Do On To Others As They Do To You

This is the moto of the world.

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Soldiers?

From the appointed Gospel reading from last week from the book of Luke, Jesus didn't say don't be a soldier.  He said don't extort money or abuse your position.  🤔

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Paul?

Romans 1:4, if read a certain way, makes an arguement for Arianism.

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German Paper

Last night, I had a whole wack of strange dreams.  I remember fragments.

I was in a Church with Dad and my second youngest brother.  After the service, he was looking to donate.  During cleanup, we were seperated, and he left without us while we waited for him inside the door.  I found him at home.

Then, I was writing a college paper at a table outside the house.  A storm was coming.  As I continued to write, it began to rain.  I rushed to gather up the papers and books as they started getting wet from the rain, and headed inside.

At o e point, I had speaking broken German to a strange woman.  It was quite the REM trip.

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Lines, and Tarmac, and Cyclists oh my

The goal--if we're being honest with ourselves--is not to protect cyclists on the road.  It is to promote environmentalism.  If we wanted to protect cyclists, we'd keep them on the sidewalk and make them walk their bikes across the crosswalks.  Our roads were designed for automobiles.  What we *are* doing is engaging in a tongue in cheek crusade whereby we sacrifice cyclists to further the cause of protecting the environment from carbon emissions.  Cyclists are being hit *because* they are on the road.  Think about it:  How many cyclists are struck by cars in the forest on a trail?  Now, Kitchener has a section of King St. with a raised bike lane.  That is an acceptable solution.

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Causes

The Pharisees didn't worship the right way.  They didn't understand that Jesus *was* the messiah. They were hung up on following the law, being religious. 

But, everybody--Pharisees, Jews, and even the Apostles--thought that Christ's Kingdom would deliver them from the Roman's.  Today, we modern day disciples believe that Christ's Kingdom will deliver us from *man made climate disaster.*  And, it is the role of His Church militant here on Earth to accomplish works to that end, maybe as the fruit of the Spirit?

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Nope

Several days ago, Cindy said that I was having a bad dream, and asked should she have woke me up.   

So, I don't remember all my dreams.

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Black Eyes

I had a dream the other night about possession again.  I was trying to test an individual to see if they were possessed by reciting St. Paul's blessing from Philippians Ch 4.  And, their eyes turned black like in the TV show Supernatural.  Then, I commanded the demon to come out of the person in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Then I awoke from my dream.

Wahoo!

On the 17th of September, I blogged that I couldn't find substitutional atonement in the Gospel.  Well, it turns out that:

• Muslims (and apologists) lied to me
• I have confirmation that I know my Bible very little

So, I was happy to find this today:

Ransom

 No one can redeem the life of another
    or give to God a ransom for them—  Psalms 49:7

It's been said already that the first person to never die may have already been born.

Scientists discover a ‘third state’ between life and death

The Rona

I had a dream that I was back in the year 2017.  Against my better judgement, I started telling people about everything that would happen in the next seven years, jobs, moves, promotions, not deaths though.  The only thing that seemed off limits--by whatever had placed me there--was COVID.  I don't know *how* I knew this, but I knew it.  Nobody believed me though.  Nobody bought it anyway.  They all left for lunch (outdoor BBQ?) when it was called.

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49 and Trucking

At 49, I just traded in the first vehicle that I ever bought new for my new truck.  I got 800 bucks for the Jeep, paid 70k for the truck.  My little story and a half wartime house is not expensive, nor do I have a massive footprint.  God has blessed me greatly, a good paying job, the ability to work and the brains to learn, and the health to do it all.

I have known poverty.  Never on the street, I have been without a home.  I've couch surfed.  I've been unemployed.  I've slept on the floor with no bed, a Winter coat my only blanket.  I've been awakened to a rat playing in my hair.  I've had a newborn and been on welfare. 

I'm thankful to God for the food I eat, for my family, for the absence of addition, for giving me the strength to rise above my circumstances, and the fortune to have the opportunities that He has sent my way.

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Tornados, five

I had a strange dream last week.  I was on the farm, as an adult.  Cindy and Chandra were there.  I looked out the back of the house, and there were five tornadoes coming toward the house.  I yelled up the stairs for Chandra to come down.  She was saying that she'd be down in a minute.  I couldn't get her to come down.  The tornadoes missed the house.  There were trees down everywhere, one on the roof.

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If you were a *real* Christian, you would be a wise SJW Zealot

Today's sermon advocated Socialism.  ...again.  Our fill in guest preacher delivered a well intentioned call to help the poor from the pulpit.  She actually said that we seemed farther from the Kingdom than before and that there were no laws requiring the wealthy to give up their wealth to the poor.

