from the Hittites. When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. That is the way to go. That's what I want to do. Definitely. Jacob at this point is 147 years old, and as we've seen over the last weeks and months, what a life. You know, struggling at birth with his brother, grasping his ankle as they're born, wheedling Esau out of his birthright and deceiving his dad to obtain the blessing, having to flee the family home, having to work for his uncle for 14 years so he could marry the woman of his dreams, being tricked into marrying a different woman in the meantime, and all that kind of stuff, and then his uncle deceiving him back as well and having to flee his uncle because of what happened, the meeting with Esau to try and patch things up and then never seeing Esau again, and then outliving his wives. This really bad family example we saw of having favourites amongst his kids, not a good idea, and thinking Joseph was then dead all of these years to finally be deceived by his own sons, and then having to leave the land of God's promise and come to Egypt. What a life. What a life. But at the same time, what we have also seen is God at work in this man's life, and God in his grace, choosing to fulfil his own plans and purposes through the life of Jacob. And that is a weird one for us, isn't it? Because what it says is that God is about using people that are messed up, that screw up. The Bible calls it sin. We might have other language. But he loves to take those people and use them for his glory and for his purposes. And that's such a repeat theme through this whole book, and I know I said it probably the last five times I've spoken, but it is such an important theme that we grasp that because we have to help people understand that people who are Christians are not goody-goodies. They're bady-baddies, right? We are bady-baddies, right? You know, we screw up. We mess up. We don't like to talk about it, and we don't own up. But we develop masks and other approaches to hide that. But we are screwed up, and we're shafted, if we're brutally honest. And the reality is God has come, and he loves to use people that are exactly like that. And that's the good news of Jesus. So it's so important that we grasp that. And so, yeah, here we are at the end of Jacob's life. He's speaking about the future and about defining his sons, what their families will become and what the tribes that come from those families will become. And it's interesting, and we're not going to go into all of them because time does not permit, and I'm not quite sure what I say about some of them, but it's interesting because those opening ones, that Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, their blessing is dictated by what they have done in their lives. That's how Jacob speaks to them. What they have done, the bad things that they have done in their lives, has an immediate repercussion on the so-called blessing that he gives them that's going to shape how they will be. Interesting. Then we get to Judah, and it's completely different. We begin to see in what he says about Judah the prophetic statements about a Messiah coming. We're in Genesis. We're in the beginning. And we still see, we begin to see here, there's an inkling in his eye. There's a twinkling in the distance. There is something happening that is going to happen. And we read this beautiful statement that the scepter, the government, if you like, will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler star from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. He's talking about Jesus. And the obedience of the nations will be his. There is coming a day when the obedience of the nations will belong to Jesus, and all nations will bow down to him. There is coming a day. And Jacob, right here in Genesis, he doesn't understand it, as Hebrews 11 tells us. He doesn't get it, but he's prophesying it. He's speaking it out in faith. He's certainly not going to see it in his few hours he's got left. But he's speaking out in faith because he sees that happening. And so there's this amazing prophetic statement in Judah. And then there's the one about Joseph near the end. There is so much blessing that he oodles on Joseph. He makes you think, is he still thinking that Joseph is his favorite here? Is that what's going on? Because he's really ladling on thick the blessings on Joseph. Or is it perhaps because actually Joseph is the one out of all those brothers that has rescued them and actually is part and parcel of the purposes of God to help God's people survive through this period of famine and obviously we saw through the whole story of Joseph how God used him. I don't know which it is. But it's interesting he calls him prince amongst his brothers. But what I want to do just briefly is hoe him. There's a little verse I read in the middle which kind of leaps out because it's out of context of everything else that's going on. He's giving his blessings to his people, to his kids, and he's telling them what's going to happen. And right in the middle in verse 18 we get this little phrase, I look for your deliverance, O Lord. That's a bit weird, isn't it? You think he's on a roll. He's on a train. I've got 12 sons to get through. He's 147. Can't I remember all their names? I forgot the right one with the right name. And all that sort of stuff. You think he'd be concentrating on getting all of that out. And then right in the middle, I look for your deliverance, O Lord. Or a different translation says, I wait for your salvation, O Lord. And why does he do that? It's almost like as he thinks about the future and as he thinks about the children of God and the people of God, that maybe God is showing him something about the challenges that lie ahead. And that he himself is aware of the struggles and the challenges they'll face and the hardship of God's people being true to him and not being overwhelmed by their enemies, not being led astray by other nations or other societies, or not having their faith and their trust in God diluted by what is going on around them. And he cries out in the middle, God, I look for your deliverance, Lord. Unless you do this, Lord, it isn't going to happen. Unless the Lord builds the house, it's builder's labor in vain. God, unless salvation comes from you, there's no hope, no matter what we say. And so four things quickly. Number one, this is a prayer for times of desperation. And there's no time like now for a time of desperation. Right in the middle of blessing his kids, he cries out. It reminds me many, many, many years ago of listening to John Wimber talk about when you're going to pray for someone for healing and you've not seen it before and you're not used to it and you have no idea what's going to happen and you want to pray for it and you're going to step out. We go in a room and we pray, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, help. That's all you need to do. If you're struggling with praying, I want to encourage you. You haven't got to pray great long prayers and quote loads of scripture and shout to the ceiling, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, help. It's right where it starts. And that is what is happening here. That's what Jacob's doing. He's explaining that out and it's like as he blesses his children and he thinks about their future and the future of the tribes of Israel that despite such big statements he's making over their lives, he sees something of the challenges. He sees their weaknesses. He sees the likelihood of them being influenced by society around them. He sees the frailties of their own heart. And so he cries out, God, you have got to come if this is going to work. Lord, if you are going to have a people that are yours, if your Messiah is going to come through Judah as he's just prophesied, then God, you have got to come and do this. Maybe even he's reflecting on his own life, his own awareness of mucking things up. And perhaps after all these years, he could now stand with a little bit of integrity and understand he's only where he is because of God delivering him and the salvation of God coming to him. So as you think about your future, whatever age you are this morning, as you think about your future, let's get a hold of this as a phrase to say, God, we need your deliverance. God, I need your deliverance and your salvation. As we think about the future of the church here, and yeah, we might get excited, at least for a little bit, while we do two services and a major building project and see people saved and more people getting baptized and people saved and added and more groups starting in the church and the impact on the community growing and growing and growing. We need to come back to, oh God, we need your deliverance. It is you, Lord. It is you. As we think about our children, our grandchildren, oh Lord, I look to you for your deliverance, Lord. I look to you for your salvation. It's a great prayer in times of desperation because for his kids it's not their skills, it's not their character, it's not their efforts, it's not even the prophetic word that he brings, but it is God who is the deliverer. It is God who is the bringer of salvation. And that is what is so special and unique about Christianity. And you might not be a Christian this morning, you're just exploring it and trying to understand it, and you might be chatting to some of your friends, but what does it really mean and what is it like? And you come along because you're just dipping a toe in the water. And I want to just labor the point that the uniqueness of it is that God has come to us, not the other way around. You can look at what goes on here this morning and I think our singing and the rest of it is kind of us trying to make ourselves right before God. Because it can look like that, and it does look like that, but that isn't what's going on. What has happened is Jesus has taken the initiative and he has come 2,000 years ago. He died on a cross for the sins of the world, including your sins and my sins, to put us right with God and he has taken that initiative, and three days later God has raised him from the dead. And now death is no longer the finality that it once was in our thinking because Jesus has broken that. He has taken the initiative and come to us, and what we do in a meeting like this, I hope in the morning, is we are responding to that. We are not trying to make our way to God, but we are responding to what he has done to us and for us and his love for us. So number one, it's a prayer in times of desperation. Number two, I look for your deliverance, O Lord. It's a foundation. It's like a bedrock statement that undergirds everything that we do. Jesus told that parable, didn't he, that the wise man built his house upon the rock. And he told us that not so that we could learn a little song, but he taught us that because he says, what, the wise man is what? The one who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice. Exactly. He puts them into practice. And so this statement is exactly like that. We need to figure out how do we put this into practice that we look to God for your deliverance, that we wait for your salvation. It's like a statement that needs to be brought front and center to our lives, whether we are struggling with things, whether things are going well as the church moves forward and as we make changes about what's happening, as we make greater inroads with the gospel in the life of the community here, and perhaps as we even think, dare to think, oh, this is going quite well, or whatever. It's a reminder not to get smug, not to get complacent, but to come back and say, you know what? I look for your deliverance, Lord. I wait for your salvation. And we need to bring that front and center of our lives and not let it compete with other statements and other things. You know, what is it that ultimately drives you forward and drives me forward? What makes you tick? If you could have one sentence over your life, what would it be? And whereabouts would this fit in that context? What is it that, despite everything, we need to return to time and time again? What is it we wait for? Is it our paycheck? Is it our benefits landing? Is it the next holiday? Is it the next thing? Or do we wait for your salvation, Lord? Do we look for your deliverance? You see, Jacob can prophesy amazing things, but what is it he puts right in the middle, like the pivot of which all of these things are commenting on? Things can go well. What does he return to? Some of those blessings are good things, but what does he come back to? Things can go pear-shaped. What does he come back to? We can make all the changes we want as a church, but what do we return to? We look out for your deliverance, O Lord. And we need to be men and women grappling with getting that in the front and centre of our lives. And as we think about Jordan thought and Baitmore and the edges and the surrounding area, God, we look for your deliverance. We wait for your salvation. We can try all the programmes, all the groups, whatever we want to, but unless God moves, there is nothing there. It is not going to happen. And because we are caught up with the plans and purposes of God, we've got to come back to this. Lord, it is your deliverance we are looking for. Turn your eyes towards Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow straight deep in, in the light of his glory and grace. Absolutely. Hope you knew that in 146 as well. It's so true, you know, and we need, the more we can come back to that, I think the better place we will be. The third thing about this statement is, you know, it's about looking and it's about waiting. Anybody enjoy waiting? There's no hands here. We don't do it, do we? You know, try telling a toddler to wait. We went to Yorkshire Wildlife yesterday and our granddaughter was with us and, you know, I want a biscuit now, now, now. I want a drink now, now. I want this now. You know, try telling a toddler to wait. It just doesn't work, does it? But then, actually, I'm not sure how much better it gets as we get older. Because we want the result, don't we? We don't want the waiting bit. We want the result at the end. That is what we're looking for. The whole of the advertising industry that we are all succumbing to is geared on giving you a result as fast as possible. Have this and it will change your life. Have this and it will make your life better. Instant success, instant access, et cetera, et cetera. Whole of technology, you know, on our phones, on our watches. It's all about instantaneous stuff all the time. And so the idea of waiting is kind of drifting away from life in general and the stuff that we have to wait for becomes a real pain. Well, if we get ourselves in a position where we say, waiting for your salvation of God is a real pain, then we've lost the plot along the way. Because God wants to work in our hearts and sift our hearts to cause us to become many women who learn what it is to wait for Him. Another thing Genesis teaches us is that God's time and timing is not ours. Remember when God first spoke to Abraham, however many months ago it was, and gave him the promises that your descendants will be as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Here we are, 232 years later, and his descendants are 66 that have gone to Egypt. 232 years. That should cause us to think a little bit about, we want to see God at work, we absolutely look for God's deliverance and salvation, and we want to pray and play our part in that, but maybe the great things that God is going to do are going to be after we've gone and been with Him, after we've hooked our legs onto the bed and gone to be with our fathers. Maybe that's when it's going to happen. That speaks, that's a challenge to me, because I think, what do I want to invest in and put my time in that I actually won't see? It's a challenge, isn't it? But he teaches, here's Jacob prophesying about the coming Messiah thousands of years later that he isn't going to see. Psalm 37 verse 7 says, Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret when people succeed in their ways. That's a good statement, that's a good one to put over our doorways, isn't it? Do not fret when people succeed. Psalm 40 verse 1, I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry. Well, Paul writes to the church in Rome in chapter 8 verse 25 says, But if we hope for what we don't have, we wait for it patiently. Waiting and patience is a fundamental part of following Jesus. Hope, you know, we have to get a hold of that. And the impact of the world around us on that is that we don't like doing that. And so we need to bring that front and centre. And I guess there's two pitfalls, you know, one is we try and make it happen because we don't like waiting. So we end up a bit like Abraham having Ishmael, we've done it ourselves but it wasn't the right thing. Or we get so bored waiting we forget about it and go off and do something else. I remember when I was a child, I went to what is now called Urban Saints, had a less politically correct name in those days. But we went to see the police horse training centre in Manchester, because that's where I lived at the time. And it was interesting because you imagine a group of like 11 and 12 year olds, spotty 11 and 12 year olds, and we were all given flags way bigger than this and whistles to blow, whistles to blow, big flags to wave like this. And there's two lines of kids down like that. And then this guy, policeman comes along on the horse and the horse just, we're all looking, blowing the whistles and all that. And the horse just calmly straight down because he'd been trained to do that, because they used them in riots and football crowds at the time and all that kind of stuff. And it was fascinating to see, although it's still etched in my brain. But that is what it is, it's a little bit like, we've got to build things into our lives that stop us being distracted from this call of God to wait on him patiently and to pursue him patiently. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Otherwise these distractions will come in. And finally, fourthly, this all points to, this is all about Jesus. He is the one who brings deliverance. He is the one who brings salvation. So we wait for him and he brings that deliverance. If you're not a Christian this morning, then again I want to say, we're cut off from God, that's our starting place. Our sins have cut us off from God and we ignore him and we act as if there is no God and we act as if, you know, he's certainly not going to be angry with us when we do things that are wrong and that we're under his judgment and we're only of his anger. And yet Jesus has come and paid that price for you and for me, the ultimate cost and that great exchange has taken place and what we deserve he gets and what we don't deserve we get has taken place. He's paid that price for you and for me and to unpack that. Therefore Jesus is not only the one that does that, he is the one who brings deliverance or salvation from the effects of that rebellion against God in our lives. The pain, the hurt, the trauma, the rejection, the impact of all of that on our character and our lives, he is the one. So we look to him for deliverance, for salvation. You know, as Evie beautifully explained this morning, that's what she was describing, how Jesus and the Word of God has brought about a change in our life, things he used to listen to. Actually, she's bringing the Word of God to apply to trump that because that's what it does. The love of God trumps that and we need to be men and women that are constantly coming back to that. So Jesus is the one who brings deliverance to those things but he also brings deliverance from the reaction we have of those things that have affected us, those negative things that lead us to turning in on ourselves, to shutting others out, to putting on masks, to taking addictive substances, to abuse that we do or that is done to us. And so he is the one that we look to for deliverance and for salvation this morning. And so just by way of response, as I finish, in Hebrews 11, the writer of the Hebrews says this, he says, by faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons and worshipped as he leaned on the top of the staff. And talks about how Jacob, along with all those other old patriarchs of the faith, as they're called in Hebrews 11, were looking for God's deliverance, for God's salvation. They didn't see it in their lifetime but they were looking for it and its completion is found in Jesus. I wonder if I could stand please, I'd just like to pray. I'm not sure how well I've done this but I mean, the chapter is about a blessing on 12 guys but right in the middle is this key pivot point that actually it is God we need to look to for our deliverance and for salvation. And as I think about it, I just want to be really practical here and I just want us to pray together. I thought of a few things where we need to perhaps be applying that to our own lives. One of these might be relevant for you. I just want you to be honest as we stand here before God. Maybe it's healing. Jesus commands us to pray for the sick. He doesn't command us to heal the sick. That's his business whether he does it or not. He asks us to pray for the sick. And there can be a tendency for us as God's people to wane from praying for the sick for various reasons. So maybe you're here this morning and maybe there's something physical, something mental, something emotional that you are healing for. We look to you for deliverance, Lord. This chapter is about the prophetic words that Jacob speaks over his sons that then describes how their lives and their families' lives would pan out. For some of us this morning, negative words have been spoken to us that we still carry, that still shape us and still prevent us from entering into all the goodness that God has for us. We look to your deliverance, Lord. For some of us, those words have shaped our identity. There was a food bank visit over the road from here and while I was just talking to the lady, I chatted to the girl who was about 8 or 9 years old. We were talking about school and she said, I'm no good at school because my mum says I'm stupid. Yeah, exactly. But for some of us here this morning, words like that have impacted us deeply and are keeping us away from the good things that God has in store. We look to you for your deliverance, Lord. For some of us, our reaction to those bad things that have happened in our lives is that we have ourselves embraced destructive and negative patterns of behaviour or addictions or other things that have harmed us or harmed others. We look for your deliverance, Lord. For some of us, perhaps the thing that God is highlighting is that you've stopped looking at God as the thing that needs to be front and centre. You've stopped looking at God as the thing that needs to be front and centre in your life and you've allowed other things to creep in and nudge that off centre. And this morning God is saying, hey, what about bringing me back? Bringing me back front and centre. We look for your deliverance, Lord. Maybe for the first time, maybe you've been coming along for a while and you've never made that decision to say, yeah, I want to submit to Jesus and I want to go for it with him and I want to invite him into my life. We wait for your salvation, Lord. And for some, the desire in our hearts, if we're honest, is still for immediate results, even in the church, even in our Christianity. We want the next thing, the next thing and the next thing. And today God wants to do a work in your heart. We look for your deliverance, Lord. We wait for your salvation, Lord. Father, we want to pray, Lord. We want to thank you, you treat us so gently, with such love and such care. And Father, as we stand before you this morning, you know the state of our hearts, you know the issues, you know the things that are going on, you see it all. And Lord, we stand here honestly before you and just pray, Father, come and have your way. Come and have your way in our lives, Lord. Lord, we'll do a work in our hearts as we stand here this morning. We want to say, Father, we look for your deliverance, Lord. We look to you. We don't want to look to other things. And we want to say, Father, we wait for your salvation. We don't want to try anything ourselves. But we call on you today, Lord. We call on you, Father, for your salvation in our own lives, in the lives of our families, in the lives of our children, in the lives of our grandchildren, Lord, in the lives of our neighbors, in the lives of the homes around here. Father, we call on you for your salvation. We call on you, Lord, for the lives of the people that are in the schools in this area. And Father, we pray, God, Lord, help us to keep our eyes fixed on you. And Father, we wait for you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Andy. Thank you, Andy. Thank you, Andy. Let's, I just feel in the four instances...

