For the first time in over four decades, Peruvian diving petrels have four active natural nests on Chañaral Island after a dedicated conservation group cleared the island of a deadly invasive species.

This unique Chilean ecosystem has seen a resurgence in its seabird population following the successful removal of rabbits in 2017—and last year, the partners announced the first seabird chick born on the island in over 40 years.

The achievement is the result of a collaborative effort between Chile’s National Forestry Corporation (CONAF), Laboratorio de Ecología y Diversidad de Aves Marinas from the Universidad Católica del Norte, and one of the most serially successful wildlife organizations on Earth—Island Conservation.

Continued below.

I was asked what the gospel is recently, and wanted to share here.

The gospel is the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is an everlasting gospel that is for all people of all nations starting with Adam and Eve until the end of time.

Sin separated man from God Isa 59:2 and sin is the transgression of God's law 1 John 3:4 the Ten Commandments Romans 7:7

Part of the gospel message our salvation from the condemnation of sin. Romans 6:23 Mat 1:21

If there was no law, there would be no condemnation as the wages of sin (breaking God's law) is death Romans 6:23- this is the condemnation. If there was no condemnation, there would be no need for a Savior as we would all be immortal- (the first lie that made Eve fall- one of the same tactics the devil uses today- we can break God's law and live) so God's law is a vital part of the gospel, because we are not saved in our sins- we are saved from sin.

God's law shows us how to worship Him. The first 4 commandments is how we are to love God.

Exodus 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor [b]serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

God is the one who saves us from the bondage of sin. The 4th commandment or Sabbath commandment is the only commandment that points to the Author of His law and shows that He is the Creator and Authority of everything- King of Kings Lords of Lords and who the devil has been trying to take the place of Isa 14:14 so no wonder the 4th commandment is attacked so much. It has God's seal of authority.

If someone wrote down a set of laws but didn't sign who they came from it would be meaningless. If the President of the Unities States wrote a set of laws and signed it, then its valid. A set of laws that has no signature, no author is meaningless. The Sabbath has the seal of God's law. It contains who is the Author: Lord thy God. His Title- Creator and Territory : Heaven and Earth

The everlasting gospel points us back to the Sabbath commandment- the only place that has His seal.

Revelation 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— 7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

Exo 20: 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.

God said the Sabbath was the sign that He is our God

Eze 20:20 hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’

Also notice this.... “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come;

There will be a judgement and there has to be a standard of judgement. We don't have to guess- scripture tell us.

This has almost verbatim the same language.

Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
14 For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.

What are we judged on?

James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty

The Ten Commandments will be what we are judged on breaking one we break them all. The Ten Commandments was written by the finger of God Exo 31:18 this is His work Exo 32:16 His righteousness Psa 119:172 and Truth Psa 119:151 and reflects His perfect character that we are to take on. His law is perfect for converting the soul Psa 19:7, Removing even one jot or tittle from His law removes His mercy as all Ten Commandments sits under His mercy seat they way He wrote and spoke and the earthy temple was a copy of God's heavenly Temple Heb 8:1-5 where lies the Ten Commandments Rev 11:19

At the end we will either take on His character (image) and receive His seal Isaiah 8:16 or we will make an image to the beast and his mark. It all comes down to the authority of who we worship. Do we worship God, the Creator of heaven and earth and all that is in them and follow His laws by His authority or follow man and worship in vain keeping the commandments of man over the commandments of God. Mar 7:7-13 Mat 15:3-14

Scripture tells us how we avoid it the mark.

Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

And the antidote the next verse

Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

A beast is a kingdom- meaning a governing power Daniel 7:23 and we are told the beast has a mark that one will receive or will receive the seal of God. It comes down to the authority of our worship. The Sabbath is the commandment that shows the authority of God - the God the Creator who made heaven and earth. The beast would have to have something contrary to God's Sabbath commandment. Do we see that happening in scripture and in history?