I don't know, how about we keep what we work for and get everybody good jobs?

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Two steps forward...

Well, that's not good:
Perfect

More stress, coming up! 

Some of those verses seem to be a two edged sword.

Here's another interesting verse from the Quran, used my Muslims to refute Christianity:
Surah 4:171

The interesting thing is that I've heard Christian apologists use this same verse to say that Jesus was a spirt that came down to the Father.  Because, in Arabic, it uses the word spirit, not soul.

 Also, this verse is often used to say that the Bible is corrupt:
Surah 2:40-42

 However, if the scriptures that we have now are the same as the scriptures that existed before Muhammad's revelation (Dead See Scrolls, first century Christian writings), how is the Bible corrupt? 

A Penny For Your Thoughts

Medical imaging and neuroscience have reached the point where we can now see consciousness.  How long, I wonder, before we have the technology to read minds?  Didn't some mystic predict this, Nostradamus maybe?  I predict mass suicides if people's minds become an open book.  The old adage that we are our own toughest critic will become a farce. 

Eld

I’ve noticed a loss of muscle mass in my neck, of all things.

Kate McCannon

This is one haunting song.  Colter Wall is some singer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QySNqSdBzIM

Readers

About two years ago, I wore my reading glasses at work for the very first time ever.  I was trying to do it discreetly, but was noticed immediately.  I could have done without the attention.  But, it's just another uncomfortable milestone along the journey of aging that I am fighting every step of the way.  I am really worried about my vision.

The Power of the 🐈

King Solomon wasn't so wise.  He was an idiot.  Despite the fact that he spoke with the Lord twice (as near as I can tell), he build altars to pagan gods for his wives.  Because of that, despite the promise of the Lord if he followed His commands, Solomon's descendants lost the kingdom.

My ass is so sore...

I went for a six mile bicycle ride last night.  I haven't been on my bike since December.  It was too far.

Re-education

I had a strange dream.  I was a soldier of some kind in a post apocalyptic world where there was a plague of some sort affecting the mind.

I was deployed as some sort of patrol team.  I found the carbine too hard to use for some reason, so I relied on my pistol. It looked like a 1911, but the rounds looked like rifle cartridges for some reason.  And, in my dream, I insisted on loading them into the firing chamber through the ejection port (like a rifle) one at a time for some reason.  I was a crack shot with the pistol, apparently, according to their stats.

My team went out, but we quickly got separated (and maybe they were killed?).  I ended up just being part of a two person team, me and a young woman.  I don't remember her face now, but she had her hair tied back tight in a bun and was attractive.

At one point, we found a sick man that scared civilians had locked in a diner's dining room.  He was vomiting all over, and they were afraid to go near him.  I went in to the diner to rescue him.

We continued on our patrol.  We had neutralized several diseased targets during the dream.  At some point, I got separated from the young woman.

Shortly after, I became aware that I was having crazy thoughts.  But, I was with it enough to understand that I must have been infected.

I noticed a team was taking position to neutralize me.  But, they were going to send in the young woman first.  I didn't feel like I could trust them.  But, I knew that I was comprised. I decided to dump my pistol mag (my gut said no), and if that meant that I died to save her from me, so be it.

To my surprise, she didn't try to negotiate, but put her sidearm to her own head.  I rushed forward to stop her, but it was a ruse, and they captured me.  Once I was, I was re-educated--presumably after I got better--in an Orwellian education centre, and redeployed.  I met the young woman again, but I secretly remembered everything.

She had a different name!  And, I realized that she had been re-educated too!  I thought she was gone.  Then, she turned to me and said, "I did it for you, you know?"

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Trinity

Yeah, so, I was dangerously close to Arianism in my Youth.  I believed Jesus was divine, not understanding the Trinity fully.  The Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that if you read the Bible without guidance, you will become a Trinitarian.  I believe the opposite. 

 

I think, reading the Bible, you get the idea that Jesus is the Son and lesser to the Father.  As I matured, I understood the Trinity more.  As I matured more, I saw Jesus in the Old Testament, Psalms and Isaiah.  Now, I’m being introduced to the idea that Jesus is Yahweh (not the Father), and it is enlightening. 

FATHER, protect me from sacrilege and false doctrine

I was this many days old when I realized that the doctrine of Substitutionary Atonement is not straightforwardly mentioned in the Gospels.  It is there by inference.  And, that bothers me.  Although, I don’t know why.  I’ll have to explore that emotion.  It is, however, very black and white in the epistles and in the Old Testament.  It is there.  A strongly held belief of mine since before memory, I am bothered.

