ActivityPub Viewer

A small tool to view real-world ActivityPub objects as JSON! Enter a URL or username from Mastodon or a similar service below, and we'll send a request with the right Accept header to the server to view the underlying object.

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{ "@context": "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams", "type": "OrderedCollectionPage", "orderedItems": [ { "type": "Create", "actor": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "object": { "type": "Note", "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1050023511286128640", "attributedTo": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "content": "G Sermon Time<br /><br />“[It is] our inclination to replace Jesus’ call to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow him. We replace his call with a self-serving path in which we deny our neighbours, take up our comforts and follow our dreams.”<br />― Scott Sauls<br /><br /><br /> I'm assuming that most of you reading this have seen the movie \"The Irishman\"<br /> Before you ask, for once I agree with the critics- it's a masterpiece. Scorsese is to celluloid what <br /> Shakespeare is to the written word.<br /><br /> Some of my fellow Christians criticise me if I laud such gangster movies- they feel that such films <br /> are unsuitable fodder for the Christian palate- In my humble opinion, they completely miss the <br /> point- great gangster movies such as \"The Godfather trilogy\", \"Goodfellas\" and most recently \"The <br /> Irishman\" show the emptiness at the heart of the criminal life, and as such offer a salutary warning <br /> to those that veer off \"the narrow road \" to salvation in favour of the broad boulevard to destruction.<br /><br /> You see, ALL of us are criminals- we have all committed crimes against Our Creator and His <br /> Laws. Jesus is The perfect Saviour; BUT He is also The Perfect JUDGE- You will NOT escape <br /> His Justice. However when Our Lord Jesus Christ became incarnate to save a fallen world- He <br /> made us an offer we SHOULDN'T refuse.<br /> He offered us Eternal Life with Our Father in heaven- PLUS a chance to enter into the <br /> Christian version of a \"Witness protection Program\". <br /><br /> BUT, if you want to get in you must SPILL THE BEANS\". All of it. You gotta tell everything- dish <br /> the dirt, spill the skinny. T.A.L.K. CONFESS…………<br /> You have intimate knowledge of a criminal and know \"where all the bodies are buried\". You've <br /> been to all of the crime scenes and seen the aftermath of the criminal activities. You know him <br /> intimately because IT'S YOU.<br /><br /> SINNING IS NEVER A VICTIMLESS CRIME- it's weapons of choice are selfishness, jealousy, <br /> hate and spite- and they always hit their targets.<br /> Until you accept YOUR GUILT AND CONFESS YOUR SINS. You will not enter the \"Witness <br /> protection Program\" that is the Christian Life. You want to sign up? O.K., but you must complete a <br /> number of steps:<br /><br /> 1) You must make a complete confession- that means accepting the consequences of your <br /> sins.<br /> 2) There must be a genuine feeling of REPENTANCE; otherwise you will just go back to your <br /> old ways.<br /> 3) A commitment not to sin again which will involve you CUTTING ALL TIES with your <br /> previous life<br /> <br /> The Christian \"Witness protection program\" involves giving you a new identity and setting you <br /> up in a completely different place.<br /> Your new identity involves a complete transformation. Surface changes involving wigs and new <br /> id cards are eschewed in favour of a complete overhaul that literally involves you being \"born <br /> again\". The old you born with original sin must be \"killed\" in order for the new you to emerge.<br /><br /> You must then leave your old surroundings and \"re-locate\". Why would you go to all the trouble <br /> of setting up a new identity, only to go back to the old neighbourhood- where the shadows of <br /> your criminal past stalk you on every corner,; and your old friends are lying in wait to \"whack\"an <br /> informer who by his very presence condemns their sinful ways.<br /><br /> Your safe house has already been built- Your I.D. card is stamped with your new identity- <br /> \"CHILD OF GOD\". OR<br /> You can make your own way back on the world's mean streets; forever ducking and diving as <br /> you crawl ever deeper into the belly of \"The Beast\" that will eventually consume every last bit <br /> of you \"For the wages of sin is DEATH\"<br /> <br /> “Every game is winnable if you change your mind about what the prize should be and your <br /> perspective about the players at the table.”<br /> ― Shannon L. Alder<br /> <br /> I've chosen the last scene in \"The Irishman\" to illustrate the lesson I am trying to impart.<br /> In this scene, we see Frank alone having reaped the whirlwind of his criminal life. But he seems <br /> to be somewhat contrite ,(on the surface at least), as he prays with his pastor. Is it genuine?, or <br /> a case of too little too late- that's not for me to decide, although there are two points to note:<br /><br /> 1) Even though he has lost everything because of his association with<br /> mobster Russel Bufallino; he still wears that RING <br /> 2) The real Frank Sheeran CHOSE to refuse food thus in effect ending his life by his own <br /> hand. This is the action of a desperate and hopeless man.<br /><br /><br /> If you choose to be saved and willingly enter God's Witness Protection Program you will <br /> receive more protection that you ever dreamed possible.<br /> <br /> \"Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will <br /> come to him and make Our home with him.\"<br /> John 14:23<br /><br /> This is the most jaw dropping promise in the entire Bible- Not only knowing we are loved by <br /> Our Father in Heaven, but the promise that God The Father and God The Son will make their <br /> home within us on this Earthen Outpost as we race towards our heart's goal SALVATION AND <br /> ETERNAL LIFE. The promise is not for some time in the distant future - it starts now.<br /><br /> But there is a caveat. The promise is only for those who Love Jesus.<br /> Is that you? Of course it is I hear you cry.<br /> But Jesus clearly explains what He means by \"LOVE\". <br /> Love is defined as keeping His Commands; obeying His laws. <br /> Is that you? Do you obey His Word? Or have you even read The Holy Bible?<br /><br /> Tina Turner once asked\"What's love got to do with it?\"<br /> Quite a lot,as it turns out................<br /><br /> <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX2Rc0QBM-E\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX2Rc0QBM-E</a><br /><br /><br />", "to": [ "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public" ], "cc": [ "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/followers" ], "tag": [], "url": "https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/1050023511286128640", "published": "2019-12-07T12:18:33+00:00", "source": { "content": "G Sermon Time\n\n“[It is] our inclination to replace Jesus’ call to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow him. We replace his call with a self-serving path in which we deny our neighbours, take up our comforts and follow our dreams.”\n― Scott Sauls\n\n\n I'm assuming that most of you reading this have seen the movie \"The Irishman\"\n Before you ask, for once I agree with the critics- it's a masterpiece. Scorsese is to celluloid what \n Shakespeare is to the written word.\n\n Some of my fellow Christians criticise me if I laud such gangster movies- they feel that such films \n are unsuitable fodder for the Christian palate- In my humble opinion, they completely miss the \n point- great gangster movies such as \"The Godfather trilogy\", \"Goodfellas\" and most recently \"The \n Irishman\" show the emptiness at the heart of the criminal life, and as such offer a salutary warning \n to those that veer off \"the narrow road \" to salvation in favour of the broad boulevard to destruction.\n\n You see, ALL of us are criminals- we have all committed crimes against Our Creator and His \n Laws. Jesus is The perfect Saviour; BUT He is also The Perfect JUDGE- You will NOT escape \n His Justice. However when Our Lord Jesus Christ became incarnate to save a fallen world- He \n made us an offer we SHOULDN'T refuse.\n He offered us Eternal Life with Our Father in heaven- PLUS a chance to enter into the \n Christian version of a \"Witness protection Program\". \n\n BUT, if you want to get in you must SPILL THE BEANS\". All of it. You gotta tell everything- dish \n the dirt, spill the skinny. T.A.L.K. CONFESS…………\n You have intimate knowledge of a criminal and know \"where all the bodies are buried\". You've \n been to all of the crime scenes and seen the aftermath of the criminal activities. You know him \n intimately because IT'S YOU.\n\n SINNING IS NEVER A VICTIMLESS CRIME- it's weapons of choice are selfishness, jealousy, \n hate and spite- and they always hit their targets.\n Until you accept YOUR GUILT AND CONFESS YOUR SINS. You will not enter the \"Witness \n protection Program\" that is the Christian Life. You want to sign up? O.K., but you must complete a \n number of steps:\n\n 1) You must make a complete confession- that means accepting the consequences of your \n sins.\n 2) There must be a genuine feeling of REPENTANCE; otherwise you will just go back to your \n old ways.\n 3) A commitment not to sin again which will involve you CUTTING ALL TIES with your \n previous life\n \n The Christian \"Witness protection program\" involves giving you a new identity and setting you \n up in a completely different place.\n Your new identity involves a complete transformation. Surface changes involving wigs and new \n id cards are eschewed in favour of a complete overhaul that literally involves you being \"born \n again\". The old you born with original sin must be \"killed\" in order for the new you to emerge.\n\n You must then leave your old surroundings and \"re-locate\". Why would you go to all the trouble \n of setting up a new identity, only to go back to the old neighbourhood- where the shadows of \n your criminal past stalk you on every corner,; and your old friends are lying in wait to \"whack\"an \n informer who by his very presence condemns their sinful ways.\n\n Your safe house has already been built- Your I.D. card is stamped with your new identity- \n \"CHILD OF GOD\". OR\n You can make your own way back on the world's mean streets; forever ducking and diving as \n you crawl ever deeper into the belly of \"The Beast\" that will eventually consume every last bit \n of you \"For the wages of sin is DEATH\"\n \n “Every game is winnable if you change your mind about what the prize should be and your \n perspective about the players at the table.”\n ― Shannon L. Alder\n \n I've chosen the last scene in \"The Irishman\" to illustrate the lesson I am trying to impart.\n In this scene, we see Frank alone having reaped the whirlwind of his criminal life. But he seems \n to be somewhat contrite ,(on the surface at least), as he prays with his pastor. Is it genuine?, or \n a case of too little too late- that's not for me to decide, although there are two points to note:\n\n 1) Even though he has lost everything because of his association with\n mobster Russel Bufallino; he still wears that RING \n 2) The real Frank Sheeran CHOSE to refuse food thus in effect ending his life by his own \n hand. This is the action of a desperate and hopeless man.\n\n\n If you choose to be saved and willingly enter God's Witness Protection Program you will \n receive more protection that you ever dreamed possible.\n \n \"Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will \n come to him and make Our home with him.\"\n John 14:23\n\n This is the most jaw dropping promise in the entire Bible- Not only knowing we are loved by \n Our Father in Heaven, but the promise that God The Father and God The Son will make their \n home within us on this Earthen Outpost as we race towards our heart's goal SALVATION AND \n ETERNAL LIFE. The promise is not for some time in the distant future - it starts now.\n\n But there is a caveat. The promise is only for those who Love Jesus.\n Is that you? Of course it is I hear you cry.\n But Jesus clearly explains what He means by \"LOVE\". \n Love is defined as keeping His Commands; obeying His laws. \n Is that you? Do you obey His Word? Or have you even read The Holy Bible?\n\n Tina Turner once asked\"What's love got to do with it?\"\n Quite a lot,as it turns out................\n\n https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX2Rc0QBM-E\n\n\n", "mediaType": "text/plain" } }, "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1050023511286128640/activity" }, { "type": "Create", "actor": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "object": { "type": "Note", "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1045338539525636096", "attributedTo": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "content": " <br /> You may break the clods, you may sow your seeds, <br /> but what can you do without the rain?” ― Charles Haddon Spurgeon,<br /><br /> Sunday G sermon<br /> I must admit that before I began my walk with Christ, I didn’t have a clue what “GRACE” was.<br /> Now I see it as the “fuel that powers the universe”. Without it I would be lost in a pitiless dark hole <br /> of purposelessness, floating on a sea of despondency as I sailed farther from the eternal <br /> sunshine of God’s love.<br /><br /> So what is grace?<br /><br /> Well before I answer that, I must consider “Where” we may find this precious substance.<br /> Grace CANNOT be achieved- It can only be RECEIVED. It is COMPLETELY within the gift of Our <br /> Heavenly Father to bestow it on us.<br /> <br /> This precious “spiritual elixir” is the fuel that powers your soul. But how do you access it- I’ve <br /> already said that it can only be received- So you must get yourself to God’s Gas station and FILL <br /> UP.<br /> Many Christians are trying to “power their soul” on incompatible fuels- it’s like <br /> putting diesel in a petrol car- it coughs and splutters, before eventually coming to a complete <br /> stop. Thus many people try to achieve self-actualisation with the carbonates of crass <br /> consumption, unwittingly choking on the (self-generated) noxious fumes that naturally accompany <br /> such attempts.<br /><br /> Grace is the moment in your life when you ACCEPT you need God’s help to go forward- Crucially <br /> it is the point at which you have reached the end of your own efforts and accept your need for The <br /> Saviour- your fuel gauge is showing empty and you accept that the only power source that will get <br /> you running again is the gift of Grace that only He can provide.<br /><br /> Most people try to go it alone- they resemble someone who having run out of gas try to remedy <br /> the situation by pushing their car to its destination as they blithely ignore the many service stations <br /> offering the vital “fill up” that will have them zooming down life’s highway once more.<br /><br /> You are broken, a piece of fabric ripped into a thousand parts. Grace is the only thing that can sew <br /> those pieces together again. <br /> When God restores you, you might not see all the changes at once. You'll begin to notice parts of <br /> you that were broken are no longer that way. Then one day, you realise you're an entirely different <br /> person than you used to be. That's grace.<br /><br /> I have chosen one of my favourite songs by Paul McCartney to illustrate my experience of Grace.<br /> Before I was a Christian, I thought I knew it all- I was in control of my destiny and I was aiming <br /> Icarus like for the SUN.<br /><br /> “For so long I was out in the cold,<br /> and I taught myself to believe every story I told.<br /> It was fun hanging onto the moon, heading into the sun,<br /> but it's been too long. Now I wanna come home.<br /> Came so close to the edge of defeat.<br /> But I made my way in the shade, keeping out of the heat.<br /> It was fun shooting out of the stars, looking into the sun,<br /> but it's been too long. Now I wanna come home.”<br /><br /> Grace is best understood by the light of its conjoined twin “HOME”.<br /> Receiving the gift of grace is like coming home after many years away. Instantly those cares and <br /> worries melt away like snow in the early Spring sunshine- you feel bathed in the warmth of a love <br /> from whose embrace you never want to leave again. <br /><br /> You have found your place<br /> You have found The Truth<br /> You have found JESUS<br /><br /> “Home. Where's there's nothing but sweet surrender,<br /> to the memories from afar.<br /> Home. To the place where the truth lies waiting,<br /> we remember who we are.”<br /><br /><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIgwLW0YlqA\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIgwLW0YlqA</a><br /><br /><br />", "to": [ "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public" ], "cc": [ "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/followers" ], "tag": [], "url": "https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/1045338539525636096", "published": "2019-11-24T14:02:09+00:00", "source": { "content": " \n You may break the clods, you may sow your seeds, \n but what can you do without the rain?” ― Charles Haddon Spurgeon,\n\n Sunday G sermon\n I must admit that before I began my walk with Christ, I didn’t have a clue what “GRACE” was.\n Now I see it as the “fuel that powers the universe”. Without it I would be lost in a pitiless dark hole \n of purposelessness, floating on a sea of despondency as I sailed farther from the eternal \n sunshine of God’s love.\n\n So what is grace?\n\n Well before I answer that, I must consider “Where” we may find this precious substance.\n Grace CANNOT be achieved- It can only be RECEIVED. It is COMPLETELY within the gift of Our \n Heavenly Father to bestow it on us.\n \n This precious “spiritual elixir” is the fuel that powers your soul. But how do you access it- I’ve \n already said that it can only be received- So you must get yourself to God’s Gas station and FILL \n UP.\n Many Christians are trying to “power their soul” on incompatible fuels- it’s like \n putting diesel in a petrol car- it coughs and splutters, before eventually coming to a complete \n stop. Thus many people try to achieve self-actualisation with the carbonates of crass \n consumption, unwittingly choking on the (self-generated) noxious fumes that naturally accompany \n such attempts.\n\n Grace is the moment in your life when you ACCEPT you need God’s help to go forward- Crucially \n it is the point at which you have reached the end of your own efforts and accept your need for The \n Saviour- your fuel gauge is showing empty and you accept that the only power source that will get \n you running again is the gift of Grace that only He can provide.\n\n Most people try to go it alone- they resemble someone who having run out of gas try to remedy \n the situation by pushing their car to its destination as they blithely ignore the many service stations \n offering the vital “fill up” that will have them zooming down life’s highway once more.\n\n You are broken, a piece of fabric ripped into a thousand parts. Grace is the only thing that can sew \n those pieces together again. \n When God restores you, you might not see all the changes at once. You'll begin to notice parts of \n you that were broken are no longer that way. Then one day, you realise you're an entirely different \n person than you used to be. That's grace.\n\n I have chosen one of my favourite songs by Paul McCartney to illustrate my experience of Grace.\n Before I was a Christian, I thought I knew it all- I was in control of my destiny and I was aiming \n Icarus like for the SUN.\n\n “For so long I was out in the cold,\n and I taught myself to believe every story I told.\n It was fun hanging onto the moon, heading into the sun,\n but it's been too long. Now I wanna come home.\n Came so close to the edge of defeat.\n But I made my way in the shade, keeping out of the heat.\n It was fun shooting out of the stars, looking into the sun,\n but it's been too long. Now I wanna come home.”\n\n Grace is best understood by the light of its conjoined twin “HOME”.\n Receiving the gift of grace is like coming home after many years away. Instantly those cares and \n worries melt away like snow in the early Spring sunshine- you feel bathed in the warmth of a love \n from whose embrace you never want to leave again. \n\n You have found your place\n You have found The Truth\n You have found JESUS\n\n “Home. Where's there's nothing but sweet surrender,\n to the memories from afar.\n Home. To the place where the truth lies waiting,\n we remember who we are.”\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIgwLW0YlqA\n\n\n", "mediaType": "text/plain" } }, "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1045338539525636096/activity" }, { "type": "Create", "actor": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "object": { "type": "Note", "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1040635331069333504", "attributedTo": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "content": "G Sermon Time:<br /> \"Follow Jesus, listen and obey<br /> No more livin' for the culture, we nobody's slave<br /> Stand up for my home<br /> Even if I take this walk alone<br /> I bow down to the King upon the throne<br /> My life is His, I'm no longer my own\"<br /> Kanye West \"Closed on Sunday\"<br /><br /> One of my uncles was an antique dealer and sometimes I would accompany him on trips to appraise some piece of furniture or other- I was always amazed by the alacrity and speed with which he could date and appraise sundry items and most especially how quickly he could determine whether something was FAKE or not.