In Daniel 7:25 we are told this beast power would change times and laws. The only commandment that is both a time and a law is the Sabbath commandment. It is a law (4th commandment) and a time- every seventh day Sabbath Exo 20:10

Do we see this in history. Yes, Rome admits to this change. They admit it didn't come from scripture but their own authority that is above the bible. They claim it is their mark of their authority.

If Protestants would follow the Bible, they would worship God on the Sabbath Day. In keeping the Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church.
—Albert Smith, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the Cardinal, in a letter dated February 10, 1920.

Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act. And the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters.
—C. F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons, in answer to a letter regarding the change of the Sabbath, November 11, 1895.

Deny the authority of the Church and you have no adequate or reasonable explanation or justification for the substitution of Sunday for Saturday in the Third - Protestant Fourth - Commandment of God... The Church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact.'
—Catholic Record, September 1, 1923.

Which it all comes down to. Do we worship God on His authority and keep His commandments or keep the commandments of man and worship in vain?

Who is our allegiance to? Do we worship God in Truth and Spirit and keep His commandments written by His own finger or obey the commandments of man. We will all have to answer this question one day.

"(Mollie)Hemingway diagnosed the deterioration of U.S. elections and Americans’ trust in the voting process as the result of “lengthy election seasons.”

“The situation is so absurd that we have presidential and gubernatorial debates weeks after some people have already voted,” Hemingway noted.

Mail-in voting specifically, Hemingway said, forces the crux of voting to begin months before Election Day."

LINK

Two soldiers assigned to the U.S. Army’s elite Old Guard were arrested and charged with stealing pride flags from a home in Arlington, Virginia, and neighbors have rallied to support the targeted couple.

Last week, police arrested 20-year-old Matthew Henshaw, a solider assigned to the Old Guard, and charged him with three counts of bias-motivated unlawful entry and three counts of petit larceny. Police also charged 23-year-old Joseph Digregorio with one count of petit larceny.

השם יהוה נאמר

Going to Messianic services, and Biblical Hebrew language class for over a year (August 2022 - October 2023) I found there were many ways to pronounce YAHWEH יהוה : YAHWEH, YAHVEH, YAHOEH, Yod Hey Wah Hey JEHOVAH, etc. Now there is no "J" in Hebrew, and the English language didn't have "J" till 1524. rather, English used "I" which is interchangeable with the Y sound. The top pronunciation on Google when asked how to pronounce the Tetragrammaton is "Ye-Ho-Wah." Most scholars agree on "Yahweh" - pronounced "Yah-Way"

So, I began to seek יהוה in prayer, and after some time over days into weeks, the Spirit said "breathe." So I did lay there and breathe slowly in and out, and listened to the sound thereof, which was something like "Yaaaah-oooo-eh" or "Yehueh" but drawn out. "Yeh...." inhalation, "Ooooeh," - exhalation.

For the Ruach HaQodesh רואח הקדש is the Spirit Holy who gives breath, and is the breath of God, by which we know He created every star, and all the host of heaven by Psalm 33:6 "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth."
Now, that revelation came about sometimes in October or November of 2023, and behold, today, February 8, 2024, I was reading a 1611 work by Lewis Bayly (1575-1631) "The Practice of Piety: Directing a Christian How to Walk that He May Please God," and I did read this, "Of the first sort is the name Jehovah (Exod. xv.3), or rather Jehueh, which signifieth the eternal being of himself..."
Drop the "J" - replace with the original "Y" and you have "Yehueh" - EXACTLY what I'd deduced from breathing at the prompting of the Spirit!

And the word of a 15th century Puritan preacher who was also chaplain to King James still surely speaks even 412 or 413 years later.
Another little piece of trivia I learned researching this, was that Bayly's book "The Practice of Piety" was also responsible for John Bunyans conversion: same Bunyan who wrote "The Pilgrims Promise."

Radical conversion in prison...

Check him out !!!

