Jesus Overcomes That Hideous Strength

Hey all! I have created another account and substack to cover the issue of end times interpretation. There's a lot to go over and I think a substack would be the best way to approach it. If you are interested please give the account a follow and subscribe to the substack (free).

@M_W_GGW Praise God that’s great!

Just heard our dsl internet will be upgraded to fiber in a few weeks. God moved us out to the sticks w/slowest internet & then had my wife go to college (constant online assignments) & me take on YT & online ministry. Great blessing after 4 years of paralyzingly slow internet.

There's a man holding a bank hostage, and he said he's going to murder 10 people per hour. The hostage negotiators have entered the scene. One is an abolitionist, and one is an incrementalist. The abolitionist raises a bullhorn and shouts, "We have you surrounded. Cease murdering hostages immediately, or we will have our snipers take you out." The incrementalist runs over to the Abolitionist and says, "That's completely unrealistic. He'll never agree to that." The incrementalist then takes over the bullhorn, and shouts, "I doubt you'll take that offer, so how about this: You only murder 9 hostages per hour, and that's all we're asking. That's a reasonable compromise, right?" The abolitionist looks at the incrementalist with shock. "What are you doing!?", he says. The incrementalist shoots the abolitionist a clever look and says, "Here's the thing, though. He doesn't realize that next hour we're going to demand he only murder 8." "Are you serious!?", the abolitionist replies. "You're literally allowing him to kill hostages!" "No I'm not, I'm trying to save as many as I can in the present, with the intention of ending the murder as soon as it's feasible." "Actually, I think he's right", the sniper pitches in over the radio. "We have to do what we can for now. We just don't have the firepower. Let's be prudent about this." He then raises the gun again, and the laser is seen yet again on the assailant's forehead. "NO DEAL!" shouts the assailant through the windows. "Sniper, get ready to take him out", says the abolitionist. "NO, WAIT! I have an idea!", the incrementalist shouts. Bang! Ten shots are fired from inside the bank. "Dangit, I was really hoping he would take the 9 deal.", says the incrementalist. "Anyways, give me that bullhorn." "Alright, you run a hard bargain sir, but I think you'll see this as a reasonable compromise. You may continue shooting ten, but make sure you go in order of youngest to oldest." "NO!", shouts the abolitionist. "This is ridiculous! First you give him permission to shoot 9, and then you start treating the hostages with different value based on their age!? This is completely unacceptable, and you should never be a hostage negotiator again!" "Well excuse me, Mr. Holier than thou.", replies the incrementalist. "I live in the real world. If you refuse to take a deal, you are condemning that one hostage saved to death! If my strategy even saves one life, then it's worth it. You're sacrificing people by not accepting compromise! You're sacrificing them for your own pride!" "Take the shot NOW!", screams the abolitionist into the radio. "Ok, but I don't think it'll work.", says the sniper. "Go ahead", says the incrementalist. "Might as well." He takes the shot. The assailant is killed. There is a brief silence. The abolitionist takes a sigh of relief. "Ok, thankfully that worked, but you didn't need to insult me the whole time", said the incrementalist. The abolitionist looks at the incrementalist with righteous anger. "10 people are dead, and you allowed it to happen." "No I didn't, I was trying to take what I could get!" "No, you were the only real reason the killing was allowed to continue at all."

This is so well put!

Prayers where the heart is not united to God in worship, but reduced to a mere quid pro quo to advance one’s cause, are not only futile, they are judgment-worthy. Everyone who thinks they can use God will receive the due recompense for the evil of that heart posture. For in truth, they are worshipping the idols of their hearts while invoking the hallowed name of the Lord to legitimize their desires.

Hi friends, I need to share something heavy with you all today. Rachel Burkey is the heart of our office at Abolitionists Rising. You’ve probably seen her in one of our videos, calm, kind, gently talking with pro-choicers on the sidewalk. But what you might not see is that she’s the one who quietly keeps everything running. She books the flights, makes sure the conferences don’t fall apart, reminds Russell where he’s supposed to be, tells Benaya to clean his hamster’s cage, tells Sam to wash his dishes, and holds this whole ministry together behind the scenes. The abolitionist movement is stronger because Rachel shows up every single day and pours herself into it. On Thursday, Rachel and her family got the kind of news no one ever wants to hear: her dad, David Burkey, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and it is extremely aggressive. Even in the middle of this storm, their faith hasn’t wavered. They know that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and that He saves those whose spirits are crushed.  To give Dave the very best fighting chance, the family has decided to transfer him to Oasis of Hope Hospital in Mexico (one of the top cancer centers in the world for this kind of diagnosis). The catch is that they need $40,000 paid upfront before the transfer can happen. Rachel has given so much of her life to this fight for the pre-born. She has sacrificed time, energy, and peace of mind for years so the rest of us could keep pressing forward. Now it’s our turn to stand with her and her family the way she’s stood with us. If you’re able, would you please pray for Dave, Rachel, and the whole Burkey family, and consider giving whatever you can to help cover these medical costs? Every single dollar will go straight to getting her dad the care he needs. We love you all. Thank you for being the kind of community that shows up when it matters most. Link to help the Burkey family: givesendgo.com/dave-burkey-me…