He silenced the critics, defied the odds, and walked through fire - Chris Eubank Jr. tells the full story of one of 2025's most unforgettable fights. Chris Eubank Jr. is a world-class professional boxer, middleweight contender, and son of the legendary former professional boxer, Chris Eubank Sr. In April 2025, he won against Connor Benn in one of the most highly anticipated fights in British boxing history.  He discusses:  Why he refused to shake Conor Benn's hand. Why the fight almost collapsed the night before. The real reason his father publicly disowned him. The pain of losing his brother, and raising his nephew as his own. 00:00 Intro 01:56 How Are You Feeling After the Fight? 06:09 Something Didn't Look Quite Right With You That Night 09:39 The Things That Were Against Me on the Night 11:47 The Night Before the Fight, My Father Finally Opened Up 20:23 How Me and My Dad Finally Made Up 28:50 What Caused the Rift Between You and Your Father? 36:57 Did Him Calling You a Disgrace Impact Your Mental Health? 41:59 Were You Thinking About Your Younger Brother During the Fight? 48:56 Rehydration Restriction 53:46 How Much Did You Get for the Fight? 1:00:23 What Was Going Through Your Head in the Final Moments 1:03:10 The Time I Spent in Hospital 1:05:55 Ads 1:06:53 Have You Got a Newfound Respect for Conor? 1:09:18 The Failed Drug Tests 1:13:50 The Egg Slap 1:15:19 The Rematch With Conor 1:21:39 Did Conor Surprise You? 1:24:16 The Walkout 1:29:18 Billy Joe Saunders 1:31:29 Who Would Your Next 3 Fights Be? 1:34:17 You Before Starting Boxing 1:40:29 Your Relationship With Frank Smith 1:43:48 If You Had One Album for the Rest of Your Life, What Would It Be? Follow Chris:  Instagram - https://rebrand.ly/iabtt7v  TikTok - https://rebrand.ly/jligckn  The 1% Diary is back - limited time only: https://bit.ly/1-Diary-Megaphone-ad-r…  The Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards (Second Edition): https://g2ul0.app.link/f31dsUttKKb  Get email updates: https://bit.ly/diary-of-a-ceo-yt  Think like a CEO - join the 100 CEOs newsletter: https://bit.ly/100-ceos-newsletter   Follow Steven: https://g2ul0.app.link/gnGqL4IsKKb  Sponsor: Vanta - https://vanta.com/steven Vivobarefoot - https://vivobarefoot.com/DOAC with code DIARY20 for 20% off 100 CEOs: Ready to think like a CEO? Gain access to the 100 CEOs newsletter here: https://bit.ly/100-ceos-megaphone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your Father knows what you need. [NIV]

LESSON 125In Quiet I Receive God's Word Today.Let this day be a day of stillness and of quiet listening. Your Father wills you hear His Word today. He calls to you from deep within your mind where He abides. Hear Him today. No peace is possible until His Word is heard around the world; until your mind, in quiet listening, accepts the message that the world must hear to usher in the quiet time of peace.This world will change through you. No other means can save it, for God's plan is simply this: The Son of God is free to save himself, given the Word of God to be his Guide, forever in his mind and at his side to lead him surely to his Father's house by his own will, forever free as God's. He is not led by force, but only love. He is not judged, but only sanctified.In stillness we will hear God's Voice today without intrusion of our petty thoughts, without our personal desires, and without all judgment of His holy Word. We will not judge ourselves today, for what we are can not be judged. We stand apart from all the judgments which the world has laid upon the Son of God. It knows him not. Today we will not listen to the world, but wait in silence for the Word of God.Hear, holy Son of God, your Father speak. His Voice would give to you His holy Word, to spread across the world the tidings of salvation and the holy time of peace. We gather at the throne of God today, the quiet place within the mind where He abides forever, in the holiness that He created and will never leave.He has not waited until you return your mind to Him to give His Word to you. He has not hid Himself from you, while you have wandered off a little while from Him. He does not cherish the illusions which you hold about yourself. He knows His Son, and wills that he remain as part of Him regardless of his dreams; regardless of his madness that his will is not his own.Today He speaks to you. His Voice awaits your silence, for His Word can not be heard until your mind is quiet for a while, and meaningless desires have been stilled. Await His Word in quiet. There is peace within you to be called upon today, to help make ready your most holy mind to hear the Voice for its Creator speak.Three times today, at times most suitable for silence, give ten minutes set apart from listening to the world, and choose instead a gentle listening to the Word of God. He speaks from nearer than your heart to you. His Voice is closer than your hand. His Love is everything you are and that He is; the same as you, and you the same as He.It is your voice to which you listen as He speaks to you. It is your Word He speaks. It is the Word of freedom and of peace, of unity of will and purpose, with no separation nor division in the single Mind of Father and of Son. In quiet listen to your Self today, and let Him tell you God has never left His Son, and you have never left your Self.Only be quiet. You will need no rule but this, to let your practicing today lift you above the thinking of the world, and free your vision from the body's eyes. Only be still and listen. You will hear the Word in which the Will of God the Son joins in his Father's Will, at one with it, with no illusions interposed between the wholly indivisible and true. As every hour passes by today, be still a moment and remind yourself you have a special purpose for this day; in quiet to receive the Word of God.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

All saints, give honor to the Lord,For all He is and does.Praise Him in times of blessedness,And in your earthly woes.Your Father is too wise to err;He's too good to do wrong.His omnipotence is strong to save;So lift to Him your song.Are you downcast? Then lift your eyes,To God upon His throne.He will sufficient grace supply,To every needy one. If by His grace you have been raised,From death to life in Christ,Then set your love on things above,And find your joy in Christ.

"Keep Appealing to Your Father"A message preached by Pastor Mike Henry at Royal View Baptist Church.Worship Guitar - 100 Beautiful Hymns - Instrumental - Peaceful Gospel Music --- Used by the permission of the artist Josh Snodgrass.

"Appeal to Your Father", pt. 1A message preached by Pastor Mike Henry at Royal View Baptist Church.Worship Guitar - 100 Beautiful Hymns - Instrumental - Peaceful Gospel Music --- Used by the permission of the artist Josh Snodgrass.

LESSON 107Truth Will Correct All Errors In My Mind.What can correct illusions but the truth? And what are errors but illusions that remain unrecognized for what they are? Where truth has entered errors disappear. They merely vanish, leaving not a trace by which to be remembered. They are gone because, without belief, they have no life. And so they disappear to nothingness, returning whence they came. From dust to dust they come and go, for only truth remains.Can you imagine what a state of mind without illusions is? How it would feel? Try to remember when there was a time, perhaps a minute, maybe even less when nothing came to interrupt your peace; when you were certain you were loved and safe. Then try to picture what it would be like to have that moment be extended to the end of time and to eternity. Then let the sense of quiet that you felt be multiplied a hundred times, and then be multiplied another hundred more.And now you have a hint, not more than just the faintest intimation of the state your mind will rest in when the truth has come. Without illusions there could be no fear, no doubt and no attack. When truth has come all pain is over, for there is no room for transitory thoughts and dead ideas to linger in your mind. Truth occupies your mind completely, liberating you from all beliefs in the ephemeral. They have no place because the truth has come, and they are nowhere. They can not be found, for truth is everywhere forever, now.When truth has come it does not stay a while, to disappear or change to something else. It does not shift and alter in its form, nor come and go and go and come again. It stays exactly as it always was, to be depended on in every need, and trusted with a perfect trust in all the seeming difficulties and the doubts that the appearances the world presents engender. They will merely blow away, when truth corrects the errors in your mind.When truth has come it harbors in its wings the gift of perfect constancy, and love which does not falter in the face of pain, but looks beyond it, steadily and sure. Here is the gift of healing, for the truth needs no defense, and therefore no attack is possible. Illusions can be brought to truth to be corrected. But the truth stands far beyond illusions, and can not be brought to them to turn them into truth.Truth does not come and go nor shift nor change, in this appearance now and then in that, evading capture and escaping grasp. It does not hide. It stands in open light, in obvious accessibility. It is impossible that anyone could seek it truly, and would not succeed. Today belongs to truth. Give truth its due, and it will give you yours. You were not meant to suffer and to die. Your Father wills these dreams be gone. Let truth correct them all.We do not ask for what we do not have. We merely ask for what belongs to us, that we may recognize it as our own. Today we practice on the happy note of certainty that has been born of truth. The shaky and unsteady footsteps of illusion are not our approach today. We are as certain of success as we are sure we live and hope and breathe and think. We do not doubt we walk with truth today, and count on it to enter into all the exercises that we do this day.Begin by asking Him Who goes with you upon this undertaking that He be in your awareness as you go with Him. You are not made of flesh and blood and bone, but were created by the selfsame Thought which gave the gift of life to Him as well. He is your Brother, and so like to you your Father knows that you are both the same. It is your Self you ask to go with you, and how could He be absent where you are?Truth will correct all errors in your mind which tell you you could be apart from Him. You speak to Him today, and make your pledge to let His function be fulfilled through you. To share His function is to share His joy. His confidence is with you, as you say:Truth will correct all errors in my mind,And I will rest in Him Who is my Self.Then let Him lead you gently to the truth, which will envelop you and give you peace so deep and tranquil that you will return to the familiar world reluctantly.And yet you will be glad to look again upon this world. For you will bring with you the promise of the changes which the truth that goes with you will carry to the world. They will increase with every gift you give of five small minutes, and the errors that surround the world will be corrected as you let them be corrected in your mind.Do not forget your function for today. Each time you tell yourself with confidence, “Truth will correct all errors in my mind,” you speak for all the world and Him Who would release the world, as He would set you free.- Jesus Christ in ACIM 

Isaiah 46:4 –“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.”My Precious Child,From the very beginning of your story, I've been speaking to you. When you took your first breath, My presence filled the room. In your moments of wonder, I whispered truth through beauty. In your deepest pain, I spoke comfort through your tears. And when all seemed quiet, I was still there—never silent, never distant.You may have thought I was absent. You may have believed My voice was too hard to hear. But beloved, I've always been speaking. In laughter. In Scripture. In the soft rustle of morning wind. Through the words of a friend, the warmth of a sunset, and the stillness before sleep—I have been near.Even now, I am speaking.Not with thunder or noise, but with a quiet whisper meant just for you. My voice doesn't shout to compete with the chaos. It invites you to draw closer, to quiet your soul, and hear the love I've been pouring out day after day.You are not forgotten. I have carried you this far, and I will carry you still. My promise doesn't grow old with time. My love doesn't waver with your years. I am the One who made you. I am the One who sustains you. I am the One who will carry you home.So walk forward with faith, My child. Tune your heart to My whisper, and you'll see—I've never stopped speaking.Always with you,Your Father, the One who speaks and stays.My Reasons To Believe is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit myr2b.substack.com/subscribe

Isaiah 46:4 –“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.”My Precious Child,From the very beginning of your story, I've been speaking to you. When you took your first breath, My presence filled the room. In your moments of wonder, I whispered truth through beauty. In your deepest pain, I spoke comfort through your tears. And when all seemed quiet, I was still there—never silent, never distant.You may have thought I was absent. You may have believed My voice was too hard to hear. But beloved, I've always been speaking. In laughter. In Scripture. In the soft rustle of morning wind. Through the words of a friend, the warmth of a sunset, and the stillness before sleep—I have been near.Even now, I am speaking.Not with thunder or noise, but with a quiet whisper meant just for you. My voice doesn't shout to compete with the chaos. It invites you to draw closer, to quiet your soul, and hear the love I've been pouring out day after day.You are not forgotten. I have carried you this far, and I will carry you still. My promise doesn't grow old with time. My love doesn't waver with your years. I am the One who made you. I am the One who sustains you. I am the One who will carry you home.So walk forward with faith, My child. Tune your heart to My whisper, and you'll see—I've never stopped speaking.Always with you,Your Father, the One who speaks and stays.My Reasons To Believe is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit myr2b.substack.com/subscribe

LESSON 99Salvation Is My Only Function Here.Salvation and forgiveness are the same. They both imply that something has gone wrong; something to be saved from, forgiven for; something amiss that needs corrective change; something apart or different from the Will of God. Thus do both terms imply a thing impossible but yet which has occurred, resulting in a state of conflict seen between what is and what could never be.Truth and illusions both are equal now, for both have happened. The impossible becomes the thing you need forgiveness for, salvation from. Salvation now becomes the borderland between the truth and the illusion. It reflects the truth because it is the means by which you can escape illusions. Yet it is not yet the truth because it undoes what was never done.How could there be a meeting place at all where earth and Heaven can be reconciled within a mind where both of them exist? The mind that sees illusions thinks them real. They have existence in that they are thoughts. And yet they are not real, because the mind that thinks these thoughts is separate from God.What joins the separated mind and thoughts with Mind and Thought which are forever one? What plan could hold the truth inviolate, yet recognize the need illusions bring, and offer means by which they are undone without attack and with no touch of pain? What but a Thought of God could be this plan, by which the never done is overlooked, and sins forgotten which were never real?The Holy Spirit holds this plan of God exactly as it was received of Him within the Mind of God and in your own. It is apart from time in that its Source is timeless. Yet it operates in time, because of your belief that time is real. Unshaken does the Holy Spirit look on what you see; on sin and pain and death, on grief and separation and on loss. Yet does He know one thing must still be true; God is still Love, and this is not His Will.This is the Thought that brings illusions to the truth, and sees them as appearances behind which is the changeless and the sure. This is the Thought that saves and that forgives, because it lays no faith in what is not created by the only Source it knows. This is the Thought whose function is to save by giving you its function as your own. Salvation is your function, with the One to Whom the plan was given. Now are you entrusted with this plan, along with Him. He has one answer to appearances; regardless of their form, their size, their depth or any attribute they seem to have:Salvation is my only function here.God still is Love, and this is not His Will.You who will yet work miracles, be sure you practice well the idea for today. Try to perceive the strength in what you say, for these are words in which your freedom lies. Your Father loves you. All the world of pain is not His Will. Forgive yourself the thought He wanted this for you. Then let the Thought with which He has replaced all your mistakes enter the darkened places of your mind that thought the thoughts that never were His Will.This part belongs to God, as does the rest. It does not think its solitary thoughts, and make them real by hiding them from Him. Let in the light, and you will look upon no obstacle to what He wills for you. Open your secrets to His kindly light, and see how bright this light still shines in you.Practice His Thought today, and let His light seek out and lighten up all darkened spots, and shine through them to join them to the rest. It is God's Will your mind be one with His. It is God's Will that He has but one Son. It is God's Will that His one Son is you. Think of these things in practicing today, and start the lesson that we learn today with this instruction in the way of truth:Salvation is my only function here.Salvation and forgiveness are the same.Then turn to Him Who shares your function here, and let Him teach you what you need to learn to lay all fear aside, and know your Self as love which has no opposite in you.Forgive all thoughts which would oppose the truth of your completion, unity and peace. You cannot lose the gifts your Father gave. You do not want to be another self. You have no function that is not of God. Forgive yourself the one you think you made.Forgiveness and salvation are the same. Forgive what you have made and you are saved.There is a special message for today which has the power to remove all forms of doubt and fear forever from your mind. If you are tempted to believe them true, remember that appearances can not withstand the truth these mighty words contain:Salvation is my only function here.God still is Love, and this is not His Will.Your only function tells you you are one. Remind yourself of this between the times you give five minutes to be shared with Him Who shares God's plan with you. Remind yourself:Salvation is my only function here.Thus do you lay forgiveness on your mind and let all fear be gently laid aside, that love may find its rightful place in you and show you that you are the Son of God.-  Jesus Christ in Acim