Login to view embedded media

Ted Cruz Proposes Legislation That Would Make It Harder to Photograph Lawmakers Jetting Off to Cancún While Their Constituents Freeze to Death​

Remember, back in 2021, when Ted Cruz’s response to a Texas state of emergency—wherein millions of people had no heat or power and hundreds died—was to hop a plane to Cancún? Obviously, Cruz hadn’t issued a press release about his trip, which he’d clearly hoped would fly under the radar, and the only reason it came out was thanks to the work of the citizen journalists who spotted him in the airport and on the Mexico-bound plane and thought to whip out their cameras. Anyway, the whole thing made the Texas senator look really, really bad—and in the future, he’d like Congress to help make sure it never happens again.

Viral photos of politicians jetting off to a tropical hideaway during a deadly cold wave might become a lot rarer under legislation being pushed by Sen. Ted Cruz.
The Texas Republican — infamously photographed by a gawker while en route to Cancún in 2021 — is proposing a bill amendment that would offer lawmakers a dedicated security escort at airports, along with expedited screening outside of public view. That could make it much less likely that the politicians’ comings and goings would become fodder for embarrassing news reports and late-night comedy mockery.
The measure would also provide the same special treatment to federal judges and Cabinet members, as well as a limited number of their family and staff. Cruz is trying to attach the amendment to a major aviation policy bill, S. 1939, that is expected to be marked up in the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday.

Asked about the need for his amendment, Cruz told POLITICO that it’s about ensuring that political VIPs aren’t endangered as they pass through public spaces in airports. The draft says the extra security would be available to those who are currently or have previously “been the subject of a threat.”
There are “serious security threats facing public officials,” Cruz said Tuesday. “It’s important that we take reasonable measures to keep everyone safe.”
But the head of a nonprofit representing airport police said Cruz’s proposal would be “a burden to airport police agencies,” especially because federal budgets already do not adequately fund airport police units. It would also divert police from “crime suppression and security functions at airports, which is our fundamental duty,” said Kevin Murphy, executive director of the Airport Law Enforcement Agencies Network.
Instead, Murphy said, any escort duties for political VIPs should be the job of federal law enforcement.

Ted Cruz wants lawmakers to get security escorts through America’s airports

Cruz told POLITICO that his amendment is about ensuring that political VIPs aren’t endangered as they pass through public spaces in airports.

www.politico.com

Day late and a dollar short, Ted.

Good Afternoon brothers and sisters in Christ,

I trust you all are doing well.

We have a Cleaning Business and God has been blessing and providing for us, we have 85 offices we clean currently.

We recently started a very large commercial/industrial office this Monday, that has 3 very large buildings, it is challenging task.

I am replacing all the cleaners there but 1, as they are not doing a good job and rushing, and the client warned us to improve by next week or we they will suspend our services.

I have 4 new cleaners starting tonight, I hope they are able to do this work properly!

Please keep this in prayer.

Apple hides some of the iPhone's most interesting features well.

Quick Links​

• Measure Distances by Pointing Your Camera
• Measure Angles and Check Things Are Level
• Help You Find Your Way (and Measure Altitude)
• Play Background Sounds to Help You Sleep or Focus
• Create 3D Models
• Speak for You and Mimic Your Voice
• Recognize Sounds and Notify You
• Limit the Time You Spend on Social Media
• Isolate Subjects in Photos and Videos
• Help You Converse in Another Language

Your iPhone is an incredibly powerful and capable device. So much so, it can probably take some of your daily tasks off of your plate for you. Here are some of the most useful things your iPhone can help you accomplish.

Measure Distances by Pointing Your Camera​

Continued below.

We must come to know the LORD: Yahweh, the LORD, high and lifted up (Isa.6) He is God,; we are not. As Calebs daughter Achsah moved her husband to ask her Father for springs of water, and he gave her the upper springs (Joshua 15:16-19), so too must we come to the Father through Jesus that He give us water: the living water Jesus spoke of at the well in John 4, that He promised to those who ask for it.

