Clinical Trial Double Speak

Doctor: It doesn't look good. We have tried all that we know how to do. But ... 

Patient: But?

Doctor: Well there is a clinical trial that I recently researched. The initial findings are promising, but there are risks and no promises that this will work.

Patient: Let me get this straight. I am dying anyway, so maybe, just maybe, this thing you are looking into, may save my life?

Doctor: It may, there is a chance it will, but we can't guarantee results. You can think about it, but we need to know soon, because your condition left untreated will worsen quickly.

Patient: Okay ... thanks, I mean ahhh, okay.

I have been watching Grey's Anatomy. There was a craze regarding this show when it first aired on television, and people were obsessed about watching it. I resisted, but recently, I decided to see what all the hype was about. A fast paced, exciting, trauma drama of professionals saving lives while ruining their own, is my short and sweet synopsis. Two main characters, former lovers still in love but not together as a couple, except of course when their eyes meet and speak volumes of desire, are working as a team to cure a form of cancer that causes tumours in the brain; the big research hit and miss project is called a clinical trial, and I find it so obviously humorously unfunny, that they are injecting a virus into brain tumours to kill the tumour but not the brain. Laugh with me a little would you? A virus injected into a tumour with the expectancy that only the tumour will be affected? like the virus is going to follow doctors orders and obey to stay where it is put.   

The Bible indicates the life is in the blood. Blood flows through you and me, through all parts of our bodies, from our heads to our toes, unless of course, there is something in there that does not belong, that impedes progress throughout our beautifully designed system. A tumour, a clot, a foreign object or substance introduced ... these things are trouble makers, and cause malfunctioning. Surgeons are necessary helpers, improving life quality when a person needs assistance. Clinical trials though, dear reader, are double speak for the sick minded amongst us that use the terminology as a cover for what they really intend to do: experiment on living beings. 

Injecting a virus. Vaccines are the injecting of a virus, and man alive, they have made us all sick in one way or another, haven't they? Grey's Anatomy introduced ideas to inject them into the thinking of the every day person that suddenly falls ill and needs medical assistance. Grey's Anatomy with its hustle and bustle quick witted character actors sounding like professional medical men and woman, flawed and failing, rising up and then shining, while they withhold and then blurt their inner turmoil and personal trauma, suggests to the viewer that the frailty of life is exposed honestly and without "judgment", but dear reader, if we slow down while watching shows like this, we can see how the deep and devilish dives these episodes take, can impact the psychology of the vicarious pleasure viewers. 

That was a very long sentence/paragraph, but how could I break up the thought train? What you just read you might want to reread, for the sake of clarity. Alas, the previous paragraph is packed with layered messages, and that is exactly how TV shows like Grey's Anatomy work. They send clear and then messy messages that are hard to sort, unless of course, there is some analysis. This said, I will break down what I just stated, for you and me to easily pull out the points I aim to deliver. 

• Medical professionals inject viruses
• The viruses sicken the injected
• Television shows like Grey's Anatomy introduce ideas that train viewers to think a certain way
• Viewers that become patients are taught to trust medical professionals that contradict physical reality. Question: does it make sense to inject healthy bodies with not only viruses, but other strange non-natural items that do not belong in human flesh? 
• It is viable to be an expert in your profession while being an emotionally disturbed and wanton wreck in-between working and being off the scheduled clock
• Judging is forbidden and discouraged, conversely: finger pointing at perceived hypocrisy to shut down and shut up those that may be inclined to make moral statements, is encouraged and becomes protocol
• The devilish dives displayed in portions of the show are mixed and matched with heroic humility, as a form of counterbalancing wicked choices and behaviours
• Vicarious pleasure viewers are psychologically impacted by the sexually rabid, work hard, play harder, boundary-less atmosphere of hospital staff and their wanton patients. Anything and everything goes is the message, as long as you do your best and get your work done when there is an emergent case to face
• Lastly. The show is so action packed and emotionally charged that the viewing audience gets pulled here there and everywhere, by the comings and goings of the characters. I think it is vitally important for us to listen for undertone and for the cues that the writers are setting up as points of sale for consumers. 

Television shows aren't real life, and yet, with Grey's Anatomy, there is something to be said about the writers and their ability to capture and then impart, the inner workings of mankind. In all our majesty and malignancy, people are on display, and Grey's Anatomy does a very good job highlighting how unresolved trauma, can cause tremendous drama, in those that refuse to do their emotional and spiritual homework. 

My final note here: Take heed what enters into your thoughts. Question what message is being delivered and better yet, ask yourself: Who is underwriting what you are hearing and seeing. Grey's Anatomy is very clever. There are some convoluted God messages, a mixing and mingling of the God of The Bible, and the god of the universe, so to speak. There is only One God, and to say or suggest otherwise, is devilish. 

Galatians 1:6-12

I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God: or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Let us not be perverted or poisoned by what we hear and see, dear one. 

Black Bird Brigade & Skunks

I saw, I heard. 

The black bird brigade that owns my backyard dove and pulled up. In unison, they kept a close watchful eye. They called their agitation, chirped their offences, and warned the intruder. They chattered and swooped to show their displeasure. Something, or more on point, someone, was in their territory, and they didn't like it. I looked to see what was causing the commotion and there he was: a skunk. 

Now why, I ask you, were the birds so incensed by the intrusion of a skunk in their backyard? The little waddler wove its was in and out and around the plants in the garden. Four birds took to branches in a tree overlooking the scene, and periodically chirped their irritation. I cautiously watched from behind a screen and some window panes, fascinated to see the critter while feeling slightly trepidatious at the same time; after all, this potentially odious visitor could be a stinky menace, and the last thing anyone wants when they see a skunk, is to be sprayed. 

I talk to animals. I call them Sweetie or Cutie and tell them Hello. I feed animals. When I make "milk" from almonds, I put the ground almond meal outside for my little backyard friends to nibble. Some people tell me that this is an unwise practice, and today, I am wondering, Are they correct? Should I refrain, since perhaps, skunks are now looking for a quick snack left out by moi? I wondered at myself, not saying Hello to the cute critter in his black and white every day costume. Was I afraid of him? 