LESSON 99Salvation Is My Only Function Here.Salvation and forgiveness are the same. They both imply that something has gone wrong; something to be saved from, forgiven for; something amiss that needs corrective change; something apart or different from the Will of God. Thus do both terms imply a thing impossible but yet which has occurred, resulting in a state of conflict seen between what is and what could never be.Truth and illusions both are equal now, for both have happened. The impossible becomes the thing you need forgiveness for, salvation from. Salvation now becomes the borderland between the truth and the illusion. It reflects the truth because it is the means by which you can escape illusions. Yet it is not yet the truth because it undoes what was never done.How could there be a meeting place at all where earth and Heaven can be reconciled within a mind where both of them exist? The mind that sees illusions thinks them real. They have existence in that they are thoughts. And yet they are not real, because the mind that thinks these thoughts is separate from God.What joins the separated mind and thoughts with Mind and Thought which are forever one? What plan could hold the truth inviolate, yet recognize the need illusions bring, and offer means by which they are undone without attack and with no touch of pain? What but a Thought of God could be this plan, by which the never done is overlooked, and sins forgotten which were never real?The Holy Spirit holds this plan of God exactly as it was received of Him within the Mind of God and in your own. It is apart from time in that its Source is timeless. Yet it operates in time, because of your belief that time is real. Unshaken does the Holy Spirit look on what you see; on sin and pain and death, on grief and separation and on loss. Yet does He know one thing must still be true; God is still Love, and this is not His Will.This is the Thought that brings illusions to the truth, and sees them as appearances behind which is the changeless and the sure. This is the Thought that saves and that forgives, because it lays no faith in what is not created by the only Source it knows. This is the Thought whose function is to save by giving you its function as your own. Salvation is your function, with the One to Whom the plan was given. Now are you entrusted with this plan, along with Him. He has one answer to appearances; regardless of their form, their size, their depth or any attribute they seem to have:Salvation is my only function here.God still is Love, and this is not His Will.You who will yet work miracles, be sure you practice well the idea for today. Try to perceive the strength in what you say, for these are words in which your freedom lies. Your Father loves you. All the world of pain is not His Will. Forgive yourself the thought He wanted this for you. Then let the Thought with which He has replaced all your mistakes enter the darkened places of your mind that thought the thoughts that never were His Will.This part belongs to God, as does the rest. It does not think its solitary thoughts, and make them real by hiding them from Him. Let in the light, and you will look upon no obstacle to what He wills for you. Open your secrets to His kindly light, and see how bright this light still shines in you.Practice His Thought today, and let His light seek out and lighten up all darkened spots, and shine through them to join them to the rest. It is God's Will your mind be one with His. It is God's Will that He has but one Son. It is God's Will that His one Son is you. Think of these things in practicing today, and start the lesson that we learn today with this instruction in the way of truth:Salvation is my only function here.Salvation and forgiveness are the same.Then turn to Him Who shares your function here, and let Him teach you what you need to learn to lay all fear aside, and know your Self as love which has no opposite in you.Forgive all thoughts which would oppose the truth of your completion, unity and peace. You cannot lose the gifts your Father gave. You do not want to be another self. You have no function that is not of God. Forgive yourself the one you think you made.Forgiveness and salvation are the same. Forgive what you have made and you are saved.There is a special message for today which has the power to remove all forms of doubt and fear forever from your mind. If you are tempted to believe them true, remember that appearances can not withstand the truth these mighty words contain:Salvation is my only function here.God still is Love, and this is not His Will.Your only function tells you you are one. Remind yourself of this between the times you give five minutes to be shared with Him Who shares God's plan with you. Remind yourself:Salvation is my only function here.Thus do you lay forgiveness on your mind and let all fear be gently laid aside, that love may find its rightful place in you and show you that you are the Son of God.-  Jesus Christ in Acim