The LORD is high and lifted up: the whole earth is filled with His glory; the heavens declare the glory of God - He is the source of the upper springs on earth, and the upper springs of living waters in the kingdom of heaven. But, be warned, a fountain cannot give both good and bad water: James 3:11-12, "Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh." Matthew 12:33, "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit."

Fruits are filled with water. As a fruit takes water through the branch of the tree, and the tree takes water from the root, so do our fruit take water through the Vine, the Branch, the Root.
Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches, He is the root of Jesse: Isaiah 11:10 "And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious."

But Jesus is also called the Branch : Jeremiah 23:5-6, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness."

Good water, - good fruit: the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, faith. Bad water - Bad fruit; the lusts of the flesh, wickedness, adultery, murder, drunkenness, rotten to the core; sour and bitter, but not sweet.

Zechariah 3:7-8, "Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day."

Is this none other than Yeshua the Messiah: Jesus the Christ, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world? For Revelation 5:6 says, "And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth."

Notice, there are seven eyes mentioned in both verses, and we know Jesus is "The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes" - (Mark 12:10-11, Psalm 118:22-23)
Oh, and 1 Peter 2:8, "the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."

This same stone, the rock of offence, also called the Rock in numerous passages, in which are the 7 eyes, or 7 spirits of God, and also, we know Moses brought forth water out of the Rock at Horeb, and was chastised for striking it a second time, because Jesus only had to be smitten once for all for sin, and this is highly symbolic, for we see in 1 Corinthians 10:4 the spiritual Rock that followed them WAS CHRIST, and they all drank from that so spiritual rock. Amen. Do you drink from that spiritual Rock? Do you get that living water deep down inside so that out of you flow living waters? John 7:38-39, "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"

The Holy Spirit indeed is the Living Water that Christ gives us, and even now He is leading me to all kinds of scriptures I hadn't even considered when I started this message, for Jesus doth say "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (John 14:26)
And right there is a really good answer for those who question the gospels because they were written several years after Jesus ascended into heaven: The Holy Spirit teaches all things, and He brought all things to their remembrance so they could write the Scriptures, the same way the Holy men and prophets of old wrote, as 2 Peter 1:21 says, " For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

Oh, the washing of the water of the Word comes as Ephesians 5:25-27 says: "Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."

The washing of the water of the word is either gonna cleanse out the sin in your life, and renew your mind to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report (Rom 12:2, Phil. 4:8), or else, the leaven of sin, if you allow it to remain and to grow in you, to ferment - will make the water you give forth polluted, and yea, YOU shall be polluted and filled with iniquity. Sin cannot pollute the true Living Water, but it can certainly quench the Spirit and grieve the Spirit. "Quench not the Spirit" (1 Thess 5:22), "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." (Eph 4:30)

And woe unto those who do this, who KNOW BETTER, but do it anyways! It's one thing for someone to quench the Spirit through ignorance of the things of God, but if you've heard the Word, and the Spirit is moving and working upon you, and you mock Him by doing things contrary to His will, then judgment by fire shall try thine works! And if you've heard but are not saved, and mock the Almighty LORD who is high and lifted up on the throne of His glory, He shall judge you in unquenchable fire, and subject you to eternal damnation, from which no repentance absolves, for once you die in your sins, ye shall not ever prevail to be saved: your fate is sealed: doom is your portion, a dreadful darkness from which thou canst not recover! Amen.

Some say, "I'm trying." Stop trying on your own and surrender to God, that he may open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing. (Malachi 3:10) And I aint saying that like the prosperity preachers do: for while God can bless you with material things if it's in His will for you to do so, a far greater blessing are His spiritual things: that spiritual drink: that Living Water: just knowing and communing with Him, and growing daily in His grace. There's nothing like it.