You are not safe until you are in the ark of Christ. You can spend all of your time distracting yourself from matters of eternity but as surely as there is a God who made you, you will give an account of your life to Him. No un-pardoned sin will go un-punished. On that great day, God’s glory will be seen in His justice. He made a way out of the coming wrath by the offer of the cross; where Christ was crushed in our stead that we may receive His righteousness. To reject this is to stand before the thrice holy God on your merit, to bring iniquity before the one who cannot withstand evil. Oh how terrible it will be for those with hardened hearts; who have more passion for their sins, than obedience to the cross. Oh what sorrow awaits those who turn their back on Christ in this life. Blessed are those in every generation whom the Lord will not count their sins against them because they have placed their trust in Him.

Girl-dad here, my daughters are in their early 20s now. To all the guys out there who society told being a responsible father was a fate worse than death, and who are now getting a glimpse through Pragmata of what fatherhood might be like: You were lied to hard, sorry bro, being a father is the most amazing thing on earth. But it's not too late, go find a good woman, marry her, raise a family, provide, be responsible, go all in. Be the protector you were made to be. You've got this, king.

Certainty is the opposite of faith. Christian religion seeks to systematize God/Christ & all doctrine & practice down to Biblical certainty (only what's seen/known in Scripture). Faith is conviction of things that can't be fully known or seen. What does God desire?

Recipe theology will make you anxious. Here’s the basic premise: - If you do certain things, God will give you what you want. Christianity becomes a way to manipulate God. But here’s this issue: God isn’t interested in your plan, He’s interested in His. Not because He’s self obsessed, but because Hid way is always the best way. But sometimes His way includes our suffering. And when suffering comes, we assume we need a new recipe to make God do what we want. So we fast, pray, give, and be nice so God will remove our suffering. But it doesn’t always work. So we feel stuck because our faith isn’t working. This makes us anxious. Life is no longer predictable. But all the while God is trying to use suffering to form you into the image of Christ. If we will let go of our need to control, the anxiety will flee, and we can rest in His long term plan to renew all things. This is what true freedom looks like.

On a brighter note, some of you know that I’ve taught a special Bible-based dance class that incorporates fun activities while I share God’s word and a whole lot of love and one-on-one attention. We all matter. Our Director captured this photo of this sweet angel. For anonymity's sake, I keep her name and face private. — Our little sister has Down syndrome, and most of the time, she is nonverbal, but this girl loves to dance. She is full of love and life. This shot was taken after I curtsied before her, treating her as if she were the Queen, and she loved the attention. Please don't ever forget that God's creation is perfect just the way He made us. We may all look and sound different, but we are all created in the beautiful image of God. Hallelujah. "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." - Genesis 1:27 Goodnight, and much love, Sister Christine ❤️

Amen brother. We walk by faith in God and what He has said according to the Scriptures, not by sight. 1. For some brethren, they believed God first and then eventually see exactly what God has said...as the Spirit wills. 2. For other brethren, God may allow them to see first, and then they believe. Number 1 is preferred. But God is gracious and merciful even to the "Thomas" of #2. Principle: John 20:29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” But in gatherings where one man dominated all the speaking with a monologue, week in and week out and people are conditioned to not share their part/portion, are ignorant of the gifts or taught that they have ceased...the Spirit is quenched and there is no room for the saints to prophesy one by one. Thank God He gave us the 1st epistle to the Corinthians. Most do not understand what NT prophesying is in the one body of Christ and as such, don't recognize it when someone is speaking by prophesying OR call something prophesying when it is not. Also, if a saint doesn't desire spiritual gifts or he despises prophecy, then Spirit will not force a distribution on that saint.

If you ever see anyone parroting the atheist phrase, "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," just know they don't mean it. You could show them anything, any amount of evidence, and they'd wave it off out of hand. They won't even put in a tiny ounce of effort to look at the evidence. These are people who NEED atheistic materialism/scientism to be all that is.