Read Online“Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for what he does, the Son will do also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed.” John 5:19–20The most central and most glorious mystery of our faith is that of the Most Holy Trinity. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God yet three distinct Persons. As divine “Persons,” each one is distinct; but as one God, each Person acts in perfect union with the others. In today's Gospel, Jesus clearly identifies the Father in Heaven as His Father and clearly states that He and His Father are one. For this reason, there were those who wanted to kill Jesus because He “called God his own father, making himself equal to God.”The sad reality is that the greatest and most glorious truth of God's inner life, the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, was one of the primary reasons that some chose to hate Jesus and sought His life. Clearly, it was their ignorance of this glorious truth that drove them to this hatred.We call the Holy Trinity a “mystery,” not because they cannot be known but because our knowledge of Who They are can never be fully understood. For eternity, we will enter deeper and deeper into our knowledge of the Trinity and be “amazed” on a continually deepening level.One additional aspect of the mystery of the Trinity is that each one of us is called to share in Their very life. We will forever remain distinct from God; but, as many of the early Church Fathers liked to say, we must become “divinized,” meaning, we must share in God's divine life through our union of body and soul with Christ Jesus. That union also unites us with the Father and the Spirit. This truth should also leave us “amazed,” as we read in the passage above.As we continue to read this week from the Gospel of John and continue to ponder the mysterious and profound teaching of Jesus on His relationship with the Father in Heaven, it is essential that we not simply gloss over the mysterious language Jesus uses. Rather, we must prayerfully enter the mystery and allow our penetration of this mystery to leave us truly amazed. Amazement and transforming edification is the only good response. We will never fully understand the Trinity, but we must allow the truth of our Triune God to take hold of us and enrichen us, at very least, in a way that knows how much we do not know—and that knowledge leaves us in awe.Reflect, today, upon the sacred mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. Pray that God reveals Himself more fully to your mind and more completely consume your will. Pray that you will be able to share deeply in the life of the Trinity so that you will be filled with a holy amazement and awe.Most holy and triune God, the love You share within Your very being of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is beyond my comprehension. The mystery of Your triune life is a mystery of the greatest degree. Draw me in, dear Lord, to the life You share with Your Father and the Holy Spirit. Fill me with wonder and awe as You invite me to share in Your divine life. Most Holy Trinity, I trust in You.Image: Andrei Rublev, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsSource of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Vincent, Buffy and other family matter.Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels. It is selfish to believe that your family will always love you. At some point you will be asked to earn it The main front was stabilizing. The 2nd Army was in tough shape though all three divisions were still in the fight. The 1st Army's 2nd and 9th Divisions had corked up the advances out of Cambodia. As soon as night fell, they would maneuver the majority of the 2nd Division to crush the Alliance forces north of Bangkok. The rioters would be crushed tomorrow morning. They would survive.This realization came too late to them. The rot of fear had infected the 1st Army, 1st Division and the police force commands. Of more importance, a small group of secretive individuals convinced two senior Thai officers that something had to be done before the city fell, or the Prime Minister reasserted control over the city.Those two conspirators had the same problem as the Loyalists, enemy troops and protestors in the street. Those officers had no way to contact the crucial enemy commanders, but they knew who did, the Indian Navy. Surreptitiously, they contacted the Indian Navy's Expeditionary Fleet. The fleet's Admiral quickly put them in touch with the Alliance Command Authority and within two hours, a deal was made.The Great Khan would stop the Alliance offensive if the King of Thailand made a public appeal, no strings attached. This new group of rebels and the Alliance worked out the path they needed to take to reach the King so that the Alliance forces were out of the way and no planes, or helicopter attacked their formations. They even had a TV station that would broadcast the King's speech ending the conflict. All they needed was nightfall.And that was the true story of how the counter-coup was pulled off, how the King of Thailand was able to talk to the Great Khan and how the Thai government was overthrown. In the final analysis, the Loyalist hadn't fallen before the might of the Alliance. They were done in by a tiny number of Black Lotus operative almost no one knew existed, with a small amount of assistance from JIKIT."No wonder the Seven Pillars has never been able to wipe out these guys," Addison yawned. "They are slippery as eels and thrice as lethal. I am glad they are on our side." Several sets of eyes looked at her skeptically. "I mean, I am glad we are currently working toward the same goals."Thus,"I suggest we all get some sleep," Addison declared as she stood up and stretched.Odette was comfortably asleep, so I curled her up and carried her to the elevator. I wanted to go home and forget that I had lost any semblance of a normal life. I didn't know what was worse; me doing the shit I was doing, or me understanding what I was doing. Juanita had gone down ahead of us to pull the car around to the front.Chaz, Pamela, Odette and I went down in the first wave of the exodus from the workplace. The door opened on the ground floor. I wasn't the first person to notice her. My reflexes had improved to the point I had a moment to recognize her before the people around me sprang into action.Pamela side-stepped to the right, pistol mystically appearing in her two-hand grip. Chaz, Chaz bore Odette and me to the ground. His level of dedication astonished me. He was shielding us with his body. From what, I hadn't been able to determine."Deadman switch," one of my aunts stated. "I want to talk with Cáel." The voice had a stressed tenor to it."Back outside," Pamela simmered."No.""Chaz, what is going on?" I asked him. He hadn't moved and wasn't letting me wiggle around to see."Explosive vest," he responded coolly. That's right. Chaz was shielding Odette and me with his body.That is what I found astonishing, his desire to give his life for me. His expectation that Pamela could kill the threat while he was currently occupied was understandable."We seem to be at an impasse," Pamela edged further away.She wasn't avoiding the blast radius. That was impossible in this lobby. No, if it came to firing, she was making it easier for Chaz to get a shot off since the shooter couldn't cover both angles of attack."Let me talk to him," my aunt insisted. This made no sense."Chaz, let me deal with this," I told my bodyguard."Are you sure?" he questioned."Not really. As Pamela said, she's not going to let any of us leave until she talks to me and if you kill her, she kills all of you." Chaz let me stand.Odette was just awakening to the threat. Chaz rose to stand by my side. (Sadly, Odette didn't rate him dying for her.) I prayed I didn't fuck this up."Cáel, is that really you?" the women with green eyes and red hair asked me. She sounded desperate, which would explain the suicide vest."Yeah, which one are, Mom?"{9:10 pm, Tuesday, September 2nd ~ 6 Days to go}"Yes, I'm Sibeal. Are you my son?""Do you mean   No! Grandfather Cáel hasn't supplanted my spirit with his own," I took a deep breath. "I'm not sure how I can convince you of this.""Do you miss your Father?" she queried."Yes," I murmured."Ahh Cáel, you are still my son. Thank all that is divine," she sighed."Care to deactivate the vest now?" Pamela suggested."Do you promise not to shoot me? You two, and the one sneaking up on me from behind." She meant Juanita, who had sensed the danger and exited the car."You are three kinds of crazy, so I'm not making any guarantees," Pamela answered."Pamela   Chaz, I really think she is my mother. And I assume she is here to kill Cáel O'Shea, not me," I interjected. I still wasn't leaving Chaz' side. "Please don't kill her.""No guarantees," Chaz affirmed."She's his mother," Odette chimed in. "If it was anyone else, they would be in a cloud of bodyguards, not alone.""Here is the deal, Mom. You deactivate the vest, then we will talk. Otherwise, I'm taking my security's advice and backing the fuck out of here.""Okay," she nodded. "It's a fake. I'm upset, but not enough to be suicidal. I wanted to see what you would do. Father would have sacrificed everyone else. You got tackled and you obeyed the man who was trying to save your life.""Chaz, what do you think?" Pamela asked him."We could hold her here until Virginia shows up. That would give Cáel a few minutes to reminisce before she gets dragged off to the looney bin." (That would, of course, lead to her death while in Federal custody   so that wasn't happening, period.)"I concur," Pamela agreed. She still had her gun out and aimed. She went to a one-handed grip so she could motion Juanita to come inside.I took the opportunity to walk around Chaz, though I only advanced half way."I think it is asking too much from my bodyguards to walk up to you with that vest lying at your feet," I pointed. "You know   just in case you are lying." She nodded, smiled and came forward. A hug was in the offing. I almost missed Odette coming up behind me."I'm on a timetable," Mom murmured into my shoulder. "You know why.""I am afraid I do," (my pheromones were already affecting her). "What brought this on? How long can you stay?""The kidnapping made it imperative. But this has been my first opportunity to get close enough to you to determine if my father had won, or not," she confessed."I'm not sure how long I can remain ~ maybe a day, or three. I have heard you have an upcoming ordeal you must go through for your Amazons." Odette again by way of Delilah. I decided to give Delilah the benefit of the doubt and just accept that she did what she did because she was worried about me."Oh. Mom, this is Odette Sievert, my roommate and all-around better friend than I deserve." Odette extended her hand. Mom reached past me and shook it."Nice to finally meet you in person," Mom smiled."Nice to realize you aren't as nutty as the rest of the bunch,and considering you came at Pamela and Chaz with a fake suicide vest   that is saying something," Odette grinned."My son is all I have left of Ferko (my dad)," she grew grim. "If my father stole him after killing my husband   I wouldn't know how to carry on.""Aaahh," Odette stammered through this tense family moment. "You are about to be a grandmother in a serious way," she tried to turn things around. "How does a dozen grandkids sound?"Operational security and secret information were concepts Odette was aware of. She simply refused to use either one."Really?" Mom looked from Odette to me. "How serious?""How about we get out of here before the FBI shows up," I began directing my mom out the doors."Cáel?" Chaz questioned."Hey now, I never agreed to hand my mom over to Virginia. The vest was fake. Let's not dwell on this," I urged Mom and Odette out the door."Ishara," Juanita repeatedly prayed, "why do you test me so?"Chaz and Pamela showed their faith in me and my decision-making ability by tagging along. For me, what does a son who hasn't spent any time with his mother since he was seven (because she was supposedly dead for the past fifteen years) ask first?Actually, we waited for Chaz, who had the presence of mind to ensure the vest was truly a dud and then called Virginia so she could clean up one of my messes   yet again."Thank you, Color Sergeant," Mom looked toward Chaz as the GL 550 pulled away from One Mi Ma1 Tower. Unfortunately, the look he sent her way wasn't friendly."Thanks for reminding me," I nodded to Mom. "Chaz, what in the Hell possessed you to jump on Odette and me? I appreciate it,""Me too," Odette chimed in."But please don't do that ever again. Of all the, let's just say I have too many deaths of people I like on my mind. I don't want you added to that list.""Tough.""Well, thanks for considering my request," I groaned."Chaz, three nights ago our boy learned that one of the women he knocked up is going to die and no one will intervene to save her life and they won't tell him where she is," Pamela let him know."Who do we talk to?" he asked me. By 'talk' I assumed he meant torture until they coughed up a viable location/suspect."The Goddess Ishara.""Fuck. I apologize, Cáel. That is hard news for a young man like you to take. As for my jumping on you   suck it up. It is my job to make sure you can do yours.""Juanita," Pamela called out. "Stop driving to Havenstone. Take us back to Cáel's place. He won't let the Amazons take his mother, which means I won't let them, which means Chaz won't let them. Besides, Odette could get killed in the cross-fire and too many people like her for that to be safe for any would-be assassin.""Really?" Odette perked up. Of course she wasn't worried about being killed. Odette was fascinated that people found her valuable   enough to kill anyone who killed her. She'd more fully grasp that curse later on. She was a genuinely nice person. What Pamela left unsaid was that if 'people' thought someone might kill Odette, they would 'proactively' protect her. Too many people she now hung out with were of that stripe of crazy."Pamela, would you miss me if I got killed?" Odette turned to the most dangerous person in the car. (I didn't think Mom was in her league, but then I had never seen her fight, so I was keeping an open mind.)"You bet your ass, Baby-cakes," she grinned at my super-kind sidekick."Me too," Chaz added gruffly. "Of greater importance, Addison would take umbrage. Next to Ms. Love, she's the nastiest bitch I've ever met." He meant that as a compliment."Not Lady Yum   I meant Worthington-Burke?" I inquired."She doesn't take things personally. She'd miss Odette, but not enough to move off-mission," Chaz explained."Let's not forget Buffy," Pamela snorted. "What she lacks in experience she makes up for by being totally psychotic and fanatically loyal to Wakko here. People who piss him off tend to end up as a place holder on the Obituary page.""Unless they never find the bodies," Juanita commented   from her personal experience disposing of people for me. Groan."Cáel, I am so happy I met you," Odette hugged my arm. "My life was going nowhere before you gave me your phone number. Now, I know my life is at risk and I don't care. Being with you has been more wonderful than I ever thought possible."Mom was studying me, both pleased and worried."What?" I asked."You have a lot of your grandfather in you. He did have a gift for inspiring the best out of people. You are like your father in that you care for those people   caring for both their lives and their happiness. Your father inspired that same kind of loyalty because he kept the needs of his people in the forefront of his mind.""Dad was like Grandpa?" I worried."Hell no." That was Pamela."Thank the Divine, no," Mom exhaled at the same time. "How do you know my father?""I killed him," Pamela grinned."You were the one? I'm, I don't know what to think," Mom murmured."Keep that in mind before you try to pull another stunt like you did tonight," Pamela's grin grew feral."Pamela is the best Grandmother I could ever hope for," I explained."Spiritually speaking," Odette tried to lighten the mood (she was a cracker-jack morale officer). "Otherwise it would make Cáel's having sex with her granddaughters rather, suspect.""Odette, you can say 'incestuous'," Mom gave a half-grin. "Do you know much about my family?""Your Pa created you and your sisters to be fuck-toys who also ran errands for him," Odette nodded. "They are all loonies.""Don't share that view with them," Mom cautioned. "When we last met, they had a highly under-developed sense of humor and a well-cultivated mean streak.""Gotcha," Odette giggled. "After dealing with the Slayers of Testicles numbers 1 & 2, I have learned what kind of wacky girls Cáel attracts without even trying.""I really should make sure Mr. Fiennes is okay," I reminded myself."You would do better catching up with that girl down the hall. The Korean takeout girl also asked about you", offered Odette. Yeah, the girl in 3-F baked me some cookies when Dad was murdered."How many grandchildren are we talking about?" Mom looked at me with some serious maternal affection."Who are the Slayers of Testicles?" Juanita wanted to know. My family jewels belonged to House Ishara   at least in her and her sisters' estimation."Oneida's bodyguards," Odette let slip out before she saw the warning look in my eyes."You are sleeping with the apprentice of House Arinniti?" gasped Juanita   I was hoping her questioning wasn't hurting her driving. "What about the 84 day rule?""I'd better not bring up Rhada," Odette nodded thoughtfully."I'm going to spank you," I growled at Odette."Was that aimed at me?" Juanita."Yippee, and we are going home now, too!" Odette squealed."Not you, Juanita   Odette. I want to teach her how to 'not say' whatever pops up in her head," I grumbled."You promised to punish me!" she beamed brightly. "Punish me! Punish me!""Uuuuuuu," I beat my cranium against the headrest in front of me."I thought she was the 'nice' girl," Mom chided me."She was," Pamela smirked. "Unfortunately, she's been totally corrupted by your son.""Yep," Odette agreed. "He's opened up a whole new horizon of things sexual for me.""Son, how many women are you seeing? I thought you were engaged." Mom."Uuuuuuu," I repeated."I'll take care of this," Chaz intervened calmly. "He is as loyal as he can be   within the bounds of his limited moral arsenal   to Hana Sulkanen. So he is sexually and romantically involved with Brooke Lee and Libra Chalmers, civilians he met through contacts at Havenstone. There is Anais Saint-Armour, RCMP, who departed this weekend,""She'll be back," Pamela assured Mom. "They always come back at least once.""Who has only come back just once?" Chaz laconically questioned Pamela."Good point," Pamela acceded. "They keep coming back until he changes the locks, his phone number and address." That made no sense,"I am glad you two are my friends," I groused. "I'd hate to think what you would say about me if you hated me.""You're welcome," Pamela grinned."Ms. Marla Chalmers," Chaz continued without missing a beat, "Libra's younger sibling, who your son indubitably impressed while in college; three teachers at an exclusive school, he met them while body-guarding a group of children; an assistant manager of a hotel he stayed at; six attractive, college-educated European young women,""Don't forget the Macedonian!" Pamela interjected."I have removed her from the list because she has no reliable way to hunt down our boy," he explained."Good point," Pamela nodded."They like busting your chops, don't they?" Mom smiled."As opposed to physically busting my chops   this I can live with.""You have matured nicely. Your father would be very pleased   quietly, of course.""Thank you Mom." She knew the man better than I ever would."We won't count the 189 Amazons who have staked a claim to him for the next nine days," Chaz added."What! 189? When did that happen?""The thirty huntresses and the 159 members of House Ishara," Pamela clued me in."159? When did that happen?" I gasped again. I was repeating myself   not good. I knew I had told Buffy to 'keep up the good work', but still, House Ishara wasn't even two months old yet."They are the best of the roughly 20,000 Runners in the Host and thus, all are serious bad-ass bitches," Pamela assured me. "I think Helena would like you to explore a few more heroic Runners who have since passed.""Passed?" Mom."Cáel sees dead people," Odette beamed."So does his Aunt Baibre," Mom said."Met her, came off a bit, off," I confirmed."That's Baibre. What other ones have you met, besides Deidre and Brianna?"She was asking if I had met others outside of Delilah's watchful eye."Hmm, Imogen, Kelly and Matilda.""Okay. You haven't met the bad ones yet," Mom nodded. I was stunned yet again. Not by what Mom said, but by,"The 'bad ones'?" Pamela inquired. "They come in shades worse than Kelly and Matilda?""I'm with you on that. Those two were unsettling," Chaz agreed. Holy Shit! Pamela and Chaz were agreeing that two of my aunts had them worried on a tactical level. So 'not good' for me, since I couldn't take either of my friends. Bad-bad."Fiona is the worst. She is the second youngest of my generation and by far the most lethal. She was Father's pet.""Oh joy," I sighed."Is she bulletproof?" Chaz inquired."Not quite, but she is definitely hard to kill. She has a greater share of Alal while remaining sane.""Oh, she's the sane one?" Juanita joined in."On that side of his family, sane is a relative term." Thanks, Odette."Relative to how far your cock is into them?" Pamela snorted."Hold on now," I interrupted the jocularity. "What do you mean   'your generation'   'the second youngest'   what happened to the youngest   and when you say 'worst', define 'worst'."Pamela's phone rang."Father created three generations of daughters and sons. Carrig was the 'success' on the male side of the equation."Uncle Lumpy was the 'success'? What had the other uncles been like   idiot cyclops cannibals?"He destroyed all the rest.""Please clarify," Chaz studied my mother. "Your father murdered his own children?""Yes. All but one of the 36 sons. He kept Carrig around as a reminder to not create any more sons. The first generation of daughters were all 'failures'.""You mean dead?" Odette gulped."Yes   dead now, though he viewed all of us as property, not human beings.""Consider Grandad's low opinion of humanity, that's extra tragic," I put an arm around Odette. Pamela was muffling her conversation."Of the second generation of daughters, only Aunt Faoiltiama was kept around. I always had the impression her soul wasn't entirely human. She is rather primitive and predatory. A less horrifically unbalanced Carrig   physically that is. Carrig was somewhat more erudite.""Wow, I don't know what to think of that," I mumbled."Of my generation, eleven of us were allowed to live. Kelly and Maitilda are the most physically dangerous. That was their purpose   killing things.""Trained in combat styles by Cáel's grandfather?" Chaz looked, depressed."Yes. The four of us were. Fiona was the only one I couldn't best.""I would like to spar with you when it is convenient," Chaz requested."Okay. You deserve to know how bad it can be," she nodded. "Of the rest, Una was the youngest, the most human and humane. She was Father's final failure. I was never sure why he kept her alive.""For Cáel to rescue, of course," Odette insisted. Crap. She was right. By the horrified look on my Mother's face, she knew Odette was correct as well.Alal had let Una live as a contingency card, in case I was a soft-hearted sap. In hindsight, it was obvious. The innocent damsel trapped in a madhouse, at the mercy of her fiendish kinfolk, she was a perfect weapon to make me do stupider shit than normal."Damn," Mom muttered. "Anyway, Briana is the most willful and the family's representative to the Illuminati. Deidre is the most sedate, so she handles the normal business interests that we are allowed to know about. Darcie had Alal's hunger for lost and forbidden lore. In her case, it is all-consuming. She has memorized much of Father's collection.""She is rather good at it too   or was when I last saw her. Imogen is our tactician and oversees the O'Shea's bodyguard contingent. She has Father's ability to choose the best men and women, to train them to a razor's edge and to inspire fanatic loyalty.""Sadhbba: she is Father's spy master; with the exceptionally eerie talents of subterfuge, deceit and finding the weakness in others. She and I did not get along. Fiona could do it all, except for my talent.""Which is?" Chaz took over, since Pamela was waving me over for a close, quiet chat concerning her phone call."Fiona was an updated version of me. She was slightly better at everything I could do, except for one thing. I had Father's sixth sense about things. Fiona did not, and that was the reason she hated me so much. Father stoked our internal conflicts to keep us all on edge.""Good to know," Chaz understated his concern. "Do you have any intelligence on how, when and with what your father will come after our boy?" I wasn't insulted by the 'our boy' moniker. He wasn't calling me a child. He was telling Mom that I was 'one of the boys'   on his team. I felt all warm and tingly. My dearth of long-term male friends had meant I had never really been in a fraternity   the close brotherhood of men   before."Problem for you to deal with," Pamela handed me the phone. "It is Tabitha Loire." Tabitha? Vincent's   FBI Special Agent Vincent Lorie's   drop-dead gorgeous daughter. He had taken more than one bullet in Romania. I hadn't heard from him since that morning at the hospital, before being whisked away to the US via Germany. I remained a lousy friend."Hello? Who is this?" the weary, angry voice on the other end of the connection spoke."Cáel Nyilas. Tabitha Loire, what can I do for you?""What can you tell me about my Father?""Oh God! He is not dead, is he?" I grunted. Pause."No. No, Da is okay. He was released from the hospital a week ago. I would like to talk to you about what happened to him overseas.""He won't tell you?""No. Neither will his boss, or any of his acquaintances. Mr. Nyilas, he is down in the dumps and I want to know what I can do to help out. If you are his friend, you should help."I couldn't blame her for being both bitter and exasperated. She had run full tilt into the Great Wall of National Security and been stopped cold."How about I come down and talk to you?" I offered. "What I can tell you shouldn't go out over a phone and I have been remiss in not catching up with your father sooner.""Umm, when?""I'll take the next train down tonight," I decided. "We'll arrange some vehicles at the station. What is your address?" She hesitated. After all, she had Pamela's number, not mine and I was tied into her father being shot   badly. She gave me the address, her desire to know what happened overcoming her caution when dealing with strangers. "I'll give you a call when we arrive in Alexandria.""Train?" Juanita griped. Chaz pulled out his phone and called Agent-86 for both the next train from Penn Station to Alexandria and an update to Virginia and the Homeland Security people for clearance to bring along our ironmongery. Pamela looked at me with pride. So did Mom. Whatever Juanita's opinion of me was, it was concealed by her call to someone else   probably updating Buffy on my itinerary."Vincent was the Federal Agent who was wounded at Miercurea Ciuc?" asked Mom."I need to have a talk with Delilah," Pamela glowered."I want to be in the room when you do," Chaz agreed."Juanita   Penn Station and call someone at Executive Services to pick up our car. Long term parking there is a bitch," I related.Was it? I had no idea, but Alal apparently did. I had been to Penn Station three times; and I never had a vehicle that needed a parking space. All three times, Havenstone sent a car to pick me up. That was for my preliminary and final interviews, plus handling all the paperwork after I got the job.I'd left Bolingbrook in a U-Haul truck (without much in it) a week before starting work. I had an iron-clad belief I could find a place to live within that time span. That was all the time and money I had allotted to that endeavor. My budget had been tight, or so I believed.Unlike the other four chuckleheads who joined the New Directive, I hadn't received a signing bonus. Maybe I should have asked for one. Too late for that now."You taking your mother to meet Vincent?" Odette poked me. I looked from Pamela to Odette then back again.Sneaky-ass bitches. They were introducing my widowed Mother to a really nice, mature guy who was brave, a good father, a widower and all-around stand-up guy. He had a ready-made family, an oldest daughter my age. Beyond some physical similarities, Vincent was not much like Dad. Dad was a quiet, private man.By the nature of his job as a Field Agent, Vincent had to possess superior communication skills. Physically, they were nearly the same height, but Dad was broader in the shoulders. On the other hand, Vincent had both a warrior's spirit and the skills to back it up.But why Mom? Her life was more a disaster than mine, and mine was colossally fucked up."Don't get any ideas," Pamela put out there. Was she talking to me? "Chaz and I don't like you. Your father is a rat-bastard with a mind like a snake. We have no idea if you are yet another one his plots to get at Cáel."They were still taking her with us as we went to see Vincent in Virginia. Since this was going to be a quick trip   I had to be back at Havenstone at 6 a.m.   no clothing was necessary. Chaz received a call from Agent-86 with a follow-up call as we pulled up to the station. I didn't know the nature of the second call until we went to pick up our tickets for the 10:05 Northeast Regional.Waiting there was my old buddy and now sister, Wilma Draper/Ishara. I was at a loss why. It wasn't as if I needed more firepower than Juanita, Chaz and Pamela in the confined environment of a train."Wilma?""Hello Ish   Cáel," she smiled. She was emotionally pumped."What are you doing here?""Oh... Buffy told me that I was to be here on assignment to fulfill an Isharan obligation." This would be Wilma's first mission for House Ishara, no matter how brief and danger-free it might be. She was ecstatic.Huh? I couldn't recall any obligation I owed Buffy, or Vincent. Unlike every other Amazon House, things regularly happened without the Head of House's knowledge. Face facts: I was the least prepared leader the Host had ever had. I compensated by having hyper-competent underlings   the very best of the best Runners-turned-Full-blooded Amazons."Ah," Pamela nodded, sensing my loss of understanding, "A promise to provide Vincent a bodyguard was made in your presence. Being the highest ranking member of the Host present, and failing to pass on that knowledge, it falls to your House to answer that pledge.""Wilma, you are here to be Vincent Loire's bodyguard?""Only temporarily. The current state of affairs at HQ won't allow me to take more than three days leave. Your 'First' is seeking another appropriate Isharan for the task."I had totally dropped the ball.The initiative to bring JIKIT and the Amazons together was my creation. Katrina had approved it, yet it was my status as Chief Diplomat of the Host (as I had redefined that role,) that was responsible for that group, and thus Vincent. There was also another undercurrent to providing Vincent an Amazon bodyguard. I would be sending Vincent the message that he was still a valuable member of the team. His infirmity was simply a temporary difficulty.I gave Javiera a call. I suddenly needed to know Vincent's status with the FBI. A little past Philadelphia, she called back. Vincent was on long-term leave and, barring a positive physical assessment, he would never be going back into the field. They were making him a desk jockey for the rest of his career. That would be a heavy enough blow to the man to put him in the dumps.I made my view clear. As Unpaid Honcho Assigned to Unit L &  U HAUL, I wanted Vincent on my team   JIKIT's field team. I had plenty of lethal shooters. I needed a trained investigator and a veteran lawman to keep us aware of the niceties the world's legal systems wished to live by. I finished that off with a very regal "Make it so!" Javiera, my boss, hung up on me; though I thought I caught a laugh before the connection was cut."Pamela," Chaz turned to Pamela, "I am proud to call him 'brother'.""I think he is coming along nicely, Grandson Charles," Pamela preened. Wha- huh? My family had grown yet again. Grown yet again with people who were better than me."Does that make Aya your niece?" a sleepy Odette smiled."I guess it does," he nodded."Aya will love you," Pamela smiled."I hope Caitlyn loves him too," I smirked."A man could do worse than marrying an Amazon," Chaz blithely retorted. Less I forget, the Tomorrow Clan had its own long warrior tradition."Asking it to be three thousand years long is a bit too much," Pamela agreed with what I had not spoken aloud."On the plus side," I began."He's also getting several frisky sisters-in-law," Pamela finished. Hi-Five."Super Twin Powers Activate!" we proclaimed loudly.Fuck Ishara for taking Tad fi from me. I could be just like my Father. I could bleed off my pain with humor and look at my daughter with untainted love."When I grow up, I want to be just like you," Odette yawned. Which one of us she wanted to emulate wasn't clear.{Wounded, but not forgotten}{2:00 am, Wednesday, September 3rd ~ 5 Days to go}The tickets were one-way. Katrina was having a private jet come down at 4 a.m. to fetch me. We arrived in DC at 1:30. Two bleary-eyed State Department flunkies met us with an S U V and a sedan. We took the S U V ~ we had seven people ~ while they drove the sedan back so they could try to make something of the night that duty had destroyed.They looked curious about what this was all about and were a bit disappointed that no explanation was forthcoming from our crowd. We were polite, and I thanked them for their service. Being a decent human being doesn't cost you much and can pay serious dividends.The drive to Casa de Loire took thirty minutes. Juanita informed me the small airport I would be flying out of was a twenty minute drive, so I had roughly an hour and half with Vincent and his family. When we arrived, Juanita sent Wilma to make a 'walk-around' Vincent's home so she could get the lay of the land as well as keep an eye out for voyeurs.Pamela saved another series of frowns from Juanita by being the first person to the door. Tabitha had called her after all. Tabitha, Vincent's oldest and a Georgetown University senior, clearly didn't know what to make of us, and we weren't making it any easier for her by showing up on her stoop three hours after she had called Pamela.It wasn't going to get better. For starters, Juanita (and the not visible Wilma) had a MP-7A1. Ya know  military-grade weaponry. The door opened halfway. It was Gretchen Loire, the middle daughter."Hello. May I help you?" That wasn't her being uninformed about our imminent arrival. This was the child of an FBI agent allowing a stranger at her door to identify themselves instead of giving them a name to use."I'm Pamela Pile," my mentor answered. "This is Cáel Nyilas, my grandson. The gentleman to his left is my other grandson, Color Sergeant Chaz Tomorrow of the British military. To the left is Juanita Garza, my younger grandson's bodyguard   the one without a gun in his hand. The young lady in back is Odette Sievert, another one of your father's co-workers. The woman beside her is Sibeal Nyilas, Cáel's mother. Don't trust her   long story. A seventh member of our group is checking out your backyard. Her name is Wilma Draper.""You are heavily armed. Is my Da in trouble?""I want to talk to your father, if that is okay with you. I'll let Cáel answer your questions. He's our titular boss."'Thanks Pamela', I groaned inwardly.She was cute, exhausted and emotionally-vulnerable. Eager for answers and for someone to make sense of a world where her anchor   her father   had been nearly killed (not that his wounds had really been life-threatening). I hadn't had sex in over a day and that had only been a tension-breaker quickie with Odette.As we entered, it was obvious that Gretchen and her younger sister, Mariyah, had camped out in the front living room, catching some 'z's' on a recliner and a sofa with light blankets for covers. Mariyah was on the sofa, sitting up on her elbows and struggling to wake up.As Chaz shut the front door, Tabitha came down the stairs."Mr. Nyilas," she greeted me. Well, I was an infamous celebrity. I even had two Facebook pages (Nyilas Nailed Me! and Az  j Magyarorsz g kir lya (The New King of Hungary)) as well as four Instagram accounts devoted to me."Ms. Loire," I met her halfway and shook her hand."Call me Tabitha.""Call me Cabbage-Head," I grinned. That caught her off guard."Oh, kay, not what I expected." (I get that a lot) "We need to talk," she failed to stifle a grin."If you sleep with any of these girls, I will shoot you," Pamela warned me in Hittite."Excuse me?" Tabitha looked her way."Don't worry about it, Tabitha," Pamela gave her a congenial look. "I simply warned the boy that if he acted inappropriately, I would scar him.""Aren't you engaged?" she turned on me."Yes. Yes I am. Hana is a wonderful woman; beautiful, smart, with a big heart and a serious nature. Sadly for her, I'm a lousy human being, untrustworthy cad and perpetually prone to making bad decisions where women are concerned. Very bad decisions.""Miss, since my associate appears to be eminently capable of mangling the English language, let me help you clarify the situation: Cáel can't say 'no' where a woman is concerned. He can't even say, 'no, please don't hurt me', or 'no, not now. I'm talking to my date'.""Hi. I'm Odette. There are four sane people in this room and I'm one of them.""Says the woman who snuck aboard a transatlantic fight and hid in a place in the galley which you couldn't get out of," Pamela snorted."I got to go to Europe for free," she defiantly perked up. "Oh, and ladies," to the Lorie girls, "your father is a wonderful and brave male. (OK, too much time around the Amazons for her.) "He saved my life in Budapest.""He was in Budapest?" Gretchen."When?" Tabitha."Why?" Mariyah."We need to talk to Vincent  