In Ezekiel 47 a river flows from the Temple, and along its banks are many trees (Eze. 47:7) and they are for meat and medicine (Eze. 47:12). These are the same as Revelation 22:1-2,
"And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." HalleluYAH! Praise be to the Almighty Ancient of Days, Yahweh in Yeshua, and the Ruach HaQodesh, the Father, the Word, the Holy Ghost: and these 3 are ONE! Amen! (But beware, because 1 John 5:7 that confirms this absolute truth isn't in most Bibles, just the KJV, and Geneva Bibles, and Wycliffes from the 1300s, and a couple others)

And, you know, in the Exodus, it was water that delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians: utterly destroyed them by overthrowing them in the Red Sea. In the same way, the Living Water can utterly wash away sin, overthrow it, and set you free once for all from the bondage of it - for sin is a BITTER BONDAGE, and hard on your life, and in the end it will kill your body, and if you haven't taken the Living Water that Jesus offers, which means you haven't taken His Spirit, which means you haven't taken HIM, you will also go to hell and suffer the second death!

Likewise in the days of Noah, when the earth was corrupt before the LORD, and filled with violence, and wicked adulteries, given over to sin, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.." (Genesis 6:5), it was water that came upon the earth to destroy the wicked, but that same water carried Noah and his family in the ark, and floating upon it and in it was the method of salvation: so what was destruction to many, was salvation for a few. Make sure you are of the few, for most shall reject God: many are called but few are chosen. (Matt. 22:14)

Isaiah 41:17-18, "When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water."

To close, I ask, is your fruit filled with Living Water? Is your life pleasing to God? Are you seeking His will? Have you repented and turned from your sin? Are you harboring any hidden sins, or secret sins you need to confess before the Lord and repent of? I pray you catch a glimpse of the LORD high and lifted up, whose waters flow from the upper springs, and can fill you: give you the Holy Ghost, and seal you unto eternal life. Amen

Oh wow. after printing this message I went on to read and picked the topic "Ascension," and very first thing I came across was this! The Spirit certainly indeed confirms this message! Praise the Holy Name of Jesus!

"Twelfth, [the work of the Spirit summarizes] all the great blessings insisted on in the offers and invitations of the gospel. “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (Joh 7:37-38). “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely” (Rev 21:6). “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isa 55:1). ~ From “The Holy Spirit the Sum of the Blessings Purchased for Us by Christ,” Jonathan Edwards, 1746

^ Seriously, I printed out the message at 12:12 PM, and maybe 5 minutes later was looking at messages on Ascension and read the Edwards quote. The second print out is 12:24, so this all transpired within 12 minutes. That is super cool confirmation.

No surprise here. As I and others pointed out, the Colorado ruling was a partisan atrocity. The decision by SCOTUS might be unanimously against it

Yes. I will marshall the evidence.

In John 7:35, the crowd even speculates that Jesus might leave them and go and teach Greeks, which means they thought he could speak Greek. Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come. The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?

When Jesus called Simon son of John to follow him (John 1:42), Jesus specifically chose to call him Cephas which is Aramaic for Peter. Then in Matthew 16:18, Jesus reverts back to calling him Peter which is Greek. “And I tell you that you are Peter (Πέτρος), and on this rock (πέτρᾳ) I will build my church.” Jesus is using this play on words between Peter and a rock using the Greek language. The Aramaic does not allow this, as stated before “Cephas only means Peter” and can’t be used as a pun for a rock.

Jesus uses two purposed double entendres using the Greek with his conversation with Nicodemus. Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are ἄνωθεν.” Jesus floats the Greek word ἄνωθεν with a double meaning and let’s Nicodemus choose which way he will interpret it….either born from above or born again. He chooses to use ἄνωθεν as born again.

Also in the conversation with Nicodemus the double entendres is the double meaning of πνεῦμα as wind or the Spirit of God. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Certainly, Jesus did speak Aramaic…..

• Matthew 27:46 - About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?").
• Mark 5:41 - He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means "Little girl, I say to you, get up!").

Evidence suggests, Jesus didn’t exclusively speak, read and understand Aramaic, but the reason he mostly appeared to do so, was simply because that was the language most of the people he was interacting with used in their daily lives, and were most comfortable with.

