The Miry Clay
Matthew Bargo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Psalm 40:40 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
What is the miry clay? It is sin, iniquity, getting sucked into the spiraling drain hole that leads to hell.
The problem with sin, and this is common knowledge in the world, is that one bad choice, one bad habit, leads to another.
Revelation 22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
In the story below, those who first called him seemed fairly innocuous, like they wanted to help. But then things changed.
And that is how sin works. It draws a person deeper and deeper into darkness and problems.
YouTube Transcript Below
I had known from some time in that
afternoon that I was dying I knew
absolutely but I didn’t want to die
because I was an atheist and I was uh I
knew that I was terrified of it because
dying means the end of everything a 38
year old college professor my work was
shown in some museums you know had won
some prizes you know and a wife and two
kids and you know a career and you know
one of the thoughts that go through how
could this happen
I went unconscious I awoke from that and
I felt wonderful I’m like I’d ever felt
in my entire life wait so you knew you
died and suddenly you felt great well I
didn’t know I’d died I just I’d been
unconscious and now I feel great you
know and where were you standing next to
the bed upright and I the first thing I
was like why do I feel so good I just
felt the worst that ever felt in my
entire life
yeah I mean I couldn’t breathe and now
I’m like Superman and my eyesight my
hearing my taste and then say you still
don’t know you’re dead no and you feel I
would figure to live if you feel I feel
more alive than I’ve ever felt in my
entire life and and your senses you said
are heightened yeah I mean this world
ever since this experience has been kind
of a disappointing because this world is
sort of dreamlike compared to the
reality that are experienced in this
mm-hmm and
I heard people calling me in English
kind of nicely you know Howard Howard
come here come here so I go over to the
doorway the room and in the hallway is
gray it’s very unclear like a terrible
black-and-white TV picture and there’s
men and women standing far away from the
light of the doorway
I said I’m sick I need to have surgery
I’ve been waiting all day for a doctor
and they said we know all about you
hurry come with us now we can’t wait any
longer come come all right
and I’m thinking okay
they’ve come they’ve come to take me to
the doctor this is great
your people as I left the light of the
room going into the hallway encircled me
and kind of started leading me in this
direction as we journeyed and there’s no
sense of time in any of this so when I
make time references it’s only for the
purposes of trying to make a rational
sequential story of this as we went it
got darker and darker and they came in
closer and closer and more and more of
them were around me and now as I asked
them questions like where are we going
how much further things like that they
started to become more rude and say
things to me like shut up
don’t ask questions you’ll find out
you’ll need to know keep moving keep
moving
move it you know like that I’m like
getting pretty intimidated that becomes
fear that becomes terror now this is
over a journey of miles and miles and
miles and eventually it’s so dark I’m
aware I can’t see anything anymore it’s
pitch black and I’ve I figured I’m done
you know I’ve had it and so I said I’m
not going any further and they said oh
yes you are
you’ve got further to go and I said I’m
not going and so they started to tug at
me and push at me what they were doing
was just playing with me playing with me
and at first it was pushing kicking
plane hitting and then that became
[Music]
biting and tearing would their
fingernails and hands and they were
taking
pieces of me and there was a lot of
laughter a lot of very foul language and
then they became more invasive there has
never been a horror movie or a book that
can begin to describe their cruelty
because their cruelty was pure purely
sadistic I know that they got nothing
out of it it was simply something to do
and I’m very aware that they were so
empty so without compassion or feeling
for me that it was just amusement for me
to scream and yell and fight back the
physical pain was pain from head to foot
just solid horrible acute pain on a
scale of one to ten ten total didn’t
begin to match what I felt on the inside
was you know um having been taken down
to nothing I mean the worst things that
you could possibly imagine had happened
to me and more and in that place I heard
a voice which I identify as my voice
except that it did not come out of my
throat off my lips but I do feel is
strange but I feel like it came out of
my chest this voice said pray to God and
I thought I don’t believe in God I don’t
pray the voice said pray to God and I
thought I don’t even know how to pray I
couldn’t pray if I wanted to pray the
voice said pray to God
and I thought when I was a boy and gone
to Sunday school we had been taught
prayers
what were those prayers so I’m searching
for anything that I’d remembered as a
child our Father who art in heaven I
remember like these phrases out of
prayers and I’m start to mutter this
stuff and the people around me
absolutely can’t bear it and so in
language that has never been heard in
this world obscene filthy vulgar
language they’re saying to me the the
content of which is there is no God
nobody can hear you and now you are
going to really be hurt you think what