What if the reason you're struggling to obey God isn't disobedience—but misunderstanding His heart?

Today, whatever is in our hearts—bring it to God. Ask. Seek. Knock. Your Father is listening, and He delights in giving you what is good.

A Lenten Spiritual Journey with Discerning Hearts: From Ashes to Glory – Discerning Hearts Podcast Day 13: “Be Merciful as Your Father is Merciful” Scripture Reading (Jerusalem Bible): Luke 6:36-38 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be ... Read more The post Day 13: “Be Merciful as Your Father is Merciful” – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

I heard not long ago about a little boy who was trying to move this huge rock. He pulled, and he pushed, and grunted and strained, trying to move it with leverage from a board, but it was all to no avail. Finally his Dad said, "Son, have you used all your resources?" "Oh, yeah, Dad. I can't make it move! I've tried everything." And his Dad replied, "No, you haven't. You haven't asked me to help you yet." Maybe you're at a point right now. Oh, you're not a little boy, but you've got a big rock that needs to move and you desperately need your father's help. But you're going it alone doing everything you can to move it. Well actually, there's something that keeps your Father right now from lifting that load of yours. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Bitterness vs. Blessing." Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Hebrews 12:15. It starts out talking about a very sobering possibility. "See to it," the writer says, "that no one misses the grace of God." Man, there's a lot of things in your life that you could do without, but you cannot go without the grace of God. This says, "See that you don't miss God's grace." Now, he's writing to believers here. This doesn't mean you don't become a Christian. It means that as a believer, you need God's grace but for some reason you don't have it. And maybe you're in a situation now like that little boy where you've got a big rock to move and the pressure is really heavy. And, well, maybe there's a family problem, or there's this financial boulder to move, you've got medical responsibilities, whatever is crushing you right now. But God's grace is supposed to be sufficient, right? What happened? Why is this so hard? Well, maybe you're missing the grace of God. How do you do that? Well, listen to the second half of the verse: "and see to it that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." Wow! Think about what this verse is saying. Bitterness blocks the grace of God. Your Father is not going to help you lift that rock if there is bitterness in your heart. Now, you may not realize it, you may not call it that, but bitterness has taken root. You've been under all this pressure, and maybe you're angry and you're resentful toward a family member because of their part in your frustration. Maybe you've got bad feelings that have grown toward a teacher, an employer, a coworker who is making your life miserable. Maybe you're even bitter toward God because you don't understand what He's doing or why He's waiting. There's somebody in your past, and they're just running your life basically because you can't stop thinking about what they did to you and how you feel toward them. Somewhere, maybe, there's this boiling anger inside, and like a great cloud that suddenly blocks out the sun, your bitterness is blocking the grace of God just when you need it most. Ironically, you've never needed God's strength, and His closeness, and His peace more than you do now. This rock is too heavy for you, but your prayer seems hollow and you feel so alone, even at the breaking point. Maybe it's because you've got some forgiving to do, some letting go of a hurt, trusting God to meet out justice to make things right. Your Father is standing there ready to help as only He can, but you've got to release that bitterness that's making your burden so much heavier. Why carry that load too? Your Father wants to trade your bitterness for His amazing grace.

Today's Topics: 1) Gospel - Matthew 6:7-15 - Jesus said to His disciples: "In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. "This is how you are to pray: Our 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. "If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions." Bishop Sheen quote of the day 2) Is Papal authority over Liturgy absolute https://wdtprs.com/2025/03/is-papal-authority-over-liturgy-absolute/ 3) Bishops burning bridges https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/bishops-burning-bridges 4) It's time we stop singing about ourselves at Mass https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/its-time-we-stop-singing-about-ourselves-at-mass

Gospel  Matthew 6:7-15 Jesus said to his disciples: "In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. "This is how you are to pray: Our 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. "If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” Reflection Jesus has the Pharisees and scribes in mind when he says, don't babble on like pagans. In a way, they were kind of pagans. But here's what he's beautifully describing. The thing you need to pray for, the words that I will give you to pray, are absolutely essential issues that you need to embrace. First of all, you need to recognize my father in heaven. He is holy, and he's here to help us to establish the Kingdom of God, and it will be done. It'll be one earth in heaven, a new heaven, a new earth. And then he simply says, Ask God. Realize that God longs to feed you, to forgive you, and to protect you from evil. It's such a beautiful, succinct way of focusing on what the kingdom is all about. Receiving the love of a father incarnated in a human being. Longing for us to achieve the goal. Closing Prayer Father, the simplicity, the economy of words in this beautiful prayer, is so like you to make it all, in a way, simple. To know that you will take care of us. Feed us. Nurture us. Protect us. Forgive us. It's the essence of what you do for us, but most especially, what we need to do for ourselves and for others. If we live this prayer, we will live already in the kingdom. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Friends of the Rosary,Our Lord teaches us to pray with our hearts, not just words.Jesus said to his disciples (Matthew 6:7-15):"In praying, do not babble like the pagans,who think that they will be heard because of their many words.Do not be like them.Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.""This is how you are to pray:Our 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."If you forgive men their transgressions,your heavenly Father will forgive you.But if you do not forgive men,neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."  [video] A short guide on how to talk with God, not to God.Ave Maria!Jesus, I Trust In You!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠March 11, 2025, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Jesus said to his disciples:"In praying, do not babble like the pagans,who think that they will be heard because of their many words.Do not be like them.Your Father knows what you need before you ask him."This is how you are to pray:Our 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."If you forgive men their transgressions,your heavenly Father will forgive you.But if you do not forgive men,neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

Tuesday of the First Week of LentMatthew 6:7-15Jesus said to his disciples:"In praying, do not babble like the pagans,who think that they will be heard because of their many words.Do not be like them.Your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

A Sermon for Ash Wednesday St. Matthew 6:16-21 by William Klock   “When you fast, don't be gloomy like the hypocrites,” Jesus said.  “They make their faces quite unrecognisable, so that everyone can see they're fasting.  I'm telling you the truth: thy have received their reward in full.” As I think about this, I have to admit that this probably isn't our problem.  I'm sure there must be some people who, when they fast, do make sure everyone knows about it, but I don't remember ever meeting anyone like that.  (Unless, of course, it was someone doing it as some kind of health-nut thing.)  People in our culture, people in the modern Western church don't fast.  Even when it's Lent, what do we do?  We give up chocolate.  We give up Coke.  I saw a post on Facebook that encouraged people to eat one normal meal and then to eat less for their two other meals so that those two other meals equal one normal meal.  A friend who was a missionary commented that the people he ministered to in Zambia ate less than that all the time, so it wasn't really much of a fast.  And that may be why we're so often spiritually impoverished in our part of the world.  We have too much and when you have too much, when you don't know what it means to fast, well, we never really learn to trust God.  And so to fast is to voluntarily put ourselves in a place of poverty, of need, of exile—a spiritual exercise to remind us what it means to trust in God. Brother and Sisters, that's the point of Lent.  It's not to look good in front of others.  It's to remind us to look to the Lord.  So Jesus goes on and says, “No: when you fast, comb your hair and beard the way you normally do, and wash your face, so that others won't notice you're fasting—except your Father, privately.  Then your Father, who sees in private, will repay you.” Jesus says the same thing about prayer immediately before this: “When you pray, you mustn't be like the hypocrites.  They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners, so that people will notice them.  I'm telling you the truth: they have received their reward in full.  No: when you pray, go into your own room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is there in secret.  And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.”  But why?  This is where we really need to hear what Jesus says. He says: “When you pray, don't pile up a heap of words!  That's what the gentiles do.”  Remember the gentiles worshipped fickle, capricious, unfaithful gods who never spoke—gods who weren't worthy of any trust.  Jesus says, “The gentiles think that the more they say, the more likely they are to be heard.  So don't be like them.  Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.  So this is how you should pray.”  Now, listen closely to what Jesus says.  We pray the Lord's Prayer so often that we don't even think about it.  So listen.  “This is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven; may your name be honoured; may your kingdom come; may your will be done; as in heaven, so on earth.  Give us today the bread we need now; and forgive us the things we owe, as we too have forgiven what was owed to us.  And do not bring us into the great trial, but rescue us from evil.” Notice how Jesus' vision of God's kingdom—of heaven coming down to earth—how it's at the heart of everything he says.  But that's the heart of our prayer.  On one hand prayer, like fasting, is simple, but there's also a mystery to it.  Sometimes when I pray I feel like my prayers are bouncing off the ceiling, but then I remember what Jesus says here: You're heavenly Father is with you in that secret place.  My prayers don't have to get any further than the ceiling, because the Father is right there—right here—with me.  He sees and he hears and he knows what's in my heart.  He hears the things I say and he hears the things I want to lay before him but struggle to put into words. Over the years I've read quite a lot of books about prayer as I've tried to unravel the mystery, but none of them has every really helped.  Instead, what has helped is simply to remember what Jesus says here.  And to pray the psalms.  To let Jesus and the inspired scriptures remind me that to pray is to remember that in him heaven and earth have come together and to pray is to recognise this reality, to put myself at the intersection of heaven and earth. And if prayer is about heaven and earth overlapping in the here and now, it's also about them coming together in the stuff of the world—and in the clay from which God has made us.  To pray is to claim—now think about how amazing this is—to pray is to claim that the living God, enthroned in heaven, is making his home with us—even in us.  And this is why Jesus says that to make a point of this, go into your room in secret and pray there.  By all means pray in church, pray with other people, pray when you're out in nature, pray in the temple, but sometimes it helps to take God seriously and to shut yourself up in your room, here on earth, and know that heaven—that the Spirit, and Jesus, and his Father are here with and in you. And if we do this.  When we pray and when we recall that in us, by the power of Jesus and the Spirit, that heaven and earth are meeting together—and if they're meeting together in this little lump of clay that is me—or that is you—it's going to transform me and it's going to transform you.  It's going to change us in a lot of ways, but Jesus stresses first and foremost that it's going to make me and it's going to make you forgivers.  This is where the kingdom begins.  With the cross of Jesus.  With the forgiveness of sinners.  And as Jesus forgives us, that forgiveness spills out of us.  We've all been hurt and wounded and sinned against by other people.  How much more have we done that to God.  But he hears us because, in Jesus he has poured out his grace on us, he has forgiven us, because in Jesus he has invited us into his presence where heaven and earth meet.  The privilege of prayer is a constant reminder that because we have been forgiven, we ought to forgive others—to let God's grace pour from us as it has been poured from Jesus.  That's the kingdom.  That's “on earth as it is in heaven”. And in that Jesus' great prayer comes together.  So simple, but so powerful.  So simple we can pray it as children, but so powerful that we never stop—not even the holiest and wisest of saints stops praying these simple worlds.  Because we know that heaven isn't far away; it's where we meet the God whom we can address as “our Father”.  To whom we can bring our needs, knowing that if he has given his son for our sakes, he will surely give us the bread we need for today and rescue us from evil. Brothers and Sisters, prayer reminds us not only that God is trustworthy, it reminds us to trust in him.  That's why, after Jesus warns us about hypocrisy and reminds us what real prayer and fasting are all about, he says, “Nobody can serve two masters.  Otherwise, they will either hate the first and love the second, or be devoted to the first and despise the second.  You can't serve both God and wealth.”  The kingdom demands our all.  If we're going to pray “on earth as in heaven”, we'd better remember what that means: that the things of the old, evil age are passing away and that the new age, God's new creation, his kingdom is being borne today through the power of the gospel and the Spirit and that we would be fools to divide our loyalty between the two. Think on that as we begin another season of Lent: that when we fast and when we pray, when we say “on earth as in heaven” we're not just saying empty words, but we're actually in the place where heaven and earth already meet, that we're already in the presence of God, because we've been forgiven by Jesus' death, raised to new life by his resurrection, and been plunged into the Spirit to be made his temple.  And then let us go out from our prayer and fasting to really be the heaven on earth people who fully trust in God, ready to carry his gracious mercy to everyone around us.  Amen.