The birds and their backyard. The skunk and his ability to wander wherever he likes. Ants and snails, worms and potato bugs, they all live freely, and really do not think much about the humans that invade their homes and habitats, digging up and dropping down things that do not belong. They, the creatures, don't think, and yet, they react. Those birds this morning own what I pay for in property taxes. The backyard is their domain and they are territorial for goodness sakes ... they will naturally defend and protect what belongs to them, and will do what they can to intimidate interlopers and unwanted's. I found two baby birds dropped dead on the concrete in that backyard, and I have my suspicions about who the culprits were; I point my unfeathered finger at the black birds that were eye balling the skunk this morning, as backyard guardians and protectors of what is theirs. While humans see fences as lines of demarcation, marking off where they start and stop and someone else begins and ends, the birds freely fly into any and every backyard they choose, marking and policing the land as only animals can. 

I liked that little skunk, but did not feel inclined to engage with him. The birds didn't like the skunk at all, and while they swooped near a couple of times as a form of harassment, the skunk was nonplussed, and went about his sniffing business, touring every bit of the border lined with gardens. What is my point, you ask? It is the skunk and how it was designed, not as a cuddly creature that one can make into a stripy pet to be embraced. The skunk is to be avoided and when you or I spot one, we stop dead in our tracks, and cautiously back away, or run after shrieking, while hoping the stinker isn't alerted to our presence or startled and irritated enough, to lift tail and aim in our direction. 

Dear reader ... there are some people that are odious, skunks in disguise. Birds, without being sprayed, instinctively know that skunks are somehow a threat, contain in them a hazardous waste stink, and that messing with them will make them odious too. What animals have in the form of instincts, humans have in the form of discernment, a skill that can be taught and learned, provided one is willing to pay attention to warning sounds and sights, and submit to wise instruction. Behaviour never lies, and skunks have a scent that is off putting. Since behaviour never lies, and skunks give off an odour that is off putting, I thought you and I could take a look at the tells of skunky people: 

Tells

1. They talk too much and when they listen, it is to snatch snippets of information for the sake of slander. 

You might get the feeling that you can trust them, or that they are treating you as a confident because you are special to them. Don't be fooled, they tell everyone everything, including what you have shared. Your gut warns, and you must heed, or get sprayed.  

2. They talk about other people in a critical manner, and share personal information that they have been asked to keep in confidence. 

This one piggy backs on #1. If someone is talking about other people and they appear to have more information then seems normal, know that they enjoy gossip and that you will be a topic of conversation soon enough. Make sure you do not follow suit by either joining in the criticizing, or repeating the gossip to someone else. Everyone gets a turn with this skunk, and the stink coats all participants eventually.

3. They hunt for information and ask questions to gather fodder for a gossip session and burn fest of those that trust them. 

By now you may see the layering effects of the skunky activities. They sniff around for something delicious to chew on; they add their own flavouring, misconstruing and misrepresenting, to defame anyone that has shared intimate details with them. They like nothing more, than to spread the stank when ever and where ever they can, while maintaining what looks like, a black and white innocence. 

4. When they have been caught speaking out of turn, or playing a role in lying and manipulating, they easily and quickly cover up their wrong doing with explanations of their innocency: they are smooth talkers. 

This one is tricky. If you are an honest sort of person, it is almost impossible to believe anyone can feign truth telling, while being utterly duplicitous. Facts and behaviours don't lie, and when two people get together and compare their personal notes regarding the experiences they have had with the skunk, they soon discover all the skunker's lies; once this occurs, and the skunk has caught wind of the truth about him being revealed, he will usually waddle away. He skunk may be out of sight, but let me tell you, his stench remains in the nostrils of the offended for a very long time; it is hard to de-stink once we have been sprayed. If you suspect someone is lying to you because they change their story or the details in their stories, then chances are good, you are dealing with a skunky liar. O, and if other people are treating you differently after spending time with the skunky manipulator, know that the stinker has been spreading their vile scentiments about you. 

5. They say what they think will get them closer to getting something they want: they use people to scratch an itch or fill a void or, to get a low down and dirty desire satisfied, at the expense of whomever it is they have latched onto and leeched off of. 

Skunks are needy greedy opportunists. They will ask more of you than they ought, and try to make you feel some sort of obligation to comply, when they think you are about to say no. If you feel compelled to do their bidding but would rather not, listen to your discernment - it is trying to protect you from over giving to someone that soaks others for their own benefit without a care in the world what it might cost you emotionally, spiritually, mentally, or physically. 

6. They are usurpers and peace thieves. They cause strife by undermining leaders and getting others to see the leader under the colour of disapproval, or by questioning the leaders decisions, morals, ethics, values ... they sow seeds and weeds of discord where none were previously. 

The skunk might actually admire you, and that may seem like a good thing, until you realize, they want what you have, and since they cannot have whatever it is they covet, they will do their damnedest to destroy what they admire. Taking down a strong person may make them feel powerful and brilliant, but it is a sign of a maliciousness that is deeply rooted and dangerous; dangerous for their own well-being, and dangerous for those that they want to tear apart. Talking behind someone's back and being kind to their face is quite the party trick, and people that do such things are devilishly devious. Make sure this kind of gal or guy does not have access to your backyard, front yard, or anywhere else you happen to be.   

7. They steal attention and spot light moments ... they cannot stand being outshone, or highlighting anyone else's abilities and achievements. 

The showboating skunkard gets drunk off of attention, and they adore themselves so much that they will do anything to have all eyes on them at all times. That feeling you get, the one where you feel as though you cannot flourish around them, is a warning that they will stunt your growth, clip your wings, stomp on your new beginnings, thwart your give it all efforts, throw rocks at your wheels, dirt in your eyes, and muddle your mind with their insatiable demands to be #1. This person throws shade on your shine because they cannot stand the light you emit, and they want to dull, dim, dismiss, and dash it to pieces. If you have been around someone like this, you know exactly what I speak of. Don't give them any thought or attention because that only feeds the beast in them. They are attention hogs, and this kind of skunky behaviour will not change unless of course, they get whacked hard with a humility stick. 

8. They lie. 

They tell untruths, omit facts, tell half truths, suggest things that cause doubt; state falsehoods as though they are an authority on whatever the subject happens to be ... it is kind of crazy to see this sort of skunk in action. They can be really convincing, and the more they talk, the more you ought to suspect somethings aren't making sense, or measuring up. Why do they need to convince with endless words, if what they are saying is true? 

