The tray with breakfast for two makes sense, even the laptop, but not that red phone.
This could be the interior of a nonexistent alien spaceship from some galaxy too far away to ever reach earth or an artificially unintelligent machine executing a plan to save the captured phone. I think I’ll go with the aliens. Why not? It’s either that or there’s a bug in the simulator.
If only I could get my brain out of the vat.
What’s with those wires? They’re stardust evolved from the big bang! That must be what they are otherwise nothing makes sense.
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields offers the photo below by David Stewart as this week’s prompt.
Psalm 53:2, “God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.” (KJV)
George loved to run his mouth going after his targets with the punishing rhythm of a piercing sword. He didn’t think he was doing anything wrong because words, surreal as they might make things appear with new moon star light or full moon madness, weren’t really swords, or were they?
Regardless, he was so successful that some were afraid they would not be able to survive without getting the mark of George on their foreheads and so they took it. Eventually those with sharper tongues pinned George to the ground. They ran through their mouths loud, rationalized nonsense spiced with curses until he admitted defeat and took their marks.
As ancient prophecy foretold such troubles would continue until they were stopped by the Anointed King, but in the meantime one would have to put up with a succession of starry-eyed new moon Georges with full moon mad king aspirations who preferred wounding to healing.
Denise offers the prompt word “rhythm” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories. As I kept altering this story it got to a point that I thought it might also work for Eugenia’s challenge this week where she offered the prompt word “surreal”.
David Pawson asked in the lecture below (about 12:00) why are believers so certain they are saved?
Is the basis for our assurance the Scriptures? Not completely. The Scriptures are too objective. Pawson explained, “It says there that whoever believes is certain of Heaven, but how do I know I am included?” (about 13:50)
Is the basis for our certainty our holiness? Again, not completely. Our holiness is too subjective. Pawson explained, “If my assurance is based on my living a Christ-like life in the world, then frankly I am going to be beset by a nagging doubt again, because there are times that I know that I have not lived a Christ-like life.” (about 15:30)
Where then do we find assurance? Pawson answered: “The thing that clinches it every time is neither the Scripture nor your own sanctity, but the Spirit.” (about 17:10) Through our mouths the Spirit overflows as we testify that Jesus is Lord and God is Father. That overflow with joy is our certainty.
If we can make that testimony with our mouths, then we have all we need for the gift of tongues. This gift allows us to pray to God in languages we do not understand which keeps our minds from getting in the way. We do this privately for personal edification. That prayer is between ourselves and God.
How do we do it? Breathe in. Open the mouth. Move the lips and tongue and make sounds even if they are very quiet, under one’s breath. Trust the Spirit will come up with the perfect words of prayer and praise in agreement with the Father’s will and not our own.
Someone might complain that anyone, even those without the Spirit, could fake praying in tongues if they wanted to. True. They could, if they wanted to, but who in their right mind would want to do that for very long without the joy, thanks and praise coming from the Holy Spirit?
Nor does this mean that one must pray in tongues if one has the Spirit. It’s a privilege. One gets to do this for long periods of time if one wants to. When some demon is messing with your mind trying to push you over a cliff of anger, lust or self-centeredness or whatever, start praying in tongues. The demon won’t have a clue what you’re saying. Then send that demon over the cliff if it hasn’t already jumped.
Your body has become a temple of the Holy Spirit.
For more information on praying in tongues see Dave Roberson’s free pdf book, The Walk of the Spirit – The Walk of Power: The Vital Role of Praying in Tongues. This post is about what he referred to as “tongues for personal edification” in Chapter 5. Another useful resource is by Mahesh Chavda, The Hidden Power of Speaking in Tongues. Andrew Wommack explains how praying in tongues is done in his final lecture of the series How To Hear God’s Voice. To put this all in perspective, Ryan Reeves presents a general, historical overview of Pentacostalism.
Not all Christians accept praying in tongues. Indeed, I suspect most don’t, but I also suspect with the growth of Pentecostalism that will change. For example, John MacArthur rejected tongues because he claimed it is easy to falsify and Greg Bahnsen made a theological claim that tongues have ceased. However, I find praying in tongues to be an effective exercise that keeps my heart on the Lord and strengthens my faith.
You are welcome to express your own views in the comments below.