1. Understand God Determines Your Mantle Ahead of TimeWe do not select a mantle; God is the One who establishes and destines it. Elisha didn't just receive Elijah's mantle because he happened to be at the right place and time. It was already his according to God's word.                    (1 Kings 19:16) Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your placeElisha needed to cooperate with the call of God on his life to receive the mantle that was his by God's appointment. Elisha's hunger and pursuit of Elijah were a sign of what God had placed in his heart.A mantle is not ours for the choosing, it is determined ahead of time by God.The desire God places in our hearts is just one indication, among other confirmations, of the calling that is ours.2. Servanthood Positions you for the Mantle God has for youFor a long season, Elisha was a servant to Elijah. He supported him in a menial way and learned at his feet.                                                       (2 Kings 3:11) 11 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?” So, one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured[a] water on the hands of Elijah.”It can be tempting to go directly after a mantle, but just as with Elisha, God has established His timeline for your life. God positions you with people and leaders that He wants you to serve now. Serving with faithfulness and a teachable heart is a powerful means of being positioned to attain your God-ordained destiny.3. Realize you may Wear a Series of MantlesBefore he took up Elijah's mantle, Elisha worked in his father's fields. And then, he wore the garb of a servant. When God took Elijah, Elisha took his cloak—the one he had worn as a servant—and tore it in two. There was no turning back. (2 Kings 2:12-13) 12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. 13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.4. Wait for an Appointment to Establish your MantleGod appointed Elisha as Prophet and successor to Elijah—but God used Elijah to recognize, prepare, and establish that appointment.Luke 24:49                                                                                     And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.1 Peter 5:6                                                                       Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,Acts 1:8                                                                                 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”Your Father wants to reveal to you what He is up to, even if you are feeling today as though you are in the midst of a trial or a long period of waiting about your calling. He wants to show you how he is redeeming those trials, even the failures, and how He uses them for His purposes.It is not too late. Like Elisha, as you stay faithful and committed in the long haul, you will ultimately live out the mantle God has for you. And the ministry God has for you will be above and beyond anything you could ever have dreamed.

1. Understand God Determines Your Mantle Ahead of TimeWe do not select a mantle; God is the One who establishes and destines it. Elisha didn't just receive Elijah's mantle because he happened to be at the right place and time. It was already his according to God's word.                    (1 Kings 19:16) Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your placeElisha needed to cooperate with the call of God on his life to receive the mantle that was his by God's appointment. Elisha's hunger and pursuit of Elijah were a sign of what God had placed in his heart.A mantle is not ours for the choosing, it is determined ahead of time by God.The desire God places in our hearts is just one indication, among other confirmations, of the calling that is ours.2. Servanthood Positions you for the Mantle God has for youFor a long season, Elisha was a servant to Elijah. He supported him in a menial way and learned at his feet.                                                       (2 Kings 3:11) 11 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?” So, one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured[a] water on the hands of Elijah.”It can be tempting to go directly after a mantle, but just as with Elisha, God has established His timeline for your life. God positions you with people and leaders that He wants you to serve now. Serving with faithfulness and a teachable heart is a powerful means of being positioned to attain your God-ordained destiny.3. Realize you may Wear a Series of MantlesBefore he took up Elijah's mantle, Elisha worked in his father's fields. And then, he wore the garb of a servant. When God took Elijah, Elisha took his cloak—the one he had worn as a servant—and tore it in two. There was no turning back. (2 Kings 2:12-13) 12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. 13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.4. Wait for an Appointment to Establish your MantleGod appointed Elisha as Prophet and successor to Elijah—but God used Elijah to recognize, prepare, and establish that appointment.Luke 24:49                                                                                     And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.1 Peter 5:6                                                                       Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,Acts 1:8                                                                                 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”Your Father wants to reveal to you what He is up to, even if you are feeling today as though you are in the midst of a trial or a long period of waiting about your calling. He wants to show you how he is redeeming those trials, even the failures, and how He uses them for His purposes.It is not too late. Like Elisha, as you stay faithful and committed in the long haul, you will ultimately live out the mantle God has for you. And the ministry God has for you will be above and beyond anything you could ever have dreamed.

Series:  When You Pray Title:  Can You Hear Me Now? Text:  1 John 5:14-15 Today's Takeaway – Pray without anxiety 1. Your Father invites you to ask for anything 2. Your Father knows best what to grant 3. Your Father gives whatever He grants May you hit your knees always full of confidence in Your Heavenly…

Read OnlineSoon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. Mark 7:25–26A parent's love is powerful. And the woman in this story clearly loves her daughter. It is that love that drives this mother to seek out Jesus in the hope that He will free her daughter from the demon who possessed her. Interestingly, this woman was not of the Jewish faith. She was a Gentile, a foreigner, but her faith was very real and very deep.When Jesus first encountered this woman, she begged Him to free her daughter from the demon. Jesus' response was at first surprising. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” In other words, Jesus was saying that His mission was first to the people of Israel, the chosen people of the Jewish faith. They were the “children” of whom Jesus was speaking, and the Gentiles, such as this woman, were the ones referred to as “the dogs.” Jesus spoke this way to this woman not out of rudeness but because He could see her deep faith, and He wanted to give her an opportunity to manifest that faith for all to see. And so she did.The woman responded to Jesus, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps.” Her words were not only exceptionally humble but were also based on deep faith and a deep love for her daughter. As a result, Jesus responds with generosity and immediately frees her daughter from the demon.In our own lives, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking we deserve the mercy of God. We can think that we have a right to God's grace. And even though Jesus deeply desires to pour forth His grace and mercy in superabundance on our lives, it is essential that we fully understand our unworthiness before Him. The disposition of this woman's heart sets for us a perfect example of how we must come to our Lord. Reflect, today, upon the beautiful example of this woman of deep faith. Prayerfully read her words over and over. Try to understand her humility, her hope, and her love for her daughter. As you do, pray that you will be able to imitate her goodness so as to share in the blessings she and her daughter received. My merciful Lord, I trust in Your perfect love for me and for all peoples. I pray especially for those who carry heavy burdens and for those whose lives are deeply intertwined with evil. Please set them free, dear Lord, and welcome them into Your family so that they become true children of Your Father. May I have the humility and faith I need to help bring forth this abundance of grace for others. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Image via Web Gallery of Art

"Victory Over Fear"Scripture: Mark 4:35-41Guest Pastor Doug Reed, Partnership InternationalFebruary 2, 2025NEW KIDS SPACE NOW OPEN!We have expanded with 3x more space for the babies, kids, and youth in your family. https://www.instagram.com/oasischurchva/reel/C8FqHIipr3u/Learn about this year's Kingdom Builder's project: https://www.oasischurch.online/kingdom-buildersHow should Christians think about voting and politics? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak82aD16r04OUR NEW VISION STATEMENT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0WFhtL7h3ISERMON NOTES:- Mark 4:40- The #1 concern that JESUS has for you today is "Why are you so afraid?" He wants you to have VICTORY over FEAR.- FEAR is the OPPOSITE of FAITH.- "No emotion plagues and crumbles the human personality more than FEAR." ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, The Mastery of Fear- Joshua 1:6-7 9- DECLARATION: I may FEEL AFRAID but | refuse to "BE AFRAID!"- Proverbs 25:28- 4 FEAR-KILLING PRACTICESOF VICTORIOUS CHRIST FOLLOWERS:  #1 DESTROY the MOTHERSHIP of FEAR  - Hebrews 2:14-15  - Colossians 3:3  #2 BASE your CONFIDENCE on WHO is with YOU  - Isaiah 41.10  #3 Let your "GOD-HISTORY" destroy your HUMAN-INSANITY  - Luke 12:22-34  - KEY VERSE: "Little flock, do not be afraid. Your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom."  - FEAR DEFINED: VISION without OPTIMISM  #4 PRACTICE the HEALTHY kind of FEAR  - Proverbs 14:26-27  - How can we KNOW we are walking in the FEAR of God?  - Psalm 56:11  - The FEAR of God has the potential to CANCEL OUT every other FEAR in your LIFE!Oasis Church exists to Worship God, Equip the believers, and Reach the lost.We are led by Pastor Nate Clarke and are located in Richmond, VA.Stay Connected:Website: https://oasischurch.online Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oasischurchva/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OasisChurchRVA/

John 8:21-59 | Who's Your Father?_01.26.25 by Calvary Chapel Lynchburg

Jesus' prayer life challenges us, but it is meant to inspire us. We often feel alone or isolated. Jesus never allowed that “aloneness” to persist. He preferred prayer and enjoyment of His Father. (Your Father)