you’ve experienced so far as something
wait until we’ve got for you now now
this made me want to pray more because
for the first time I was able to hit
back at them the prayers were like
clobbering well they left me alone
so now I have eternity time without
measure to think about my situation and
I thought about my life and as I
considered my life which would take me
days to talk over what I thought about
but summing up with as a son to my
mother and father I had filled them I
had not been a good husband to my wife
and you can use your imagination to
figure out what that means but it’s
that’s true that’s all true I have not
been the father to my kids that I should
have been and I knew I hadn’t because I
was busy I was trying to be somebody you
know like the football games and the
band concerts and the choral concerts
and theater performances that could all
wait because I was busy being important
I was doing stuff making myself into
somebody and I hated my life and I
realized that I belong with these people
in this place the only problem was is I
didn’t want to be with those people
because I knew that the only way to
survive in this role
if you don’t want to be a victim anymore
you’ve got to be meaner crueler than
they are you’ve got to be the victimizer
and not the victim
this memory comes of myself as a little
boy sitting in a Sunday School class
room singing jesus loves me when I
thought he why would he care about me
even if he is why would he here he must
hate me I’m so sorry and I thought
enough of this I’ve done I don’t have
anything else Jesus please save me and
when I said that I saw a light
tiny little speck of light and it very
rapidly got very bright and came over me
and I saw out of the light hands and
arms emerge out of this impossibly
beautiful white light those arms went on
me and healed me they went behind my
back and he picked me up as if it was no
effort on his part he just gently picked
me up and held me up against him real
tight up against his chest so there I am
with my arms around him his arms around
me and I am bawling like a baby and he
starts to rub my back like he wasn’t
saying there there but it was just like
like a mom or a dad with a child and I
knew
[Music]
I don’t I don’t know how I knew but I
knew he loved me very much just the way
I was
[Music]
Various ministers have used this quote.
“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. ”
The goal is to get out of the miry clay and to the rock of Christ.
I Corinthians 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
Jesus said,
Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
This Is That Moses and Aaron
James Tissot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Exodus 6:27 (Darby) These are they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: this is that Moses and Aaron.
Not every translation translates the above verse as above. However, the specific grammar of this translation brings out an important point.
Normally, in English grammar, when dealing with two or more individuals, the verb would be plural “are”. If that were the case here, then it would read…these are that Moses and Aaron.
But the verb is singular, “is”.
Moses and Aaron worked as one unit, like two poles of a battery.
The same principle is again seen as Jesus sent his disciples out two by two.
Mark 6:7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;
Luke 10:1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
The Church, larger than individual denominations, to be successful, must work together.
Jesus praying, recorded in John 17, prayed this:
John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
Individual churches may have slightly different focuses, slightly different orders of worship, and certain differences between them, just like different members of the body of Christ may have different tasks and calls.
But oneness is what brings the power of God.
The human body does not, or rather, should not fight amongst itself. If it does, that is called an auto-immune disease and that can be very destructive.
If each part of the body of Christ focuses on the individual tasks given by God, then in unity it will become as These are they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: this is that Moses and Aaron.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
The Question Behind the Question
Khaydock, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Some people ask questions similar to these….
- If God is good, why is there evil?
- If God is good, why is there war?
- If God is good, why is there hunger?
- If God is good…and the questions go on….
That is not the real question.
There is a question behind that question that must be answered.
That question is this.
Did God create man or did man evolve?
That question must be faced and answered by each soul.
Jesus said,
Matthew 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
It is a simple yes or no.
There are those who say, how do you decide? How can you know?
There is a school of study called apologetics.
To explain what apologetics is, using a simple example, consider if you are deciding if someone made a chocolate cake in your house.
You come into the house after a long day.
- You might smell the smell of a chocolate cake.
- You might a bowl in the sink with some chocolate cake mix on the sides of the bowl.
- You might see a half eaten piece of chocolate cake on the table.
- You might see a child with chocolate icing on his shirt.
At this point, you have a decision to make. You have gathered evidence by smell, by sight. What is your decision?