9. They never say they are sorry.

If someone will not say they are sorry, they are a sorry excuse for a skunk. When a person will not say sorry, it is because they are not; it is that simple. 

10. They move on from one group to the next, repeating their performance, and growing their reputation as a skunk that ought to be circumvented, avoided, and prevented from making their rounds in trust circles. 

Skunks are unpopular, despite their adorable appearance. When a skunk enters an area, everyone watches almost breathlessly, while anticipating its departure. I have never heard of anyone rushing a skunk to get rid of him. We do not shoo shoo a skunk away, we wait for him to go. And this, is true of skunk like humans too: they cause such chaos, kick up such a fuss and stink, that they eventually waddle their way out of the vicinity to sniff out fresh ground, and new people to perpetrate against. If and when you inhale the pungant scent of spray, wafting your way in the air, I hope it gives you cause for pause, and time to make a quick decision to steer clear to keep the stank off you, and yours. 

I admit, this was a fun bit of writing for me: nature is an educator and the black bird brigade's behaviour when affronted by an unwelcome skunk in our mutually owned backyard, entertained me greatly. Animals have a certain something we as humans do not possess: they are candid, if I can use this word to describe them. Humans make excuses for their bad behaviour. Humans accommodate other humans that lie and kill and steal. Humans appropriate time and talent belonging to others, and some humans are very comfortable and content when they cause pain to their fellow man. It is a sorry state of affairs for humans to drop other humans dead onto the hard concrete, or for them to mislead people so that they lose their minds, their health, their employment, their homes. The black birds are territorial: humans act like tyrannical terrorists, despite their ability to reason and understand the golden rule of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. 

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets (Matthew 7:12).

There are skunk like humans amongst us, roaming freely, unhindered and barely challenged, if at all. Skunks are God's creatures, and they have their place in the animal kingdom ... but human skunks will not be given entrance to the Kingdom of God. They will not waddle their way in where they do not belong, and you and I do not have to keep them company.  The stench is repugnant and almost unbearable, and dear one, you get to walk away, or run, when you see a skunk heading in your direction. 

God With Out

Pride: Put "em UP

Truth: Put what up?

Pride: Your fists; put 'em up in front of your stupid face, cuz I'm about to pound you, and you can't say you weren't warned

Truth: I am not fighting with you. I don't have anything to prove

Pride: The hell you don't, the way you've been talking

Truth: Perhaps consider bringing your arms down and think, think about what I said

Pride: O no, not this again. You are judgmental, and prejudice, and think your way is the only way, but it isn't, and I am sick and tired of you trying to tell me what to do

Silence: ____________________________________________________

This is the flatline silence Truth speaks when unheard by Pride. As I typed just now, finishing what Silence had to say, a spider dropped onto the mouse area of my laptop. I squealed and laughed while swatting it away; I grin while I continue to type. When I go to sleep tonight, will the creepy crawly drop onto me once again, and will I be aware enough to swat it away?

Don't you just love when a metaphor drops right onto your lap? 

During the great oppression of covid, there was much hysteria. I am not inclined to the exaggerated emotional state labelled as hysterical; I am irritable at times, yes, but never hysterical. I stay calm in storms, and have a tendency to soothe others when fear overrides their minds, and chaotic thinking inclines them toward rash decision making. Does this mean I am not easily influenced? Absolutely not ... I am just like the next guy or gal that has been hoodwinked, only to learn further on down the pick-fence-lined-lane, that I erred in my judgment, and consequently, cast my pearls to swine. It is ever so irksome to be headstrong and resolute, only to discover that pride leads where angels fear to tread. Sin is subtle and insidious and its cohort pride, generally speaking, can be found lurking in the shadows as agitator and instigator, when we do what we ought not do, because we think we are right, when we couldn't be more wrong. 

When I see the road I took to get to my current position regarding political matters, I recognize that along the way, I really did want some of the gum flapping candidates to actually be good guys; and so, I temporarily talked some of them up, defending them when really, they were/are, all the same (I know, I know, this blanket statement may clearly indicate to a few readers that I am ill-informed about some of the guys and gals that really do love God and want to serve his people ... I challenge you to go ahead and name them, and change my mind. When there are exceptions to a rule, I suggest these people are divinely placed. This said, I will celebrate when you give me names and prove me wrong: be forewarned, that if the person neglects to speak of God and Jesus as Saviour, I hold them suspect immediately, thus making it virtually impossible for you to change my mind ... Go figure this game out in your free time). If a person does not speak righteously with justice as their platform and truth as light chasing away darkness; if a man or woman does not freely and often speak of God and scripture, I now suspect them as completely without God, and here is why: 

Acts 4:15-20

But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 

But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. 

To speak of Jesus as The Way, The Truth, The Life, is impossible to resist when a person is truly his. All the globalists and commentators do not speak of him, because they do not belong to him. They are not morally and ethically inclined, because they do not have justice as their rudder and righteousness as the place they prefer to moor. 

God with out. Think with me for a moment on this idea, dear one. When God is not in a person, it is because the person wants to keep him out; they are without God, and it shows in their speech and conduct. Listen. It takes a lot of work to be consistently disobedient, to fight God at every turn; to stand tall and effectively tell him to shut-up and stop talking. He may very well stop talking to a human, not as a result of them instructing him to do so, but because he has given them over to their own destruction. Plugging our ears to what we don't want to hear, and then going about our wicked business, knowing we are committing the crime of sin, eventually turns off conscience, in favour of pride being fully voiced and embodied in all we say and do. Do you know anyone like this? a person that is so committed to damning themselves via doing all God has said not to do, that nothing said to them has them hesitating and considering consequences? I do: I know many people just like this; I also know they have to engage in various distraction tactics to keep the ear muffs and plugs in place, and that silence and quietness is their mortal enemy, because that is when their sins scream so loudly, they become painfully impossible to ignore. 

Let us return to the drop in spider from earlier in this piece of writing, shall we? 

• Is truth a creepy crawly to you dear reader? 
• Does it invade your thinking on a silken thread, only to be swatted away? 
• Is there a web of pride filled lies you have told yourself that act like a trap, that can be ignored by day, only to befuddle you as you lay in bed at night, wondering when you may feel the tickle of trouble that a spider like bite may cause when you rest? 