Taliyah.Based on a post by FinalStand, in 13 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels. By lunchtime, she was beginning to feel somewhat selfish. Mikhail had been attentive with a totally unexpected devotion all morning long. While Taliyah was emotionally conflicted about her parent's most recent feuding, it was systematic of a much deeper rift she'd always felt among them. She'd always sensed it; as if something was missing in their lives.To be honest with herself, at first she'd been secretly pleased when Brandy's home life had imploded last summer. Not only had she found herself lusting for Darius over Rashaan, she'd long been envious of the seeming closeness between Big Bob and Jodi May. She'd felt furtive elation when Brandy's mom eloped with Senior Deputy Jenks, shattering the illusion of their happy household.Only later, as she saw the daily sadness in Big Bob, had she begun to regret her envy-driven vindictiveness. Unlike her own, rather distant Father, Big Bob Carson had always made Taliyah welcome in his home and with his daughter. His treatment of her had never jibed with the claims about the White man's supposed racism. In her home, they joked about him, yet she'd never heard Big Bob make a single racist slur in her presence.No, Brandy's Dad had treated her like his second daughter; even going so far to call out Brandy when she was being a bitch to her. As far back as elementary school, he'd made her feel as if Taliyah had a second house to call home; and then Taliyah had repaid his repeated kindness by taking perverse pleasure as his home fell apart. She'd watched Brandy fall into depravity under Darius' spell and said nothing.Taliyah wondered about the vagaries of karma. Brandy's family had been ripped apart and now so was hers. Brandy had found Vlad and now she had Mikhail. This morning, Brandy's mom had come back; and her Mom was here as well. But her Father was nowhere in evidence. Her Mother, Madam Mayor, hadn't mentioned him once.‘Taliyah,' Kaelyne disturbed her ruminations, ‘we're picking sides for volleyball.'Kaelyne was another transformative presence who had snuck into her life as of late. Her knee-jerk reaction when learning the little White girl had a lesbian crush on her was to lash out and mock her. That had infuriated Mrs. Samsonov, pain had rapidly followed. That old White bitch had forced Taliyah to apologize the next day.Over the rest of the following week Taliyah had found herself studying the way Kaelyne looked at her; and hadn't been repulsed. Still, until today she hadn't taken the lesbian's affections seriously. Kaelyne was sensitive to Taliyah's pain and~ compassionate without being obtrusive. Taliyah had responded with a lessening of her often acidic wit.With Brandy taking on solo duties as hostess, Taliyah had been able to recoup in the company of her boyfriend; and 'girlfriend'; thus the source of her guilt. According to Mrs. Samsonov's plan, Brandy and Taliyah had to share their guys with the rest of the Cheer Squad over the course of the day.From what they'd been told, it would keep the cheerleaders firmly out of the hands of the Football Team and other member of the 'Cult of the BBC'; as that racist, psychotic bitch, Gayle Samsonov, called it. And, from what Taliyah and Brandy could see, it made all the ones who had been with their fellas so far want them and only them; it was spooky and somewhat frustrating to watch because Mikhail was her man, damn it!Not in the way Rashaan had been her man because Rashaan hadn't even been his own man, just another pawn of Darius Pope's little high school empire; like her and Brandy. Maybe that was why she was so drawn to the youngest triplet's fierce independence. He was harder to influence than Rashaan had been; which wasn't quite so.She could, in private, convince Rashaan to do things, plan things and stand up for himself, but all the results of her efforts evaporated when he was around Darius; and now she realized that would always be the case for someone like Rashaan. He was good looking and could project leadership, but there was never anything behind it. No drive. No great willpower to overcome any real opposition; and most likely, there never would be.With Mikhail; God! He was so different. Sure he was infuriating, but Taliyah found herself able to cut loose around him; to pop him one when she felt he was doing something stupid; and it wasn't as if he even minded. Oh no, that didn't mean he'd acquiesce, far from it. Normally he'd laugh and evade, taunting her. Yet, that was the way he'd grown up around his brothers and Taliyah was beginning to figure out he was allowing her to treat him the same way; that was was something special.He and his brothers were rough-n-tumble. They had a code for their fighting. While their Code didn't make the inevitable conflicts any less brutal, it at the same time expressed ample fair play, honesty and integrity. And afterwards; there was never any ill will between them. They fought and shit got settled; and Taliyah liked that. That Mikhail allowed her to lay into him was, according to his Mamma, very intimate and personal; and Taliyah was coming to appreciate this fact.‘Mikhail, why don't you and Kaelyne teach my 'Sisters' on the Cheer Squad some manners,' she touched his hand. They were side by side at the counter in the kitchen, him finishing off a few carrot slices while she drank some Gatorade. ‘I need to talk to my Mamma; alone.' Mikhail gave her a brief eye contact, nodded once, and then turned to leave.‘Kaelyne,' she found herself reaching out, stroking the girl's cheek and rubbing her earlobe, ‘Thank you.' The way the smaller woman positively glowed gave Taliyah a spike of pride. She still didn't think she was into girls, but she'd been showering with Brandy since before they were teenagers. A few times Brandy had ran her hands curiously over her darker friend's skin, wishing she tanned so well.In turn, Taliyah had run her hands through Brandy's long, blonde hair, feeling the difference between its silky texture and her own, coarser locks and wishing her hair was so easy to manage. The two girls, lifelong friends, had never considered their behavior anything which 'made them gay'. They were curious and comfortable in each other's presence was all.Taliyah pushed herself away from the counter, turned and dismounted her stool. She'd put up a wall against the World all morning long and she knew she was better than that. She'd wanted her Mother to come and talk to her; to talk to her about her Father; her Mother's husband; and what she was going to do about fixing things. Her Mamma was always the responsible one in the family and had taught her daughter to be the same way. Somehow; her Mamma had to make this right.Le ‘Pearl' Yates.For Le it had been a wild, chaotic week. Things had started out so bad, but not in a way the other girls in the Cheer Squad would have understood. Monday morning, like most of the others; except Brandy and Taliyah; she had been seriously jonesing for some BBC. Hell, unlike every other member of the squad, getting the best cock was why she'd fought so hard to be selected as one of the school's elite bitches in the first place.She hadn't always been that way.Le had been a late bloomer. Worse, she'd never been part of any crowd while growing up. Her Vietnamese-American Mother had come to Kingston from the Texas Gulf Coast to be a nurse. Her Father, the White guy her Mother married, was an oilman working in the Gulf of Mexico months at the time.He was really happy when his wife told him she was pregnant. His company even flew him to Arkansas when she went into delivery early. Let's just say his reaction when he held 'his' daughter wasn't all that joyous. He divorced her a year later and Le had only seen him a few times since. Things had been; tense.It took her a few years to figure out she wasn't like anyone else. Her Mother's extended family, fisher-folk back in Texas, always treated her badly and the younger ones called her names, which was why her Mom had returned to Kingston after a few years. When she was six, she finally figured out she was a 'half-breed' and not in a 'good way'. No White blood had 'watered' down her complexion.Her eyes were product of her Mother's Vietnamese heritage while her nose was from West Africa. He skin was darker than her Mother's, not lighter, and she was much taller, at 5'9', and a compact 112 lbs. Her ass was 'black enough', but her chest was 'too Asian' as in she clearly had the smallest bra size on the team.At the age of eight she'd finally asked her rather traditional Mother who her 'real' Daddy was. On her twelfth birthday, her Mother, after years of badgering, finally broke down and told Le the story. She'd been 'seduced' by a groundsman on the A S U Kingston campus while her 'White' Daddy had been away for months and months at sea. He'd been a smooth operator, her Mother told her.'But why isn't that man my Father now?' she'd pressed her Mother. She'd graduated to referring to the nebulous sperm donor as Father when she was ten. Her Mother hung her head in shame then confessed the Black bastard hadn't wanted her. When she'd told him she was pregnant with what was most likely his child, he'd seemed happy at first.Only as she got 'bigger', things had changed. One day she stumbled upon him cheating with another nursing student. She'd exploded in tears. After the 'new' girl had fled, he 'confessed' he had yet another girl pregnant and two other kids by two other women; and it was over between them. He dumped her.So, her Mother had prayed somehow Le would be born without her White Father figuring out her betrayal; but that hadn't worked out either. She even gave Le the sperm donor's name, Claude Sexton. It turned out Le had sixteen half-brothers and –sisters (by five different women) and he was currently serving time in prison for pharmaceutical theft. Claude's Mamma, her Granny, claimed he was 'not guilty' and some jealous bitch (usually White in her rantings) had set him up;What had fascinated Le though was the 'why' of her Mother's betrayal of her White 'Father'. The few times she'd met him he'd seemed nice. He had remarried, still made good money and had two other, White, children these days. He had never been cruel to her Mother as far as her Mother had ever revealed; so why had she jumped on some Black cock and risked such a profitable union?At the age of twelve, Le was still gangly and under-developed. Puberty was late to the party. Shortly after her Mom's revelation, she began looking at the Black boys at school differently. They were still going from the phase of teasing and bullying girls (and being teased and bullied by some of the bigger girls) to sending the ladies looks of hungry confusion.No guys ever looked at Le that way back then; but suddenly she wanted them to. When she entered High School, she was 'introduced' to the Cheer Squad / Football Team dynamic. All the hottest Black guys and most beautiful girls (Black and White) belonged to that top social tier; and she had no hope of getting in the way she was.She also had another niggling problem. She was smart and unfortunately, smart girls were Not what those two groups were looking for.But, Le had a Plan. First off, she took up a paper route to make enough money to join the Dance School; because the Cheerleaders always seemed to pick the Hot girls with dance experience; and her Mother couldn't afford to send her with what she made.Secondly, she began purposely getting 25 to 35% of all her homework and test answers wrong. Le had to lower her academic profile starting her freshman year so hopefully no one would remember how smart she had been in Middle School. She added to this deception by telling everyone her name was 'Pearl', even the teachers, and always wearing long pig tails because she thought it fed into the ‘Cutesy' Asian stereotype; and they bought it.Lastly, she began working on her physique and fashion sense to make herself more noticeable to the people who really mattered. Her body's natural development helped. Belatedly her hormones kicked in and her breast began to get bigger. Of equal importance, with all her exercise and dedication her 'lower chasse' began getting the boy's notice. When their eyes finally got to her face, they also noticed how exotically different she was.She enjoyed the first touching; and kissing. She also knew the unspoken rules: Don't be a skank and put out for just anybody. The Football Team only selected the most choice ladies and that included the ones they didn't consider 'total whores'; thus their exclusive property.She lucked out by having Randi Leigh Upshaw befriend her. Randi Leigh's mother had been a cheerleader back in the day and was currently a school booster and member of the PTA. Sure, Randi Leigh was a condescending, manipulative bitch, but she opened doors into social circles which would have been far harder to breach as an outsider.And all that degradation and hard work had paid off when the old Cheer Squad Team Captain handed her a cheer uniform, welcomed her to the team and then introduced her to her first gang-bang. Five long hours afterwards, the smiling Captain gave her a 'Morning After' pill and told her were to go to get her I U D. She'd been taking BBC five / six times a week ever since and loving it; her Mother's infidelity finally understood.Until, for some bizarre reason, Brandy and Taliyah, this year's Co-Captains, had decided to launch an utterly unlooked for and unwanted rebellion against Darius Pope; Football God and one of the best cocks on the team. Le had been blind-sided, as had all of the other cheerleaders. The only two questions were how much hell was Darius going to put those two through for their impertinence and who would end up in the top spot once he was done.But then Darius and six other footballers (including two of the other best cocks in Le's estimation) were destroyed in the school parking lot after a game. Her whole world appeared to crumble and changed. Randi Leigh; idiotically; threw herself at Rashaan as if he could somehow assume Darius' mantle. Le initially supported her because at least Randi Leigh promised a return to the glorious days of orgies and bukkake cum baths.Wednesday morning, it hadn't taken a telepath, or that guy from Psych, to figure out something serious had happened to both Randi Leigh and Sultana (the other challenger). Randi Leigh couldn't even keep Betty Jo Sterling (her other supporter) in line and poor Betty Jo was easily amused by a laser pointer and kitten emojis for God's sake!All that led to her being highly suspicious of Taliyah luring her, Vantrice Kirby and Mia Ryker to the Music Room during Lunch Thursday. Taliyah had told them the whole team was meeting yet when Le surreptitiously checked her iPhone App, only Brandy's phone was close by. She was actually kind of terrified some sort of beat-down was in the offing when they stumbled in and found;; Mikhail and Vlad Samsonov reclining on the piano cover with a sexual sated; no, devastated, Brandy Crystal Carson curled up between them. Le knew what 'fucked stupid' looked like and Brandy definitely qualified. Vantrice and Mia began protesting (these 'boys' weren't on the Football Team). Le was busy putting 'A' together with 'B' then 'C'.In this case: (A) Brandy and Taliyah's sudden defiance, (B) Randi Leigh and Sultana's sudden cessation of (serious) resistance and now (C) Brandy's obvious physical pleasure radiating out for all to see. Le's ever-present blow-pop nearly fell out of her mouth in shock. Whatever her other two teammates (Vantrice and Mia) were thinking, Le knew she had to have 'some of that'.‘Which one is for me?' she had turned to Taliyah, her carefully crafted 'silly little Asian girl' façade momentarily slipping. Taliyah grinned like the sly fox she thought she was.‘Mikhail is mine, but I can share,' she purred as she began to strip. Even as she joined Taliyah in removing her clothing, Le did her own eyeball math. Mikhail was definitely more intrigued with Vantrice than either her, or Mia.How did she know the difference between the two triplets? Well, anyone who thought it was Mikhail beaten up by Darius' people, not Alexander, was a fool. Darius wouldn't have made that error. Otherwise, Mikhail was looking at them like a starving wolf staring at pieces of meat; or sheep. Vlad's eyes kept flickering down to Brandy in something a less romantic person could confuse with love. She headed toward Vlad.‘Can you make me happy like Brandy?' Le sashayed toward the middle triplet, socially shedding 60 IQ points along the way. Boys liked them dumb, right?‘Le,' he smiled; not leered, ‘I think I can make you your own kind of happy,' he volleyed back. Okay, that second part was kind of sappy, but he actually recalled her real first name which hadn't happened in over a year.‘Pearl, stop that,' Vantrice got indignant. ‘These White boys; ‘‘I want to look like Brandy,' Le looked over her shoulder. ‘Don't you?'Vantrice stuttered, Mia was indecisive, Taliyah clearly wasn't going to let them bolt without a struggle and Mikhail was closing in to help.‘Sorry Mia, but I have a hunger for Black chicks,' he moved the blonde aside.‘What?' from Mia.‘Huh?' from Vantrice and;‘Best watch yourself, Mister,' from Taliyah, all aimed at Mikhail. Le opted to focus on Vlad who was certainly fixated on her.‘I want to taste,' she settled down beside him, reaching for his delicious looking piece of man-meat.‘How about we '69'?' he offered.‘I like the way you think,' she glowed. Normally they didn't give her the option. Le put her blow-pop on a desk then went to work.‘Eep!' she squeaked as he effortlessly picked her up and laid her out beside Brandy. He took a few licks of her vulva then;‘Mia, come over here,' he beckoned the blonde girl who seemed to be at loose ends. Le was too busy exploring the texture and taste of his glans and shaft. It was her first White cock; she'd had thicker; yet she felt it would be more than enough to satisfy if Vlad's stamina equaled his dimensions;‘Lay down beside her,' Vlad had directed Mia. She still seemed uncertain and Le wanted to keep Vlad happy for the nonce, so she reached up, took Mia by the hand and gently pulled her to her side.‘Ah; ‘ Mia began purring. Vlad must have been physically stimulating her with his right hand even as his mouth and left hand pleasured her. Damn; Vlad knew his stuff.The real magic began when, after she let him know she was ready; which had always been the reason for guys going down on her, to get her engine running; Vlad had gone to town on her cunt. He licked, tongue-twirled and nibbled her clit, put three fingers into her snatch and, after some teasing, another in her ass. She'd never had a guy pet her G-spot before, but Vlad did.Her inarticulate utterances weren't new, but more protracted than she was used to. She recovered quickly, yet not quickly enough to stop her new lover from moving on to Mia who gladly let him go down on her as well. Le had propped herself up and begun to look around when she noticed a reclining Brandy studying the three of them.‘That felt nice, really nice,' she communicated after a few seconds.‘Don't I know it,' Brandy sighed. She didn't seem to be unhappy with her, or Vlad. There was a pregnant pause as Vlad continued to devote himself to Mia's gratification. ‘All three triplets are wonderful, but I think I've got the best one.'‘Are we ever going to be with the Football Team again?' Le'd wondered.‘Hmmm; ‘ Brandy frowned then, ‘Vlad, Pearl isn't convinced.'And then he'd gone and 'convinced' her, which had been odd. For a moment, when he returned to her, he'd seemed distracted, or put out. Once he made eye contact, Le felt as if their whole world contracted down to just the two of them.Or that was how it had been recalled by Le later as she tried to remember every erotic murmur, sensuous movement, whispered word and tantalizing slap of flesh against flesh. They hadn't fucked. They had made love and until Vlad, she hadn't know the difference. It was sex; but with the difference being she felt he really gave a damn, and not only about how she felt right then, but how she felt, period. It had been so different; and exciting; and so worth repeating.Which brought her back to today, at Brandy's house, playing around the pool and trying not to pull Vlad aside for another round of whatever he had done to her. Le had been trying to figure out this new pecking order and how to best profit from it. She wasn't so egotistical she thought she could steal Vlad away from Brandy; she accepted Brandy had more of the feminine traits which drew Vlad's eyes.Then there was the ravenous way Randi Leigh regarded the young man when she thought Brandy wasn't keeping an eye on her. The way Betty Jo and Alondra teased him was even;‘You spend a whole bunch of time watching what other people are doing,' was whispered into her ear. Le nearly tumbled off the recliner she'd been using.She was able to catch her blow-pop before it fell out of her mouth with judicious use of her lips thus buying her a little more time and stopping her from gasping in fear. Mrs. Samsonov had snuck up on her.‘Ma; Ma; Mrs. Samsonov? Huh?' she was a bit too slow on the comeback.‘You can call me Gayle,' the crouched, mature lady regarded her; much like a feral cat gazing at a frightened field mouse.‘Ah; okay, Gayle,' she hammed it up with a cute tilt of the head. The older woman's eyes narrowed.‘I am beginning to think you aren't quite as dumb as you pretend to be,' Gayle murmured. ‘Now why would that be?'‘What be?' Le played along. Mrs. Samsonov's look became downright menacing.‘I don't like being played for the fool,' she whispered. ‘I'm real sure Vlad and his brothers will be even less amused.'Then, in a flash, the triplet's mother stood and smiled down at her, though Le could sense the humor didn't touch her eyes, or her words. ‘Have fun this weekend, Pearl. Act dumb around school if you like, but my children and I don't have time for such games.'‘I; Mrs.; Gayle, why; how did you figure it out?' Le's protests went from lame to a whisper. When denial was clearly no longer an option, she wanted to know what she'd done to give herself away.Gayle studied her for a few; very long; seconds.‘Smart people can act stupid, but stupid people can't act smart. That being said, really dumb people have bad body posture, often have their mouths open when they don't know what to say; not your candy; and don't react when they themselves say stupid shit,' Gayle enlightened her.‘You make simple statements, but not stupid ones; like Alondra and Betty Jo do. They stay stupid things while you don't. True, they are dumber than most, but they are the ones you are trying to model yourself after, failing, and failing in a manner a suitably observant person can pick up on. After all, for the past two years, how many guys, or girls, have wanted to test your conversational skills?'Le was taken aback at how helpful the older lady was and began taking mental notes.‘Are you; how angry are you with me?' Le worried.‘We accept you've had to deal with different social factors at Davis Consolidated (High School) before we came here. Choices you made last year and before now are in the past. If you don't want to learn from your mistakes, that's on you.'‘If we change?'‘You are no longer cum dumps for the Football Teams. You are the Supreme Female Social Organization with the Samsonov boys making sure you won't be abused, or used as sexual trophies.‘But there still will be sex?' Le gulped. Gayle Samsonov's countenance was downright savage.‘Would you do every member of the Football Team, or just my Vlad?' she posed the question (trap). Le really liked the Football gangbangs, blowjobs and bukkake sessions. Her hunger to embrace the madness which had turned her Mother away from her (White) Father and brought her (Le) into existence came into conflict with her desire to recapture the personal experience she'd shared with Vlad.‘Isn't he mostly interested in Brandy?'‘He's devoted to Brandy, but Brandy will let him spend time with you as long as you support Brandy and Taliyah; plus you keep Vlad's interest because it is the right thing to do,' Mrs. Samsonov explained. Le wasn't used to thinking of either Brandy, or Taliyah, as magnanimous, except;‘Do Brandy and Taliyah confide in you?' Le made an educated leap. Of course, Taliyah's mother was opposed to all things Fonteneau; but here she was, chaperoning the same party, and Brandy had been utterly under Darius' spell at the start of the year; yet clearly was now madly devoted to Gayle's middle son.Gayle's grin lost some of its hostile quality.‘Clever indeed.'Le gave a shy smile in response.‘Enjoy the weekend, Pearl. Open up to Vlad if you get the chance. He's not intimidated by smart women, he likes reading; not as much as sex, but he's still happy to learn; and teach,' Gayle imparted. As she walked away, Le had to wonder how her whole world had transformed; no; evolved. She hoped it was evolving into something much more intriguing than what they were all surrendering. She jumped up and ran to catch up with the older woman. There was so much more she could learn.Victoria ‘Mad Vicky' Orem.‘Come on, Alexander, join us beating up these cheerleader-bitches,' Vicky pleaded with the oldest Samsonov triplet. She'd scampered over to him because her team needed the help and she wasn't sure Kaelyne would be able to return with Mikhail (and Taliyah) from inside.Currently it was her, Kaelyne, Vlad, Sgt. Louisa Petrakis (the State Cop) and Ms. Blanchard versus Missy Brandy, Sultana, Noémie Lucie, Amber Lee and Misty Dawn. With the size, or lack thereof, of herself and Kaelyne, the plan was to replace Ms. Blanchard and the Sarge with Mikhail and/or Alexander.‘I'm still busted up,' he grinned up at her.‘Oh, come on. Don't be a wimp,' she teased him, her fists on her thin, boney hips and thrust out her small chest. Her brand new white, string bikini shown on her tan-less body with the top being so conservative with the fabric it consisted of little more than two tringles kept together by their tie strings. If only she'd had more than 'A' cup sized boobs to fill them;‘Well, if you can pull me up, I'll do my best,' he conceded. Sure, she was 90 lbs. soaking wet while he was 220 lbs., but Vicky was fearless and determined to avenge the earlier pool massacre. She yanked, yanked, made some progress then went for a two hand grip on his left hand. Alexander reversing things, lightning-quick and pulled her down across his body, catching her by surprise.‘Hey!' she protested quite vocally.‘I'd like to kiss you,' Alexander requested passionately.Shock, pleasure, leaning down into Alexander; and nipping his nose.‘Ow,' he complained.‘Took you long enough,' Vicky teased him.Alexander's sudden, expressive and very public sign of affection had been the last thing she'd expected. Yes, they had exchanged sexually charged barbs and erotic innuendo for the past few days; but honestly, Vicky had felt the Samsonov she craved was beyond her. She Knew all the cheerleaders were better looking and even Kaelyne had bigger boobs. Even the 'old ladies' were disappointingly curvaceous, busty and intriguing; at least to the guys.‘Am I going to get that kiss?' Alexander brightened up.‘I don't know,' she vaulted onto his recliner so she ended up straddling his stomach just above the top of his trunks. ‘I kinda like the idea of sexually torturing you,' she added as she sat down; on him.‘Vicky!' Kaelyne reappeared out of the house with Mikhail. ‘Are you two coming?'‘Ocupado!' Vicky triumphantly pronounced. Only then, with her palms placed on Alexander's muscular pectorals, did she lean in for that kiss.‘Yippee!' Kaelyne whooped back. She truly was Vicky's best friend.‘Hey Vicky, don't break him,' Mikhail added in his own teasing.‘I make no promises,' Vicky shot back loudly and proudly. In reality, she had zero sexual experience. She had just had her first kiss; which was warm, wet and wonderful; and she was totally virgin.Vicky had never fit in, battled with ADHD most of her life and had never felt the desire to conform to any of the norms of Kingston, or Davis County. Her hair was always off-color, her only true friend was a shy, introverted, gun-loving lesbian nearly as physically under-developed as she was and, despite the oft-promise of pain, she'd never knuckled under to the bullies.Her musical tastes were unknown bands from other continents and she despised the Sports Religion, so she had expected to serve out her High School years in social exile; but the arrival of the Samsonov's had changed all that. Now she was at a Pool Party with the Cheer Squad; even though as an addendum to Kaelyne; and sexually taunting one hunk of a guy.They kissed twice more before Vicky began serpentining down his body. Lips caressed Alexander's chin, Adam's apple and sternum. Awkwardly, she reached a hand between them and between her spread legs, patting her partner's swimsuit. It took him a few seconds to figure out what Vicky was searching for.‘Umm,' he coughed, somewhat embarrassed. Vicky was turning out to be far more physically aggressive than he'd assumed. ‘It has; ah; expanded down my left leg.'‘Oh!' Vicky popped up, giving Alexander a wicked grin like some demented pixie. ‘Thanks.'She was doubly pleased. He was both not so offended as to be put off plus he was aroused. Check that; triply pleased! Alexander's Baloney Pony Was Huge! (In her inexperienced estimation). She grabbed that manly earthworm and began maneuvering it 'due north'. Soon it was rubbing beneath her covered vulva. Wiggling on it felt wonderful.Alexander's moan was almost as pleasing.‘Oh; ‘ she taunted him, ‘does someone like that?'Alexander gave two, pained nods.What 'Mad Vicky' lacked in real world expertise she compensated for with a rich, diverse and ignored 'For 18+' warning labels, internet history.She pushed herself up slowly, adding an extra twist to her wicked grin when Alexander's eyes flickered to her bikini-top covered assets. Her own quick assessment revealed that while her breasts remained small, her puffy areolas and thick, stubby nipples were flushed with blood and making indentations against her scanty covering. As she kept pushing up, Vicky couldn't help but feel victorious.She had Alexander's cock angling toward his belly button (with the tip no longer contained by his trunks) which had the added benefit of the muscle separating her labia (though equally under wraps). Damn, it felt fine! Vicky was now perpendicular to Alexander's reclining form. Her guy / victim was totally focused on her. The only thing which could make things better was to; He he he he; rub it in.Vicky raised her arms over her head, fingers interlocked then began gyrating and rocking back and forth on his aroused rod.‘Oh Yeah!' she exulted. Things only got better.After a few cycles, Alexander propped himself up with his right elbow and reached out with his left hand, placing it just below her right breast.Vicky figured he was testing her reactions. She was positively luminescent. The oldest Samsonov triplet took that as permission to move three fingers up so he could began playing with her erect nipple through her top. That felt so fine, too. The better, kept getting better.‘Hey!' Misty Dawn Sizemore protested. ‘What's that little freak doing with our guy?'Yep! Vicky's soul soared. She'd stolen a guy the cheerleaders wanted. She was doing her rendition of a barrel-riding/pole-dancing girl routine on top of him for all of those bitches to see. And the better just kept on coming.‘You like?' she resumed her taunting. Alexander nodded again. His words were unexpected.‘I really like your body, Vicky,' he expressed with such genuine openness and innocent trust it caused the tiny temptress to pause.‘You do, don't you?' she barely annunciated.‘Yeah. These nipples look absolutely delicious, you have this pert, tight little ass that wiggles every time you take a bouncing step and your smile is luminous, Vicky. Has no one has ever told you that before?'She digested his compliments and more before deciding he both was not playing her and was really, really sweet.‘No,' she added a little extra wiggle, ‘You would be the first.' Pause. ‘So, you like watching my ass?'‘Behave,' Gayle Samsonov shouted from across the pool. She and Pearl Yates were walking together down to the lawn set aside for the volleyball match.So many replies;‘But I don't want to,' Vicky faux-whined. ‘He's so yummy.'‘I wasn't talking to you, Vicky. I was warning my eldest,' Gayle laughed.‘I don't want to, Ma,' Alexander joined the protest. ‘She's so yummy!'‘Don't make me come over there,' Gayle stopped and shook her finger in their direction. Alexander flopped down and groaned. He even draped his left elbow over his eyes.‘Does this mean we stop?' Vicky get gyrating on his cock.‘I'm afraid so. Going against my Ma is dangerous. Her mean-streak is legendary among those lucky enough to be left alive,' he moaned. ‘Trust me, Vicky' he moved his arm so they were making long, in depth eye contact once more, ‘I'll get you later.'‘What about all the other girls?' she play-pouted. She was really loving this banter.‘Can I leave it at 'Mom's evil plan requires me and my Brothers to romance the Cheer Squad'; please?' Alexander frowned. Vicky wanted to know more. Accepting anything with blind obedience wasn't in her. ‘You are the one who engages me. I confess I didn't see you right away. I had some other crap on my mind, but I see you now and I'm honest about really liking what you're showing.'Pause.‘You are still going to fuck me, right?' she ground her crotch down on his cock.‘Hell yeah,' he coughed. ‘Can't you feel how hard you are making me?'‘Teehee,' Vicky giggled. ‘Just don't go all around school bragging about it,' she reiterated an earlier exchange they'd shared. ‘I'm not that kind of girl.' Total Lie.‘As I recall you are a 'write her name on the bathroom stalls' kind of girl,' he laughed.Vicky snickered.‘Don't make me have to tattoo my name on your dick,' she faux-threatened.‘Ouch,' Alexander winched. ‘Have I told you how much I adore your ass?'‘And my eyes,' she preened. She gave his cock one more vigorous circuit of stimulation then dismounted. ‘Let's go play volleyball before your Mamma has to come back up here and kick my adorable little ass.'‘How about we go down and you sit in my lap as we watch?' he offered instead. ‘I'm kind of still in a great deal of pain. Cracked ribs and all.'‘Fine,' Vicky began pulling the large man-boy up, ‘Kaelyne and I will tag in and out because, while I like that dick, I still want to kick some cheerleader ass.'‘Are you any good at volleyball,' he asked as they hobbled down to the gathering, his left arm draped over her shoulders.‘Never played before in my life. I rocked at tetherball in Kindergarten. How much harder can this be?' Vicky joked.Alexander snorted. Vicky was soaking up the jealous, angry looks being sent her way as she helped him approach. Would she pay for her usurpation later? Most likely, but the promise of retribution from those who thought they were better than her had never stopped her before; and they certainly weren't going to stop her now. This was turning out to be one of the best days of her life.Taliyah and Dominique.Taliyah found her Mother in the Carson's den running her finger over various books on the shelf while drinking a tall glass of 'something'.‘Mamma, how are you going to fix this?' she started off. Dominique looked over her shoulder then slowly turned around, a rather unhappy look on her face.‘Baby, there is no fixing what's wrong with your Daddy and I.'‘Mamma!' Taliyah shouted.