My 12-year-old daughter (who has Down syndrome) is absolutely beaming right now! 🥹 She was chosen at school to read the morning announcements over the loudspeaker tomorrow, and it’s her very first time. She can’t stop talking about it and is so excited she can barely sleep! She’s worked so hard and I’m incredibly proud of her. My heart is bursting seeing how happy this makes her. Way to go, sweet girl! You’ve got this! 💕 #DownSyndrome #ProudMom #SpecialNeedsParenting

@Vision4theBlind In other words it’s an idol problem. They’ve idolized this country and as a result cannot accept it might die. They have to hold onto the hope, however tenuous, that this country will go back to the 50s America that they love and look Christian on the outside.

@Vision4theBlind I don’t think it’s that personally. I’ve had conversations with family members about this and tried to reveal to them the deceptions and they accuse me of being negative. Then they go on to say they can’t accept what I am saying because then they would feel hopeless.

Some of these MAGA accounts are so far gone there really is no hope for them. I truly believe deep down they know how bad things are but they've invested so much into this movement they've just decided to go down with the ship. They think by opposing the left they are in the right without realizing both sides are working together. Their pride won't allow them to publicly admit how badly they were deceived. And quite frankly many of them are just brainwashed. There's nothing you can do to help them see. It is what it is.

@ReaganLodge @Matthias_Prdctn It’s a very high bar and I think this is at least as good if not better. I found the plot very satisfying and the moral complexity of Thrawn and his time in the ascendancy was very well done I think.

@hid30usstr3ngth @Matthias_Prdctn I haven't actually. The original Thrawn trilogy is a pretty high bar. So you've def got my interest

Redwall inspired me as a kid while also frustrating me. I LIKE unsympathetically Evil villains in stories, but Redwall's villains were flat and predictable even to me even as a 12 year old. Yet, goon fodder like Sauron's orcs, Thulsa Doom's cultists, and Imperial Stormtroopers still thrilled me. Why? They were all led by INTERESTING villains. Not even complex, they just had enough depth to cause piercing doubt, despair, or temptation for the hero and increase the stakes. There was the terror of realizing we all have the capacity to choose similar evil, or that the villain could actually be persuasive. Generally the Redwall villain would land a few nasty blows, kill a likeable side character or two, seem to gain the upper hand, but I was never in THAT much suspense or felt surprised by how they're defeated. Instead of having a terrifyingly effective leader like Admiral Thrawn, I think we only got Thug Who's Meaner Than The Other Thugs; often killing off their own disposable mooks. Which isn't always bad setup, but after a while the theme gets old. Jacques was a great writer. I loved everything else about Redwall, so it puzzled me why it felt like he was writing villains duller than his skill level. I never finished the entire series so maybe he did write some better ones that I missed?

@ReaganLodge @Matthias_Prdctn Did you read the newer Thrawn series of books? Specifically referring to this series. a.co/d/01v1afvG I didn’t think it was possible but I think Zahn actually made a better Thrawn after he wrote books for the newer canon. The original was great but this was 🤯

@Matthias_Prdctn I never saw the show you're talking about, I'm referring to the Timothy Zahn book trilogy.

I was taught shame and condemnation from a young age. Told I wasn’t good enough and was a disappointment. You don’t always realize how much that conditioning sticks with you, and how much, even decades later, you still unconsciously believe it. So much so that with every affliction or hard time, I took it as the Lord’s discipline and anger at me for falling short, and I would promise Him I’d do better coming out of it, assuming the affliction would lessen when I showed understanding and contrition. There is genuine discipline of the Lord (Heb. 12:11), but not every hard time is a punishment; Job makes that clear. I was a victim of my own shame for years. God forgave my sins but I hanged them over my head continually. And I finally reached a point of understanding God was asking me to let that shame go, but I was really just shaming myself for my shame. What a vicious circle. Point being, your past is the past, and God has forgiven you. Let it go, move on from it, don’t hang it over your own head, and if you have struggled with shaming yourself for it, don’t shame yourself over the shame. Receive the blessed gift of forgiveness and move forward joyfully in the Lord.

God, please do not spare me in my sins. Keep my heart sensitive to Your conviction. Never allow me to be at ease with evil, nor to find peace in my rebellion. For if You leave me to myself, I will surely walk away from You.

@M_W_GGW It is the heart behind the actions that matters not the actions themselves. Many years ago I was reading my Bible and God called me out for my pride. I felt He was saying to me “do you want to look holy? Or do you want to BE holy?”

You can't read/study your way to faith. Billions of Christians are daily reading & endlessly re-reading the historical Biblical testimonies of people who actually had faith is the only way to have faith. It is a foolish ritualistic religious doctrine & practice devoid of Christ.