<br /> <br /> So what has this to do with anything?- Well last week one of my brethren asked me whether or not I thought that Kanye was for real. I hadn't a clue what she was talking about, so I asked her to explain. Apparently some rap artist named Kanye West had become a born again Christian. Up to this point I had never heard any of his music. No surprise, given that I despise \"Rap\" and avoid mainstream \"culture\" as much as possible.<br /> So like any good teacher I confessed my ignorance on the subject, but promised to \"look into it\". This I have done and while I may lack the expertise to discern whether something is a genuine antique or not, I can detect a Fake from a real Christian quite quickly. Thus using Kanye as an example I will give a masterclass in discerning a \"Real Christian\"- <br /><br />\t1) Transformation. Our lord Jesus Christ is in the business of transformation- water into wine; giving <br /> sight to the blind etc. The watermark of a real Christian is whether or not a transformation has <br /> taken place in that person's life. When you encounter Jesus a type of spiritual alchemy takes <br /> place- whereby the base lead of corruption is slowly transformed by the precious gold of His Spirit <br />\t <br />\t Before being born again we are led by our own human inclinations, namely the desires of the <br /> flesh. Generally, this is what guides our thought processes and decisions. But the desires of the <br /> flesh do not lead to the life of Christ, which is what we are called to. To give in to desires such as <br /> pride, laziness, greed, envy, selfishness, and many other forms of evil, leads to sin. <br /><br /> Jesus describes the pre-born-again mind like this: “Because you say ‘I am rich, have become <br /> wealthy, and have need of nothing’ – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, <br /> blind, and naked.” Revelation 3:17.<br />\t<br />\t It is when we acknowledge that we are as described in that verse that we are ready to be born <br /> again “of water and the Spirit.” Nothing that one has as a result of being born of the flesh, as a <br /> natural person, is capable of serving God. When you acknowledge that you are not able to do <br /> that, then God can take over. You need to surrender absolutely everything to be born of the Spirit <br /> – it is a rebirth of the mind and heart. One must become dead to the desires of the flesh and alive <br /> to the promptings of the Spirit.<br />\t<br />\t Back to Kanye- I listened to some of Kanye's songs before he was born again and to the songs <br /> on his new album \"Jesus is King\".<br />\t It is the difference between a moonbeam and lightening ; frost from FIRE. The love of God that <br /> shines through in every lyric on that album is testament to the radiance of The Holy Spirit that <br /> inspired it.<br />\t<br />\t “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which <br /> I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” <br /> Galatians 2:20.<br />\t<br />\t Of course we still have a flesh which craves fulfilment of its desires, but now these desires are <br /> overcome and no longer influence us. Instead, we are alive to what the Spirit is guiding us to, <br /> which is the truth.<br />\t The “old man,” as Paul calls the pre-born-again mindset, must remain crucified with Christ and <br /> the new life you have been born to is the life of Christ. The life of Jesus is to be manifested in our <br /> mortal flesh. (2 Corinthians 4:11) It is precisely because you have been born of the Spirit, and the <br /> Spirit lives in you, that you have the power to resist temptation, to remain crucified to the desires of <br /> the flesh, and to live for Christ. (Romans 15:13)<br /><br /> 2 We know someone is born again if their greatest desire is not for anything of this earth, but <br /> rather a desire to serve God alone and let Him <br /> have control in their life. A desire to live for eternity rather than for anything in this world. A <br /> desire like Jesus that “Not my will but Yours be done.”<br /> Luke 22:42.<br /> It is when you are willing to let go of your own strength, pride, stubbornness, and human <br /> ability and follow the Spirit’s leading so that God’s will can be done. <br /> Then you find that by the power of the Spirit, everything is possible. You can move mountains <br /> in your life. That which you thought was impossible, victory over sin, is accomplished. You are <br /> becoming a transformed person; a new creation, letting God bend and mould you into the <br /> person that He wants you to be.In effect,I you are handing Jesus the keys of the car and <br /> going where He decides.<br /><br /> 3) The new you is obvious in every aspect of your life- work, friends, hobbies. Your life has been <br /> transformed at the level of DNA- You can't get enough of Jesus and His Word and the desire <br /> to go out and spread \"The Good News\" is like a raging torrent within. Fakers rarely mention <br /> Jesus (certainly not on social media). Real Christians use any and all platforms to <br /> spread His Word.<br /><br /> Kanye has aced this one as well. Not only has he publicly denounced his old material and <br /> lifestyle- Every interview and musical composition is used to declare his love for Jesus and to <br /> spread His Word- in spite of the vilification and scorn it has inspired in many quarters<br /><br /> 4) When you become born again, you can see the kingdom of God. One's eyes are opened to <br /> see beyond the things of this earth; to see what has true value. <br /> With God’s kingdom comes everything that is truly good, both in this world and in eternity. <br /> Seeking God’s kingdom is therefore the most rewarding thing a person can do.<br /><br /> “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom <br /> and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your <br /> understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are <br /> the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what<br /> is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of <br /> His mighty power.” Ephesians 1:17-19.<br /><br /> 5) Crucially, you must \"be in the world, but NOT of it\". Walk in His path even if \"you take that walk <br /> alone\".<br /> A real Christian has completly submitted his life to Jesus. I could not have put it better than <br /> Kanye\" My life is His, it's no longer my own\".<br /><br /> THE DUDE'S FOR REAL<br /><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHabGePsb3s\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHabGePsb3s</a><br /><br />", "to": [ "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public" ], "cc": [ "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/followers" ], "tag": [], "url": "https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/1040635331069333504", "published": "2019-11-11T14:33:16+00:00", "source": { "content": "G Sermon Time:\n \"Follow Jesus, listen and obey\n No more livin' for the culture, we nobody's slave\n Stand up for my home\n Even if I take this walk alone\n I bow down to the King upon the throne\n My life is His, I'm no longer my own\"\n Kanye West \"Closed on Sunday\"\n\n One of my uncles was an antique dealer and sometimes I would accompany him on trips to appraise some piece of furniture or other- I was always amazed by the alacrity and speed with which he could date and appraise sundry items and most especially how quickly he could determine whether something was FAKE or not.\n \n So what has this to do with anything?- Well last week one of my brethren asked me whether or not I thought that Kanye was for real. I hadn't a clue what she was talking about, so I asked her to explain. Apparently some rap artist named Kanye West had become a born again Christian. Up to this point I had never heard any of his music. No surprise, given that I despise \"Rap\" and avoid mainstream \"culture\" as much as possible.\n So like any good teacher I confessed my ignorance on the subject, but promised to \"look into it\". This I have done and while I may lack the expertise to discern whether something is a genuine antique or not, I can detect a Fake from a real Christian quite quickly. Thus using Kanye as an example I will give a masterclass in discerning a \"Real Christian\"- \n\n\t1) Transformation. Our lord Jesus Christ is in the business of transformation- water into wine; giving \n sight to the blind etc. The watermark of a real Christian is whether or not a transformation has \n taken place in that person's life. When you encounter Jesus a type of spiritual alchemy takes \n place- whereby the base lead of corruption is slowly transformed by the precious gold of His Spirit \n\t \n\t Before being born again we are led by our own human inclinations, namely the desires of the \n flesh. Generally, this is what guides our thought processes and decisions. But the desires of the \n flesh do not lead to the life of Christ, which is what we are called to. To give in to desires such as \n pride, laziness, greed, envy, selfishness, and many other forms of evil, leads to sin. \n\n Jesus describes the pre-born-again mind like this: “Because you say ‘I am rich, have become \n wealthy, and have need of nothing’ – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, \n blind, and naked.” Revelation 3:17.\n\t\n\t It is when we acknowledge that we are as described in that verse that we are ready to be born \n again “of water and the Spirit.” Nothing that one has as a result of being born of the flesh, as a \n natural person, is capable of serving God. When you acknowledge that you are not able to do \n that, then God can take over. You need to surrender absolutely everything to be born of the Spirit \n – it is a rebirth of the mind and heart. One must become dead to the desires of the flesh and alive \n to the promptings of the Spirit.\n\t\n\t Back to Kanye- I listened to some of Kanye's songs before he was born again and to the songs \n on his new album \"Jesus is King\".\n\t It is the difference between a moonbeam and lightening ; frost from FIRE. The love of God that \n shines through in every lyric on that album is testament to the radiance of The Holy Spirit that \n inspired it.\n\t\n\t “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which \n I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” \n Galatians 2:20.\n\t\n\t Of course we still have a flesh which craves fulfilment of its desires, but now these desires are \n overcome and no longer influence us. Instead, we are alive to what the Spirit is guiding us to, \n which is the truth.\n\t The “old man,” as Paul calls the pre-born-again mindset, must remain crucified with Christ and \n the new life you have been born to is the life of Christ. The life of Jesus is to be manifested in our \n mortal flesh. (2 Corinthians 4:11) It is precisely because you have been born of the Spirit, and the \n Spirit lives in you, that you have the power to resist temptation, to remain crucified to the desires of \n the flesh, and to live for Christ. (Romans 15:13)\n\n 2 We know someone is born again if their greatest desire is not for anything of this earth, but \n rather a desire to serve God alone and let Him \n have control in their life. A desire to live for eternity rather than for anything in this world. A \n desire like Jesus that “Not my will but Yours be done.”\n Luke 22:42.\n It is when you are willing to let go of your own strength, pride, stubbornness, and human \n ability and follow the Spirit’s leading so that God’s will can be done. \n Then you find that by the power of the Spirit, everything is possible. You can move mountains \n in your life. That which you thought was impossible, victory over sin, is accomplished. You are \n becoming a transformed person; a new creation, letting God bend and mould you into the \n person that He wants you to be.In effect,I you are handing Jesus the keys of the car and \n going where He decides.\n\n 3) The new you is obvious in every aspect of your life- work, friends, hobbies. Your life has been \n transformed at the level of DNA- You can't get enough of Jesus and His Word and the desire \n to go out and spread \"The Good News\" is like a raging torrent within. Fakers rarely mention \n Jesus (certainly not on social media). Real Christians use any and all platforms to \n spread His Word.\n\n Kanye has aced this one as well. Not only has he publicly denounced his old material and \n lifestyle- Every interview and musical composition is used to declare his love for Jesus and to \n spread His Word- in spite of the vilification and scorn it has inspired in many quarters\n\n 4) When you become born again, you can see the kingdom of God. One's eyes are opened to \n see beyond the things of this earth; to see what has true value. \n With God’s kingdom comes everything that is truly good, both in this world and in eternity. \n Seeking God’s kingdom is therefore the most rewarding thing a person can do.\n\n “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom \n and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your \n understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are \n the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what\n is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of \n His mighty power.” Ephesians 1:17-19.\n\n 5) Crucially, you must \"be in the world, but NOT of it\". Walk in His path even if \"you take that walk \n alone\".\n A real Christian has completly submitted his life to Jesus. I could not have put it better than \n Kanye\" My life is His, it's no longer my own\".\n\n THE DUDE'S FOR REAL\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHabGePsb3s\n\n", "mediaType": "text/plain" } }, "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1040635331069333504/activity" }, { "type": "Create", "actor": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "object": { "type": "Note", "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1035199559823286272", "attributedTo": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "content": " G Sermon Sunday<br /><br /> \"Selfless love is ALWAYS costly.<br /> Fear can't afford it.<br /> Pride doesn't understand it,<br /> Friends never forget it\"<br /><br /> I want to talk about the most abused 4 letter word in the English language. <br /> A word that has been used <br /> to justify everything from the mass extermination of helpless pre-born children to the “Trans fad” which <br /> involves the cutting off of genitalia and the wilful refusal to accept the binary distinction that governs <br /> humanity. Instead it eschews truth in favour of the conceit that gender is somehow a choice that <br /> resides wholly in the gift of personal desire. <br /> That dangerous 4 letter word is <br /><br /> LOVE’<br /><br /> <br /> All you need is love. The Beatles were wrong, I’m afraid.<br /><br /> Used properly, LOVE is the Rosetta stone that unlocks all of life’s mysteries and will guide you through <br /> all the snares and traps that the Deceiver will put in your way. Real love is a map through which you <br /> will discern your true path Home to The Father.<br /><br /> LOVE is a weapon that can be used to defend or destroy.<br /><br /> In this sermon, I will focus on how love can be a destructive force in your life, and as with all sermons, <br /> we must get our direction from Holy Writ.<br /> Shakespeare once said that “There is nothing new under the sun”; and thus when St. Paul was <br /> warning the early church about the dangers of the “wrong sort of love”, he may as well have been <br /> directing his words towards today’s culture.<br /><br /> In Paul’s letter to Timothy (2 Tim. 3:1–5)- “bad love” is unmasked- This destructive force can be divided <br /> into three parts:<br /> 1. Love of SELF<br /> 2. Love of MONEY<br /> 3. Love of PLEASURE.<br /> These three loves are the building blocks of today’s culture and must be avoided<br /> <br /> Most young people accord this “false love” the status of a god in their lives and it becomes a <br /> credo by which they live. Everything from their ridiculous tattoos to their hedonistic lifestyles are <br /> captured in glorious hi definition technicolor on their IPhones and slavishly rehashed on their <br /> various social media platforms- Whilst older generations lit candles in churches in honour of their <br /> Creator; this generation lights “selfies” that illuminate their self-love and their repudiation of <br /> anything greater than themselves.<br /><br /> However their “lights” give off neither heat nor adequate illumination and thus they fail to see their <br /> path. The marks of people who love themselves are:<br /> 1.\tBoredom <br /> 2.\t A feeling of never being satisfied.<br /> 3.\t Blaming others for their problems<br /><br /> They are like subterranean creatures who have been living so long underground ,and their eyes <br /> have become so accustomed to the darkness that they are incapable of existing above ground in <br /> the sunshine.<br /> Mention Jesus in their presence and observe their reactions. Like vampires confronted with a <br /> Cross, they betray complete abhorrence and contempt. The light of Truth has penetrated the dark <br /> corners of their souls where sin has been hiding. Jesus is TRUTH and even the mention of His <br /> Name will force their lies into the open for all to see.<br /><br /> In fact in rejecting selfless love which is the price of admittance to Paradise you are forever <br /> trapping yourself in the slug like skin of sin- an ugly blind creature that can only dream of the <br /> butterfly it could have become. <br /><br /> Do you remember the old riddle that goes something like this “What gets bigger the more you take <br /> away?”<br /><br /> A HOLE of course!!!!!!<br /><br /> But there is something else- that felling of emptiness and regret that those who have rejected God <br /> and TRUTH feel with each advancing day. Those that reject God are removing themselves farther <br /> and farther from His love and the power source on which His Creation runs. <br /><br /> Auden’s poem “Funeral Blues” really captures the nihilism of the unbeliever:<br /><br /> “The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,<br /> Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,<br /> Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;<br /> For nothing now can ever come to any good.”<br /><br /> The more light that is removed from your heart, the more it will be replaced by darkness- until all <br /> that is left is a black hole of regret, despondency and hopelessness.” <br /> Matthew 16:25 \"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My <br /> sake will find it.”<br /> Jesus described himself as “The Light of the World”. The “candles of self-love” are <br /> superfluous to requirements in the “Sunshine” of His presence.<br /> Throw away those candles that give neither warmth nor heat. Instead set sail for His kingdom and <br /> bask in the warmth of His love<br /> <br /> <br /> <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLCdOc3IzCY\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLCdOc3IzCY</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />", "to": [ "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public" ], "cc": [ "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/followers" ], "tag": [], "url": "https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/1035199559823286272", "published": "2019-10-27T14:33:28+00:00", "source": { "content": " G Sermon Sunday\n\n \"Selfless love is ALWAYS costly.\n Fear can't afford it.\n Pride doesn't understand it,\n Friends never forget it\"\n\n I want to talk about the most abused 4 letter word in the English language. \n A word that has been used \n to justify everything from the mass extermination of helpless pre-born children to the “Trans fad” which \n involves the cutting off of genitalia and the wilful refusal to accept the binary distinction that governs \n humanity. Instead it eschews truth in favour of the conceit that gender is somehow a choice that \n resides wholly in the gift of personal desire. \n That dangerous 4 letter word is \n\n LOVE’\n\n \n All you need is love. The Beatles were wrong, I’m afraid.\n\n Used properly, LOVE is the Rosetta stone that unlocks all of life’s mysteries and will guide you through \n all the snares and traps that the Deceiver will put in your way. Real love is a map through which you \n will discern your true path Home to The Father.\n\n LOVE is a weapon that can be used to defend or destroy.\n\n In this sermon, I will focus on how love can be a destructive force in your life, and as with all sermons, \n we must get our direction from Holy Writ.\n Shakespeare once said that “There is nothing new under the sun”; and thus when St. Paul was \n warning the early church about the dangers of the “wrong sort of love”, he may as well have been \n directing his words towards today’s culture.\n\n In Paul’s letter to Timothy (2 Tim. 3:1–5)- “bad love” is unmasked- This destructive force can be divided \n into three parts:\n 1. Love of SELF\n 2. Love of MONEY\n 3. Love of PLEASURE.