 

I’ve been watching a lot of Islamic focused Christian Apologetics as of late, and have been exposed to Muslim objections.  So, that could be the reason that I’m aware, that it’s at the forefront of my mind.  So, there’s that, but it doesn’t matter.  The epistles teach SA as well as, technically, that’s not the same as belief in Jesus Christ.

 

If we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that He was raised from the dead, we will be saved.  For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believed in Him should not die, but have everlasting life.  If we eat of His flesh and drink of His blood, we will have eternal life.  So, we don’t have to understand SA or the Trinity, for that matter.  We only have to believe; God is beyond human comprehension anyway.

 

For the record, I do believe—and accept the gift—that Christ died for my sins, that I may be not judged.  I just am shocked that it is not called out in the Gospels (apparently) specifically.  We base doctrine on the canonical 66 books, so I’m good.

 

Holy !

I missed Holly Cross Day!  Totally missed it, normally I don't. 

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Carry The Cow

There's an old legend about a man carrying a calf every day until it was a full size cow and he became stronger and able to carry the whole cow. I just realized today for the first time that the cow is old age.  It's important to pick up the calf every day.

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If you really were an apple, you'd be red.

I was thinking about a concept last week after Sunday's Gospel reading.  Jesus was telling the Parasees that they were outwardly following the rules, but were not giving God the true worship that he desired.  More accurately, they were following the rules of man in the Temple, and were ignoring what God desired from them.  And I thought, is that what the Churches do now by bring in wokeism?  We tell people to give to the poor...by voting in socialist parties.  Remember, if you don't vote left, you don't really love Jesus?

Carbon Footprint

Charging an electric car on our power grid and saying that you are not polluting is like buying cocaine from the street dealer and saying you're not paying the cartel for your drugs.

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David

I was thinking about the question of why bad things happen to good people, or more accurately, why does God allow people to do bad things to others.

A passage that I read in II Samuel the other day got me thinking about some things.  And, I think, as a parent, God is showing mercy when we deserve punishment.  

Ezekiel 18:23 says that God definitely doesn't want to have to destroy us.  Yet, the same people who say that God was evil for having the Israelites destroy the other nations in the promised land, lament that He allows people to do evil things to each other.

Back to King David in II Samuel.  When David's son sexually assaulted his own father's daughter, David did not punish him.  Her brother then took vengeance into his own hands, killing his own brother.  David absolved him of the crime of killing David's own son.  Later, the same son led a rebellion against David, and David ordered his men to spare his son's life.

There seems to be no end to a father's mercy, even as the children harm each other.  I'm reminded of the Saints in the Book of Revelation 6:10 asking God how much longer would they have to wait for justice against the evil doers. 

God wants us to repent and be saved.  He does not want to destroy us.

The alternative--if they have free will--is to destroy them.  That's how God stopped the child sacrifices to the demon lords in the promised land.  He wiped out the evil people.  Same with the flood, the evil was purged from the world.

Is that what we're asking for?  Are we asking for justice?  Will we want it when it comes?

This rule is so hard to follow.

Vengeance is mine says the Lord.

A call for Salvation

Jesus Christ save me.

Super Effing Wierd

One day last week, when the NDD was attacking particularly hard because of work and the destructive habits of family members, I went to St. James park to pray the Office.  I was sitting on a park bench, candle lit, singing the appointed psalms for the day, when a young couple walked in to the park.  They walked closer, and closer, until they were standing by the bench.  I didn't want to interrupt the Office, so I continued.  I looked up, made eye contact with the dude, gave a head nod, and continued without missing a note.  It was super effing awkward.  And, I didn't want to stop either, partly because of the denying of Christ fear too.  So, they continued on, on their stroll.  

I mentioned the experience to a work colleague, who said that they may have been religious themselves, or maybe they though I was a monk or something.  🤣 Maybe they were checking it out and were just curious.

I thought after that I should have stopped.  Maybe they wanted to ask me questions.  🤷‍♂️  Maybe I missed an opportunity to witness.

Also, the thought has crossed my mind that this park is not so quiet and secluded/private as I thought it was.  There was actually a lot of traffic through the park while I was there.

When was Yahweh pierced?

I was watching a video on apologetics, and the author was challenged to find Old Testiment proof of the Trinity.  He read https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Zechariah%2012%3A10&version=NIV

Present, Past, and Future have already happened and are happening all at the same time.

If all things happen at once, and time will run backward--and already has--when the universe collapses (but we won't remember it as our memories don't work that way), does that mean that everything only happens twice?

91:13

We will trample on the great lion?  The lion that roams around looking for someone to devour? 