As many as four languages were known and spoken in the region — Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin. The real question, of course, is how widespread each of them was and on what occasions they were used. A plurality of scholars believe the common language in everyday life was indeed Aramaic. However, for trans-regional and cross-communal communication, though, Greek was more useful. Jesus would have been extremely likely to speak Koine Greek; this was the language of trade in the Roman Empire.

By the accounts in the Gospels, Jesus seems to have had no problems communicating with non-Jews such as the Roman Centurion, the Cannanite woman, the Syrophoenician woman (whom Mark specifically states is a Greek (Mark 7:26), and Pilate.

Evidenced also, Jesus’s disciples spoke and wrote Greek. Certainly, James our Lord’s brother, Peter, John, and especially Matthew knew Greek, and mastered it fairly well. Matthew was a tax collector and employed by Rome….which meant he knew probably Latin also.

Jesus had two disciples with Greek names: Andrew and Philip.

In a curious passage of Scripture, certain Greeks sought out Andrew and Phillip specifically because of their Greek names. John 12:20ff Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. The text does not say if Jesus responded to them in Greek or Aramaic, but for certain the Greeks did speak to Phillip and Andrew, and they understood the request.

Critics of Christianity will point out, what we have in the NT is only a translation of what Jesus said in the Aramaic and the Greek translation may and can have mis-translations in them.

Jesus gives us some powerful promises mis-translations in the original autographs didn’t occur. John 14: 25-26 “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Here we have the promise of “total recall” the Holy Spirit will give the Apostles during the time they place Jesus’s statements in writing.

All the disciples of Jesus were eye-witnesses and ear-witnesses of Jesus’s preaching….and all writers were bi-lingual. The Holy Spirit allowed them recall Jesus preaching and translate it correctly for us. The gift of Scripture is a great gift the Holy Spirit has to his church.

We were not there to hear Jesus speak, but he himself promises: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, Luke 21:33). In whatever human language Jesus made that promise, he is going to keep it.

This was Jesus speaking. When he was on the earth, and when he was teaching, he did not lighten God’s commandments, his moral laws, but he extended them or he brought true reality to them. And we would all do well to take his words seriously, for they are truth. And the truth is that adultery begins in the mind and in the heart before it ever gets acted out in the flesh. The moment that you choose to take that second look, to not look away, but to lust after another, you have committed adultery.

So, adultery extends far beyond just having sexual relations with someone to whom you are not married while you are married to someone else. Adultery takes place as soon as you lust after another who is not your spouse. So this can extend into so many different areas. So, if you are someone who is entertained by pornographic images or movies which are sensual in nature and which promote adultery and sex outside of marriage, and extra-marital affairs and flirtations with others, that is adultery.

Now, you may choose to disagree with me, but being entertained by these images engages your mind and heart in participating with them in some respect and in feeling with them what they are experiencing. And especially if nudity is involved, that stirs the lusts of the flesh. So we have to be people of God who guard our hearts and minds against such things and who use spiritual discernment with regard to what we choose to watch or to listen to, for even song lyrics can stir the mind and heart to lust after another.

So, if we want to keep our hearts and our minds morally pure and free from sensual lust, we must take serious steps to remove from our lives all that would lead us mentally, emotionally, and/or physically in the wrong direction. For the more of this world that we choose to take into our minds and our eyes on a daily basis, the more of the world that will remain inside of us and will be acted out by us in how we live. For flesh gives birth to flesh, and if flesh is what we desire, it will produce more flesh.

There was a time in my married life when I was much less discerning about the kinds of things that I watched and listened to, so I know of what I speak from personal experience. I had been much more strict, but over time I made little compromises for the sake of being entertained, and then more compromises until I was way beyond where I thought I would ever be. But the Lord convicted my heart of sin, and so I had to do a spiritual house cleaning and rid my life of all that might lead me in the wrong direction.

For we live in a world, even within the gatherings of the church (or of what is falsely being called “church”), where sensuality and sexual immorality and seductiveness are running rampant and where so many professing Christians are being caught up in all this sensuality as though it is just commonplace and not as something that should have no part in our lives. But what we choose to take into our ears and eyes and minds is then reproduced in our attitudes and words and behaviors. For it is garbage in and garbage out.