\n These three loves are the building blocks of today’s culture and must be avoided\n \n Most young people accord this “false love” the status of a god in their lives and it becomes a \n credo by which they live. Everything from their ridiculous tattoos to their hedonistic lifestyles are \n captured in glorious hi definition technicolor on their IPhones and slavishly rehashed on their \n various social media platforms- Whilst older generations lit candles in churches in honour of their \n Creator; this generation lights “selfies” that illuminate their self-love and their repudiation of \n anything greater than themselves.\n\n However their “lights” give off neither heat nor adequate illumination and thus they fail to see their \n path. The marks of people who love themselves are:\n 1.\tBoredom \n 2.\t A feeling of never being satisfied.\n 3.\t Blaming others for their problems\n\n They are like subterranean creatures who have been living so long underground ,and their eyes \n have become so accustomed to the darkness that they are incapable of existing above ground in \n the sunshine.\n Mention Jesus in their presence and observe their reactions. Like vampires confronted with a \n Cross, they betray complete abhorrence and contempt. The light of Truth has penetrated the dark \n corners of their souls where sin has been hiding. Jesus is TRUTH and even the mention of His \n Name will force their lies into the open for all to see.\n\n In fact in rejecting selfless love which is the price of admittance to Paradise you are forever \n trapping yourself in the slug like skin of sin- an ugly blind creature that can only dream of the \n butterfly it could have become. \n\n Do you remember the old riddle that goes something like this “What gets bigger the more you take \n away?”\n\n A HOLE of course!!!!!!\n\n But there is something else- that felling of emptiness and regret that those who have rejected God \n and TRUTH feel with each advancing day. Those that reject God are removing themselves farther \n and farther from His love and the power source on which His Creation runs. \n\n Auden’s poem “Funeral Blues” really captures the nihilism of the unbeliever:\n\n “The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,\n Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,\n Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;\n For nothing now can ever come to any good.”\n\n The more light that is removed from your heart, the more it will be replaced by darkness- until all \n that is left is a black hole of regret, despondency and hopelessness.” \n Matthew 16:25 \"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My \n sake will find it.”\n Jesus described himself as “The Light of the World”. The “candles of self-love” are \n superfluous to requirements in the “Sunshine” of His presence.\n Throw away those candles that give neither warmth nor heat. Instead set sail for His kingdom and \n bask in the warmth of His love\n \n \n https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLCdOc3IzCY\n\n\n\n\n\n", "mediaType": "text/plain" } }, "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1035199559823286272/activity" }, { "type": "Create", "actor": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "object": { "type": "Note", "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1031551608995102720", "attributedTo": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "content": "Jesus is “the answer to which every human life is the question” ~ <br /> St. JP2<br />G Sermon time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br /> Did you check your e-mails today?<br /> How about the weather forecast? You may need to bring that brolly<br /> Did you check the fridge to make sure you have enough milk for your cup of java this evening?<br /> Did you find out what your Father in Heaven requires you to do today?<br /><br /> The reason most people don’t receive the blessings that Jesus is ready to disperse on all who ask Him <br /> is because they never bother to tune in to the celestial frequency that is always available to us.<br /> Many people fail to hear that clear clarion call from the Saviour, and conclude that either He does not <br /> exist or He does not care about them.<br /> The fault lies outside themselves- As Shakespeare so adroitly opined “The fault lies not in our stars, <br /> but in OURSELVES”.<br /><br /> The reason you don’t hear God’s call is that you are not tuned in to the frequency God broadcasts on. <br /> Instead you listen to a cacophonous chorus of noise- songs without melody, words without meaning <br /> and promises without truth.<br /><br /> You must tune into that broadcast by opening yourself up to His Word.<br /> Then, you MUST HEED THAT WORD-for what would be the point of asking God into your life and not <br /> taking His advice and obeying Him?<br /> Fake Christians REFUSE THE ADVICE. They leave their cross on the ground and are scared to <br /> pick it up. However The Cross is the sole point in the universe where God’s will and Our’s intersect. <br /> Without the Cross, there can be no CROWN.<br /><br /> Jesus said “I come not to bring peace, but a sword”. You see when you encounter Jesus he cuts your <br /> heart in two- one side(the old one) still longs for the baubles and trinkets of this world- The other pines <br /> after the spiritual gifts that will lead to salvation.<br /> Of course your heart is broken, after you encounter Jesus. <br /> He FORCES YOU TO CHOOSE WHICH HALF OF YOUR HEART YOU WILL FOLLOW.<br /><br /> You cannot deceive your own heart. The eyes can be deceived, but not the heart- It is always our <br /> hearts that accept the Gospel first. The beauty-hungering heart always leads the truth-hungering head. <br /> It is the beauty of truth and the beauty of goodness that attracts us.<br /><br /> Jesus is not the solution to our problems; He is the giver of our problems. Our problems are His tasks <br /> and our opportunities, His teaching and our education, His will and our sanctification<br /><br /> Romans 8:28 is literally true: \"In everything God works for good with those who love him.\" This is <br /> surely the most astonishing verse in the Bible, for it certainly doesn't look as if all things work for good. <br /> What about the bad things that happen to good folk like ourselves?<br /> But if God, the all-powerful Creator and Designer and Provider of our lives, is 100 percent love, then <br /> it necessarily follows, as night follows day, that everything in his world, from birth to death, from kisses <br /> to slaps, from chocolate to cancer, comes to us out of God's active or permissive love.<br /><br /> If God is total love, then everything he wills for me must come from his love and be for my good. <br /> For that is what love is, the willing of the beloved's good. And if this God of sheer love is also omnipotent <br /> and can do anything he wills, then it follows that all things must work together for my ultimate good.<br /> Not necessarily for my immediate good, for short-range harm may be the necessary road to long- <br /> range good. And not necessarily for my apparent good, for appearances may be deceiving. Thus <br /> suffering does not seem good. But it can always work for my real and ultimate good. <br /><br /> Even the bad things I and others do, though they do not come from God, are allowed by God <br /> because they are included in his plan. You can't checkmate, corner, surprise, or beat him. He could take <br /> away any evil- natural, human, or demonic—like swatting a fly. He allows it only because it works out for <br /> our greater good in the end, just as it did with Job.<br /><br /> One of my favourite preachers is Derek Prince, and he expounds on some of these themes in the <br /> second part of this link. However the first part is very rare, as it contains his wife Ruth’s testimony-it is <br /> singularly powerful and gives tangible expression to some of the ideas I have discussed, especially <br /> finding your purpose by giving God the keys of your “corporeal car”.<br /><br /> It’s a very poignant testimony. Especially when she describes herself as a “40 year old mother, <br /> abandoned by her husband for a younger woman; whilst raising three young children and struggling to <br /> finish a college course.<br /> And you thought you had problems. In her anguish she called out to The Lord and HE HEARD HER <br /> PRAYER.<br /><br /> As C.S. Lewis so magnificently put it “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, <br /> but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world”.<br /><br /> <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hebdTXcr2ec&amp;t=3023s\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hebdTXcr2ec&amp;t=3023s</a><br /><br />", "to": [ "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public" ], "cc": [ "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/followers" ], "tag": [], "url": "https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/1031551608995102720", "published": "2019-10-17T12:57:48+00:00", "source": { "content": "Jesus is “the answer to which every human life is the question” ~ \n St. JP2\nG Sermon time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\n Did you check your e-mails today?\n How about the weather forecast? You may need to bring that brolly\n Did you check the fridge to make sure you have enough milk for your cup of java this evening?\n Did you find out what your Father in Heaven requires you to do today?\n\n The reason most people don’t receive the blessings that Jesus is ready to disperse on all who ask Him \n is because they never bother to tune in to the celestial frequency that is always available to us.\n Many people fail to hear that clear clarion call from the Saviour, and conclude that either He does not \n exist or He does not care about them.\n The fault lies outside themselves- As Shakespeare so adroitly opined “The fault lies not in our stars, \n but in OURSELVES”.\n\n The reason you don’t hear God’s call is that you are not tuned in to the frequency God broadcasts on. \n Instead you listen to a cacophonous chorus of noise- songs without melody, words without meaning \n and promises without truth.\n\n You must tune into that broadcast by opening yourself up to His Word.\n Then, you MUST HEED THAT WORD-for what would be the point of asking God into your life and not \n taking His advice and obeying Him?\n Fake Christians REFUSE THE ADVICE. They leave their cross on the ground and are scared to \n pick it up. However The Cross is the sole point in the universe where God’s will and Our’s intersect. \n Without the Cross, there can be no CROWN.\n\n Jesus said “I come not to bring peace, but a sword”. You see when you encounter Jesus he cuts your \n heart in two- one side(the old one) still longs for the baubles and trinkets of this world- The other pines \n after the spiritual gifts that will lead to salvation.\n Of course your heart is broken, after you encounter Jesus. \n He FORCES YOU TO CHOOSE WHICH HALF OF YOUR HEART YOU WILL FOLLOW.\n\n You cannot deceive your own heart. The eyes can be deceived, but not the heart- It is always our \n hearts that accept the Gospel first. The beauty-hungering heart always leads the truth-hungering head. \n It is the beauty of truth and the beauty of goodness that attracts us.\n\n Jesus is not the solution to our problems; He is the giver of our problems. Our problems are His tasks \n and our opportunities, His teaching and our education, His will and our sanctification\n\n Romans 8:28 is literally true: \"In everything God works for good with those who love him.\" This is \n surely the most astonishing verse in the Bible, for it certainly doesn't look as if all things work for good. \n What about the bad things that happen to good folk like ourselves?\n But if God, the all-powerful Creator and Designer and Provider of our lives, is 100 percent love, then \n it necessarily follows, as night follows day, that everything in his world, from birth to death, from kisses \n to slaps, from chocolate to cancer, comes to us out of God's active or permissive love.\n\n If God is total love, then everything he wills for me must come from his love and be for my good. \n For that is what love is, the willing of the beloved's good. And if this God of sheer love is also omnipotent \n and can do anything he wills, then it follows that all things must work together for my ultimate good.\n Not necessarily for my immediate good, for short-range harm may be the necessary road to long- \n range good. And not necessarily for my apparent good, for appearances may be deceiving. Thus \n suffering does not seem good. But it can always work for my real and ultimate good. \n\n Even the bad things I and others do, though they do not come from God, are allowed by God \n because they are included in his plan. You can't checkmate, corner, surprise, or beat him. He could take \n away any evil- natural, human, or demonic—like swatting a fly. He allows it only because it works out for \n our greater good in the end, just as it did with Job.\n\n One of my favourite preachers is Derek Prince, and he expounds on some of these themes in the \n second part of this link. However the first part is very rare, as it contains his wife Ruth’s testimony-it is \n singularly powerful and gives tangible expression to some of the ideas I have discussed, especially \n finding your purpose by giving God the keys of your “corporeal car”.\n\n It’s a very poignant testimony. Especially when she describes herself as a “40 year old mother, \n abandoned by her husband for a younger woman; whilst raising three young children and struggling to \n finish a college course.\n And you thought you had problems. In her anguish she called out to The Lord and HE HEARD HER \n PRAYER.\n\n As C.S. Lewis so magnificently put it “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, \n but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world”.\n\n https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hebdTXcr2ec&t=3023s\n\n", "mediaType": "text/plain" } }, "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1031551608995102720/activity" }, { "type": "Create", "actor": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "object": { "type": "Note", "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1029775084905590784", "attributedTo": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "content": "<br /> “\" Thus did Western Man decide to abolish himself, creating his own boredom out of his own <br /> affluence, his own vulnerability out of his own strength, his own impotence out of his own erotomania, <br /> himself blowing the trumpet that brought the walls of his own city tumbling down, and having <br /> convinced himself that he was too numerous, labored with pill and scalpel and syringe to make himself <br /> fewer.<br /> Until at last, having educated himself into imbecility, and polluted and drugged himself into <br /> stupefaction, he keeled over--a weary, battered old brontosaurus--and became extinct.” <br /> <br /> Malcolm Muggeridge.<br /><br /> G Sermon Time.<br /> <br /> I was reminded of this quote when I witnessed that brain washed child Greta Thunberg howl like<br /> a banshee as she raged against the fraud of man made climate change. Sadly she is just one of millions <br /> of young people who have been brainwashed by the twisted tag team of the Lamestream media and the <br /> western education system into a an unquestioning acceptance of such DRIVEL...<br /> <br /> “Is there any point in public debate in a society where hardly anyone has been taught how to think, while millions have been taught what to think?” <br />― Peter Hitchens<br /><br />There are moments where I completely agree with Peter( one of the greatest intellectuals and writers of the 21st Century.). Watching many young people gleefully accept the \"Blue pill\", switch off their critical faculties and accept whatever tropes and thoughts are considered de-rigueur at a particular time; is a source of sadness to me.<br />In my opinion, many of the institutions tasked with informing and educating the people eschew this noble pursuit in favour of the far more insidious stratagem of corrupting young minds, brainwashing them into imbecility.<br /> <br /> We are now living in Orwell's 1984:<br /><br />“Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.” <br />― George Orwell, 1984<br /><br />For millennia, people have recognised that some truths are absolute. They have stood the test of time and provided a bedrock for a healthy,productive society<br /><br />Marriage is between a MAN and a WOMAN<br />Abortion is the deliberate taking of a HUMAN LIFE<br />Gender Equivalence is a fantasy- Men and Women ARE DIFFERENT.<br />THERE ARE two genders MALE AND FEMALE- you're one or the other<br /><br />The Leviathans that run our lives are seeking to re-make society in their own image. If the Globalist Gollums can scramble your brains and have you even questioning your own gender then, there is nothing they will be unable to make you accept. <br />Your brain will be on their \"Cognitive ventilator\". just \"breathing\" Mouthing their lying platitudes:<br />Instead of \" War is Peace,<br />Freedom is slavery. <br />Ignorance is strength.”<br /><br />We have \"How can you be against LOVE\"<br />\"It's MY body\"<br />\"Gender is FLUID- whatever I want it to be\"<br /> Instead of \"Go forth and multiply\"; the globalist class tell us humanity is the problem and we should retreat and subtract from our number.<br /><br /><br />Like Morpheus in The Matrix- I am offering you a choice.<br />You can continue on that ventilator, untroubled by any discordant thoughts that may invade your mind. <br />OR<br />You can take the RED PILL.<br />All I offer is the truth. BUT \"The Truth shall set you free and in finding TRUTH , <br />you will find yourself and your PURPOSE..<br /><br />I was forced to write this post after reading about far-left troglodytes trying to brainwash innocent children into accepting the destruction of the unborn child -\"War is Peace\". Even their young minds knew this was wrong. <br />Thus we have to fight back.This is a perfect example of why I commit to home-school my future children.<br /><br />The odds are overwhelmingly against us<br />But we have a secret weapon - TRUTH.<br /><br />Two thousand years ago, a rag tag bunch of beaten men and women, gathered in an upstairs room, above a pub.<br />Their leader had just been executed, most had denied even knowing Him ,as they huddled together in fear.There was a mob outside baying for blood -THEIRS.<br /><br />\"And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.\"<br /><br />Fear was replaced with FEARLESSNESS<br />Sorrow had been banished and swept away by JOY<br />Defeat was consigned to the grave that couldn't hold The Saviour.<br /><br />Truth and Purpose were conjoined, as these \"defeated men and women\" inflamed by the Holy Spirit went forth and proclaimed The Good News, THE TRUTH. <br />Like Neo, they had been transformed by their consumption of the red pill of TRUTH.<br /><br />", "to": [ "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public" ], "cc": [ "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/followers" ], "tag": [], "url": "https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/1029775084905590784", "published": "2019-10-12T15:18:32+00:00", "source": { "content": "\n “\" Thus did Western Man decide to abolish himself, creating his own boredom out of his own \n affluence, his own vulnerability out of his own strength, his own impotence out of his own erotomania, \n himself blowing the trumpet that brought the walls of his own city tumbling down, and having \n convinced himself that he was too numerous, labored with pill and scalpel and syringe to make himself \n fewer.\n Until at last, having educated himself into imbecility, and polluted and drugged himself into \n stupefaction, he keeled over--a weary, battered old brontosaurus--and became extinct.” \n \n Malcolm Muggeridge.\n\n G Sermon Time.\n \n I was reminded of this quote when I witnessed that brain washed child Greta Thunberg howl like\n a banshee as she raged against the fraud of man made climate change. Sadly she is just one of millions \n of young people who have been brainwashed by the twisted tag team of the Lamestream media and the \n western education system into a an unquestioning acceptance of such DRIVEL...\n \n “Is there any point in public debate in a society where hardly anyone has been taught how to think, while millions have been taught what to think?” \n― Peter Hitchens\n\nThere are moments where I completely agree with Peter( one of the greatest intellectuals and writers of the 21st Century.). Watching many young people gleefully accept the \"Blue pill\", switch off their critical faculties and accept whatever tropes and thoughts are considered de-rigueur at a particular time; is a source of sadness to me.\nIn my opinion, many of the institutions tasked with informing and educating the people eschew this noble pursuit in favour of the far more insidious stratagem of corrupting young minds, brainwashing them into imbecility.\n \n We are now living in Orwell's 1984:\n\n“Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.” \n― George Orwell, 1984\n\nFor millennia, people have recognised that some truths are absolute. They have stood the test of time and provided a bedrock for a healthy,productive society\n\nMarriage is between a MAN and a WOMAN\nAbortion is the deliberate taking of a HUMAN LIFE\nGender Equivalence is a fantasy- Men and Women ARE DIFFERENT.