I always feel hopeful when people suffer with regret and remorse that leads to repentance and remission of sins through Christ as Lord of lords, King of kings.

I always feel saddened when people are prideful and protect their perversions and proclivities toward continued disobedience, that leads to declaring themselves godless. 

Look at the rulers in the scripture above that admit to a miracle that the news got hold of and spread like wildfire. They knew they were dealing with men of God, namely in this case, Peter and John, and yet, they wanted to shut them up, and threatened violence if they did not heed their command: not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 

Laughable. It is absolutely laughable to a Christian to be told to not speak of Jesus and to actually heed. We cannot, we will not, and we must not ... and dear reader, you can use this little blog as your truth litmus test for whether or not someone you know is a Christian: 

They will say they are a Christian. They will tell you what they are reading in The Bible. They will tell you who their favourite Christian authors and commentators are: and which books influenced them most and why. They will talk about God and his saving grace every chance they get. They will tell you how much of a sinner they were and may still be, because they are ashamed and grateful at the very same time for coming clean before God and man by the blood of the Redeemer. They will act like their Saviour in the most modest and wonderful ways, and you will feel good around them because dear one, they will pray for you and love you to Christ. 

God within is the Holy Ghost; and man alive, every real Christian, not those that profess him and act like the devil, but those that really know him, live to tell of him, and what they have been saved from via the cross of Christ. 

Galatians 6:14-16

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. 

Herod's, Eaten By Worms

In this chapter we have the story, I. Of the martyrdom of James the apostle, and the imprisonment of Peter by Herod Agrippa, who now reigned as king in Judea (v. 1-4). II. The miraculous deliverance of Peter out of prison, by the ministry of an angel, in answer to the prayers of the church for him (v. 6-19). III. The cutting off of Herod in the height of his pride by the stroke of an angel, the minister of God's justice (v. 20-230; and this was done while Barnabas and Saul were at Jerusalem upon the errand that the church of Antioch sent them on, to carry their charity, and therefore in the close we have an account of their return to Antioch (v. 24, 25). An except taken from Matthew Henry's Commentary, Volume 6, Acts to Revelation, page 118.

James - ordered to be executed by Herod Agrippa; martyred for preaching the gospel 

Peter - imprisoned by Herod Agrippa, the very same man that murdered James; Herod was the ruling and reigning king in Judea 

Miraculous deliverance - A ministering angel delivers Peter out of prison. God has heard the prayers of the saints, of the church, and answers their pleas of mercy for Peter

Herod cut off - The stroke of an angel kills Herod at the height of his pride. A minister of God's justice does his bidding

Barnabas and Saul - Barnabas and Saul are in Judea on a mission to deliver relief to the brethren. A famine is foretold by a prophet named Agabus, and in anticipation of there being no food for the poor believers in Judea, funds have been collected and sent to ensure their survival and maintenance when tough times of lack occur. 

Barnabas and Saul return to Antioch

Dear reader, some things, never change. That was my thought early this morning. The some things I considered are these: 

1. Christians will always be persecuted and martyred/murdered for loving God and speaking of him

2. Christians will be imprisoned and miraculously ministered to, and also released, by the Authority that determines what he wants them to do next, upon their angelic deliverance

3. The prayers of the saints are a sweet savoury scent and holy sacred sound, that rise to the nostrils and ears of God

4. Prideful men that accept praise from other men as though they are God, are cut down, cut off, and dropped low in the most obvious of ways when they least expect it. God is forever just, and he meads out justice without prejudice. 

5. God's people hear his voice, heed his warnings, and share their visions and prophetic instructions with other believers for their mutual safety and benefit. Agabus warned of a coming dearth, a famine that would result in death via starvation. Provision was made for God's people, and dear reader, The Bible has many a times repeated this very theme: God's people, in life, in the afterlife following death of the body, are always provided for. The Bread of Life ensures our continuance. 

In my heart of hearts I long to live like the early Christians. Recently I read the idea that our purpose is to get to heaven. If our work is to believe in the one whom God hath sent, namely Jesus Christ as Saviour, and our purpose is to get to heaven, as stated by Charles Spurgeon, then I feel as though I have my marching orders. And yet ... in my human heart, there appears to be invisible and massive logs strewn hither and thither when I attempt to proceed forward; I slam into these chunks of wood with both shins, and fall face first over top of them, far too often. Is that how the splinters and motes get into our eyes, dear one?

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye (Matthew 7:3-5)

It is Herod that has me hankering for justice. The Herod's of this world have me wanting to fight back with my female sized fists. I want to pound them in the face, knocking them off the high horses they ride while trampling the people that cannot defend themselves. There are many self-aggrandized Herod's; they are self-appointed kings, that smirk and side-eye cast disparagement on those they perceive to be beneath their consideration. They believe they have the right to choose who lives and who dies; who eats and who starves to death. They are the rulers that currently reign, but alas, I need not do the work of the Almighty: he determines what justice looks and sounds like, at his appointing and with his perfect timing. 

I am a non-violent person. The thought of punching someone in the nose or stomach does not appeal to me. One time, I held my little sister down while laughing at her. Somehow she got loose from my grip, ripped the chain from my neck, and punched me in the gut. I still laugh at the thought of it, but man alive, that hurt: better still, it shocked and surprised me. 

Here is what happens to Herod, in the Book of Acts 12:20-24 

And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sion: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. 

But the word of God grew and multiplied ... 

There is a comparison we can make at this point dear one. God's people are provided for by Province. Those that belong to earthly kings as surfs and suck-ups, look to mere men for their meat. The dirge, the famine, the want, the need for filling, is either the stomach that resides within the human body, or the soul that hungers and thirsts for the manna that falls wafer light from heaven. When you are with people, do you search their eyes for signs of life; a flicker of feeling and understanding of the essence of our existence? I do ... I try to make eye contact and look for a way to ask, Do you know Him?

Herod was turned into worm meat just after receiving praise as a god, from people that filled their bellies by feigning their devotion to, and appreciation of, him as king. He was a proud man that believed he had the right to decide who got fed, and who got imprisoned and killed, based on who bowed deeply before him while denying God as Almighty. For shame: he made a massive murderous fool of himself publicly after a speech in all his pompous kingly array, and the Herod's of this world ought to heed the warning, that this too, will be their fate, soon enough. 