Weekly Parashah Readings Parashah: Metzora 8 Nissan, 5782 – April 9, 2022 Torah:Leviticus 14:1 – 15:33 Haftarah:Kings II 7:3-20 Brit Chadashah:Matthew 8:1-17 Resources:Chabad, Hebrew4Christians,Weekly Torah Readings, Calendar
Busy folk in the city paid no attention to the clouds splashing through the sky. The clouds got darker. They dropped thick, beautiful snow. The busy folk couldn’t get to work. The snow was so deep the snow plow driver didn’t see the sign to raise the plow in time. That made a mess.
People blamed the politicians who promised global warming. The politicians blamed the scientists. The scientists blamed Gaia. Since Gaia doesn’t exist, she couldn’t care less.
The clouds couldn’t care less either, because that’s not what clouds do. They splash through the sky dropping rain and snow.
Thomas enjoyed an ability to run off the neighborhood kids by just looking at them, but even he was surprised that Moshe’s one year old daughter was old enough to have the sense to start crying when their eyes met. Unfortunately not only was the girl precocious, but the memory of her eyes acted on Thomas like a match lighting up horrendous nightmares.
When Thomas was finally too afraid to go to sleep and ready to try anything he sought Moshe’s advice complaining about his dreams. With Thomas’s permission Moshe commanded, “All you demons influencing, tormenting, terrorizing or generally messing with my neighbor, Thomas, – LEAVE HIM – BaShem Yeshua HaMashiach!” Thomas fell to the ground screaming out demons like vomit.
After the demons left Moshe helped Thomas to his feet and explained to him the changes he would have to make to keep them from returning with reinforcements.
In the photo above of the trail, I knelt down to get a different view of the railings. This was taken many years ago on the Barr Trail in Manitou Springs, Colorado.
In the photo below I pretended I was a pigeon. I got down very low and focused on the ground. This was also taken many years ago somewhere in Europe.
Bob Sorensen used the phrase “dust-to-Darwin” to describe evolution. This phrase succinctly describes the mythopoetic rationalization underlying evolutionary speculations. It brings two contrary things to mind. First, the word dust brings to mind Genesis 2:7 where we have a “dust-to-Adam” creation by God. Second, the word Darwin brings to mind those who promote a mindless, deterministic/random evolutionary explanation of how we got here.
The dust-to-Darwin problem is the realization that the speculations attempting to replace Genesis are no longer plausible, if they ever were. The problem for atheistic speculations is that science never has been on the side of atheism in spite of it being institutionally force-fed. That’s because experimental science doesn’t sit still. Scientists, some of them witlessly, keep pushing down the atheist fencing, because that fencing doesn’t fit reality.
For example, although mutations in DNA might look like the driving force of evolution, look closer and they point to genetic entropy and single, recent male and female ancestors. Although the fossil column might look like it could be dated to be hundreds of millions of years old, look closer and that dating falls apart when scientists estimate the entire geologic record would be eroded away in a mere ten million years assuming measured rates of erosion. Experimental science measured this entropy and erosion. Those measurements undermined speculative philosophy’s attempts to justify atheism.
Even more fundamentally, the dust-to-Darwin problem is that the philosophy of atheism offers no plausible way for any kind of dust to get here in the first place without God. It presents no plausible explanation for how that dust came alive without God. It has no plausible way to explain why men and women are inhabiting earth right now without God.
But the most serious part of the dust-to-Darwin problem comes when normal, ordinary people realize that they have been deceived, fooled into filtering reality through atheistic mythology.
The darkness blinding us has gone. We know the Lord as we are known. Face to face we finally see soaring past all mystery. The part we could not see is shown.
1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.“
Thomas longed to live in harmony with his neighbors but none of them deserved it. Everywhere he turned they would rush off just as he was warming up to explain again what they were doing wrong. They reminded him of those rats in his yard scurrying from one neglected debris pile to another.
In the evening, feeding on beer and popcorn, Thomas set his thoughts on the day’s alleged news and contentious commentary until he could stand it no longer and let his wagging tongue off its leash. At such breaking points he would rise, pace the floor, open his mouth, and without a clear understanding of what his hardened heart was leading him to say curse the stale air of his living room. Demons loved to party there.
Poetry, Short Prose and Walking 