\nTHERE ARE two genders MALE AND FEMALE- you're one or the other\n\nThe Leviathans that run our lives are seeking to re-make society in their own image. If the Globalist Gollums can scramble your brains and have you even questioning your own gender then, there is nothing they will be unable to make you accept. \nYour brain will be on their \"Cognitive ventilator\". just \"breathing\" Mouthing their lying platitudes:\nInstead of \" War is Peace,\nFreedom is slavery. \nIgnorance is strength.”\n\nWe have \"How can you be against LOVE\"\n\"It's MY body\"\n\"Gender is FLUID- whatever I want it to be\"\n Instead of \"Go forth and multiply\"; the globalist class tell us humanity is the problem and we should retreat and subtract from our number.\n\n\nLike Morpheus in The Matrix- I am offering you a choice.\nYou can continue on that ventilator, untroubled by any discordant thoughts that may invade your mind. \nOR\nYou can take the RED PILL.\nAll I offer is the truth. BUT \"The Truth shall set you free and in finding TRUTH , \nyou will find yourself and your PURPOSE..\n\nI was forced to write this post after reading about far-left troglodytes trying to brainwash innocent children into accepting the destruction of the unborn child -\"War is Peace\". Even their young minds knew this was wrong. \nThus we have to fight back.This is a perfect example of why I commit to home-school my future children.\n\nThe odds are overwhelmingly against us\nBut we have a secret weapon - TRUTH.\n\nTwo thousand years ago, a rag tag bunch of beaten men and women, gathered in an upstairs room, above a pub.\nTheir leader had just been executed, most had denied even knowing Him ,as they huddled together in fear.There was a mob outside baying for blood -THEIRS.\n\n\"And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.\"\n\nFear was replaced with FEARLESSNESS\nSorrow had been banished and swept away by JOY\nDefeat was consigned to the grave that couldn't hold The Saviour.\n\nTruth and Purpose were conjoined, as these \"defeated men and women\" inflamed by the Holy Spirit went forth and proclaimed The Good News, THE TRUTH. \nLike Neo, they had been transformed by their consumption of the red pill of TRUTH.\n\n", "mediaType": "text/plain" } }, "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1029775084905590784/activity" }, { "type": "Create", "actor": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "object": { "type": "Note", "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1006165104387182592", "attributedTo": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "content": "\"There is only one belief that can rob death of its sting and the grave of its victory. For without that you cannot be born again.\"<br /><br />George Bernard Shaw<br /> G Sermon:<br /> I believe that the reason for most relationship breakdowns is because of the fact that many people <br /> had the misfortune of FINDING their soulmate.<br /> Yes you read that sentence correctly. As an educator, I find it most useful to begin examining a topic <br /> with a definition of the subject at hand<br /><br /> A soulmate is defined as “a person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner.”<br /><br /> Before I was born again and had a real and profound encounter with the living Jesus- I was unlucky <br /> enough to meet quite a few “soul mates”- We were ideally suited to each other- the pre-eminence <br /> we accorded to SELF was given tangible expression in our daily embrace of the world and all its <br /> goodies. “The things of this world” were clinically identified and catalogued according to their <br /> intrinsic capacity to deliver the materialistic “hit” that would maximise our stock of self-regard and <br /> pleasure.<br /><br /> Such “Soul-mates” easily find each other in a world where selfishness is extolled at every opportunity <br /> and the god of Mammon is firmly ensconced in the double helix of their souls.<br /> “ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”<br /> 2 Corinthians 5:17<br /> There is no ambiguity whatsoever- You must become a new person to follow Jesus. <br /> Here’s a checklist for salvation;<br /><br /> 1)\tYou realise that all of mankind is intrinsically bad and sinful especially YOU<br /> 2)\tYou accept your NEED for a Saviour. Without Jesus, you are lost in a relativistic wasteland <br /> where right and wrong, good and bad vary with the caprices of whatever elite hold the levers of <br /> power at any one time.<br /> 3)\tYou HATE your sins. Like a toothache, once you become aware of them the pain level <br /> increases until you feel an unrelenting urge to remove them.<br /> 4)\tYou can’t get enough of God’s Word. Everything you have ever wanted to know resides within <br /> those pages<br /> -\tWho am I?<br /> -\tWhat is my purpose?<br /> -\tWhat is Truth<br /> -\tThe meaning of LOVE<br /> 5)\tYou believe that Jesus is \"The Way, The Truth and The Life\" <br /> C.S Lewis observed that <br /> “To have Faith in Christ means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no <br /> sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have <br /> really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. <br /> But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but <br /> because He has begun to save you already.<br /> Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a <br /> certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.” <br /><br /> If you truly believe in the promise of salvation then the real life is yet to come. Jesus Kingdom <br /> is “not of this world”. Heaven is your real home where everlasting life awaits you in the embrace <br /> of your Father.<br /> Thus if you truly believe this, you will be “storing up riches for yourself in Heaven”<br /> “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and <br /> where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where <br /> moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your <br /> treasure is, there your heart will be also.”<br /> Matthew 6:19-21<br /><br /> <br /> 6)\tYou must accept COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION as the price of salvation. Mere improvement <br /> just won’t do! Jesus came to redeem mankind by TURING CREATURES INTO SONS. <br /> “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”<br /> 2 Corinthians 5:17<br /> “Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the <br /> kingdom of God.”<br /> John 3:3<br /><br /> Many unsaved folk fail to check the above-but their core flaw is PRIDE and self satisfaction. <br /> They are happy with who they are and consequently don’t see the need for change. <br /> They will always remain creatures trapped in a cocoon-happy in their sluglike state. The <br /> unsaved are quite happy being slugs and enjoy the confines of their ”cocoon”. They will never <br /> know the freedom and beauty that the Christian “metamorphosis” creates.<br /><br /> “There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as <br /> a flower. And there is a beauty which God grants when by His grace men are born again. That <br /> kind of beauty never vanishes but blooms eternally.”<br /><br /> <br /><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7NIVOY25Vc\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7NIVOY25Vc</a><br /> <br /> <br /><br /> <br />", "to": [ "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public" ], "cc": [ "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/followers" ], "tag": [], "url": "https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/1006165104387182592", "published": "2019-08-08T11:40:54+00:00", "source": { "content": "\"There is only one belief that can rob death of its sting and the grave of its victory. For without that you cannot be born again.\"\n\nGeorge Bernard Shaw\n G Sermon:\n I believe that the reason for most relationship breakdowns is because of the fact that many people \n had the misfortune of FINDING their soulmate.\n Yes you read that sentence correctly. As an educator, I find it most useful to begin examining a topic \n with a definition of the subject at hand\n\n A soulmate is defined as “a person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner.”\n\n Before I was born again and had a real and profound encounter with the living Jesus- I was unlucky \n enough to meet quite a few “soul mates”- We were ideally suited to each other- the pre-eminence \n we accorded to SELF was given tangible expression in our daily embrace of the world and all its \n goodies. “The things of this world” were clinically identified and catalogued according to their \n intrinsic capacity to deliver the materialistic “hit” that would maximise our stock of self-regard and \n pleasure.\n\n Such “Soul-mates” easily find each other in a world where selfishness is extolled at every opportunity \n and the god of Mammon is firmly ensconced in the double helix of their souls.\n “ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”\n 2 Corinthians 5:17\n There is no ambiguity whatsoever- You must become a new person to follow Jesus. \n Here’s a checklist for salvation;\n\n 1)\tYou realise that all of mankind is intrinsically bad and sinful especially YOU\n 2)\tYou accept your NEED for a Saviour. Without Jesus, you are lost in a relativistic wasteland \n where right and wrong, good and bad vary with the caprices of whatever elite hold the levers of \n power at any one time.\n 3)\tYou HATE your sins. Like a toothache, once you become aware of them the pain level \n increases until you feel an unrelenting urge to remove them.\n 4)\tYou can’t get enough of God’s Word. Everything you have ever wanted to know resides within \n those pages\n -\tWho am I?\n -\tWhat is my purpose?\n -\tWhat is Truth\n -\tThe meaning of LOVE\n 5)\tYou believe that Jesus is \"The Way, The Truth and The Life\" \n C.S Lewis observed that \n “To have Faith in Christ means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no \n sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have \n really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. \n But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but \n because He has begun to save you already.\n Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a \n certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.” \n\n If you truly believe in the promise of salvation then the real life is yet to come. Jesus Kingdom \n is “not of this world”. Heaven is your real home where everlasting life awaits you in the embrace \n of your Father.\n Thus if you truly believe this, you will be “storing up riches for yourself in Heaven”\n “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and \n where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where \n moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your \n treasure is, there your heart will be also.”\n Matthew 6:19-21\n\n \n 6)\tYou must accept COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION as the price of salvation. Mere improvement \n just won’t do! Jesus came to redeem mankind by TURING CREATURES INTO SONS. \n “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”\n 2 Corinthians 5:17\n “Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the \n kingdom of God.”\n John 3:3\n\n Many unsaved folk fail to check the above-but their core flaw is PRIDE and self satisfaction. \n They are happy with who they are and consequently don’t see the need for change. \n They will always remain creatures trapped in a cocoon-happy in their sluglike state. The \n unsaved are quite happy being slugs and enjoy the confines of their ”cocoon”. They will never \n know the freedom and beauty that the Christian “metamorphosis” creates.\n\n “There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as \n a flower. And there is a beauty which God grants when by His grace men are born again. That \n kind of beauty never vanishes but blooms eternally.”\n\n \nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7NIVOY25Vc\n \n \n\n \n", "mediaType": "text/plain" } }, "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1006165104387182592/activity" }, { "type": "Create", "actor": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "object": { "type": "Note", "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1004744616555732992", "attributedTo": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "content": "\"A person doesn't burn to death by falling on the fire, but by staying there. \"<br /> <br /> G Sermon Time;<br /> <br /> When I graduated from University back in the ‘80’s, my first job was with a large Advertising <br /> Agency. There, I learned all about selling and put my knowledge of Psychology to immediate <br /> use.<br /> <br /> The most important lesson I learned from social psychology is the influence others have on us. <br /> We don’t have as much control over our thoughts and behaviour as we think. We take cues <br /> from our environment, especially other people, on how to act. <br /> It’s called the principle of social proof. To learn what is correct, we look at what <br /> other people are doing. Whether the question is what to do with an empty popcorn box at the <br /> cinema, how fast to drive on a certain stretch of road, or how to eat the chicken at a dinner <br /> party, the actions of those around us will be important in defining the answer.” Social proof is a <br /> shortcut to decide how to act.<br /><br /> Thus when advertisers inform us that a product is the “fastest-growing” or “best-selling” , they <br /> are utilising the principle of Social proof. They don’t have to persuade us that a product is good, <br /> they only need to say others think so.<br /><br /> The simple heuristic “ Popular is good” is the hook that advertisers use to reel in the unthinking, <br /> gullible masses. It is also the weapon that the Cultural Marxists employ in their attempt to fell the <br /> pillars of Judeo-Christian society. These “pillars” have stood the test of time and the varying <br /> caprices of alternative orthodoxies.<br /><br /> The enemies of God want to “normalise” their apostasy and always start with baby steps to get <br /> inside your natural distaste for their agenda. Their entire strategy is to get you to accept”The <br /> Norm” as THEY DEFINE IT. Once they have achieved this then the snowball effect will kick in <br /> and before long you are tacitly and crucially SUB-CONSCIOUSLY acquiescing to a whole <br /> smorgasbord of positions that you would previously have found repellent. And why pray tell?- <br /> because the MAJORITY hold them to be true, and thus instead of questioning the rationale <br /> behind these orthodoxies, you meekly subscribe to them under the principle of SOCIAL PROOF.<br /> <br /> Cultural Marxism is to the mind what full blown AIDS is to the body. Aids destroys your body’s <br /> immune defences against infection. Cultural Marxism seeks to destroy your intellectual and <br /> spiritual defences against their Godless Agenda. Christianity is our natural immunity against their <br /> conflagration of lies and apostasy and their virus seeks to disable “our T-cells of Truth and Faith.<br /><br /> How do we defend ourselves against them? <br /> - ABSTINENCE, of course<br /> Abstinence is defined as “the practice of restraining oneself from indulging in something”. In other <br /> words “don’t play their game”. However, this will come at a cost<br /><br /> 1)\tFirstly you can forget about winning any popularity contests. Not only will the “cool” gang turn <br /> their backs on you, but they will attempt to smear you with every trope in the book from <br /> misogyny to homophobia for the unforgivable sin of “going your own way” and dissenting from <br /> the majority.<br /> Teenagers find this social ostracism the hardest to bear- but take comfort from the solace that <br /> you are on the “right” side of History. As Gandhi once said “Even if you are a minority of one, the <br /> Truth is the Truth.”<br /> Abortion is murder, homosexual “marriage” is an oxymoron. Transgender ism is a complete and <br /> utter construct. You get the picture.<br /><br /> As always Jesus warned us about this from the very beginning; John 15:18-20<br /> “ If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would <br /> love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the <br /> world. That is why the world hates you.”<br /> The Word of God is the only sure VACCINE against the Cultural Marxism Virus that is creating <br /> an entire Zombie army of walking dead who have ceded control of their moral compasses to a <br /> Satanic cabal who are leading their fellow lemmings straight towards a rendezvous with a very <br /> steep precipice.<br /><br /> 2)\tHome-school your children. Most schools are mere indoctrination camps for whatever <br /> orthodoxies are in vogue at any particular time.<br /> Teach your Children HOW TO THINK and inoculate them against “the world” with The Word <br /> from the very start. <br /> Teach them by example. Live the Faith and I promise you it will, by a spiritual osmosis flow into <br /> their very souls and irrigate their lives with countless blessings.<br /><br /> 3)\tFellowship with other Christian families. <br /> You are building An Ark and depositing your most precious possession there- The souls of your <br /> family. Do this well, and your “ship” will sail over the waters of the world. Those who have tried <br /> to accommodate themselves with the world will find their vessel springing multiple leaks before it <br /> is engulfed and sinks.<br /><br /> 4)\tTeach them about the dangers of Social Media- Satan himself could not have designed a <br /> more perfect snare to trap the unsuspecting into this\"group think\" black hole. .They run on the <br /> twin tracks of self-absorption and peer pressure, thus anchoring unthinking dullards in <br /> a prison where virtue signalling and posting “happy pictures” become their daily obsessions.<br /><br /> “I passed under an arch out of that region of slabs and columns, and wandered through the <br /> open country; sometimes following the visible road, but sometimes leaving it curiously to <br /> tread across meadows where only occasional ruins bespoke the ancient presence of a <br /> forgotten road.” <br /> ― H.P. Lovecraft, The Outsider<br /><br /> <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXoxtAlIfAc\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXoxtAlIfAc</a><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br />", "to": [ "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public" ], "cc": [ "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/followers" ], "tag": [], "url": "https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/1004744616555732992", "published": "2019-08-04T13:36:23+00:00", "source": { "content": "\"A person doesn't burn to death by falling on the fire, but by staying there. \"\n \n G Sermon Time;\n \n When I graduated from University back in the ‘80’s, my first job was with a large Advertising \n Agency. There, I learned all about selling and put my knowledge of Psychology to immediate \n use.\n \n The most important lesson I learned from social psychology is the influence others have on us. \n We don’t have as much control over our thoughts and behaviour as we think. We take cues \n from our environment, especially other people, on how to act. \n It’s called the principle of social proof. To learn what is correct, we look at what \n other people are doing. Whether the question is what to do with an empty popcorn box at the \n cinema, how fast to drive on a certain stretch of road, or how to eat the chicken at a dinner \n party, the actions of those around us will be important in defining the answer.” Social proof is a \n shortcut to decide how to act.\n\n Thus when advertisers inform us that a product is the “fastest-growing” or “best-selling” , they \n are utilising the principle of Social proof. They don’t have to persuade us that a product is good, \n they only need to say others think so.\n\n The simple heuristic “ Popular is good” is the hook that advertisers use to reel in the unthinking, \n gullible masses. It is also the weapon that the Cultural Marxists employ in their attempt to fell the \n pillars of Judeo-Christian society. These “pillars” have stood the test of time and the varying \n caprices of alternative orthodoxies.\n\n The enemies of God want to “normalise” their apostasy and always start with baby steps to get \n inside your natural distaste for their agenda. Their entire strategy is to get you to accept”The \n Norm” as THEY DEFINE IT. Once they have achieved this then the snowball effect will kick in \n and before long you are tacitly and crucially SUB-CONSCIOUSLY acquiescing to a whole \n smorgasbord of positions that you would previously have found repellent. And why pray tell?- \n because the MAJORITY hold them to be true, and thus instead of questioning the rationale \n behind these orthodoxies, you meekly subscribe to them under the principle of SOCIAL PROOF.\n \n Cultural Marxism is to the mind what full blown AIDS is to the body. Aids destroys your body’s \n immune defences against infection. Cultural Marxism seeks to destroy your intellectual and \n spiritual defences against their Godless Agenda. Christianity is our natural immunity against their \n conflagration of lies and apostasy and their virus seeks to disable “our T-cells of Truth and Faith.