What hurts more, dear one, a punch to the gut, or being eaten alive by worms? I will leave you to ponder the question, and make of it what you will. 

PS: I found a halo effect picture ... how much fun is that? 

Also, it is not hypocritical to want justice. I pray for people to repent and if they will not, I pray for their removal. The logs I sometimes stumble over can be called impatience and irritation, when I witness the suffering of souls. More prayer, plus more prayer on top of that, is required; never ceasing, always beseeching, our God as Ruler that reigns forever and ever more, AMEN. 

Damage Report

Malevolent: Report the damage

Malicious: My lord, they are still at it

Malevolent: What do you mean, still at it? Speak, or I will make you speak 

Malicious: My king, we have tried to shut them up but they continue to speak of Him, everywhere they go

Malevolent: Damn you to hell, and all of your weakling ways. I told you to torture them, to isolate them, to keep them from uttering that blasted Name, and this is what you come to me with? Backhanded swat across the face of Malicious ... he is thrown 100 feet from Malevolent

Malicious: Recovers somewhat ... We will redouble our efforts, my god

Malevolent: Time is running out, and this is your promise? Get out of my sight, you worthless worm. Malicious turns to go.

Malevolent: WAIT. You know what His plans for us are, and I mean to stop Him, and you are all I have, as pathetic useless captain of the guard against the enemy? Torture them, kill some of them to scare the rest. Make them deny Him. Go after their children, give them nightmares, and hold them down in their sleep so that they can't move. Make them nervous and plant doubt for damnations sake, in their tiny little wishy-washy pea brains. Stop acting like you don't know what to do, and go after them where they are weak and willing to forsake HIM. 

Malicious: With hesitation ... Commander, they keep doing that thing, the umm, the thing where they move their lips and we don't know what they are saying.

Malevolent: How insipidly stupid are you Malicious? How many times do I have to tell you that you CAN'T LET THEM DO THAT! Come on now, you imbecile, do I really have to make suggestions to you after all these centuries of torturing them? Fine then, you nitwit. Give them headaches, make them sleepy, interrupt them for demon's sake. Cut them off from that detestable Book, and from all those disgusting messages they get joy from listening to. Insert drug and death messages when they watch tell-a-vision. When they listen to songs that lift them heavenward, about Him, insert static, cause an accident, DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING, to drop them down head first onto the pavement. STOP them from feeling despicable joy, and from thinking about Him. Start muttering things in their ears and plant doubt at every opportunity, you moron. You embarrass me Malicious, you really do. 

Malicious: Chief, I do as you command. May I go now my prince?

Malevolent: Go, but I warn you. Another report like this one, and you will have hell to pay. I won't be as generous with you the next time. 

Malicious: Trembling ... Master, your will be done, on earth as it is in hell.

Malevolent: I told you before, my will is all that matters, so cut out all the obsequious crap. This has taken far too long, get the hell out of here! Go, and do your worst. 

Malicious: Considers responding but determines this will not go in his favour, and turns to flee, with a growl in his throat and rage on his face. Giving Satan the last word causes his teeth to grind together, sharpening them. Who the hell does he think he is, bossing ME around? I hate him and I HATE HIM. I will do as he says AND, I HATE HIM. 

Have you read the Screwtape Letters, by C.S Lewis? The above conversation about Christians, between Satan and one of his minions, is my short and imagined version of something similar. While reading Matthew Henry's Commentary on The Bible, I was reminded that when the early believers were scattered after the martyrdom of Steven, they took with them the Word of God, and spoke Truth to ears that longed to hear, where ever they went! Matthew Henry wrote what he observed: 

The enemies designed to scatter and lose them, Christ designed to scatter and use them. Thus the wrath of man is made to praise God. 1. Those that fled from persecution did not flee from their work; though for the time they declined suffering, yet they did not decline service; nay, they threw themselves into a field of larger opportunity then before. Those that persecuted the preachers of the gospel hoped thereby to prevent their carrying it to the gentile world but it proved that they did but hasten it sooner (Matthew Henry's Commentary Volume 6, page 114)

Dear reader, we carry our religion along with us, where ever we go. We cannot help but speak of Him, when He is our Lord, our King, our God, Commander, Chief, Prince of peace, Master; no matter who we are with, or what they prefer to talk about, we will always turn our conversation back to Him. We cannot help ourselves, and neither could the early Christians. So too, with those that belong to Lucifer, Satan, the devil, the lord of the flies, the father of lies, Beelzebub, the evil one, the prince of darkness, Mephistopheles, Apollyon, old Nick ... those that belong to him cannot stop themselves from doing his bidding, or from speaking his language; nor do they want to. 

The battle for souls rages on and will continue until Jesus returns. We live our lives for Him, or him, and if this sounds simplistic, then you get the clear picture. It really is, this simple, this easy to understand: you and I know Him, or him ... you and I heed The Voice of Truth, or the nattering of the Father of lies. We do the bidding of the Prince of peace, or follow in the bloody footsteps of the Prince of darkness. Yup, yup, that simple. 

I always wonder how people sort through these cosmic questions, as modern day believers. Do you write your own stories, paint your own pictures, see what I see and tell others, while clinging tightly to the Author of Life with every ounce of your being? To despair is to lose hope: to speak of the King is to give flavour to the feelings we have about Who he is and what he has done for us, saving us from our own wretched, wicked, wiley, ways. The Screwtape Letters is an outstanding novel, and I highly recommend it to believers, new and old. Napoleon Hill's Outwitting the Devil is also an excellent read and can be downloaded in pdf format. 

If you like what you read here, then get to reading the books I suggested in the above paragraph, and O, get to reading your Bible too, because The Good Book, is the best source, of all Truth, of all time, now and forever more. 

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Post Script: Pretending to be the angel of light, while malevolently manipulating the masses for money as an actor playing the role of Lucifer, is despicable and deplorable. This is an example of the willful selling of a soul while walking the earth, to Satan, for fame and fortune. Alas, all souls belong to God, and when a person gives themselves over to be used by the Prince of darkness, they forfeit the heavenly reward that could be theirs through faith in Christ Jesus. 