So, what is Jesus’ counsel to us? If our right eye causes us to sin, we are to tear it out and throw it away. And if our right hand causes us to sin, we are to cut it off and throw it away. Do you think he meant this literally? He may have. I don’t know. But he could have been speaking in figurative language, which he sometimes did. And so what’s the lesson? Whatever we are allowing in our lives which is leading us into sin, we are to get rid of. Many people keep going back to the same sins for they won’t cut off the source.

But… the Scriptures teach that it is out of the human heart that come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person (Matthew 15:17-20). So, even if we cut out an eye or a hand or any other kind of physical object out of our lives, if our hearts remain the same, our hearts are still going to lead us into sin because of what is stored up in our hearts. But again, what we choose to take into our minds, eyes, and ears, is what gets stored up in our hearts, too.

So, we must throw out of our lives all those things which are leading us into sin, and then we must refuse to allow those things back into our lives. But that will only take us so far. For without a change of heart and mind, those who take such steps are likely to go right back to where they were, time and time again. For the heart, if not changed, will continue to crave those sins and so will entertain those thoughts which will then lead right back to the same sinful behaviors. So a spiritual heart housecleaning will be in order.

But then pay close attention to Jesus’ deeper message here. He said, in reference to getting rid of whatever leads us to sin, that it is better that we lose an eye or a hand than for our whole body to be thrown into hell. So, what is he saying? If adultery is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord, and not walks of holiness and righteousness, then we are in danger of hell as our final destiny if we do not repent and if we do not change course and if we do not take the steps necessary to get rid of the sin and to now follow our Lord in surrender to his will and in obedience to his commands.

And please know that our Lord’s apostles taught the same thing, that if sin is our practice, and if righteousness, godliness, and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess. For it is not a profession of faith in Jesus Christ that results in eternal life with God, but it is a walk of faith and obedience to our Lord in the forsaking of our sins and in holy living that results in us having salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Lead Me Gently Home, Father

By Will L. Thompson, 1879

Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
When life’s toils are ended,
And parting days have come,
Sin no more shall tempt me,
Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,
If Thou’ll only lead me, Father,
Lead me gently home.

Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home, Father,
Lest I fall upon the wayside,
Lead me gently home.

Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
In life’s darkest hours, Father,
When life’s troubles come,
Keep my feet from wand’ring,
Lest from Thee I roam,
Lest I fall upon the wayside,
Lead me gently home.

Login to view embedded media
Caution: This link may contain ads

Speaker Johnson amid criticism: ‘Mess’ in House not ‘a reflection on the leader’

wow! Who would have thunk it. Another Republican leader who doesn't take responsibility for their charge.

Colour me unsurprised.

And then has the audacity to say "look. The nation is divided"....

So I guess it makes sense to vote down a bipartisan bill.

I really dislike it when deeply Christian politicians are manipulative.

Pray The Lord's Anointed ones are ensured that they complete the tasks that God has chosen them to to do( in this case,Donald Trump being US President):

Where are denominations in the Bible? Please share scripture.

A puppy’s jaw spontaneously regrew after Cornell veterinarians removed a majority of his lower left mandible due to cancer. Although this phenomenon has been documented in children, this is the first reported case of its kind for dogs of any age or breed.

Tyson, a 3-month-old French bulldog, was originally scheduled to see Cornell’s Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service for cleft palate surgery in the spring of 2023 when his primary veterinarian noted a cancerous tumor on his jaw.

“Tyson’s tumor was an oral papillary squamous cell carcinoma, which is a malignant cancer in dogs,” said dentistry and oral surgery resident Alexandra Wright, DVM ’18, who led Tyson’s care team. “Oral squamous cell carcinoma is the second-most common malignant oral tumor in dogs, and this papillary subtype has previously been reported in young dogs.”

Continued below.