\n\n How do we defend ourselves against them? \n - ABSTINENCE, of course\n Abstinence is defined as “the practice of restraining oneself from indulging in something”. In other \n words “don’t play their game”. However, this will come at a cost\n\n 1)\tFirstly you can forget about winning any popularity contests. Not only will the “cool” gang turn \n their backs on you, but they will attempt to smear you with every trope in the book from \n misogyny to homophobia for the unforgivable sin of “going your own way” and dissenting from \n the majority.\n Teenagers find this social ostracism the hardest to bear- but take comfort from the solace that \n you are on the “right” side of History. As Gandhi once said “Even if you are a minority of one, the \n Truth is the Truth.”\n Abortion is murder, homosexual “marriage” is an oxymoron. Transgender ism is a complete and \n utter construct. You get the picture.\n\n As always Jesus warned us about this from the very beginning; John 15:18-20\n “ If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would \n love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the \n world. That is why the world hates you.”\n The Word of God is the only sure VACCINE against the Cultural Marxism Virus that is creating \n an entire Zombie army of walking dead who have ceded control of their moral compasses to a \n Satanic cabal who are leading their fellow lemmings straight towards a rendezvous with a very \n steep precipice.\n\n 2)\tHome-school your children. Most schools are mere indoctrination camps for whatever \n orthodoxies are in vogue at any particular time.\n Teach your Children HOW TO THINK and inoculate them against “the world” with The Word \n from the very start. \n Teach them by example. Live the Faith and I promise you it will, by a spiritual osmosis flow into \n their very souls and irrigate their lives with countless blessings.\n\n 3)\tFellowship with other Christian families. \n You are building An Ark and depositing your most precious possession there- The souls of your \n family. Do this well, and your “ship” will sail over the waters of the world. Those who have tried \n to accommodate themselves with the world will find their vessel springing multiple leaks before it \n is engulfed and sinks.\n\n 4)\tTeach them about the dangers of Social Media- Satan himself could not have designed a \n more perfect snare to trap the unsuspecting into this\"group think\" black hole. .They run on the \n twin tracks of self-absorption and peer pressure, thus anchoring unthinking dullards in \n a prison where virtue signalling and posting “happy pictures” become their daily obsessions.\n\n “I passed under an arch out of that region of slabs and columns, and wandered through the \n open country; sometimes following the visible road, but sometimes leaving it curiously to \n tread across meadows where only occasional ruins bespoke the ancient presence of a \n forgotten road.” \n ― H.P. Lovecraft, The Outsider\n\n https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXoxtAlIfAc\n\n\n\n \n", "mediaType": "text/plain" } }, "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1004744616555732992/activity" }, { "type": "Create", "actor": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "object": { "type": "Note", "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1002196498589024256", "attributedTo": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "content": " \"Holiness is an unselfing of ourselves.\"<br /> - Frederick W. Faber<br /><br /> G Sermon Time:<br /> I have just returned from an overseas trip and in this sermon I want to warn people about the <br /> dangers of “The Satanic Selfie”<br /><br /> John the Baptist was described by Jesus as the greatest man who ever lived “I tell you, of all who <br /> have ever lived, none is greater than John.”<br /> Just reflect on that for a moment- Jesus, The King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Creator of The <br /> Universe is giving a mortal man the ultimate compliment.<br /><br /> John had blazed across Judea like a shooting star, the first real prophet in Israel for four centuries. <br /> All eyes had been on him from king to peasant. And he called them all to account, including the <br /> self-righteous Pharisees<br /> Just as interesting is John’s subsequent response. One would expect a certain \"puffing of the <br /> chest\" and some time to luxuriate in the afterglow with his fervid followers.<br /> <br /> But no,after baptising Jesus in The Jordan he told his followers to follow Jesus, and accepted <br /> the fact that his role was coming to an end “He must increase, but I must decrease.”<br /> The greatest man who ever lived was preparing to exit stage left and leave the path clear for The <br /> Messiah. He knew what would happen next.<br /><br /> He had spent a lifetime being prepared for his brief ministry of introduction. Those years in the <br /> wilderness God had worked him over, ruthlessly laying bare his deeply entrenched pride and <br /> training him to die to it. He had learned to love the Bridegroom’s appearing and not love the <br /> celebrity of being the Bridegroom’s best man. <br /><br /> The role is not the reward. The Lord is the Reward.<br /><br /> Contrast John’s acceptance of His role and his humility with Satan’s.<br /> No other angel, no other being was created with the intelligence that God gave to this creature. <br /> God says that this creation is \"perfect in beauty.\"<br /> In Ezekiel, we learn that Satan is the highest creature the LORD ever created. <br /> The LORD says of him, \"You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.\" <br /> Satan was the wisest creature God ever created. <br /> Satan was a cherub and his position was to guard the very throne of God. Satan had the highest of <br /> all positions. But instead of fulfilling the role God had assigned him, He burned with pride at his own <br /> magnificence and eschewing his purpose sought to make himself an equal with God.<br /><br /> \"I will ascend to heaven;<br /> I will raise my throne above the stars of God; <br /> I will sit on the mount of assembly on the heights of Zaphon;<br /> I will ascend to the tops of the clouds,<br /> I will make myself like the Most High.\" Isaiah 14:12.<br /><br /> Did you notice in this passage all of the \"I wills?<br /><br /> Every tactic Satan employs has as it’s ultimate goal the placing of self in the gap in your spirit that has <br /> been reserved for God. <br /> When you encounter Jesus and become born again then like John the Baptist the old you MUST <br /> decrease, to make space for the new being that God is creating within. Or, you can cling to “the old <br /> man”- your old heart, desires, worries…<br />…<br /> But if you do this you are refusing to accept the purpose that God has designed you for- in effect, like <br /> Satan you are refusing to submit to God. <br /> I have just returned from a trip to Turkey and everywhere I went I saw people- young and old taking <br /> selfie after selfie after selfie…….<br /><br /> The psychology of “The Selfie” is quite interesting and Satanic in its expression.<br /> Satan loves selfies- because it puts SELF at the centre of EVERYTHING<br /><br /> It appeals to our most negative and unappealing traits<br /> - The desire to show off taking selfies in specific locations encapsulated by the (unwritten but <br /> always present sentiment “I’m having fun in an exotic place and you’re not. “<br /> - Taking selfies to get more ‘likes’ on social media)<br /> - Attention-seeking (taking selfies to gain attention from others)<br /> - Subjective conformity (taking selfies to fit in with one’s social group and peers.)<br /><br /> The selfie is Satan’s gateway drug of choice. Gateway drugs are dangerous because of their <br /> apparent benign and harmless nature- but it is this very feature that masks their potency.<br /><br /> Jesus tells us to DENY OURSELVES<br /> In effect He tells us to “Deny Our Selfies”- In so doing we are also respecting His command “To be <br /> in the world, but not of it”. This is the first step in moving towards a spirit of humility.<br /><br /> Satan was the original “SELFIE WHORE”. <br /> Satan’s prime directive is to peddle the lie that you are the centre of everything. Misery loves <br /> company, and from the very start Lucifer has been pulling out all of the stops to get you to join him <br /> in his exile by making the same mis-steps that dragged him down to Hell, forever exiled from <br /> Paradise. <br /> <br /> He does not want to be God's servant. He does not want to do what he was created to do. <br /> Satan was corrupted by the munificent gifts bestowed on him by his creator. In effect Satan was a <br /> Superstar in the heavenly firmament. But his pride prevented him from accepting “second billing”.<br /> And so the tyranny of the selfie- has any device been so effective in stuffing our hearts with pride as <br /> it burgles our soul’s bank of humility.<br /><br /> <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inTrNcaNicU\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inTrNcaNicU</a><br /><br />", "to": [ "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public" ], "cc": [ "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/followers" ], "tag": [], "url": "https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/1002196498589024256", "published": "2019-07-28T12:51:05+00:00", "source": { "content": " \"Holiness is an unselfing of ourselves.\"\n - Frederick W. Faber\n\n G Sermon Time:\n I have just returned from an overseas trip and in this sermon I want to warn people about the \n dangers of “The Satanic Selfie”\n\n John the Baptist was described by Jesus as the greatest man who ever lived “I tell you, of all who \n have ever lived, none is greater than John.”\n Just reflect on that for a moment- Jesus, The King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Creator of The \n Universe is giving a mortal man the ultimate compliment.\n\n John had blazed across Judea like a shooting star, the first real prophet in Israel for four centuries. \n All eyes had been on him from king to peasant. And he called them all to account, including the \n self-righteous Pharisees\n Just as interesting is John’s subsequent response. One would expect a certain \"puffing of the \n chest\" and some time to luxuriate in the afterglow with his fervid followers.\n \n But no,after baptising Jesus in The Jordan he told his followers to follow Jesus, and accepted \n the fact that his role was coming to an end “He must increase, but I must decrease.”\n The greatest man who ever lived was preparing to exit stage left and leave the path clear for The \n Messiah. He knew what would happen next.\n\n He had spent a lifetime being prepared for his brief ministry of introduction. Those years in the \n wilderness God had worked him over, ruthlessly laying bare his deeply entrenched pride and \n training him to die to it. He had learned to love the Bridegroom’s appearing and not love the \n celebrity of being the Bridegroom’s best man. \n\n The role is not the reward. The Lord is the Reward.\n\n Contrast John’s acceptance of His role and his humility with Satan’s.\n No other angel, no other being was created with the intelligence that God gave to this creature. \n God says that this creation is \"perfect in beauty.\"\n In Ezekiel, we learn that Satan is the highest creature the LORD ever created. \n The LORD says of him, \"You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.\" \n Satan was the wisest creature God ever created. \n Satan was a cherub and his position was to guard the very throne of God. Satan had the highest of \n all positions. But instead of fulfilling the role God had assigned him, He burned with pride at his own \n magnificence and eschewing his purpose sought to make himself an equal with God.\n\n \"I will ascend to heaven;\n I will raise my throne above the stars of God; \n I will sit on the mount of assembly on the heights of Zaphon;\n I will ascend to the tops of the clouds,\n I will make myself like the Most High.\" Isaiah 14:12.\n\n Did you notice in this passage all of the \"I wills?\n\n Every tactic Satan employs has as it’s ultimate goal the placing of self in the gap in your spirit that has \n been reserved for God. \n When you encounter Jesus and become born again then like John the Baptist the old you MUST \n decrease, to make space for the new being that God is creating within. Or, you can cling to “the old \n man”- your old heart, desires, worries…\n…\n But if you do this you are refusing to accept the purpose that God has designed you for- in effect, like \n Satan you are refusing to submit to God. \n I have just returned from a trip to Turkey and everywhere I went I saw people- young and old taking \n selfie after selfie after selfie…….\n\n The psychology of “The Selfie” is quite interesting and Satanic in its expression.\n Satan loves selfies- because it puts SELF at the centre of EVERYTHING\n\n It appeals to our most negative and unappealing traits\n - The desire to show off taking selfies in specific locations encapsulated by the (unwritten but \n always present sentiment “I’m having fun in an exotic place and you’re not. “\n - Taking selfies to get more ‘likes’ on social media)\n - Attention-seeking (taking selfies to gain attention from others)\n - Subjective conformity (taking selfies to fit in with one’s social group and peers.)\n\n The selfie is Satan’s gateway drug of choice. Gateway drugs are dangerous because of their \n apparent benign and harmless nature- but it is this very feature that masks their potency.\n\n Jesus tells us to DENY OURSELVES\n In effect He tells us to “Deny Our Selfies”- In so doing we are also respecting His command “To be \n in the world, but not of it”. This is the first step in moving towards a spirit of humility.\n\n Satan was the original “SELFIE WHORE”. \n Satan’s prime directive is to peddle the lie that you are the centre of everything. Misery loves \n company, and from the very start Lucifer has been pulling out all of the stops to get you to join him \n in his exile by making the same mis-steps that dragged him down to Hell, forever exiled from \n Paradise. \n \n He does not want to be God's servant. He does not want to do what he was created to do. \n Satan was corrupted by the munificent gifts bestowed on him by his creator. In effect Satan was a \n Superstar in the heavenly firmament. But his pride prevented him from accepting “second billing”.\n And so the tyranny of the selfie- has any device been so effective in stuffing our hearts with pride as \n it burgles our soul’s bank of humility.\n\n https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inTrNcaNicU\n\n", "mediaType": "text/plain" } }, "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:1002196498589024256/activity" }, { "type": "Create", "actor": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "object": { "type": "Note", "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:997112992030896128", "attributedTo": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "content": "“The more I walk with Christ, the more I'm aware that the battles I'm fighting are not against flesh and blood, but neither is my help.” <br />― Jennifer DeFrates<br /><br /> G Sermon Time<br />\"There never was a war in all history easier to prevent by timely action\" than World War II.”<br /> Winston Churchill.<br /> On March 7, 1936, Hitler ordered troops and weaponry into the demilitarised Rhineland, an action <br /> expressly forbidden by The Versailles Treaty<br /> But Hitler was taking a decidedly cautious approach, sending only about 30,000 soldiers. These men <br /> were under orders to avoid combat with the French at all costs, and to remain ready at all times to <br /> retreat within an hour.<br /> The French army folded like a house of cards.<br /> If the French were unwilling to make a move, why should Britain send its sons to risk their lives?<br /><br /> At the time, French intelligence arrived at an absurd estimate of 295,000 German troops in the <br /> Rhineland. Today, we know that a single division would have been sufficient to drive out Hitler's <br /> soldiers.<br /><br /> The best way to “Win” a war is to take the enemy out while he is only beginning to amass his forces <br /> against you. This involves a number of factors to be successful;<br /><br /> 1)\tYou must be capable of IDENTIFYING the enemy.<br /> Many “Christians” don’t believe in Satan and his legions of Demons. Such people should stop calling <br /> themselves Christians- They view the Bible as a self improvement manual and carefully avoid any <br /> fractious passages that don’t chime with today’s culture. These a la carte creatures are censors of <br /> God and as such stifflers of Truth.<br /> <br /> Those of us who cherish The Bible as The Inspired Word of God- have not only identified the enemy; <br /> we have cut him off before he can wreak the havoc that he wishes on our immortal souls.<br /> Many people were taken in by Hitler because he told them exactly what they wanted to hear.<br /> Europe was tired of war and desperately wanted to avoid conflict at all cost. Thus when Hitler cooed in <br /> the ears of European leaders promising “peace” and “harmony”- they took him at his word ignoring his <br /> actions that pointed to his real intent.<br /><br /> His invasions were always sugar-coated to mask the true bitterness of their real taste.<br /> Thus when Hitler sought to “annex” the Sudetenland, it was to “protect the indigenous Germans living <br /> there”. His real agenda was much broader. Hitler wanted ALL of Czechoslovakia and then?<br /> Have you identified “The Enemy” yet?<br /><br /> Luckily for us St. Paul unmasked our foe in Ephesians 6:12 \"For our struggle is not against flesh and <br /> blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against <br /> the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.\"<br /><br /> <br /> Imagine if the European leaders in the Thirties were transported in a time machine to 1945 and <br /> could witness at first hand the devastation that Hitler had wrought on Europe. It is safe to say that <br /> their policy of appeasement would have withered on the vine and been replaced by a far tougher <br /> stance. If you could see where that selfish road will finally lead you, you will know the truth of Romans <br /> 6:23 “The wages of sin is death”<br /> Our enemy will stop at nothing to keep us from “finishing the race”<br /><br /><br /> 2)\tHaving identified him we must “educate” ourselves to see through his mendacity and web of <br /> deception “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14.<br /> <br /> The battle is raging for your immortal soul and The powers of darkness are throwing everything at you <br /> to capture the citadel that is your soul- the immortal part of yourself that is priceless beyond measure<br /> Many people have not only left their barracks undefended, they have lowered the drawbridge down so <br /> that the enemy can ravish and plunder at will. <br /><br /> Others have accepted the Trojan Horse of lies as a “gift” rather than identify it as the threat it really is.<br /> This is Satan’s favourite strategy. His “Trojan Horse” is one of lies that he cloaks in half truths to <br /> effortlessly break through your flimsy defences. <br /> For example the seemingly innocuous soundbites promoting “ a woman’s right to choose” are mere <br /> “stalking horses”(pardon the surfeit of equine imagery!!) to justify child murder aka abortion.<br /><br /> The promotion of the sin of homosexuality, which is roundly condemned in both the Old and New <br /> Testaments is hoisted onto the petard of a “human Right” and most egregiously those who struggle <br /> with this sin are encouraged to not only yield to it but to celebrate it and define themselves entirely by <br /> this single erroneous sin. Those who fearlessly cleave to the Word of God are condemned as “bigots <br /> and homophobes” and assailed with the admonition “how can you be against love”<br /><br /> Once such apostasy has released it’s virus into your bloodstream, the contagion will spread rapidly. <br /> That’s the biggest feature of sin- it is the proverbial cat burglar, who having gained admittance to your <br /> “house” loses no time in birthing litters of kittens who soon overrun everything. The homosexual <br /> militants having captured the definition of marriage to include their sinful coupling have gone on to <br /> even greater error with their exaltation of all things “trans” thus trying to cut down the sacred nature of <br /> gender. <br /> The Book of Genesis tells us that “Male and female; He created them “There is a separation of <br /> mankind into two sexes—male and female—wholly complementary, yet each sex uniquely and <br /> mysteriously bearing God's image.<br /><br /> 3)\tWe fight an invisible enemy, not “flesh and blood”. But this enemy is more real for that very <br /> reason. Nations, governments, kingdoms; even the world have an expiry date. Your soul is the only <br /> part of you that is IMMORTAL. Satan is already the “god of this world” and it means little to him- it is <br /> merely a means to an end. He wants the real treasure- the immortal part of you that will live forever. <br /> This world is the shiny hook he will use to dangle in front of your face,baiting you, hoping you will <br /> BITE and so land eventually on his alien shore, where you will be the proverbial “fish out of water”.