Let us pray for the wayward to be redirected, to The Way. 

The Great Oppression & Justin Trudeau

If ever there was a man that could be called a communist of the first order, it would be Justin Trudeau. 

The dust has not settled: communistic covid has not abruptly stopped in its death tracks ... it rages on, ravaging and revolting against truth and justice. The war criminal, known as Justin Trudeau, is free to fly, free to come and go as he pleases without threat of arrest, incarceration, or the death sentence, for attempting to impose marshal law in many a Canadian community, and for committing mass murder under the guise of protecting civilians. 

The confusing and confounding issue I take with Justin Trudeau extends to all the people that mass formation indicates, believed him, trusted in him, did his bidding without hesitation or exception. Justin Trudeau was one of many pied pipers, leading whole families out of their way, out of The Way, and into the dark places and spaces of sickness and death. My confusion comes from my attempts at trying to understand how crazy took over when calm ought to have stilled fears; my confounding lies in the comprehending that no matter what lies are told, they are eaten up as delicious morsels, despite the poisonous ingredients, by people that do not know God, nor do they want to know him. Mana isn't their bread of choice; they prefer to sup on bleached, bland, nutrition less wonder bread. It is a wonder to me, dear reader, how they subsist on substitutes for the real thing. 

All of the wicked ones ought to be shaking in their stolen shoes right about now, because the few that spoke truth during the great oppression, are getting louder and louder, and what Jesus whispered into their ears during the pandemic of communistic covid, they are shouting, via loud speakers, from rooftops. Justin Trudeau has lost the platform he was handed. His usefulness has expired, and I wonder how he feels with all the hatred flowing in his direction? I wonder about all of Satan's mouth pieces ... Judas stated that he had shed the innocent blood, and then proceeded to hang himself. Justin didn't hand Christ over to the Romans to be crucified, but he sure did hand over the lambs that Christ died for, and God doesn't take kindly to murderers, oppressors, or to communists of the first order. 

I have prayed precatory prayers lately, that go something like this: Lord, please redeem ___________; bring them to their knees, convicted of their guilt, confessing their sins, and pleading for forgiveness through Christ our LORD. If they are not to be redeemed Lord, please hold them to account, remove them from their position of power, and recompense those they have injured via justice, accountability, and the full extent of your law. 

I have friends whose parents were murdered during the great oppression of communistic covid. They weep, mourning the extreme losses, and I weep too: the losses are too great, and I comprehend what came before this generation. I understand what it means now to be in the fight, and what my own father fought for when he killed communists that entered his native land as oppressors, He was twelve, gun in hand. He believed in God and the freedom he gives humanity, with lawful guidelines that tell us not to move border stones, not to steal, not to kill, not to bear false witness against our neighbour, and much more. 

Justin Trudeau said horrible, vile, malicious things, about those of us that refused to be cowed into taking poison into our bodies at his command. He had a script, a copycat script that was used by him and his killing cohorts, and we did not for one moment, believe a word he said; but we did hear him speak division to the nation he had been given demonic power to reign over, to our ruin. Alas, those were dark and dank days, and I could just shove off and move on but for the fact that people like Justin Trudeau still roam freely without tether or threat of repercussion, at least, that is the case right now ...  

Wicked people have a tendency to be arrogant and cocky publicly, while inside, in their private moments, they are tormented by demons that devour, nibbling with sharpened teeth, the spirit that resides within. There is no where that Justin Trudeau can go where he is not mocked and thought of as an idiot. He was a good puppet, but with his handlers hand removed, he is left lifeless, purposeless, and devoid of value in a world where mercenaries are spent and cashed in, one after the next, until they fade out of sight, never to be seen again. What a desperate waste of humanity. 

People are waking up, as the expression goes. People are sick and wondering why, and other people are telling them, and they are finally listening. Truth cannot be buried, at least, not for long. Jesus resurrected, Truth incarnate, in three days, from the grave, and these facts give people like you and me, hope that no matter what the murderously wicked have plotted and planned, they will forever be outmatched by the Author of life. 

Ezekiel 18:4-9

Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, and hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman, and hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man, hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God. 

I do not hesitate to hold scripture as my standard to compare you and I, to God's ideal and just, man or woman. The Bible describes the wicked perfectly, and the just equally perfectly ... Justin Trudeau does as his daddy the devil demands, and God help the man, if he does not repent for his crimes against Canadians.

Conflict Resolution

WARNING: long read ahead with some chastising mixed in for good measure.

Lies, they have a way of wreaking havoc externally, and ultimately, internally. 

Steps and stages

The external: someone lies to you, you believe the lie, and take action based on what you now believe. In short order, you experience some type of discomfort that starts out as an inkling, a tiny piece of suspecting, that something is amiss. The inkling grows into a frowning irritation that fades in and out of your knowing, popping up periodically to prod you, to prompt you, to pay attention. Lastly, you get hit over the brain with confirmation that forces you to narrow your eyes in focus mode, so that tracing back in time occurs. 

1. There was a lie 

2. Then the belief

3. Then the discomfort

3. Then the inkling 

4. Then the suspecting something is amiss

5. Then the frowning irritation

6. Then the knowing with prodding and prompting

7.. Then the confirmation that forces focus

They lied, you believed. You got caught in a lie, but wait a minute, Does that mean you believe liars, you believe lies? Does this mean you are a liar too? Does this mean you are capable of lying to yourself to accommodate a deceiver, making you, equally deceptive? 

Ask me how I know this sick cyclical pattern and I will tell you, we have all lived it, over and over again. We all have our reasons for lying and believing liars, and none of them are justifiable. There was one Man/God that could not tell a lie, and this is why he is known as Truth. Just typing that last sentence has me pausing as I type this one. The Bible says this about truth:

John 8:32

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free

My question to you, following the scripture you just read, is: What do you need to be made free from?

I can simplify this for you dear reader, if you allow me. Mixed and mingled into all of our ungodly behaviours, are forms of lying, and the ten commandments are the single best source of identifying and pinpointing, where you and I deviate, engaging in self and other deceptions to our own detriment. I could send you off to The Bible for an update on what God commands, but we are here now together. As an exercise in self-discovery regarding your tendencies toward sin, let us look toward scripture for a keen comprehensive understanding, of how lying causes severe soul injury, co-lateral damage for the ones we profess to love, and results in spiritual conflict that needs resolving. 