Gallup says Democrats have lost more black and Hispanic voters than ever.

Not hard to figure out, those groups are hit hardest by this administration's poor policies.

Dems also now losing amongst men, college educated or otherwise, though I'm not certain what that means....since less men are in college these days.

Though the First Amendment says the government cannot establish A religion as was in England, here's an idea to reduce cultural friction between people of various faiths and those of anti faith in the public schools, which can happen in larger school districts with dozens of schools. Have separate schools for Christian, possibly for various denominations within, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, not believers of traditional marriage lifestyle, Atheists, etc. and not restricted to skin color, ethnicity, race, or nationality. Parents choose for their children which is cheaper than private school and less time constraining for parents than home schooling. Some interaction between different belief schools in the school districts with sports games and academic competitions. Also so if the Christian kids want to pray or study the Bible in their own Christian publc school, they could do so without offending others, likewise if Muslim, Jewish, or choose to participate in an alternative lifestyle.

Larger school districts have the real estate of many buildings to do this. I do see added school bus transportation costs with this, but reducing cultural friction and lawsuits is priceless. Maybe this idea is being done today in sections of other countries besides the United States, but I don't know. Some districts do have special schools for bad behavior students, gifted academically, or the disabled, so why not of various beliefs?

Thoughts, pro or con?

Assuming what's evident.

In our times there are many wars and many men of violence. Yet, one day, God promises that wars will cease.


It is one's duty to defend one's home and family, to fight for one's nation when it is threatened. It is one's glory to lay down arms and seek refuge in the Lord of hosts.

What to do in the garden in February–is this some kind of a joke? Here’s a thing I like to do in February: sit by the fire and look at the garden through a window.


However. If you (or I) can find the motivation to throw on a coat, a hat, gloves, a heavy woolen scarf, thick socks, boots, and lip balm–this is what I wear to brave the chilly weather in Northern California; if you live in New England or Colorado, you might want to add a layer of thermal underwear and a second coat–we will be well rewarded for our efforts in springtime.

If you live in a warmer climate, your to-do list for February garden chores will be different from what you can accomplish in colder regions. (For instance, in my USDA zone 10a garden, where the ground does not freeze, I can weed even in cold months. In winter, before weeds spread, is an ideal time to get rid of them.)

Here are a few things we all can do in the garden this month.

1. Prune trees.​

Continued below.

From Australia comes a story too cool to believe. Like a vegetable version of Jurassic Park or King Kong, a copse of pine trees from a species that evolved in the Cretaceous Era were found high in the mountains.

These living fossils, to use the classic phrase, survived both the comet impact and subsequent global firestorm that killed the dinosaurs, as well as two intervening ice ages to make it to our time, and Australian botanists are treating the specimens as a top-secret national treasure.

The Wollemi pine evolved 91 million years ago and went extinct according to the fossil record 2 million years ago, but in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, a stand of 90 specimens were found high in the more remote peaks in 1994.

For the past three decades, and in extreme secrecy, a team of specialists from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of Australia has been gradually planting small clumps of the Wollemi pine in other locations to help ensure it has every chance to see another 91 million years.

It helps the story that the Wollemi doesn’t look much like any pine tree you’ve seen in the woods by your house. Sporting Granny Smith apple-green foliage that grows in a pattern similar to a fern, it has a covering of bark reminiscent of Coco-puffs.


“Wollemi Pine seedlings and saplings grow less than one centimeter a year. They won’t mature until they can reach the rainforest canopy and access the sunlight above,” research scientist Berin Mackenzie told national news, adding that they grow extremely slowly.

Continued below.

I thank you and praise you Lord Jesus Christ. Please pray for the spiritual help of my whole family, including my estranged husband Rudi. Please pray that my whole family comes back to God. Please also pray I get the right medication to heal me of the satanic attacks and the voices I hear daily, that are vile and disgusting. Please also pray that I quit smoking and vaping and have more energy to do things. Please pray that God the Father forgives me for my many sins, through Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you and God bless