<br /><br /> St. Paul tells us how to be battle ready for the war against The Dark Powers”.<br /> First “Put on the full armour of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s <br /> schemes”.<br /> Note the use of the term “FULL”. Any gap or weak spot will be exploited by the enemy and used as a <br /> potential tunnel into your soul.- and so it is with”Fake Christians” or even worse the “Spiritual gang”- <br /> these are the ones who claim to be “spiritual,but not religious”-ie they have cobbled together their own <br /> version of Scripture, jettisoning anything that they find uncomfortable or difficult. They are the ultimate <br /> spoofers who lack even the discernment to realise that Satan can justifiably call himself “spiritual” too <br /> being an entirely spiritual non-corporeal entity.<br /> Such folk are easily knocked off by Satan’s infantry as his arrows of lies easily breaks through the <br /> many gaps in their “armour” hitting the target time and again until the victim falls.<br /><br /> Paul continues in Ephesians 6:12-19 to give us not only the the defensive tactics, but the weaponry to <br /> take the fight right into the enemy’s camp.<br /> Thus we are told “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the <br /> flaming darts of the evil one”.<br /> He continues “and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit”.<br /><br /> Our “weaponry” is The Word of God and prayer. How many times when Christ came face to face with <br /> The Evil One did He start a sentence with “It is written………” Satan had no defences against this <br /> even when he tried to use Scripture to justify his lies he was easily countered by Jesus- Remember in <br /> the desert when Satan encouraged Jesus to throw Himself off the mountain, because 'He will <br /> command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike <br /> your foot against a stone.'<br /> Jesus easily countered with the line “ It is written that you will not put The Lord thy God to the test”. <br /> Thus we see the importance of immersing oneself in The Word to counter Satan. <br /> <br /> Ephesians 6:18 “keep alert with all perseverance”<br /> In other words –NEVER GIVE UP and , LEARN PATIENCE.<br /> Abraham is one of the best exemplars of this in The Bible. He was promised to be “a father of <br /> Nations” and yet God only blessed him with a son when his wife was way past child bearing age- But <br /> Abraham persevered,; like Job, He trusted God and God blessed him.<br /> Moses after his exile, did not return to Egypt for 40 years. Why????<br /> I believe it is because God was teaching him how to wield the tremendous power that he would be <br /> given. As he went about his work tending to his flocks, He learned patience and perseverance. He <br /> grew in faith and obedience and love and when the time was right God called him to “free the <br /> Israelites”<br /><br /> Ephesians 6:19-20 “boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an <br /> ambassador in chains”<br /> When you BOLDLY proclaim The Gospel, it is akin to firing nuclear bombs into the enemies camp- <br /> Ronald Reagan once said that “Offence is better than defence”. Thus having defended yourself again <br /> the enemy, the time has now come to take the battle to THEM.<br /> WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER............<br /><br /><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=480WljKmqf0\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=480WljKmqf0</a><br /><br /><br /><br />", "to": [ "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public" ], "cc": [ "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/followers" ], "tag": [], "url": "https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/997112992030896128", "published": "2019-07-14T12:11:02+00:00", "source": { "content": "“The more I walk with Christ, the more I'm aware that the battles I'm fighting are not against flesh and blood, but neither is my help.” \n― Jennifer DeFrates\n\n G Sermon Time\n\"There never was a war in all history easier to prevent by timely action\" than World War II.”\n Winston Churchill.\n On March 7, 1936, Hitler ordered troops and weaponry into the demilitarised Rhineland, an action \n expressly forbidden by The Versailles Treaty\n But Hitler was taking a decidedly cautious approach, sending only about 30,000 soldiers. These men \n were under orders to avoid combat with the French at all costs, and to remain ready at all times to \n retreat within an hour.\n The French army folded like a house of cards.\n If the French were unwilling to make a move, why should Britain send its sons to risk their lives?\n\n At the time, French intelligence arrived at an absurd estimate of 295,000 German troops in the \n Rhineland. Today, we know that a single division would have been sufficient to drive out Hitler's \n soldiers.\n\n The best way to “Win” a war is to take the enemy out while he is only beginning to amass his forces \n against you. This involves a number of factors to be successful;\n\n 1)\tYou must be capable of IDENTIFYING the enemy.\n Many “Christians” don’t believe in Satan and his legions of Demons. Such people should stop calling \n themselves Christians- They view the Bible as a self improvement manual and carefully avoid any \n fractious passages that don’t chime with today’s culture. These a la carte creatures are censors of \n God and as such stifflers of Truth.\n \n Those of us who cherish The Bible as The Inspired Word of God- have not only identified the enemy; \n we have cut him off before he can wreak the havoc that he wishes on our immortal souls.\n Many people were taken in by Hitler because he told them exactly what they wanted to hear.\n Europe was tired of war and desperately wanted to avoid conflict at all cost. Thus when Hitler cooed in \n the ears of European leaders promising “peace” and “harmony”- they took him at his word ignoring his \n actions that pointed to his real intent.\n\n His invasions were always sugar-coated to mask the true bitterness of their real taste.\n Thus when Hitler sought to “annex” the Sudetenland, it was to “protect the indigenous Germans living \n there”. His real agenda was much broader. Hitler wanted ALL of Czechoslovakia and then?\n Have you identified “The Enemy” yet?\n\n Luckily for us St. Paul unmasked our foe in Ephesians 6:12 \"For our struggle is not against flesh and \n blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against \n the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.\"\n\n \n Imagine if the European leaders in the Thirties were transported in a time machine to 1945 and \n could witness at first hand the devastation that Hitler had wrought on Europe. It is safe to say that \n their policy of appeasement would have withered on the vine and been replaced by a far tougher \n stance. If you could see where that selfish road will finally lead you, you will know the truth of Romans \n 6:23 “The wages of sin is death”\n Our enemy will stop at nothing to keep us from “finishing the race”\n\n\n 2)\tHaving identified him we must “educate” ourselves to see through his mendacity and web of \n deception “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14.\n \n The battle is raging for your immortal soul and The powers of darkness are throwing everything at you \n to capture the citadel that is your soul- the immortal part of yourself that is priceless beyond measure\n Many people have not only left their barracks undefended, they have lowered the drawbridge down so \n that the enemy can ravish and plunder at will. \n\n Others have accepted the Trojan Horse of lies as a “gift” rather than identify it as the threat it really is.\n This is Satan’s favourite strategy. His “Trojan Horse” is one of lies that he cloaks in half truths to \n effortlessly break through your flimsy defences. \n For example the seemingly innocuous soundbites promoting “ a woman’s right to choose” are mere \n “stalking horses”(pardon the surfeit of equine imagery!!) to justify child murder aka abortion.\n\n The promotion of the sin of homosexuality, which is roundly condemned in both the Old and New \n Testaments is hoisted onto the petard of a “human Right” and most egregiously those who struggle \n with this sin are encouraged to not only yield to it but to celebrate it and define themselves entirely by \n this single erroneous sin. Those who fearlessly cleave to the Word of God are condemned as “bigots \n and homophobes” and assailed with the admonition “how can you be against love”\n\n Once such apostasy has released it’s virus into your bloodstream, the contagion will spread rapidly. \n That’s the biggest feature of sin- it is the proverbial cat burglar, who having gained admittance to your \n “house” loses no time in birthing litters of kittens who soon overrun everything. The homosexual \n militants having captured the definition of marriage to include their sinful coupling have gone on to \n even greater error with their exaltation of all things “trans” thus trying to cut down the sacred nature of \n gender. \n The Book of Genesis tells us that “Male and female; He created them “There is a separation of \n mankind into two sexes—male and female—wholly complementary, yet each sex uniquely and \n mysteriously bearing God's image.\n\n 3)\tWe fight an invisible enemy, not “flesh and blood”. But this enemy is more real for that very \n reason. Nations, governments, kingdoms; even the world have an expiry date. Your soul is the only \n part of you that is IMMORTAL. Satan is already the “god of this world” and it means little to him- it is \n merely a means to an end. He wants the real treasure- the immortal part of you that will live forever. \n This world is the shiny hook he will use to dangle in front of your face,baiting you, hoping you will \n BITE and so land eventually on his alien shore, where you will be the proverbial “fish out of water”.\n\n St. Paul tells us how to be battle ready for the war against The Dark Powers”.\n First “Put on the full armour of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s \n schemes”.\n Note the use of the term “FULL”. Any gap or weak spot will be exploited by the enemy and used as a \n potential tunnel into your soul.- and so it is with”Fake Christians” or even worse the “Spiritual gang”- \n these are the ones who claim to be “spiritual,but not religious”-ie they have cobbled together their own \n version of Scripture, jettisoning anything that they find uncomfortable or difficult. They are the ultimate \n spoofers who lack even the discernment to realise that Satan can justifiably call himself “spiritual” too \n being an entirely spiritual non-corporeal entity.\n Such folk are easily knocked off by Satan’s infantry as his arrows of lies easily breaks through the \n many gaps in their “armour” hitting the target time and again until the victim falls.\n\n Paul continues in Ephesians 6:12-19 to give us not only the the defensive tactics, but the weaponry to \n take the fight right into the enemy’s camp.\n Thus we are told “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the \n flaming darts of the evil one”.\n He continues “and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit”.\n\n Our “weaponry” is The Word of God and prayer. How many times when Christ came face to face with \n The Evil One did He start a sentence with “It is written………” Satan had no defences against this \n even when he tried to use Scripture to justify his lies he was easily countered by Jesus- Remember in \n the desert when Satan encouraged Jesus to throw Himself off the mountain, because 'He will \n command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike \n your foot against a stone.'\n Jesus easily countered with the line “ It is written that you will not put The Lord thy God to the test”. \n Thus we see the importance of immersing oneself in The Word to counter Satan. \n \n Ephesians 6:18 “keep alert with all perseverance”\n In other words –NEVER GIVE UP and , LEARN PATIENCE.\n Abraham is one of the best exemplars of this in The Bible. He was promised to be “a father of \n Nations” and yet God only blessed him with a son when his wife was way past child bearing age- But \n Abraham persevered,; like Job, He trusted God and God blessed him.\n Moses after his exile, did not return to Egypt for 40 years. Why????\n I believe it is because God was teaching him how to wield the tremendous power that he would be \n given. As he went about his work tending to his flocks, He learned patience and perseverance. He \n grew in faith and obedience and love and when the time was right God called him to “free the \n Israelites”\n\n Ephesians 6:19-20 “boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an \n ambassador in chains”\n When you BOLDLY proclaim The Gospel, it is akin to firing nuclear bombs into the enemies camp- \n Ronald Reagan once said that “Offence is better than defence”. Thus having defended yourself again \n the enemy, the time has now come to take the battle to THEM.\n WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER............\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=480WljKmqf0\n\n\n\n", "mediaType": "text/plain" } }, "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:997112992030896128/activity" }, { "type": "Create", "actor": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "object": { "type": "Note", "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:993495346581258240", "attributedTo": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "content": " \"Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness\"<br /> Ann Frank<br /><br /> G sermon Friday<br /><br /> “I called you out of the world”, John 17-19<br /> I call this the “Third Step of discipleship – the other two being<br /> -\tAccepting Christ as your personal saviour, and<br /> -\tRepentance<br /> Unfortunately most people don’t make it this far-it’s a bit like starting out on a journey and staying at <br /> the airport. <br /> In effect you MUST become a (legal) alien. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the <br /> Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.” 1 Corinthians 3:19.<br /><br /> Plus this world has a Landlord called Satan- he is more than willing to “rent” out a property on his <br /> estate- but the price is very high.<br /> BUT, the world will not let you go easily- firstly you must face “The Mob” and secondly you must face <br /> a far greater and more insidious foe: YOURSELF.<br /><br /> Let’s start with the mob- Scripture tells us that the world LOVES its own. Logic dictates that the <br /> corollary also holds true- if you go against the tide, if you follow His voice- the mob will HATE you and <br /> as we all know “hatred “is a wolf whose hunger can best be sated by a fresh kill- preferably something <br /> gentle that won’t put up much resistance.<br /><br /> Paul tells us in Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal <br /> of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and <br /> perfect”.<br /><br /> As always Jesus is the perfect role model in this regard. The Author of The Universe, The King of <br /> Kings confounded the “wise” and the expectations of sensible people:<br /> -He was a King, who had no home “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the <br /> Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” Luke 9:58<br /> - A King who not only allowed those considered “unclean” to touch him (such as lepers), but <br /> healed them.<br /> -A King who could command Nature and had Angelic battalions at His command, yet allowed <br /> Himself to be tortured and nailed to a cross.<br /><br /> Jesus NEVER “fitted in”. He always STOOD OUT. As Malcolm Muggeridge once said “Only dead <br /> things swim with the stream”. And that is precisely what you are if you haven’t yet taken the third <br /> step. He has called you by name, you have repented of your sins and in so doing you have emptied <br /> yourself out of all the rubbish that has been holding you back. <br /> In so doing you have emptied yourself out and are “ready to be filled”. Nature abhors <br /> a vacuum and so does it’s Author. You’re all set to become a true Child of God- Now comes the hard <br /> part:<br /> Will you be filled with the things of the Spirit, or the things of the world?<br /><br /> You are already in a select minority. The vast majority of unsaved people DO Not hear His voice- I <br /> believe it is because they have purposefully “tuned themselves” out of the only frequency that Jesus <br /> uses. <br /> Instead they are “tuning in” to other voices that are more in keeping with THEIR own biases, <br /> prejudices and beliefs- Not only have they abandoned the signal, they have ramped up the volume <br /> on competing stations, so that even if by some chance they should hear The Truth; it will be drowned <br /> out by the cacophonous concatenation of voices without melody, words without truth ; the sterile <br /> sycophantic mumbles of the lost.<br /><br /> Consider today’s atheists best exemplified by their leader- The deacon of disbelief, Richard Dawkins. <br /> He revels in his sophistication and cleverness and yet cannot even answer the questions of a child;<br /> -\tWho made me? And<br /> -\tWhat is my purpose?<br /><br /> Dawkins has millions of “followers” who “harken to his voice, because in so doing they will, by a <br /> process of osmosis be allowed to vicariously tap into his stock of cool and sophistication for the <br /> princely sum of thirty sprinklings of ridicule cast wantonly at the nearest Christian.<br /><br /> What Paul is teaching simply means we can’t fit in with the rest of the world and expect that we will be <br /> able to discern the will of God. WE can’t go out and do the things that the rest of the world does, which <br /> go against the will of God. <br /> Instead we are to be transformed by the renewal of our mind, transformed means to change one’s <br /> form too. We are changing our form to the likeness of Christ.<br /> Remember Christ’s kingdom is NOT of this world- thus if we are serious about living the Christian life, <br /> we must set our minds on our REAL home- <br /><br /> The third rail of Discipleship involves you “COMING OUT” as a Christian <br /> AND<br /> Celebrating PRIDE: Not in yourself but in having a Saviour who was prepared to spill His precious <br /> Blood for YOU<br /> Pride in the fact that He has called you by name<br /> Pride in the fact that before the universe was created He knew you and kept a portion of His <br /> saving grace for your (as yet) unmade hearts, so that when you hear His voice you will know <br /> Him<br /> Pride in the FACT that he has prepared a place for you in His Kingdom.<br /> Pride in telling EVERYONE we encounter The Good News- Christ died for us and by <br /> believing in Him we may gain eternal life<br /><br /> If you are a real Christian then you MUST “Come out as one.<br /><br /> The Gospel is NEWS; and news exists to be disseminated. Satan and his acolytes are full time <br /> journalists in their propagation and dissemination of “Fake News”. Tune into any lame stream Media <br /> outlet and prepare to be assailed by a typhoon of tawdry tattle , a hurricane of half truths a tsunami <br /> of lies , a blizzard of bile(usually against Christians) and a flood of flaccid facts genetically <br /> engineered to fit their atheistic biases.<br /><br /> Have you “Come out “yet? Is your Faith such an indelible part of your DNA that you identify yourself <br /> by a single criterion “CHRISTIAN”?<br /> Do you celebrate your lifestyle choice as a Christian by “fellow shipping” with similar believers?<br /> Do you proudly and joyfully celebrate your Christianity?<br /> Does your social media reflect and publicly promote your CHRISTIAN LIFESTYLE?<br /><br /> Many “Christians” who honestly answer these questions have not entered upon the third rail of <br /> Discipleship. They have heard His voice, emptied themselves of their sins, but have not followed <br /> Him.<br /> To follow is an action verb. Christ has landed at the port of their hearts; the gangway has been <br /> dropped. Gangways only remain open for a brief time. Will you sail to The kingdom or fall back with <br /> the crowd<br /><br /> Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world\"<br /> As a Christian you MUST shine the Light of God’s Truth into every dark place, especially the hard <br /> hearts of those who:<br /> - Sanction the murder of children in the womb<br /> -Categorise and self-identify according to their favourite sin.<br /><br /> Maybe the reason why you are not “shining a light into such dark corners” is because your light was <br /> extinguished long ago. As with all underground creatures, the longer you stay in your subterranean <br /> hole, the more your eyes acclimatise to the darkness; until one day LIGHT is not only uncomfortable, <br /> but painful to you.<br /> Instead of heading toward The Light, you were tantalised by the promises of the world and <br /> discovered too late that such promises culminate in a black hole which greedily swallows up <br /> everything in it’s path, even light- pulverising and destroying; until nothing is left ….Not even <br /> hope……………<br /><br /> <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBBwK91l8hc\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBBwK91l8hc</a><br /><br />", "to": [ "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public" ], "cc": [ "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/followers" ], "tag": [], "url": "https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/993495346581258240", "published": "2019-07-04T12:35:48+00:00", "source": { "content": " \"Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness\"\n Ann Frank\n\n G sermon Friday\n\n “I called you out of the world”, John 17-19\n I call this the “Third Step of discipleship – the other two being\n -\tAccepting Christ as your personal saviour, and\n -\tRepentance\n Unfortunately most people don’t make it this far-it’s a bit like starting out on a journey and staying at \n the airport. \n In effect you MUST become a (legal) alien. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the \n Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.” 1 Corinthians 3:19.\n\n Plus this world has a Landlord called Satan- he is more than willing to “rent” out a property on his \n estate- but the price is very high.\n BUT, the world will not let you go easily- firstly you must face “The Mob” and secondly you must face \n a far greater and more insidious foe: YOURSELF.\n\n Let’s start with the mob- Scripture tells us that the world LOVES its own. Logic dictates that the \n corollary also holds true- if you go against the tide, if you follow His voice- the mob will HATE you and \n as we all know “hatred “is a wolf whose hunger can best be sated by a fresh kill- preferably something \n gentle that won’t put up much resistance.\n\n Paul tells us in Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal \n of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and \n perfect”.\n\n As always Jesus is the perfect role model in this regard. The Author of The Universe, The King of \n Kings confounded the “wise” and the expectations of sensible people:\n -He was a King, who had no home “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the \n Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” Luke 9:58\n - A King who not only allowed those considered “unclean” to touch him (such as lepers), but \n healed them.\n -A King who could command Nature and had Angelic battalions at His command, yet allowed \n Himself to be tortured and nailed to a cross.\n\n Jesus NEVER “fitted in”. He always STOOD OUT. As Malcolm Muggeridge once said “Only dead \n things swim with the stream”. And that is precisely what you are if you haven’t yet taken the third \n step. He has called you by name, you have repented of your sins and in so doing you have emptied \n yourself out of all the rubbish that has been holding you back. \n In so doing you have emptied yourself out and are “ready to be filled”. Nature abhors \n a vacuum and so does it’s Author. You’re all set to become a true Child of God- Now comes the hard \n part:\n Will you be filled with the things of the Spirit, or the things of the world?\n\n You are already in a select minority. The vast majority of unsaved people DO Not hear His voice- I \n believe it is because they have purposefully “tuned themselves” out of the only frequency that Jesus \n uses. \n Instead they are “tuning in” to other voices that are more in keeping with THEIR own biases, \n prejudices and beliefs- Not only have they abandoned the signal, they have ramped up the volume \n on competing stations, so that even if by some chance they should hear The Truth; it will be drowned \n out by the cacophonous concatenation of voices without melody, words without truth ; the sterile \n sycophantic mumbles of the lost.\n\n Consider today’s atheists best exemplified by their leader- The deacon of disbelief, Richard Dawkins. \n He revels in his sophistication and cleverness and yet cannot even answer the questions of a child;\n -\tWho made me? And\n -\tWhat is my purpose?\n\n Dawkins has millions of “followers” who “harken to his voice, because in so doing they will, by a \n process of osmosis be allowed to vicariously tap into his stock of cool and sophistication for the \n princely sum of thirty sprinklings of ridicule cast wantonly at the nearest Christian.\n\n What Paul is teaching simply means we can’t fit in with the rest of the world and expect that we will be \n able to discern the will of God. WE can’t go out and do the things that the rest of the world does, which \n go against the will of God. \n Instead we are to be transformed by the renewal of our mind, transformed means to change one’s \n form too. We are changing our form to the likeness of Christ.\n Remember Christ’s kingdom is NOT of this world- thus if we are serious about living the Christian life, \n we must set our minds on our REAL home- \n\n The third rail of Discipleship involves you “COMING OUT” as a Christian \n AND\n Celebrating PRIDE: Not in yourself but in having a Saviour who was prepared to spill His precious \n Blood for YOU\n Pride in the fact that He has called you by name\n Pride in the fact that before the universe was created He knew you and kept a portion of His \n saving grace for your (as yet) unmade hearts, so that when you hear His voice you will know \n Him\n Pride in the FACT that he has prepared a place for you in His Kingdom.\n Pride in telling EVERYONE we encounter The Good News- Christ died for us and by \n believing in Him we may gain eternal life\n\n If you are a real Christian then you MUST “Come out as one.\n\n The Gospel is NEWS; and news exists to be disseminated. Satan and his acolytes are full time \n journalists in their propagation and dissemination of “Fake News”. Tune into any lame stream Media \n outlet and prepare to be assailed by a typhoon of tawdry tattle , a hurricane of half truths a tsunami \n of lies , a blizzard of bile(usually against Christians) and a flood of flaccid facts genetically \n engineered to fit their atheistic biases.\n\n Have you “Come out “yet? Is your Faith such an indelible part of your DNA that you identify yourself \n by a single criterion “CHRISTIAN”?\n Do you celebrate your lifestyle choice as a Christian by “fellow shipping” with similar believers?\n Do you proudly and joyfully celebrate your Christianity?\n Does your social media reflect and publicly promote your CHRISTIAN LIFESTYLE?\n\n Many “Christians” who honestly answer these questions have not entered upon the third rail of \n Discipleship. They have heard His voice, emptied themselves of their sins, but have not followed \n Him.\n To follow is an action verb. Christ has landed at the port of their hearts; the gangway has been \n dropped. Gangways only remain open for a brief time. Will you sail to The kingdom or fall back with \n the crowd\n\n Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world\"\n As a Christian you MUST shine the Light of God’s Truth into every dark place, especially the hard \n hearts of those who:\n - Sanction the murder of children in the womb\n -Categorise and self-identify according to their favourite sin.\n\n Maybe the reason why you are not “shining a light into such dark corners” is because your light was \n extinguished long ago. As with all underground creatures, the longer you stay in your subterranean \n hole, the more your eyes acclimatise to the darkness; until one day LIGHT is not only uncomfortable, \n but painful to you.\n Instead of heading toward The Light, you were tantalised by the promises of the world and \n discovered too late that such promises culminate in a black hole which greedily swallows up \n everything in it’s path, even light- pulverising and destroying; until nothing is left ….Not even \n hope……………\n\n https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBBwK91l8hc\n\n", "mediaType": "text/plain" } }, "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:993495346581258240/activity" }, { "type": "Create", "actor": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "object": { "type": "Note", "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:991708930418216960", "attributedTo": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "content": " “Good beats upon the damned incessantly as sound waves beat on the ears of the deaf, but they <br /> cannot receive it. Their fists are clenched, their teeth are clenched, their eyes fast shut. First <br /> they will not, in the end they cannot, open their hands for gifts, or their mouth for food, or their <br /> eyes to see.” <br /> ― C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce<br /><br /> I SEE DEAD PEOPLE!!!<br /><br /> Yes , you read that right, and no, I have not started to commune with the spirits,; and yet every <br /> day I see hordes of “Walking Dead” aimlessly wander in ever decreasing circles of nihilism and <br /> hopelessness in their frenetic search for purpose.<br /><br /> The greatest Killer of the modern age is SPIRITUAL NECROSIS.<br /> For those of you who have never heard of it, here’s the definition” the death of most or all of the <br /> cells in an organ or tissue due to disease, injury, or failure of the blood supply.”<br /> It is a particularly repugnant malaise, as it is cumulative and progressive,; thus if one is <br /> unfortunate enough to contract it , then symptoms start out quite benignly, but quickly progress.<br /><br /> The first symptom is a “numbness” often in ones extremities, for example the toes- left untreated, <br /> this spreads out along the foot, leg etc.<br /> Eventually “Rot” sets in, accompanied by increasing levels of pain and an unbearable stench.<br /> As the parts of the body affected “blacken”, the only remedy available is AMPUTATION. If this <br /> does not happen in time then the infection will spread and consume tissue and organs until death <br /> occurs.<br /> <br /> So let’s assume a person after being examined by their doctor is diagnosed with necrosis- it is <br /> beholden on that physician to give a the best treatment advice possible<br /><br /> Firstly the risk factors which contributed to this malaise must be identified and eliminated from the <br /> person’s life- for example no more cigarettes<br /><br /> Secondly, the body must be repaired and the onslaught of this invasion must be fought with proper <br /> medicines especially antibiotics<br /><br /> Lifestyle changes are mandated and must be immediately introduced to one’s daily routine- <br /> walking, running, swimming<br /><br /> Dietary measures must also be incorporated to defend the body against further attack<br /><br /> The person should be provided with a list of Support organisations where they can “fellowship” <br /> with survivors who are fighting the same plight.<br /><br /> OR<br /> The doctor could LIE to the individual and tell them that they’re fine and should continue smoking, <br /> drinking whatever makes them happy. For sure , in the short term the person will be relieved and <br /> fall back into the old routine- in essence they are laying the tracks for the “bullet train” that will one <br /> day (sooner rather than later),run them over.<br /> <br /> OR<br /> The doctor could put aside conventional medicine and recommend the Middle Age “cure” of <br /> attaching LEECHES to the affected body parts , in the hope of “sucking out “ the poison and <br /> rendering that person back to good health.<br /> Such a doctor would be a QUACK.<br /> <br /> Need I labour the obvious allegory with leading the Christian life?<br /><br /> 1)\tYou must accept the Axiom that “YOU ARE SICK”.<br /> YES, you; that thoroughly nice person who wouldn’t harm a fly and is secretly quite pleased with <br /> your “niceness”.<br /> Unless you are honest with yourself and realise that ALL of us are unworthy of God’s mercy <br /> then you have not accepted the need for a Saviour. Just continue on being a nice person and <br /> your good works will build the bridge to Heaven. No it won’t.<br /><br /> Repentance is the antibiotic that neutralises the necrotic rot that is attacking your soul.<br /> “Sorry seems to be the hardest word”- but unless you see your sins for what they truly- self- <br /> administered cuts, ; then you will bleed to death<br /> Repentance is an acknowledgement of this fact. You can choose your fate.<br /> Will it be “Death by a thousand cuts” or “A new Life – becoming born again with the price for <br /> admittance your precious sanctimonious perverse self-satisfaction.<br /><br /> 2)\tThe damage wrought to your soul must be repaired- this can only be accomplished by <br /> accepting the medicine that is His Word from the greatest healer of them all Jesus Christ.<br /> You can’t heal yourself is the message of Jesus Christ. <br /> “I AM THE WAY,THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE”<br /> One of my brethren was telling me about her struggle with leading a good life.<br /> At one point she blurted out “Pastor G, I need SEX”. Having recovered my composure <br /> sufficiently, I told her that her perception was the problem, not her carnal desires.<br /> She looked at me with great scepticism.<br /><br /> Thus I had to begin with first principles-<br /> Who “made” sex? God, of course<br /> But just as important a question is “WHY did he do it?”<br /> Firstly for the propagation of humanity, and secondly to give Him glory.<br /> We need to unpack this answer. When one MAN and one WOMAN join together in holy <br /> matrimony- they become ONE flesh. They have been born again into a single new entity.<br /><br /> Our Creator in His wisdom has deemed marriage to be the ONLY place where sexual relations <br /> are blessed.<br /> Thus if you accept this command, you are already giving God glory through obedience.<br /><br /> What about the aforementioned lady who needs “sex”?<br /> The simple answer is No, she doesn’t. Notice the words used “I”, “need”- Who’s missing from <br /> this equation- GOD- the one who put that desire in her.<br /> God wants her to be happy- but the path does not run through the swamp of self-satisfying <br /> indulgence; rather, the high mountain of obedience.<br /> Her need is not for sex, but to find a suitable husband and form a sacred bond that will delight <br /> and honour God by giving Him glory and by a process of osmosis satisfy not only her carnal <br /> desires, but her spiritual ones too.<br /><br /> As I have said many times before, Christianity gives us new eyes and in the process changes our <br /> perceptions.<br /> If you just “need sex” then your perceptions are consciously narrowed down to parameters that will <br /> aid you in that particular endeavour- these factors are extrinsic and shallow and focus on external <br /> things- looks, wealth and so on. Thus you have corralled yourself into a ghetto where you will <br /> undoubtedly find your carnality satisfied, but your soul starved. You are like a thirsty person in a <br /> desert who has her eyes fixed on a beautiful oasis and has been daily racing towards it’s promise of <br /> limitless cool water, only to discover that this promise was a mirage that tantalised her senses as it’s <br /> empty well burgled her bank of hope.<br /><br /> If you take God at His Word and realise your need for sex can only be satisfied fully within the <br /> sacrament of marriage, then your perceptions are not only widened but immensely changed.<br /> The focus is not on You anymore but on something more precious. You are now searching for a life <br /> partner who will be soul-mate, husband and father.<br /><br /> Imagine you are using one of those holiday search engines to find a bling- tastic hotel for your <br /> holidays and it just keeps throwing up no star FLEABAG dives. The fault lies with your filter settings- <br /> Set it to 5 star and it will throw up the desired results.<br /><br /> A core tenet of Christian matrimony is the concept of two becoming one flesh. That means that the <br /> old you will be no more, however you MAY become something infinitely more precious. Note I use the <br /> term “MAY”. If your fiance is not a real Christian, then this transformation cannot occur- it is like <br /> purposefully grafting a cancerous tumour onto an otherwise healthy organ- the tumour will cannibalise <br /> the healthy tissue. <br /><br /> God will not be a “Father-in-law” to someone who worships other gods, most notably the god of this <br /> world, Satan. Thus when seeking a soul mate, extrinsic factors which are by their very nature quixotic, <br /> shifting and shallow; are eschewed in favour of the permanent solid “bricks” of Faith, selfless love and <br /> obedience. <br /><br /> With God at the centre of such a partnership which sets out from the start to worship him- the real <br /> transformation can now take place. We’ve all heard the maxim that two heads are better than one (try <br /> telling that to Siamese twins) - So are two souls if they are both fixed on God; because then by a <br /> blessed alchemy these two imperfect souls are joined and transformed from leaden broken vessels <br /> into a golden receptacle capable of holding the precious Blood and reflecting some of that blessed light <br /> back to The Father.<br /><br /> <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl_SZjWNSaw\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl_SZjWNSaw</a><br /><br />", "to": [ "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public" ], "cc": [ "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/followers" ], "tag": [], "url": "https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/991708930418216960", "published": "2019-06-29T14:17:14+00:00", "source": { "content": " “Good beats upon the damned incessantly as sound waves beat on the ears of the deaf, but they \n cannot receive it. Their fists are clenched, their teeth are clenched, their eyes fast shut. First \n they will not, in the end they cannot, open their hands for gifts, or their mouth for food, or their \n eyes to see.” \n ― C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce\n\n I SEE DEAD PEOPLE!!!\n\n Yes , you read that right, and no, I have not started to commune with the spirits,; and yet every \n day I see hordes of “Walking Dead” aimlessly wander in ever decreasing circles of nihilism and \n hopelessness in their frenetic search for purpose.\n\n The greatest Killer of the modern age is SPIRITUAL NECROSIS.\n For those of you who have never heard of it, here’s the definition” the death of most or all of the \n cells in an organ or tissue due to disease, injury, or failure of the blood supply.”\n It is a particularly repugnant malaise, as it is cumulative and progressive,; thus if one is \n unfortunate enough to contract it , then symptoms start out quite benignly, but quickly progress.\n\n The first symptom is a “numbness” often in ones extremities, for example the toes- left untreated, \n this spreads out along the foot, leg etc.\n Eventually “Rot” sets in, accompanied by increasing levels of pain and an unbearable stench.\n As the parts of the body affected “blacken”, the only remedy available is AMPUTATION. If this \n does not happen in time then the infection will spread and consume tissue and organs until death \n occurs.\n \n So let’s assume a person after being examined by their doctor is diagnosed with necrosis- it is \n beholden on that physician to give a the best treatment advice possible\n\n Firstly the risk factors which contributed to this malaise must be identified and eliminated from the \n person’s life- for example no more cigarettes\n\n Secondly, the body must be repaired and the onslaught of this invasion must be fought with proper \n medicines especially antibiotics\n\n Lifestyle changes are mandated and must be immediately introduced to one’s daily routine- \n walking, running, swimming\n\n Dietary measures must also be incorporated to defend the body against further attack\n\n The person should be provided with a list of Support organisations where they can “fellowship” \n with survivors who are fighting the same plight.\n\n OR\n The doctor could LIE to the individual and tell them that they’re fine and should continue smoking, \n drinking whatever makes them happy. For sure , in the short term the person will be relieved and \n fall back into the old routine- in essence they are laying the tracks for the “bullet train” that will one \n day (sooner rather than later),run them over.\n \n OR\n The doctor could put aside conventional medicine and recommend the Middle Age “cure” of \n attaching LEECHES to the affected body parts , in the hope of “sucking out “ the poison and \n rendering that person back to good health.\n Such a doctor would be a QUACK.\n \n Need I labour the obvious allegory with leading the Christian life?\n\n 1)\tYou must accept the Axiom that “YOU ARE SICK”.\n YES, you; that thoroughly nice person who wouldn’t harm a fly and is secretly quite pleased with \n your “niceness”.\n Unless you are honest with yourself and realise that ALL of us are unworthy of God’s mercy \n then you have not accepted the need for a Saviour. Just continue on being a nice person and \n your good works will build the bridge to Heaven. No it won’t.\n\n Repentance is the antibiotic that neutralises the necrotic rot that is attacking your soul.\n “Sorry seems to be the hardest word”- but unless you see your sins for what they truly- self- \n administered cuts, ; then you will bleed to death\n Repentance is an acknowledgement of this fact. You can choose your fate.\n Will it be “Death by a thousand cuts” or “A new Life – becoming born again with the price for \n admittance your precious sanctimonious perverse self-satisfaction.\n\n 2)\tThe damage wrought to your soul must be repaired- this can only be accomplished by \n accepting the medicine that is His Word from the greatest healer of them all Jesus Christ.