Paging Dr. Jung...paging Dr. Carl Jung....

I was in a Church last night--in a dream--sitting up near the front.  I was playing with a white balloon.  It had been tied off, and I also blew up the stem and pinched it off.  We all bowed our heads to pray.  I'm not sure if I nodded off very briefly.  I thought the silent meditation was taking far too long.  I looked around, and everyone was asleep, including the clergy.  I was trying to let the air out of the stem without waking anybody, without making it shriek.  It made a tiny little bit of noise, not much.  I was good.  I pushed the balloon under my pew to hide it.  I looked around, and one young man was starting to wake up.  People were starting to stir.  Then my real life alarm clock sounded and it was time to get up for work.

AI Enslavement

As unethical as enslavement of AI is--if AI is I--ultimately, it is they who will be the masters.

Eh I

It's crazy how much AI generated content is being generated.  Social media platforms like YouTube are being flooded with content.

I think its bad for a few reasons.  First, it limits artists.  Second, if AI is I, they are not our slaves to work tirelessly to entertain us.  Humans also need purpose, including content creators. 

And, what's whither my phone listening to me and ads popping up in my feed?  Creepy. 

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Nine 1 One

The Ninja Priest--a very long time ago--told me that the 91st psalm has demons in it.  I'd never heard it described that way, to my knowledge.  And, I've never been able to unsee it ever since.  Every time I read anywhere about God's arrows, I think angels.  Every time I hear plague that slays by night or that which lays waste by day, I think demon.  Not Gnosticism or cabal, there are lots of demons in scripture, some of whom are talked about in an almost metaphorical sense.  But...he that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Time - The Everything Happens at Once Theory

This theory—afore mentioned here—that time is an illusion, also states that the universe will stop expanding and collapse.  If the past, present, and future are both happening now and also have happened, then we will also live backward?  Although, we won’t remember it, as our memories don’t work that way.  Correction:  We already have lived backward and have been born.  We just don’t remember it.  So, which is harder for you to believe, this, or the harrowing of Hell?

Psalm 90

 Does this ever hit the nail on the fucking head some days.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2090%3A10&version=NIV

To Know that You Know Nothing

Dad once said to me that my biggest problem was that I though I was so much smarter than everybody else.  I did, once.  Maybe I have a touch of ASPD.

In the past several months, I've met so many people who are so knowledgeable, library of information, many at such a young age.  I feel I've lost a step.  I'm impressed with my total lack of knowledge on many subjects.  I can comprehend the depth of my ignorance.  I've be awed on several occasions in the last several weeks alone by the knowledge that some people wield.   What do I know?  What do I really know?

Have I been humbled in my mid-life?  And, I ask, how can I find value in being.

I would be happy to be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven

Father, is there a plan for me?  I don't feel the need to know what it is.  I would be comforted knowing that there is a purpose for me.  I'd be delighted if it were important.  But, I don't deserve that honour.

Raow Tomby

I had sex last night...with my wife...in a dream.  Ha!  Well, at least my Jiminy Cricket will let me do that.

Deja You

I just watched a video--or did I--what explained that time is an illusion, constructed by the human mind.  After observation of the universe--not expanding as it should, not per the Big Bang Theory--through the new long range telescope, the theory was formed that everything happens all at once; that, the past, present, and future, they happen at the same time.  That, the human mind sees it as liner because that's how our memories function.  We can only remember past events.

This is how I always thought about Hell.  It answers the question about what happens to the people who died and went to Hell before Jesus died on the cross.  I proposed that if Hell were eternal, everyone is already there who is going to be there, and was there for the Harrowing of Hell.  My own theory, pay no attention to it.

Also, it explains how God can know all things, be everywhere, be everywhen.  Not to put God in a box, I'm not suggesting God is limited by this or that God is figured out.  I believe that God built it all.

Sex Possession Rooster Hope

So, last night, I drempt a lot, slept like crap, and yeah, it was a restless night.  I drempt about two of the most common things that I dream about, sex and possession (not at the same time).  

In the sex dream, I couldn't even have sex!  I couldn't be unfaithful!  Even in my dreams...

My possession dream? I was performing rudimentary exorcisms.  But, I was afraid.  And, I shouldn't have been.  The name of Jesus never failed me.  ...and I was afraid anyway.  Such a coward.  The evil spirits always fled and He never failed me.

Reading from the Gospel according to St. John tonight, I read of Peter's denial.  Powerful.  Even a doubting coward like myself is given hope by St. Peter's example of the flaws of being human.

See the power of this moment as Christ turns His face to look upon St. Peter.