And God spake all these words, saying, 

I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 💔 Bondage, dear reader, is slavery ... are you a slave to sin?

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Gods ... what do you worship as though it is your sovereign, reigning and ruling over you? Is it money as your honey, is it booze as your babe, is it power as your precious?

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 💔 Do you have any of those evil eye symbols hanging about as pretend talisman protectors; or perhaps a horseshoe hung so that the luck doesn't fall out; perhaps you have a buddha in your backyard, or a frog in a yoga pose decorating your garden?

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 💔 Have you bowed down to the almighty dollar any time in the recent past? Did you get injected with covid to keep your cash flowing? Were perfect strangers your bosses, and have you ensured your future based on their misleading messages, thereby visiting upon your offspring the iniquity of your injurious obsequiousness to filthy lucre? Did you know that by bowing down before anyone or anything, other than God Almighty, that you display your hatred for him? And showing mercy unto thousands of  them that love me, and keep my commandments. 💖 Perhaps you kept, and continue to keep, God's commandments: well done, dear reader, God's mercy is upon you. 💔 If you have not kept God's commandments, and you want to start, now is a very good time to engage in some conflict resolution. You are here now, for a reason, why not fall on your knees, pleading your guilt, in order to ask God to make you into an honest person, that turns away from sin and toward relationship with him? Why not?

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 💔 OMG ... do you say this, dear one? How about G O D with damn added on? What about saying, JESUS, with emphasis in a sentence when you are expressing angst, irritation, or have stubbed your big toe? Oh no, oh no you didn't. Stop that immediately. God does not like it; he hears the utterances each time you causally or caustically use these terms, and he marks you as guilty, as someone that curses him. Stop this right now.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 💔 Is Sunday your funday, for shopping, lunch or dinner out; just another day of the week? Perhaps you haven't a clue that God says rest is the best on the sabbath, because that is exactly what he did after his work of creation was complete. Maybe you have forgotten that there is a time for work, a time for play, and a time to soak up and savour all that is good and worthy of your attention, when you acknowledge God as your provider. This coming Sunday may be the one you take to quietly enjoy all that God has done, and continues to do, for you. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 💔 If you do not work on a Sunday because your place of employment is shut that day, but you go out and shop, or eat out, you are causing others to work, to serve you. No, no, that is a no-no, according to God's commandments. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it. 💖 You can rest, dear reader. God made the seventh day holy, and whether you decide the seventh day is Saturday, or Sunday, that is a day for you to enjoy time off of all merchandised activities. Sunday is my day of rest, because the New Testament tells us that Jesus resurrected on the Sunday following his Friday crucifixion. You pick a day and do what God commands, because if he can rest, so can little old me and you. 

Honour thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 💔 You didn't pick your parents, but then again, they didn't pick you either. God decided who to send you to, and those people that you call mum and dad, didn't always do the best they could, but somehow, you are related to them, and they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. If you still have a parent in your life, it is a commandment to honour them, and there is a promise of your days being longer as a result. I don't know your situation, but I do know that parents are not to cause their children trouble, or to vex them; being abused by a parent is unacceptable, but just not taking care of them because you prefer to avoid the responsibility, means you dishonour them, and disobey God. Take good care of your aging parents, and do the best you can for them: this glorifies your heavenly Father that knows and sees all, including what is in your heart. 💞 On the flip side, your parents may have loved you so much they blessed you generously in every way they knew how, even when you didn't deserve it. Isn't it just and right to give back as much as is possible, to thank them for their care of you when you were young, wild, and free?

Thou shalt not kill. 💔 One might think that not killing is an automatic life affirming agreement we can make with one another and yet, we see the cavalier committing this crime against God and his created beings, all the time. If you work for the government and do not question your orders, or if you teach children and tell them they must line up for injections, you are part of the killing army that does the bidding of the murderous devil. If you work at the hospital, and suggest to each patient that they must be up to date on all vaccinations, you are unwittingly lying to yourself about the role you are actively playing in the demise of the people you believe you are protecting. Do you, dear reader, wonder what the outcomes are for the words ushering from your mouth, when people take your advice, or strong suggestions? Have you maimed or killed anyone, yet?

Thou shalt not commit adultery. 💔 Now, if you are flirting with the idea that flirting with someone other than your spouse is acceptable, then that first kiss with your crush will not come as a surprise. Next, when you and your chosen cheating partner, fit your private parts together in stolen moments of intimacy, know that you have given yourself over to the greatest betrayal ever experienced by your spouse, and have forfeited any and all trust you ever had with that person. Adultery destroys marriage, ruins families, and impairs and impedes healthy and normal development, for sad and wounded children, that are subjected to broken relationships. Think twice before looking outside of your marriage for attention and favour. In the long run, you may be sad and lonely in your marriage, but then again, perhaps you and your spouse will mature, given time, and you will one day appreciate each other, once again. 

Thou shalt not steal. 💔 What isn't yours, just plain old, isn't yours. What isn't yours, belongs to someone else, no matter what the thing, or creature, happens to be. If it ain't yours, don't touch it, don't be tempted to take it; leave it, leave it ... and walk away. When we take what does not belong to us, we leave a hole in the person it belongs to. Not mine, means I can't have it, so I refrain; it is that simple. 

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 💔 Well now, you may not like those neighbours of yours, and frankly, they may not like you a whole lot either, but that is no reason to talk about them, and tell other neighbours tales that have a touch of truth, with a heavy taint of slander. You ask, Who pray tell, is my neighbour? Everyone dear reader, everyone is your neighbour. We must bite and bind the tongue when we are tempted to retaliate, or when we are feeling jealous or petty, and want to bring someone else down by saying things that are not true about them, to anyone that will listen. Have you ever been gossiped about, and misrepresented? If you have, you know how horrible this feels, and how you might want to get back at the back biter, but alas, we do not repay evil with evil. This said, let's all lasso the tongue, and keep it under restraints, to save our neighbourhoods from destructive forces that burn fences and bridges too. NOTE: to bear false witness is legally reprehensible, and can cause hardship for the one wronged. The damage can be catastrophic, and life altering for the victim falsely witnessed against. 