\n You can’t heal yourself is the message of Jesus Christ. \n “I AM THE WAY,THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE”\n One of my brethren was telling me about her struggle with leading a good life.\n At one point she blurted out “Pastor G, I need SEX”. Having recovered my composure \n sufficiently, I told her that her perception was the problem, not her carnal desires.\n She looked at me with great scepticism.\n\n Thus I had to begin with first principles-\n Who “made” sex? God, of course\n But just as important a question is “WHY did he do it?”\n Firstly for the propagation of humanity, and secondly to give Him glory.\n We need to unpack this answer. When one MAN and one WOMAN join together in holy \n matrimony- they become ONE flesh. They have been born again into a single new entity.\n\n Our Creator in His wisdom has deemed marriage to be the ONLY place where sexual relations \n are blessed.\n Thus if you accept this command, you are already giving God glory through obedience.\n\n What about the aforementioned lady who needs “sex”?\n The simple answer is No, she doesn’t. Notice the words used “I”, “need”- Who’s missing from \n this equation- GOD- the one who put that desire in her.\n God wants her to be happy- but the path does not run through the swamp of self-satisfying \n indulgence; rather, the high mountain of obedience.\n Her need is not for sex, but to find a suitable husband and form a sacred bond that will delight \n and honour God by giving Him glory and by a process of osmosis satisfy not only her carnal \n desires, but her spiritual ones too.\n\n As I have said many times before, Christianity gives us new eyes and in the process changes our \n perceptions.\n If you just “need sex” then your perceptions are consciously narrowed down to parameters that will \n aid you in that particular endeavour- these factors are extrinsic and shallow and focus on external \n things- looks, wealth and so on. Thus you have corralled yourself into a ghetto where you will \n undoubtedly find your carnality satisfied, but your soul starved. You are like a thirsty person in a \n desert who has her eyes fixed on a beautiful oasis and has been daily racing towards it’s promise of \n limitless cool water, only to discover that this promise was a mirage that tantalised her senses as it’s \n empty well burgled her bank of hope.\n\n If you take God at His Word and realise your need for sex can only be satisfied fully within the \n sacrament of marriage, then your perceptions are not only widened but immensely changed.\n The focus is not on You anymore but on something more precious. You are now searching for a life \n partner who will be soul-mate, husband and father.\n\n Imagine you are using one of those holiday search engines to find a bling- tastic hotel for your \n holidays and it just keeps throwing up no star FLEABAG dives. The fault lies with your filter settings- \n Set it to 5 star and it will throw up the desired results.\n\n A core tenet of Christian matrimony is the concept of two becoming one flesh. That means that the \n old you will be no more, however you MAY become something infinitely more precious. Note I use the \n term “MAY”. If your fiance is not a real Christian, then this transformation cannot occur- it is like \n purposefully grafting a cancerous tumour onto an otherwise healthy organ- the tumour will cannibalise \n the healthy tissue. \n\n God will not be a “Father-in-law” to someone who worships other gods, most notably the god of this \n world, Satan. Thus when seeking a soul mate, extrinsic factors which are by their very nature quixotic, \n shifting and shallow; are eschewed in favour of the permanent solid “bricks” of Faith, selfless love and \n obedience. \n\n With God at the centre of such a partnership which sets out from the start to worship him- the real \n transformation can now take place. We’ve all heard the maxim that two heads are better than one (try \n telling that to Siamese twins) - So are two souls if they are both fixed on God; because then by a \n blessed alchemy these two imperfect souls are joined and transformed from leaden broken vessels \n into a golden receptacle capable of holding the precious Blood and reflecting some of that blessed light \n back to The Father.\n\n https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl_SZjWNSaw\n\n", "mediaType": "text/plain" } }, "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:991708930418216960/activity" }, { "type": "Create", "actor": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "object": { "type": "Note", "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:986618554282123264", "attributedTo": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593", "content": "“If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.\" <br />~ Margaret Thatcher”<br /><br /> Overdue G sermon :<br /> What is a Christian?<br /> 3 second answer: Someone who loves Jesus<br /> However if we use this simple definition then we can instantly identify not merely the REAL Christians, <br /> but the FAKE ones- The modern day Pharisees who may profess Christ as Their Saviour, but are <br /> untouched by The Holy Spirit. <br /><br /> What does it mean to LOVE Jesus?<br /> Real Love has a number of distinguishing characteristics;<br /> 1)\tIt permeates all and every aspect of our lives. Just consider the love you have for your children- <br /> Do you just check in on them one day a week on Sunday for 20 minutes , to make sure they are <br /> o.k?<br /> Unless you are an abortion loving Democrat, your children will take up a significant portion of your <br /> “mental” real estate, even when they are apart from you- <br /> We think about them constantly, because we LOVE them<br /> In this way love is as unconscious as breathing. Thoughts and images of those we love <br /> subconsciously appear as smoke signals in our brains lit up by the fire of passion in our hearts. <br /><br /> Thus if you don’t find yourself thinking of Jesus subconsciously multiple times each day- then your <br /> heart is a cold, empty thing, giving out neither heat nor light, ; and stubbornly refusing the “kindling” <br /> of His Word to provide the spark that will warm and comfort you<br /><br /> 2)\tLove can be hard work sometimes. At the last Supper, Jesus said “I give you a new <br /> commandment-Love one another as I have loved you”<br /> There are a few things to note here:<br /> Firstly, Love is a “Commandment”. Often we think of the saccharine, syrupy act of “falling in love”; <br /> which is possibly one of the easiest things that any of us will ever do. Typically we have absolutely <br /> no control over it, and more often than not that “sugar rush” of emotion will lead to a lethargy of <br /> affection in a very short time.<br /><br /> How often have those we loved let us down, broke our hearts or just took our love for granted? <br /> Our natural instinct is to return fire- to trade injury for injury, scorn for scorn, hurt for hurt.<br /> It feels good, does it not? The petty little god of revenge has received his tribute, but he is never <br /> sated. Revenge is an unnatural beast that gorges on the battered broken bodies of its own kin.<br /> Gorging on itself “knowing not that it was eating death” (Milton, Paradise Lost)<br /> Seekers of revenge are like self-harmers who cut themselves- the release of blood gives them <br /> temporary relief, but it always ends in a trip to the hospital and more pain.<br /><br /> In The Old Testament, allowance was made for revenge, and thus “An eye for an eye” was <br /> considered appropriate; but Jesus put an end to all of that “A new commandment I give to you, that <br /> you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people <br /> will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:33–35).<br /><br /> Secondly, Love is often bestowed on someone completely unworthy of the privilege. Jesus loved us <br /> when we were at our most unlovable- He loved us as the nails were driven into His precious hands <br /> and feet, as the whip tore into His flesh; as He watched His beloved Mother kneel at that Cross, <br /> unable to cradle the fruit of her blessed womb.<br /> In His agony as the drops of Blood fell to the ground and the very stones were screaming out <br /> for Mercy, He raised His eyes to Heaven imploring His Father to “Forgive them, for they know not <br /> what they do”.<br /> This is LOVE . This is the standard; and I am here to tell you that ALL of us fall short.<br /><br /> 3)\tThis love can only come about by immersing yourself in Jesus. You must allow him to change <br /> your heart of stone for a heart of flesh and blood. <br /> This is the new commandment. “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” But not <br /> by copying my fruit, but by connecting to MY VINE.<br /> You don’t mainly imitate. You participate.<br /> Your love for each other is not a simulation of mine, but a manifestation of mine. You are the <br /> branches. I am the vine. If you abide in me, you can bear fruit, and prove to be my disciples (John <br /> 15:8). This is how all people know you are truly my disciples. <br /><br /> So the reason the love we have for each other shows that we are truly Jesus’ disciples, is that it is <br /> only possible because we are grafted into the life and love of Christ. We love as he loved, because <br /> we love with his love.<br /><br /> Only real Christians possess this type of love. It is a gift of Grace that can only be bestowed by God.<br /><br /> 4)\tReal love is something that you don’t keep to yourself- YOU SHOUT IT FROM THE <br /> ROOFTOPS.<br /> A little example- How often have you got chatting to a stranger on a train, plane, pub and in double <br /> quick time they tell you about their spouse and kids, usually accompanied by a picture that they <br /> quickly extract from their wallet. The pride with which they describe even the most quotidian <br /> achievements of their children is emblematic of a tsunami of love that flows from their hearts.<br /> Do you love Jesus with such a love? Is your love for Him life a bottomless ocean or is it a mean little <br /> drop that wouldn’t sate the thirst of a fly? How often have you proclaimed your love for Jesus to <br /> friends, family, strangers, today, this week, this month? Will your silence condemn you and reveal the <br /> depths of your self deception?<br /><br /> 5)\tReal Christian love has a purpose- To bring as many people Home to The Father as possible.<br /> That was the reason why Jesus allowed Himself to be murdered on That Cross- because it was only <br /> at this junction that MERCY, JUSTICE LOVE and REDEMPTION intersected and allowed one <br /> dimensional creatures to become three dimensional CHILDREN of God.<br /> “This world is a great sculptor’s shop. We are the statues and there’s a rumour going around the <br /> shop that some of us are someday going to come to life.” C.S Lewis<br /> “Christians” who bemoan the lack of “purpose” in their lives have not tapped into the celestial energy <br /> grid that connects them to “The Vine”.<br /> Their purpose is revealed in the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.<br /> One day you will be asked by your Creator a simple Question “Did you fulfil your purpose?” <br /><br /> At that very instant a terrible realisation will dawn on the unredeemed fakers<br /> What can’t you do in heaven?<br /> Two Things : Commit Sin + Evangelise<br /> If you have immersed yourself In the ocean of true Christian Love that is Jesus, you will have <br /> discovered the cleansing properties of that “Holy and Life giving “ water. You are being cleansed <br /> and purified of your corrupt nature to such an extent that the dirt of sin becomes more and more <br /> distasteful to you.<br /> Did you really think that you could stand in the presence of our Father God, who is pure goodness <br /> and light while the rotten carcass of your sinful nature is still attached to you? . Light and Darkness <br /> cannot co-exist.<br /> You can’t evangelise in Heaven, because all of its inhabitants have inherited The Kingdom and <br /> have become children of God. They are basking in the Joy of being in the presence of The Father.<br /> The “lukewarm” Christian will see their entire life flash before their face;as the penny drops and the <br /> words “WASTED OPPORTUNTY”, will be the watermark that is imprinted on every frame.<br /> How tragic it is to find that an entire lifetime is wasted in pursuit of distractions while purpose is <br /> neglected<br /><br /> The gates of Heaven will close to an admonition that awakes in the minds of every lost soul<br /> “IF ONLY..............”<br /><br /> “If your life is Christ, then your death will be only more of Christ, forever. If your life is only <br /> Christlessness, then your death will be only more Christlessness, forever. That's not fundamentalism, <br /> that's the law of non-contradiction.”<br /> ― Peter Kreeft, Jesus-Shock<br /> <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFPTjcS4E_U\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFPTjcS4E_U</a><br /><br />", "to": [ "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public" ], "cc": [ "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/followers" ], "tag": [], "url": "https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/986618554282123264", "published": "2019-06-15T13:09:53+00:00", "source": { "content": "“If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.\" \n~ Margaret Thatcher”\n\n Overdue G sermon :\n What is a Christian?\n 3 second answer: Someone who loves Jesus\n However if we use this simple definition then we can instantly identify not merely the REAL Christians, \n but the FAKE ones- The modern day Pharisees who may profess Christ as Their Saviour, but are \n untouched by The Holy Spirit. \n\n What does it mean to LOVE Jesus?\n Real Love has a number of distinguishing characteristics;\n 1)\tIt permeates all and every aspect of our lives. Just consider the love you have for your children- \n Do you just check in on them one day a week on Sunday for 20 minutes , to make sure they are \n o.k?\n Unless you are an abortion loving Democrat, your children will take up a significant portion of your \n “mental” real estate, even when they are apart from you- \n We think about them constantly, because we LOVE them\n In this way love is as unconscious as breathing. Thoughts and images of those we love \n subconsciously appear as smoke signals in our brains lit up by the fire of passion in our hearts. \n\n Thus if you don’t find yourself thinking of Jesus subconsciously multiple times each day- then your \n heart is a cold, empty thing, giving out neither heat nor light, ; and stubbornly refusing the “kindling” \n of His Word to provide the spark that will warm and comfort you\n\n 2)\tLove can be hard work sometimes. At the last Supper, Jesus said “I give you a new \n commandment-Love one another as I have loved you”\n There are a few things to note here:\n Firstly, Love is a “Commandment”. Often we think of the saccharine, syrupy act of “falling in love”; \n which is possibly one of the easiest things that any of us will ever do. Typically we have absolutely \n no control over it, and more often than not that “sugar rush” of emotion will lead to a lethargy of \n affection in a very short time.\n\n How often have those we loved let us down, broke our hearts or just took our love for granted? \n Our natural instinct is to return fire- to trade injury for injury, scorn for scorn, hurt for hurt.\n It feels good, does it not? The petty little god of revenge has received his tribute, but he is never \n sated. Revenge is an unnatural beast that gorges on the battered broken bodies of its own kin.\n Gorging on itself “knowing not that it was eating death” (Milton, Paradise Lost)\n Seekers of revenge are like self-harmers who cut themselves- the release of blood gives them \n temporary relief, but it always ends in a trip to the hospital and more pain.\n\n In The Old Testament, allowance was made for revenge, and thus “An eye for an eye” was \n considered appropriate; but Jesus put an end to all of that “A new commandment I give to you, that \n you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people \n will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:33–35).\n\n Secondly, Love is often bestowed on someone completely unworthy of the privilege. Jesus loved us \n when we were at our most unlovable- He loved us as the nails were driven into His precious hands \n and feet, as the whip tore into His flesh; as He watched His beloved Mother kneel at that Cross, \n unable to cradle the fruit of her blessed womb.\n In His agony as the drops of Blood fell to the ground and the very stones were screaming out \n for Mercy, He raised His eyes to Heaven imploring His Father to “Forgive them, for they know not \n what they do”.\n This is LOVE . This is the standard; and I am here to tell you that ALL of us fall short.\n\n 3)\tThis love can only come about by immersing yourself in Jesus. You must allow him to change \n your heart of stone for a heart of flesh and blood. \n This is the new commandment. “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” But not \n by copying my fruit, but by connecting to MY VINE.\n You don’t mainly imitate. You participate.\n Your love for each other is not a simulation of mine, but a manifestation of mine. You are the \n branches. I am the vine. If you abide in me, you can bear fruit, and prove to be my disciples (John \n 15:8). This is how all people know you are truly my disciples. \n\n So the reason the love we have for each other shows that we are truly Jesus’ disciples, is that it is \n only possible because we are grafted into the life and love of Christ. We love as he loved, because \n we love with his love.\n\n Only real Christians possess this type of love. It is a gift of Grace that can only be bestowed by God.\n\n 4)\tReal love is something that you don’t keep to yourself- YOU SHOUT IT FROM THE \n ROOFTOPS.\n A little example- How often have you got chatting to a stranger on a train, plane, pub and in double \n quick time they tell you about their spouse and kids, usually accompanied by a picture that they \n quickly extract from their wallet. The pride with which they describe even the most quotidian \n achievements of their children is emblematic of a tsunami of love that flows from their hearts.\n Do you love Jesus with such a love? Is your love for Him life a bottomless ocean or is it a mean little \n drop that wouldn’t sate the thirst of a fly? How often have you proclaimed your love for Jesus to \n friends, family, strangers, today, this week, this month? Will your silence condemn you and reveal the \n depths of your self deception?\n\n 5)\tReal Christian love has a purpose- To bring as many people Home to The Father as possible.\n That was the reason why Jesus allowed Himself to be murdered on That Cross- because it was only \n at this junction that MERCY, JUSTICE LOVE and REDEMPTION intersected and allowed one \n dimensional creatures to become three dimensional CHILDREN of God.\n “This world is a great sculptor’s shop. We are the statues and there’s a rumour going around the \n shop that some of us are someday going to come to life.” C.S Lewis\n “Christians” who bemoan the lack of “purpose” in their lives have not tapped into the celestial energy \n grid that connects them to “The Vine”.\n Their purpose is revealed in the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.\n One day you will be asked by your Creator a simple Question “Did you fulfil your purpose?” \n\n At that very instant a terrible realisation will dawn on the unredeemed fakers\n What can’t you do in heaven?\n Two Things : Commit Sin + Evangelise\n If you have immersed yourself In the ocean of true Christian Love that is Jesus, you will have \n discovered the cleansing properties of that “Holy and Life giving “ water. You are being cleansed \n and purified of your corrupt nature to such an extent that the dirt of sin becomes more and more \n distasteful to you.\n Did you really think that you could stand in the presence of our Father God, who is pure goodness \n and light while the rotten carcass of your sinful nature is still attached to you? . Light and Darkness \n cannot co-exist.\n You can’t evangelise in Heaven, because all of its inhabitants have inherited The Kingdom and \n have become children of God. They are basking in the Joy of being in the presence of The Father.\n The “lukewarm” Christian will see their entire life flash before their face;as the penny drops and the \n words “WASTED OPPORTUNTY”, will be the watermark that is imprinted on every frame.\n How tragic it is to find that an entire lifetime is wasted in pursuit of distractions while purpose is \n neglected\n\n The gates of Heaven will close to an admonition that awakes in the minds of every lost soul\n “IF ONLY..............”\n\n “If your life is Christ, then your death will be only more of Christ, forever. If your life is only \n Christlessness, then your death will be only more Christlessness, forever. That's not fundamentalism, \n that's the law of non-contradiction.”\n ― Peter Kreeft, Jesus-Shock\n https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFPTjcS4E_U\n\n", "mediaType": "text/plain" } }, "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/entities/urn:activity:986618554282123264/activity" } ], "id": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/outbox", "partOf": "https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/957174024922734593/outboxoutbox" }