Come and nestle in the safety of Your Father's presence.No matter what kind of day you've had, rest in hope and peace tonight as you draw near to the heart of God. This short, uplifting meditation from His Word will create a space at the end of the day for you to refocus on the goodness and nearness of the Lord, entrust your burdens to Him and fill your mind with His promises and faithfulness towards you. Tonight's meditation is read by Adeyinka. Meet the team at odb.org/meet-the-team.Send us a text message to let us know how we can make the Evening Meditations an even better experience for you!Support the showYou can now share the Evening Meditations through the updated Our Daily Bread app! If you've not done so already, download it for free from your app store.We hope that you have enjoyed this Evening Meditation from Our Daily Bread Ministries! You can find more exciting content from Our Daily Bread Ministries by following us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. You can even sign up to receive Our Daily Bread Bible reading notes sent straight to your door for free: ourdailybread.org/meditation. All our funding comes from our listeners, like you, who value what we do and want to help us reach more people. You can make a donation towards our mission at eveningmeditations.org.

Our relationship with our fathers profoundly affects us. That's why, when Jesus is revealed as another Father, our relationship with Him becomes even more personal. However, we often project our experiences with our earthly father onto our Everlasting Father, leading to misconceptions. So, what do we need to know about God the Father? Your Father is Present: The name Immanuel means "God with us." Jesus reassured His disciples of His constant presence through the Holy Spirit. God is omnipresent, meaning He is everywhere at all times. This truth is especially comforting during the holiday season when loneliness peaks. Even if your earthly father was absent, your Heavenly Father is always present, emotionally and physically. Your Father is Perfect: God's perfection means He is complete and makes no mistakes. Trusting in God's perfection helps us rely on His plans rather than our feelings. Life's challenges may make us feel off course, but God's timing and plans are always perfect. This Christmas, trust not only in God's love and power but also in His perfection. Your Father is a Protector: The Bible frequently describes God as a shield, offering protection, shade, and shelter. Sometimes, God's protection is evident in closed doors and unanswered prayers, safeguarding us from harm and poor decisions. We often realize the extent of His protection only in hindsight, acknowledging His guidance and care throughout our lives. Your Father is a Provider: God delights in providing for His children, whether it's comfort in sorrow, healing in sickness, or wisdom in decision-making. He doesn't just meet our physical needs but also our spiritual needs, offering grace and forgiveness through Jesus' sacrifice. Watch this message from Pastor Todd Crews to experience Jesus as an Everlasting Father. #EverlastingFather #HisNameShallBe #LiquidChurch

When Pastor Timothy wears his preacher collar while traveling, he often gets stopped by strangers. “Pray for me, please,” people in the airport say when they see the clerical band atop his simple dark suit. On a recent flight, a woman knelt by his seat when she noticed him, pleading: “Are you a pastor? Would you pray for me?” And Pastor Timothy prayed. A passage in Jeremiah sheds light on why we perceive that God hears and answers prayer: God cares! God assured His beloved but sinful, exiled people, “ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you” (29:11). God anticipated a time when they would return to Him. “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me,” He said, “and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart’ ” (vv. 12-13). The prophet learned this and more about prayer while confined to prison. God assured him, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (33:3). Jesus also urges us to pray. “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him,” He said (Matthew 6:8). So ask, seek, and knock in prayer (7:7). Every petition we make draws us closer to the One who answers. We don’t have to be a stranger to God in prayer. He knows us and wants to hear from us. We can take our concerns to Him right now.

Today we are going to spend all our time in gratefulness. I will mention some prompts and I want you to give your full focus to offering thanksgiving to Your Father for what He has given us.  We praise You for Your Holy presence - For Your power that proceeded our existence - Thank you  For Your sacrificial Son who paid the price for my sins - thank you  We thank you for your complete forgiveness  We thank you for your great love for us  We thank you for our family - parents, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters  We thank you for our friends who bring comfort and strength  We thank you for your provision. Food. Shelter. Safety.  We thank you for the struggles that we would rather avoid - thank you for using them for our good.  We thank you for being with us, close steady and trustworthy  We thank you for being faithful to us and our family  Let's pray: “On this day, and every day, thank you for the many gifts that you give that sometimes go unnoticed. Thank you that you meet us in stillness and that through Jesus you have made it possible for us to know you intimately, personally and completely. Thank you that you call us your beloved, your children. Protect us, provide for us and bless us and our families. As above, so below.” 

America runs on coffee! Yeah, let's face it! Now, you might object to that, but I don't know on what grounds. You know, there are people who drink coffee, and then there are some who mainline coffee. I have friends who do that, and it keeps people like the makers of those little quickie coffee units very busy. In fact, those little units are a good example of the importance of something called the filter. Now, when you pour into those filters, the hot water goes straight through and enough coffee gets through to taste good, but the grounds don't get through the filter and you don't want them to. I mean, the reason being that most people I know aren't fans of chewing their coffee, and what makes the difference is the filter. Of course, there's a much larger filter around your life that makes all the difference in your quality of life. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Got the Pain? Get the Point!" Now, our word for today from the Word of God is found in 1 Corinthians 10. I'm reading from verse 13. "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man, and God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." Did you notice those words "God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear"? "Not let you." In other words, everything has to get past God before it gets to you. It's got to have His permission. So, God is reviewing every test and every trial that comes into your life before it gets to you. Otherwise the Bible wouldn't say that He "let it come to you." Every problem you're facing right now has been, according to the Word of God, Father filtered. Wow! It can't get past your Heavenly Father before it gets to you. Of course we know that from the book of Job don't we? The devil wanted to bring all kinds of turmoil and anguish into Job's life. But before he could do that, he had to check with God. He couldn't just go do it on his own. And God, knowing that it would build Job's life, and that ultimately he would double the blessing on his life, said, "Yes, that's okay. You can do it." The pain that we have in our lives, the struggles that we have, some of it God sends and some of it God allows, but all of it has to get past Him. Now, I find the hard times in my life much less terrifying when I know that God, if He hasn't sent it, has at least allowed it. And He will never allow something to come into your life that can break you; only what will build you. It's like a weight lifter who, even though he has to strain and push and it hurts to lift more than he's ever lifted before, he's stronger as a result of lifting greater weight. God may allow greater weight to come into your life - not to crush you, but enough to make you stronger. So, look for the Lord and look for the lesson in that tough time you're going through. And if you're going to get the pain, get the point. Your Father loves you very deeply; He's allowed that to come into your life. Don't say, "Is this from the devil or is this from the Lord?" I don't think we'll ever figure that out. But you can say, "How can God use this?" Because He wouldn't have sent it if He couldn't use it. What are you facing right now? I'll tell you this, It has been Father filtered. And the filter makes all the difference, because the Father loves you very much.

Welcome to another exciting episode of the Open Bar Podcast, where the drinks are neat, and the conversation is even neater! In this episode, your charismatic host C4 is joined by Nick from Dore Vodka. Dive into a spirited chat as they unravel the shocking truth behind a vodka that's not quite vodka. Discover how this unique spirit disrupts the traditional vodka scene with its smooth, neat sipping experience.Join the fun as C4 and Nick toast to friendships, entrepreneurship, and the art of creating something extraordinary. You'll get a behind-the-scenes look at the journey of crafting Dory Vodka—a journey fueled by passion, resilience, and plenty of laughs. It's a tale of innovation, dedication, and a little bit of vodka magic!Don't forget to subscribe, like, and share this episode with your friends. Follow us on Instagram for more behind-the-scenes content and updates. Have questions or topics you want covered? Email us at BarTalk@openbarpodcast.com. Cheers to good times and great stories!

Before God does a great work through you, He wants to do a great work in you. Your Father wants you to be secure in him and to draw you close … to show you who He is and to speak to who you are. In this sermon, Brandon Stacey talks about the importance of knowing who, whose and what we are in our fight for the faith. Before we can contend, we need to know we are called by God. His grace, mercy and love calls us and gives us guarantees in our fight.

Our relationship with God is like no other. In our relationships with people, there may be a thousand things they don't know about you, especially as it is related to the heart. Your friend doesn't know your thoughts, your desires, your motives, and your feelings, but God does.Main Points:1. Think about this truth: God knows absolutely everything about you and he loves you. You are fully and completely known, and yet you are loved.2. Because God knows everything about us, he can guide and direct our steps. In life, we are often confused and disoriented. We don't know the best way forward. We don't know which steps to take, but since God already knows, he can carefully guide us to the right decisions. 3. The truth that God sees and knows everything reminds us to live in a way that honors the Lord. If we can be conscious of the reality that God is always watching, we will want to be careful with our thoughts, words, attitudes, and actions because we know God has called us to be holy like our Savior.Today's Scripture Verses:Proverbs 15:3 - “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”Hebrews 4:13 - “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”Jeremiah 23:24 - “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.”Matthew 6:8, Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”Quick Links:Donate to support this podcastLeave a review on Apple PodcastsGet a copy of The 5 Minute Discipleship JournalConnect on SocialJoin The 5 Minute Discipleship Facebook Group

John 8:12-30   12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I am testifying about Myself, My testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone. 16 But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me. 17 Even in your Law it has been written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.” 19 So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”20 These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple area; and no one arrested Him, because His hour had not yet come. 21 Then He said again to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come'?” 23 And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”25 Then they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I even been saying to you from the beginning? 26 I have many things to say and to judge regarding you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I say to the world.” 27 They did not realize that He was speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and I do nothing on My own, but I say these things as the Father instructed Me. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” 30 As He said these things, many came to believe in Him.      BIBLE READING GUIDE - FREE EBOOK - Get the free eBook, Bible in Life, to help you learn how to read and apply the Bible well: https://www.listenerscommentary.com     GIVE -  The Listener's Commentary is a listener supported Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com/give     STUDY HUB - Want more than the audio? Join the study hub to access articles, maps, charts, pictures, and links to other resources to help you study the Bible for yourself. https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   MORE TEACHING - For more resources and Bible teaching from John visit https://www.johnwhittaker.net