Do you decide that someone made a chocolate cake?
Or do you say, contrary to all the evidence that you have seen…I don’t think anyone made any chocolate cake today.
Or, do you say, contrary to the evidence you have seen, I don’t think anyone made a chocolate cake, I think it was a strawberry cake.
Or you may not care to think about it at all, and would rather just flop down on the couch and watch a TV rerun.
Now of course, Bible apologetics is more detailed than figuring out if a chocolate cake has been baked, but it is really that simple.
Look at the facts and decide.
It is possible to understand the answer of whether man evolved from the slime or whether God created man.
Once that answer is settled, other questions can be answered. The answers are in the Bible.
God did not bring evil to this earth. Satan did.
Adam and Eve, by listening to the lies of satan, and through disobeying God, opened the door for evil to enter this world.
The point is, once the decision is made that the Biblical account is correct and that the Bible is accurate, then other questions can be answered as well.
Obedience to do what the Bible says to do is a key.
Psalm 119:130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
A Time to Speak, A Time to Be Silent.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
7 … a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
After the resurrection, two disciples were walking along the road to Emmaus. Jesus appeared and walked with them, but they did not recognize him. Scriptures tell us… beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
The background of the road to Emmaus journey starts with the empty tomb of Jesus.
Luke 24:1 (KJV) Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher.
3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
8 And they remembered his words,
9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.
10 It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.
11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.
12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.
13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?
18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.
22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;
23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.
25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
Before the road to Emmaus and prior to the empty tomb, prior to the resurrection, prior to the crucifixion, Jesus stood before Pilate in the Judgment Hall. Jesus answered him to never a word….And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
Matthew 27:1 When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
2 And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.
8 Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.
9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;
10 And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.
11 And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.
12 And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
13 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?
14 And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.
Why didn’t Jesus speak to Pilate? Why didn’t he expound the scriptures to Pilate the way he did to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus?
Jesus understood that he was sent for a particular purpose.
Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
Matthew 26:53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
John 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
I John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Jesus hid from Pilate and Pharisees the mystery, the hidden wisdom, of what was about to happen in through the crucifixion of Jesus.
I Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Through Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus made possible redemption for mankind, as many as would receive it, and reclaimed the keys of death and hell.
Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Repost: Edgar Andrews introduces his book ‘What is Man?’ (Dutch subtitles)
This is good!
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Tip – New Year’s Resolution – Use a Dictionary
In the Old Testament, God told the children of Israel to possess the land.
In today’s world, the land that must be recaptured from the land of wokeness is vocabulary.
This is the process that the progressive left uses to change vocabulary.
A new term or concept is introduced in a manner of “cute” or “trendy” or “viral video”.
After a while, though quite ridiculous, it becomes a part of mainstream thought, because it goes unchallenged.
The idea that a man can have a baby would be an example.
What kind of thinking is this that defies the laws of biology?
What kind of sloppy thinking is this?
Men regard its nature and cause as divine from ignorance and wonder….
— Hippocrates, On the Sacred Disease
What would scientists of prior centuries say about some of the recent, woke, unproven ideas?
After the introduction of a term with an unnatural, unscientific, unproven, untested definition, i.e., a “woke” definition, those who wish to use the traditional form of the word may begin to self-censor…If I say that, what are the consequences? Will I lose likes on Facebook? And in the case of well known celebrities or politicians, Will the press criticize me for not going with the new form of the word?
Then there is persecution against not only the word, but also against the whole cultural lifestyle from which the original word emerged, and against those who prefer the old cultural lifestyle.
Let’s take some common words: man, woman, marriage, family.
Have you seen the above process in action?
Whenever you question the use of a word, look up the historical meaning of a word. Don’t look at the modern day meaning, but the historical meaning.
Historical meanings came about as society moved towards law and order, based in part on a Judeo/Christian influence.
Western society is now is a state of de-evolution. Vocabulary is de-volving as well.
A New Year’s Tip…use a dictionary to look up original, historical meanings of words.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Repost: He Looked Beyond My Faults – The Singing Contractors
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Singer “Previously Believed Jesus Was a ‘Silly Story'”
Singer M.I.A. Says She Received ‘Biggest Backlash’ of Her Career For Saying ‘Jesus is Real’
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Abimelech Knew When He Was Confronted What Was Happening
In today’s modern age, when there are hearings in the Senate, we often people being questioned say that they have no knowledge, or can’t remember, or can’t answer, questions posed to them.