Thou shalt not covet they neighbours's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. 🖤 If only the globalists didn't suffer from hungry eyes that devour all before them, especially all the people and things that belong to others. If only the grass wasn't greener across the street, and people actually appreciated what they have, and who they have in their lives. Each time we want what others have, we are letting our own family members know that they are not enough, that they are missing that certain something, and that we would rather be somewhere else. It is a miserable life when there is no gratitude, and when the search is forever on for better than what is before us. Coveting has to be one of the more grotesque states of mind, for those that suffer from it: it is an ugly ravenous dissatisfied contemptuous beast, on the backs of those that are burdened thusly. Thanking God for his provision is one amazing way to break the strangle hold of covetousness; sharing what we have with those we love, and with those in need, is yet another way to ensure that we do not gather in more than we require out of greed. Generosity is a state of mind that says, I want for nothing, and want to sharing this feeling with you. 

So here we are together, dear reader, ending our time with a reminder to work toward conflict resolution, starting with honest to goodness truth telling to save our souls, and ending with the hope of freedom from sin, and its consequences, through Christ our LORD, Amen.  

I bid you adieu.

Sickos - If Only

Doctors are amongst the sickest people in the world. I type this morning realizing I am experiencing extreme angst, something so unhealthy that my soul is unsettled. 

People are still doing it ... they are still lying to themselves about life, about death. What's a gal to do, I ask you, when the march of death is on and the masses, like penguins, limp and waddle their way toward precipice. 

I have her perfume: it's called Poison. Who would name a perfume Poison? I forget it is there. This morning I spotted the blood red jar and lifted the lid. I drew the bottle under my nostrils and inhaled. There she was: my sister's signature scent brought me to her. I dreamt about her recently. We embraced for a very long time as I wept. The holding, the pulling her close, was for me. I wasn't trying to help or heal her, I just held her and she hugged me tenderly too. I needed that. 

I know people are still doing it, getting injected while they face myriad, strange, and incurable illnesses. What was that thriller movie called, the one where the psychopathic killer came at his victim, knife raised, while they were showering? Ya, that is how I see what is happening. Psychopathic poison pushers stand poised and ready to inject, while unbeknownst to the patients, they await their death stabbing. 

In my late twenties, I had an ear infection. I was on antibiotics, and the more of them I took, the worse I felt, but I thought they were supposed to make me feel better. Under this uneducated belief, I took a middle of the night dose hoping to be cured of the lousy feeling that was taking over my entire body. In the morning, when I flicked on the bathroom light and saw my face and neck, I was shocked to see welts. Not knowing what caused the raised, red, angry looking welts, my former husband and I went off to emergency to discover, I had broken out in hives as a reaction to something in the antibiotics. Lesson learned.

Some people learn from other people's mistakes, some people learn from their own, and some people never learn. I wonder, if the majority of people fall heavily into the, some people never learn category. To be forewarned is to be forearmed: alas, individuals have lost their senses, meaning they are not only not reading the room, they are not reading the signs of the times. 

In common parlance, instincts, a sixth sense, trusting your gut, following intuition, means there is an inner knowing of danger, or of what is to come. When you and I know there is danger, it behooves us to fight it if it is in our face, or to move quickly away for self-preservation. It appears to me that this switch of knowing has been permanently flicked to off - instead of second guessing strangers and the dangers they bring with them, people trust as though their lives depend upon it. My God in heaven, people trust other people, as though their lives depend upon them, to keep them from harm, and to preserve them too. 

Christians speak of discernment. It is the gift of God's voice, the sweetest steering and clearing voice one can ever silently hear. If only ... If only people cocked one ear heavenward and shut their big as a bass mouths, and listened to HIM ... if only. 

Periodically I watch television with my mother and son. Drugs with all their side-effect warnings are commercialized, one after the next, getting so much air time that one would have to be an utter idiot not to notice that the very drugs being pushed, are poisonous too, and while the suggestion is that they may cure one problem, they cause so many more that to take them, is to put one's life in jeopardy. Some of the ads have gorgeous people doing fun and fabulous things ... the unspoken proposition, is: If you suffer from this or that condition, you need a certain drug in order to continue your active and delightful lifestyle. That is what the public bought: the lie that life will be long, that they will prosper, and they will not have to think about their health, if only ... if they just ... take this, and accept that, and Do as I say, and all will be well with you. 

God did this first, dear reader. He effectively said, Do this, and Don't do that, and all will be well with you. The Israelites didn't listen to him, preferring to pick their poisons as suggested by the devil, and to hell with the side-effects, the co-lateral damage, the carnage, illness and death of the soul, it would cause. To this point, we have causation: sinning causes soul sickness; trusting wicked wacko strangers with your health and wellness causes body ailments that rot and kill wholesome God made tissue. That is what we are taking about, dear one. Peace with God is life, and peace with the world is a selling of the soul. Disobedience to his commandments is the equivalent of backing up into the dagger that is poised to enter into your back, or running toward the blade aimed at your heart .... or going to a pharmacy or to your doctor for your next, in-the-arm-injection. 

Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit (Jeremiah 17:5-8)

I see people as the walking dead when they do not know Jesus as their Saviour. It is as plain as day to me because I am one of his creatures, not just because he formed and shaped me, but because I not only hear his voice, I listen for it, attune my ears and long to hear, and I have the gift to discern the times. While the sun is shining, there is darkness in humanity as they rush early to their graves. How horrifying it is, to witness this strange en masse agreement to assisted self-murder. 

It is father's day, and I can only think of one Good Father, that ought to be spoken of frequently and with reverence. He is the Good Shepherd, provider for the flock, and he wants none to be lost, wandering, bruised and bleeding. It pains me greatly to hear and see the suffering, knowing there is an answer that is not even considered in these desperate days of drugs and botox, vaping, fornicating and drinking. Godlessness has turned people and their poison pushers into sickos, and today my angst is tangible with this knowing. 

I end with this suggestion. Do not forfeit your life, dear reader, for emptiness, for hollow and shallow promises of pleasure that are fleeting and injurious to your being. To live, is Christ, and nothing else with suffice ... If only I could inject this truth into all that I meet, into all that read these words; if only.