This was not the case years, centuries, ago in the case of Abimelech and Abraham.
Abimelech was the ruler of Egypt.
While we don’t know his relationship to the Lord God of Israel, Abimelech was able to hear the Lord and understand why his nation had a problem.
Abimelech understood cause and effect.
As a leader, he did not blame the problem on the people.
He saw where he had gone wrong because of misinformation, he corrected things, and the national problem was solved.
Imagine a story like this being printed in the papers today. There would be ridicule and mocking.
However, because Abimelech had the moral strength to do the will of God, his nation recovered.
Genesis 20:1 (KJV) And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.
4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.
12 And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.
14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.
15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.
16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.
17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
18 For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Then and Now
The Bible is consistent in the history and message it gives. The reason for this is that there is one ultimate author, the Lord God.
God inspired certain men to write down words that God wanted humanity to know. And those men each had particular calls on their lives…Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, John, the various prophets. But in the end, they were relaying a message that came from God.
They did not sit down, as is done in marketing venues of today, thinking, how can we increase our brand, and what should we write about today?
They were simply pipelines through which the message and power came. That was the secret of Moses, and of all the servants of God in the Old Testament. They obeyed God, and like the opening a sluice keeping back water, the water of the Holy Spirit came through them.
Because they were simply vessels, not originators of the messages they gave, but simply pipelines through which the messages came, the themes of the Bible repeat, because again, the true author of the Bible, God, kept repeating the message through them, trying to get the same message across to humanity.
II Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
How many times do you tell your children the same thing? God is the ultimate Father.
According to Biblical standards, everything is established in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Here are several witnesses as to one of the repeating themes of the Bible.
I John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Luke 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
So how does this apply to today?
The same serpent in the garden is offering the same temptations to men for the same rewards.
The driving force behind the folly of evolution is to convince the masses of mankind that there is no God, and therefore they must look to a “survival of the fittest” cadre of people to rule the world and give their wills, their money, their hopes, their dreams, their capital, their talents, their real estate, their children, and their power over to this “survival of the fittest”. That is the story line.
Of course, it is not actively put that way on the news, but it is subtly advanced through psychological warfare of which satan is the chief. Satan subtly approached Eve and through being able to reach her, both Adam and Eve, and subsequent humanity, ended up with the consequences of the Fall at the Garden of Eden.
But let’s look at this “survival of the fittest”. Here are some names, who are, or who have been, at (or who have been connected to) the peak of worldly power and authority: Biden, Hunter Biden, Jeffrey Epstein, Fetterman.
Is this the survival of the fittest evolving to rule the world or is this something else?
Reread the scriptures.
Those who worship mammon control the money supply through the printing of fiat money which they have control over. For example, they can authorize the printing of fiat money, send it back to themselves hidden and clothed in spending packages, or through sending aid to Ukraine and then laundering it and funneling it back to through the now defunct FTX for multiple purposes, including election manipulation.
So what’s the end game?
Satan was thrown out of heaven for trying a coup against the throne of God. He came to the earth and convinced Adam and Eve to commit treason against God. Since then, satan has tried to take over the authority or throne of the world. Jesus came in the fullness of time and defeated satan. In a sense, Jesus brought the “game of thrones” back to the starting point in the garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve could have resisted satan, but did not. Those who believe in and confess Jesus as Lord now have authority, through the name of Jesus, and through the Blood of Jesus, over satan, just as Adam had authority by default until he gave it away.
Yes, Jesus won the victory, but it needs to enforced. Some wait for Jesus’s Second Coming to enforce it. My Bible says that Jesus gave the keys to the church.
In any case, if satan, through those who serve him can maneuver mankind to being locked into some kind of electronic cyberborg existence, some kind of electronic mark attached to man, then there will be an attempt to lock mankind in electronically to satan’s agenda.
Satan knows the Bible. He knows that his ultimate end is being cast into hell and the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Daniel 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Revelation 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
We see, from reading the Bible, that demons have preferences as to where they would rather be.
Mark 5:1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.
Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.
15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.
16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.
17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.
18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.
19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.
21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.
24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.
26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
Matthew 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Revelation 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.